Under the ban are all products of animal origin:
- meat, poultry, fish (only allowed on certain days) and all their derivatives;
- dairy;
- eggs;
- animal fat and butter.
Vegetable oil is allowed only on weekends, and hot food is only allowed a few times a week.
All these prohibitions complicate the task of eating a balanced diet. What is there! Even a regular salad in this situation is difficult to prepare. Starting to write this article, I broke my head thinking about how to replace oil in a salad. And my experience in cooking and drawing up different meal plans is serious. What can we say about ordinary people!
A diet can be called balanced if it contains the right amount of proteins, fats and carbohydrates. But in those products that first come to mind as an alternative to everything forbidden, there is clearly not enough fat and protein. After all, what does a person usually eat if meat, dairy, fat and hot are not allowed? That's right: bread, sweets, fruits, pasta, potatoes with mushrooms and cereals (on days with hot food). And such nutrition cannot be called right, whatever it may be.
How to replace vegetable oil and fats in general
- Nuts and seeds- excellent replacement to other sources of fats. Add them to porridge, muesli on the water, salads. You can even sprinkle them on vegetable soup! Very tasty.
- Avocado. Yes, I am aware that the price of it has increased obscenely, but you are already saving on meat. Therefore, I suggest at least occasionally pamper yourself with this super-useful product.
- Coconut milk. You can make a great dessert or breakfast from it (for example, according to this simple recipe), it can be added to hot dishes.
- coconut chips. Much healthier than regular and even dried fruits. For a long time saturate, rich in healthy fats and fiber. They can also be sprinkled on porridge and muesli.
- Olives. They are rich in healthy fats and will perfectly complement a salad without oil.
How to replace dairy products
plant analogues. For example, soy products are good. In general, I am an ardent opponent of dairy products, so this ban on fasting is closest to me. Of course, life without cheese is a bit boring, but besides it, there are so many delicious things. It's time to try something new. For example, vegetables with various pesto sauces. They will just approach the wine, which, oddly enough, is allowed on some days of Lent.
Where to get protein
In vegetable products, and these are all legumes: peas, lentils, beans of all conceivable and inconceivable species, chickpeas ... I suggest that on those days when hot food is allowed, cook not porridge and potatoes, but a wide variety of dishes from legumes. So you stock up on protein for the future, and also make up for the lack of B vitamins, which, by the way, is important. B vitamins are directly involved in the process of energy production by cells. That is, if in a simple way, we need them so as not to nod off all day. Of course, there are many more rules that will help you stay alert, but this is a topic for another article.
Nuts are also a good source of protein. So continue to sprinkle them on porridge, muesli, and salads with a generous hand.
Rules to help you stay in line while fasting
1. Do not get carried away with fruits. 2-3 per day is your maximum. Fruits sharply raise blood sugar and, if consumed excessively, harm the liver due to the large amount of fructose. It is best to combine them with nuts. This will slow down the release of sugar into the blood, and the feeling of satiety will stay with you longer.
2. - your everything. Here you can come up with whatever your heart desires, both for dry days and for hot dishes.
3. Cereals are a good thing, but in moderation and always accompanied by nuts, seeds and other permitted sources of fats from the list above. Most preferably buckwheat and oatmeal. The former has a very low glycemic index compared to other cereals, while the latter is rich in protein. That is why oatmeal is so loved by trainers, who often make meal plans for their clients based on it.
If you are lucky and next to you are selling newfangled quinoa, then feel free to bet on it. It is good for everyone: it is rich in B vitamins, contains a lot of protein and at the same time has a low glycemic index.
4. Less bread, gentlemen! He, of course, is the head of everything, but ... The presence of yeast in it makes it not the best product on your table. I do not call for rushing from one extreme to another and avoiding it altogether, but I know many people who not only did not lose weight during fasting, but, on the contrary, gained a lot of weight. The reason for this is just bread, cereals and fruits in wild quantities. Don't repeat their mistakes.
5. Choose Fatty Fish on Fish Days: mackerel, sardine, herring, salmon, salmon. Why? I suspect that you are not getting enough fat in your diet, so I suggest replenishing your reserves, and at the same time enriching your body with extremely useful omega-3 fatty acids. It is in fish oil that these acids are the most valuable (they are also found in plant sources, but their effect is not quite the same).
6. Do not abuse sweets.
The answer can be very simple - of course you can. After all, the unconditional requirement of observing Great Lent is the use of only plant foods and the complete exclusion from the diet of food of animal origin. And soy is a leguminous plant, the same as peas, beans and others. And if people have learned through various manipulations to give these beans the shape of cutlets, goulash and other meatballs - what difference does this make? It may be objected that fasting is not only abstaining from animal food, but also from delicacies. This, of course, is correct, and even lean food should be eaten in such a way as to exclude any pleasure from the process of eating. But in practice, I don't even know how to do it. I remember one priest told how, after the first days of fasting, observed according to all the statutory rules, with dry eating, he finally allowed himself to cut off a slice of black bread, pour it with sunflower oil, salt it and eat it. “Never in my life,” he said, “have I eaten with such pleasure any cake, any cake!” So with a delicacy, everything is not easy. The stricter you fast, the more you eat what you can eat without breaking the fast. It is known after all that the best seasoning for any dish is hunger.
1. What is fasting?
Fasting is primarily a spiritual practice.
Not only the mouth must fast, but let the eye, and the ear, and the hands, and our whole body fast.
(St. John Chrysostom)
True fasting is the removal from evil deeds. Forgive your neighbor an insult, forgive him his debts. “Do not fast in courts and quarrels.” You do not eat meat, but you eat your brother. You abstain from wine, but you do not keep yourself from resentment. You wait for the evening to taste your food, but you spend the day in court places.
(St. Basil the Great)
2. Why can't you eat a whole range of foods during fasting?
Food restrictions are an integral part of fasting. They are designed to help self-improvement and the triumph of the spirit, so exciting and festive food and drinks are excluded.
We live in a consumer society ruled by advertising. In the subway and on the streets, in the store and on TV, in magazines and mailboxes - advertisements for food, restaurants. And we somehow forgot that gluttony is a sin. And fasting is designed to regulate our excessive requests for food, drinks, entertainment and other desires. Fasting involves moderation in eating and discipline, and helps to turn to spiritual values.
3. Are there any general rules?
There are no uniform rules for fasting in the Russian Orthodox Church. Each monastery has its own charter, intended for monks, and not for secular people. For most people, the way of life is very different from life in a monastery. Therefore, the laity are guided by the instructions of their priest, and he is responsible for the outcome of the fast.
During fasting, as a rule, meat, poultry, dairy products, eggs, pastries and pastries with eggs, and alcohol are excluded. The priest may allow eating foods recommended by the doctor (dairy products and even meat as medicine) if a person is sick. And my clients told about such cases.
4. I have a hard physical job. How can I fast?
Fasting should be feasible for a person, and not destroy the body. For people of hard work, it is permissible, with the permission of the priest, to eat food that will allow them to work normally.
5. I have a sick stomach. How can I fast?
As a rule, with digestive diseases, people eat few raw vegetables, cabbage and legumes are excluded. Sometimes "mashed" diets, where a lot of heavily chopped, well-cooked foods are stored for a long time, even when there is no exacerbation. At the same time, the secretion of digestive juices and enzymes decreases - after all, all food is already boiled or mashed. Therefore, an increase in the number of vegetables during the fasting period or legumes can, out of habit, become a burden on digestion, especially if there was a therapeutic diet before.
In the traditions of the Russian Orthodox Church, fasting was preceded by 2 weeks: "meat-fat", and then "cheese-fat" - as a preparation for fasting, so that there was no abrupt change in diet.
I advise people with digestive diseases to follow simple rules. 1) at the time of eating, leave the rush, chew food thoroughly. Do not combine food with other activities (watching TV, working at a computer). 2) Do not make a sudden change in nutrition. Introduce 1 new dish per day. If you have not eaten some foods for a long time, then start eating them in small quantities. 3) For protein balance, start including red lentil soup puree. Legumes (well-cooked lentils, beans) 1-2 tablespoons can be added to salads, soups or cereal side dishes. If you tolerate them well, then after 2 weeks, when the body gets used to it, the amount of legumes can be gradually increased.
6. What can replace meat?
The main thing that leaves the diet during fasting is protein products of animal origin (meat, poultry, dairy products, eggs). Fish are limited. Therefore, during the fasting period, many begin to experience protein deficiency and there is a desire to eat meat.
Where do you get protein then? There are wonderful sources of vegetable protein - these are peas, beans, lentils, chickpeas, nuts, seeds. They should take their rightful place in the diet.
In addition to protein, legumes contain slow carbohydrates and healthy fiber, which are absorbed gradually and create a feeling of satiety. Add beans to potatoes for a hearty and nutritious meal.
But legume dishes are rarely found on the table during fasting. This is due exclusively to the traditions of Russian cuisine. We know only pea soup or porridge, and canned beans. I looked at the lenten menu that restaurants and cafes offered last year, and made sure that legumes are cooked little even there.
But in European cuisine there are many recipes for soups, side dishes and salads, which include legumes. We know chickpeas as "Turkish peas" and they think that they eat it only in the East. Although it is well known in European cuisine.
If you have not cooked legumes before, then it is better to start with. Unlike beans, they do not require soaking and are cooked for 10 to 30 minutes, depending on the variety.
Red lentils are boiled after 10-12 minutes, and you can make puree or puree soup from it. A good replacement for the usual potatoes. Green lentils are cooked for 20-30 minutes, they can be put in soup, eaten as a side dish or added to salads.
Beans (like peas) require soaking for 10-12 hours, and boiled for 1 hour. When cooking borscht, do not forget to add beans. Beans can be used to make lobio. Legumes go well with vegetables and potatoes, so they are added to salads, and tasty and hearty main dishes are prepared.
As for nuts and seeds - in addition to protein, they have a lot of fat, they cannot replace lunch.
Include legumes in your diet daily, add nuts and seeds to salads or porridge. As a source of protein, you can eat tofu (bean curd) and soy dishes.
7. How often can you eat fish?
There are no single rules for fasting. With the consumption of fish, the situation is the same as with legumes. A lot has been said about the benefits of fish and there is fish cuisine, but most Russians eat it once a month or less. Therefore, in the lenten menu, fish often appears in the form of canned food.
In fact, canned food is camping food. Leave them to tourists and soldiers. For other cases, you need to find the fish department in a store or market. In some stores, fish can be cleaned and butchered. Fish, unlike mushrooms, has a high nutritional value, is easily digested, and during fasting it can and should be included in the diet.
8. Are all lean foods healthy?
There are often a lot of canned food on the lean table: homemade marinade pickles, sauerkraut, mushrooms, lecho and squash caviar. And if lecho was usually used as a sauce, then during fasting someone can eat a whole jar - after all, you need to eat vegetables!
We have a strengthened opinion that if the product is “lean”, it is definitely useful. I want to say that this is not so. Canned food contains a lot of salt, preservatives, which causes swelling. They should not be eaten by people with diseases of the stomach and pancreas, as well as with diseases of the heart and kidneys. Mushrooms are a heavy food, they are slowly digested, for 4-6 hours and are very poorly absorbed by the body. Only healthy adults can eat mushrooms; sick and elderly people should refrain from mushrooms.
Of course, it is best to include fresh vegetables in your diet. But at this time of the year, finding vegetables of acceptable quality becomes a daunting task! The price of a kilogram of fresh vegetables or salad approaches the price of meat. And the prices for salads in restaurants - bite.
Investigate the local vegetable market carefully and choose the best quality vegetables. Depending on where you live, the markets will be available: cucumbers and tomatoes, carrots, beets, cabbage, Beijing cabbage, salads and greens, celery stalks, celery root. For sauerkraut and pickles, there is also a place on the table, but you can’t build the entire diet from canned food.
9. Why do some lose weight during fasting, while others notice that they have gained a couple of kilograms?
Not so long ago, a couple of centuries ago, abundant food was only on holidays - I note, quite rare. Only the rich could afford to eat meat regularly, and it was considered a pleasure that had to be abandoned during the fasting period. Muffins and sweets were also attributes of the holiday, and not everyday food. And drinking alcohol was condemned by the church.
But everything is changing. And nowadays, festive food for some is becoming the norm, extra pounds appear, and with them pressure, shortness of breath and snoring at night ...
Heaviness in the abdomen after a late heavy dinner makes it difficult to fall asleep.
And so a person decides to fast. At the same time, he begins to monitor nutrition and think about what he eats. Nutrition is changing significantly: the usual fatty and plentiful dishes, alcohol are leaving. And at the same time, moderation in food comes, because you won’t overeat with porridge or cabbage. Eat exactly as much as you need. The body comes to its senses from a constant holiday and the weight begins to decline.
Let's look at another situation. You rarely ate meat before, cottage cheese and cheese - also not every day, and there was already a protein deficiency in the body. Fasting begins and carbohydrates and canned food remain in your diet. You don't eat fish and beans. And protein deficiency turns into protein starvation. Under conditions of starvation, the body begins to store fat.
I want to note that only muffins and pastries with eggs are excluded in the post, while there are a lot of carbohydrates: potatoes and pasta, cereals, bread. From sweets there are marmalade and marshmallow, fresh fruits and dried fruits, sorbet, tea with sugar, juices.
Quick cereals are not only quick to prepare, but also quickly digested. And if they are eaten with honey, nuts and dried fruits, then this is a real dessert. Of course it's delicious. But if you have breakfast with quick porridge, lunch with potatoes, and dinner with pasta, then you can gain weight on such a diet.
Fasting implies moderation in food, so eating a lot of sweets, even permitted, is not worth it. Eat sweets with breakfast or as a dessert for lunch. Choose traditional cereals that need to be cooked for more than 10 minutes, as mothers and grandmothers did. In addition to potatoes and pasta, include brown rice, bulgur (wheat), and of course legumes and vegetables.
It is known to quite a lot of people. Many people know what foods can and cannot be eaten in fasting. Unfortunately, along with meat, eggs and in general, all types of animal products, milk in its original form and all dairy products are strictly prohibited. However, this absolutely does not mean that you need to give up milk. It is very easy to replace it.
Is it possible to drink milk in fasting
It just so happened that the Christian Church imposes quite strict restrictions on the use of certain foods. It is clear that the question of whether milk can be consumed in fasting has a negative answer only because this product itself is classified specifically as an animal product. Hence the conclusion that milk-based products also belong to this group.
Despite such restrictions, there are exceptions to the rule in the question of whether milk can be consumed in fasting. First of all, this concerns the fact that the Charter does not prohibit the use of milk during fasting, for example, by pregnant or lactating women, as well as people with certain diseases, in the treatment of which milk plays a primary role.
On the other hand, as is already clear, the question of whether milk can be consumed in fasting implies only natural milk obtained from animals. But there are still a lot of products that can replace it. For example, one of the most demanded and popular is soy milk, which is not inferior to natural in terms of taste and nutritional qualities. Basically, you can buy it anywhere. Many supermarkets, by the way, offer just such products for the entire period of fasting. Besides the fact that soy milk can be bought in the store, there is nothing easier than making it at home. There are a lot of recipes for its preparation from natural soybeans.
What is most interesting, in some countries soy milk is mixed with fruit juices and they get quite an interesting refreshing and invigorating drink. So, you see for yourself, although the question of whether milk can be consumed in fasting has quite strict restrictions and prohibitions, you can always find a way out of this situation. Moreover, in a number of countries, soy milk is valued even slightly higher than a natural product, precisely for its unique nutritional properties, not to mention the fact that there are simply no restrictions and prohibitions regarding fasting, because it has no animal, but vegetable origin.
Also dairy products. Do not get too upset about the need to give up milk and dairy products. Firstly, this is only for the period of fasting. And secondly, such a restriction will not only not harm health, but will also benefit. By the way, the results of studies have shown that milk, which seems to be such an indispensable component of children's nutrition, is not absorbed by the body of adults so well. Therefore, for some time to refrain from dairy products does not hurt anyone.
What to replace milk
With the approach of Lent, store shelves are filled with lean products, among which you can find a full-fledged replacement for any prohibited product. Milk is no exception. So, manufacturers offer milk made from soy. It is considered one of the most important soy products. The uniqueness of soy milk lies in the fact that there are no strict requirements for its composition, which determine the proper content of proteins, fats, vitamins, flavorings and sugar in it.
Thus, the composition of soy milk may vary depending on the needs of the market. For example, in countries with a temperate climate, its composition is similar to the composition of cow's milk, so there it is considered a full-fledged replacement for regular milk. For hot countries, where soy milk is especially valued for its refreshing properties, it is characterized by a much lower content of proteins and fats. During the manufacturing process, butter, salt, flavorings and stabilizers are added to it in various proportions, and sometimes soy milk is even mixed with fruit juices or other drinks.
How to make lean milk
Soy milk, which is not prohibited in fasting, can be prepared at home. To do this, you need 100g of peeled soybeans, which must be washed until the water runs clear. Then the soybeans are left for a day in cold water so that they swell properly after absorbing the water. After that, the beans should be ground, adding a little water to achieve the consistency of sour cream. Putting them in a large bowl, they are poured with 4 liters of cold water, 10-15 g of sugar and a little salt are added. The resulting mass should be infused for four hours under a closed lid. During this time, you should mix it several times, then strain, squeeze and boil for 15 minutes, after which the milk is ready to drink.
