Food During Lent

What should be the diet during the days of Great Lent in order to comply with church prescriptions and not harm health?

What should be the diet on the days of Great Lent in order to comply with church prescriptions and not harm health?

Food restriction is one of the conditions of Great Lent. Such restraint in the choice and amount of food is intended to help a Christian physically and spiritually prepare for the celebration of Easter.

The main principles of nutrition during Great Lent

Fasting before Easter among Christians is the strictest and longest. This year it lasts 48 days. The strictest restrictions are provided in the first and last (week) week of fasting. According to church canons, on the first Monday and the last Friday of Lent (Good Friday) you cannot eat at all, and you can only drink water. On Tuesday of the first week, it is recommended to eat only bread and water. Wednesday and Thursday of the first week are fasting days. Hot food without oil is allowed on Friday, and hot food with vegetable oil can be prepared on Saturday and Sunday.

For the entire period of fasting, it is forbidden to consume products of animal origin and dishes prepared on their basis, as well as alcohol ("temperate foods"). If you are fasting, forget about meat, eggs, butter, dairy products until Easter. Fish is allowed only on the days of major church holidays - the Annunciation and Palm Sunday. On these days, it is not forbidden to drink a little red wine. Fish caviar and red wine can be on the table on Lazarus Saturday.

Cold food (dry food) is allowed on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, you can eat hot dishes prepared without butter. On Saturday and Sunday, hot and cold food is prepared and eaten with oil. The exception is the Saturday before the Resurrection of Christ. Cold food without oil is allowed on this day.

According to strict rules, on weekdays you can take food once a day in the evening, and on weekends - twice a day, at lunch and in the evening. But if you are not in perfect health, such restrictions can make you feel worse. Eat so that you are not hungry. The main thing is not to overeat. Overeating is considered a violation of fasting, even if these foods are lean.

What foods are allowed during fasting?

If you have decided to fast, it does not mean that you will have to starve. Especially since it is not necessary. Eating during Lent will be balanced if you think through your menu.

Dry eating means consuming cold food without adding oil. Such products include water, brown bread, raw and boiled vegetables, fruits, compotes.

On days when it is forbidden to use butter, cook porridge, soups, pickles, stewed vegetables. On "allowed" days, prepare the same dishes using vegetable oil. Season vegetable salads with it.

The following are the traditional foods for Lent days:

• Cereals (oats, buckwheat, rice, barley, wheat, corn)
• Homemade pickles and jams from vegetables and fruits, olives, canned mushrooms and legumes
• Mushrooms of various preparations
• Black bread, cereal loaves
• Seasonal vegetables (potatoes, carrots, beets, pumpkins, onions, celery, radishes, etc.), greens
• Seasonal fruits (apples, citrus fruits, bananas, pomegranates, etc.)
• Beans (peas, beans, lentils, etc.) and dishes based on them
• Dried fruits, honey, nuts

By combining these products, you will be able to provide your body with the necessary carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins and other micronutrients.

During fasting, try to use different vegetable oils for cooking: sunflower, olive, sesame and others. Each is useful in its own way. On days when oil is not recommended, vegetable salads can be dressed with lemon juice or other citrus fruits, soy sauce.

Many simple, but tasty and healthy dishes can be prepared from lean products. For example, salads with vinaigrette, bean-beet salad, radish salad, Beijing cabbage salad. The first dishes are mushroom soup, vegetable soups with cereals. Potato or potato-celery puree, porridge, stewed cabbage, vegetable stew, stew with vegetables and mushrooms, lean cabbage rolls and others are recommended as main dishes.

How to fast safely

A sudden change in diet is a stress for the body. Doctors recommend choosing food restrictions according to your strength. A lean menu assumes that the amount of carbohydrates in the diet increases. Do not abuse bread, potatoes and cereals, as an excess of carbohydrates can disrupt metabolism and provoke some diseases.

Soy products are allowed during fasting, but often you can't eat them: soy protein is absorbed worse than animal protein.

During fasting, the amount of alkaline food increases. To balance the acid-alkaline balance, do not forget to include pickles and pickles in the menu.

Priests and doctors recommend that children, pregnant and lactating women, elderly and sick people refrain from fasting. This regimen and diet is contraindicated for people with diseases of the gastrointestinal tract, diabetes, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, with exacerbations of chronic diseases, after recent operations, with weakened immunity after infectious diseases.

You should not fast if a person is engaged in heavy physical work, lives or works in cold conditions.

It is believed that abstinence in food will help the believer to adjust to spiritual and righteous thoughts.