Christmas fast: Lenten menu for every day. Sample menu for the first week of Advent

During this period, you cannot eat certain foods, so many people are interested in the question of how to organize the menu so that it not only complies with all the rules of fasting, but is also complete for the body.

It is worth immediately noting here that even deeply religious people do not need to strictly observe fasting if they have health problems. The same applies to pregnant women and children.

Lenten pickle
Second courses

What not to eat during the Nativity Fast

Strict fasting lasts from November 28 to January 6. And in order to compose detailed menu During these long 40 days, we should consider in more detail the question of what you can eat and what you cannot eat.

Products that can be consumed in Lent, quite enough to support normal condition body, lead a normal lifestyle and even improve health. After all, it is on these days that you should not eat fatty, high-calorie foods, which are the most harmful to our bodies.

Meat;
eggs;
dairy products.

The latter include not only milk, kefir or sour cream, but also butter. That is why all dishes during Lent are prepared exclusively in vegetable oil.

It is also worth saying that the forty-day Nativity fast is considered strict, but in fact it is quite gentle, and this fact is connected precisely with its period. After all, it begins in late autumn, when the harvests of vegetables and grains have been collected from the fields, in the basements there is a large number of all kinds of conservation, and fishing time is in full swing.

But what can you eat during the Nativity fast? The list of these products significantly exceeds the number of components that cannot be eaten at this time.

Fish (except Wednesday and Friday)
cereals;
mushrooms;
legumes;
all types of plant foods (vegetables and fruits);
pickles;
sugar, salt, all kinds of seasonings.

If you want to adhere to the basic rules of fasting, then there are some restrictions regarding Friday and Wednesday. These are the days of dry eating. That is, they exclude eating oil and wine. In addition, you need to eat foods that are not subject to heat treatment.

This doesn't mean you only have to eat raw vegetables and fruits, any pickles will go into food. And, of course, on Wednesdays and Fridays, eating Lenten bread is not excluded. It can be white, gray or black.

Detailed menu for the week during the Nativity Fast

As noted earlier, the list of foods that can be consumed during the fasting period is quite extensive. These are mainly plant products and cereals. You can use garlic, cloves, red and black pepper as seasonings.

But it is worth remembering that fasting is, first of all, aimed at cleansing and restoring the state of the soul and internal balance, which is achieved precisely by abstinence and restriction. Therefore, it is better to at least partially refuse to buy all kinds of exotic fruits and eat them daily.

The products should be as simple as possible, preferably those that grow in our fields and vegetable gardens, because for a long time during the Nativity fast the menu was based on fruits and vegetables that you could prepare yourself for the winter and, thanks to them, eat well throughout the cold season of the year.

So, the basis of the menu for the week can be the following dishes:

1. Monday: hot food based on plant products without oil.

2. Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday - hot dishes to which you can add oil, you can eat fish.

3. Wednesday and Friday – dry eating.

The second week of fasting is the same as the first.
The only addition is the holiday of December 4: on this day the Entry into the Temple is celebrated Holy Mother of God, on the occasion of which you can indulge in some red wine. On January 1st, on the occasion of the secular holiday of the New Year, you can also drink a little wine.

1. Monday, Wednesday and Friday – dry eating.
2. Tuesday and Thursday – hot food without adding oil.
3. You can cook vegetable products with oil on the weekend.

As for Christmas Eve, that is, the day before Christmas, fasting on this day should be especially strict.

These rules are for those who do not want to make any mistakes during fasting. If you think that you can’t cook a full meal without oil, then you’re wrong. After all, based on simple and uncomplicated products, you can make such simple, but tasty and healthy soups and main courses, which even after the end of fasting can compete with high-calorie, meat dishes.

What dishes to cook during the Advent Fast

There are many different Lenten dishes, which is quick and easy to prepare. If you are used to using a multicooker to simplify the process, then there are no restrictions in this regard. The main thing is to adhere to the basic rules for using products on fasting days.

Lenten pickle

Ingredients:

Pearl barley – 1 cup;
pickled cucumbers – 3 pcs.;
4 medium potatoes;
1 onion;
1 large carrot;
salt pepper;
fresh greens.

If desired, you can add a couple of tablespoons of tomato paste to the soup.

Preparation:

1. Boil pearl barley for half an hour in 2.5 liters of salted water.

2. Place the frying pan on low heat. Since our dish will be without oil, we don’t use it. There is a little secret here: if you need to cook a completely lean dish, just take a frying pan with a non-stick coating and fry the vegetables for sautéing on medium mode, stirring them constantly.

They need to give off an aroma and acquire a faint golden hue. This is quite enough to make the soup or main course aromatic and tasty.

3. Thus, fry the finely diced onions and carrots.

4. We also peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes. We transfer everything into the barley broth. Cook for half an hour. Add spices to taste.

The rule of sautéing without oil applies to any lean dish. These days we prepare borscht, soups, cabbage soup, cabbage soup and any other first courses that we are accustomed to during normal times.

Second courses

The main second dish during Lent is porridge. Instead of butter it can be seasoned with vegetable matter. For more flavor, you can add some fried mushrooms to the porridge, which is not at all prohibited. You can also prepare main dishes from them.

Mushrooms and fish are products that can be considered real delicacies during Lent. They can be prepared in completely different ways. Frying in oil is far from the only way creating culinary masterpieces, although for fasting this expression, in principle, can be considered superfluous.

For heat treatment We use a double boiler or a multicooker; simply boiled fish can turn out very tasty, the broth from which can be used to prepare the first course.

Throughout the year, Christians fast on four multi-day fasts. And one of the easiest fasts for believers is the Nativity Fast 2018. A menu for every day can be created for it without any problems, because at this time you can eat almost everything with rare exceptions.

Prohibited and permitted foods during the Nativity Fast

Before compiling a daily menu, you need to determine for yourself what is allowed to eat during the Nativity Fast and what is not allowed. And we will start with foods that are strictly forbidden to eat. These include poultry and animal meat, all meat products(lard, sausages, frankfurters), milk, dairy products, butter, baked goods, sweets, alcoholic drinks and eggs. And it’s not even worth listing the dishes prohibited during fasting before Christmas, because they include all those dishes that contain foods that cannot be consumed by those who are fasting.

When coming up with a menu for each day for the Christmas fast, you also need to focus on those products that are allowed on one day, but prohibited on another. These products include fish, fish dishes, red and black caviar and seafood, which can be consumed on Tuesday, Thursday and weekends, but only until January 1. You can also eat fish and dishes made from it during church holidays. And also on church holidays and on weekends you are allowed to drink wine or oil, but only in very small quantities, because the main thing in fasting is moderation in everything. And those with a sweet tooth can sometimes indulge themselves

But there are a whole bunch of permitted foods for fasting before Christmas. At this time, you can eat all existing vegetables and fruits, cereals and legumes, corn, herbs and spices, mushrooms and herbs, flour products, but not baked goods, seeds and nuts. Yes, and you are allowed to drink any drinks - even tea, even coffee, the main thing is not to add cream and milk to it, plus you can drink fruit drinks, compotes, juices and jelly without restrictions. In addition, sweets are also not completely excluded from this post, because instead of sweets, cakes and ice cream, you can eat raisins, dried fruits, dark chocolate, marmalade and honey.

Sample menu for every day for a week

First day

Breakfast. Buckwheat with beans in tomato. Pickled vegetables, tea or coffee without milk.
Dinner. Any lean vegetable soup, for example, vegetable salad. Berry jelly.
Afternoon snack. Fresh juice.
Dinner. Rice porridge with lean fish. Vegetable salad. Cocoa prepared with water.

Second day

Breakfast. Toasts with tofu cheese and vegetables. Tea or coffee without milk.
Dinner. Potatoes baked in their jackets. Vegetable salad.
Afternoon snack. Vegetable Salad.
Dinner. or other lean vegetable cutlets.

The third day

Fourth day

Breakfast. Oatmeal with water and fruit. Berry compote.
Dinner. , Vegetable Salad.
Afternoon snack. Berry jelly.
Dinner. .

Fifth day

Breakfast. Lenten pancakes.
Dinner. Lenten borscht with beans and mushrooms.
Afternoon snack. A piece .
Dinner.

Sixth day

Eating delicious food during the Nativity fast

But in order for the foods that fasting people are allowed to eat before Christmas, together they make up a very tasty and healthy food, needs to be carefully reconsidered various recipes for the Nativity Fast 2018 and choose from them those that appeal to you the most. Moreover, there are a lot of such recipes!

Those who are fasting can eat it as a side dish delicious porridge, seasoned with vegetable oil, to which you can constantly add various spices and seasonings so that each time the taste of the porridge is so different from the previous one. Yes, and you can make a lot of lean dishes from potatoes - you can cook potatoes in their jackets, boiled potatoes, potatoes tomato sauce or mustard sauce. You can also cook delicious ones. There are also practically no restrictions in the first courses: soups for every taste, lean borscht, cabbage soup from fresh or sauerkraut - all this can be cooked every day, the main thing is not to add meat or meat broth. And on days when fish is allowed, the first thing you can do is make a fragrant fish soup, which both children and adults love.

You can prepare so many delicious dishes from vegetables that even those who do not observe the Nativity Fast will envy their variety. You can make salads from vegetables, prepare a tasty and nutritious vinaigrette, fry them in vegetable oil, eat canned vegetables, bake them in the oven, cook grilled vegetables, add various spices and sauces to vegetables. The variety of these dishes is simply off the charts - know, choose the most suitable recipe for yourself.

But not only first courses, side dishes, salads and drinks are allowed during the Nativity Fast; read more about what you can eat. Of course, pies and dumplings made from lean dough, for which our national cuisine is so famous. Moreover, the filling in them can be very diverse - sweet from cherries, dried apricots, raisins, apples or plums, and sour or salty from mushrooms, cabbage, potatoes and turnips. And it will be useful for baking lovers.

According to the monastic charter, food during any of the multi-day fasts is quite simple, strict and limited. However, only church ministers need to adhere to such strict church order. It is clear that lay people should focus on their state of health and not allow Lenten dietary restrictions to somehow affect their life functions.

Therefore, you need to competently create a menu for the Nativity Fast. It’s best to develop your own Christmas Lent menu for every day, week by week, in order to eat tasty and healthy, feel a surge of strength and not harm your health with restrictions in what is already so difficult for the body winter period.

Lenten salad recipes

There must be salads on the table during the Advent Fast. These are those dish options that contain natural ingredients. A bunch of interesting recipes In this regard, you can learn from vegetarian cuisine. If you come to a monastery during Lent and see what they serve in the dining room, you will definitely have questions about interesting ideas and for your Lenten table. In this material we present a couple of excellent recipes.

Beetroot with pineapple

To prepare this delicious lean salad you need 0.2 kg of canned pineapples, as well as two boiled beets, a tablespoon of sugar, a little lemon juice and two tablespoons of vegetable oil. You will also need walnut kernels, chop them.

The process of preparing the salad is quite simple: grate the beets on a coarse grater and chop the pineapples finely. Mix the ingredients, add nuts and sugar, sprinkle everything with lemon juice, season vegetable oil. The salad perfectly serves as an independent dish, but can be an additional element in the Lenten menu.

With vegetables and corn

To prepare this lean salad, you should have on hand a tomato, carrot and bell pepper, one can of canned corn, as well as greens, a little lemon juice, vegetable oil, salt and pepper.

Preparation begins with grating the peeled carrots on a coarse grater. Cut the tomatoes into slices, cut the bell pepper into strips, and chop the greens. Mix all ingredients, add corn kernels, lemon juice and vegetable oil, add salt and spices according at will, focusing on taste.

With mushrooms

It is worth remembering that mushrooms are excellent ingredients for Lenten dishes. This is a product plant origin, so you can eat mushrooms on any day of fasting. To prepare this salad you need 0.5 kg of marinated champignons, onion and two tomatoes, a can canned peas, vegetable oil and vinegar. Even more delicious.

Chop the onion into strips and cut the tomatoes into cubes. Chop the mushrooms and combine with the already prepared ingredients, add the squeezed peas. Salt the salad, adding spices at your discretion. Season with vegetable oil and vinegar, which are mixed separately in advance.

Lenten borscht recipes

With vegetables

No first course Lenten table doesn't work. Especially in winter, it is important to cook for yourself vegetable soups, which will strengthen your strength and give your stomach healthy hot food. The most healthy dish In this regard, there will, of course, be borscht.

To prepare a delicious and satisfying vegetable borscht you need 0.3 kg of fresh cabbage and four potatoes, onions, carrots, two beets and a tablespoon of tomato paste, three cloves of garlic and a bay leaf, vegetable oil, three and a half liters of water and herbs.

The preparation of borscht begins with thinly shredding the cabbage. Place the cabbage in a saucepan and add water. Place on medium heat and cook, covering with a lid. After the boiling point, reduce the heat to minimum. Peel the potatoes and cut them into cubes. Send the potatoes to the cabbage, add water to the top. Chop the onion into cubes and grate the carrots. Fry these two components in vegetable oil, then add tomato paste and, after a minute, add the mixture to the borscht.

Now peel the beets and grate them on a medium grater, add a third of the beets to the borscht, add seasonings and salt, garlic, and herbs. After this, send in the rest of the beets, mix everything and cook for another minute, remove from heat and let stand for a quarter of an hour under the lid, and then serve.

Advice! You can safely add other ingredients to this vegetable borscht. These are pitted prunes, grated celery root, greens, boiled beans.

With mushrooms

It’s clear that tasty and rich borscht can be prepared with mushrooms during Lent. For this dish you need 0.2 kg of mushrooms, beets and 0.4 kg of cabbage, three potatoes, an onion and a carrot, three liters of water, fresh tomato, herbs and spices.

After shredding the cabbage, place it in a saucepan, add diced potatoes and cover everything with water. Place on the fire and bring to a boil. Boil the whole mushrooms separately, strain the broth, and chop the boiled mushrooms themselves. Grate carrots and onions and fry in vegetable oil. Peel the beets and grate them on a fine grater, rub the peeled tomato through a sieve. Check out others delicious recipes.

Pour broth into cabbage and potatoes, add fried mushrooms, boiled mushrooms and half a beet. When the first dish comes to a boil, add salt and seasonings. At the end of cooking, add the second part of the beets and the already prepared tomato to the soup.

Lenten cookie recipes

Did you know that you can make delicious dessert cookies using any brine? During the Lenten period in winter, when fresh vegetables there are few stores in stores, packing for the winter is extremely popular, so many people still have the brine. To prepare such cookies, in addition to a liter of any brine, you also need three glasses of flour, a glass of sugar and a little baking powder, vegetable oil.

Sift the flour twice, add sugar and baking powder. Mix the brine separately with vegetable oil, then pour the mixture into the flour in a thin stream. Knead into a soft dough with your hands and leave for ten minutes, covered with a towel.

Roll out the cookie dough, cut out cookies using special shapes and place on a baking sheet, greased and sprinkled with flour. These Lenten cookies are baked for only 15 minutes at standard temperature. While still hot, sprinkle the cookies with sugar.

So, fasting during the Nativity Fast is as easy as shelling pears, the main thing is not to be lazy and show your culinary imagination, and then your menu during these 4 weeks will be nourishing and very appetizing.

Is it possible to eat fish
Fish is allowed:

November 28 - December 19: Tuesdays, Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays;
December 20 - January 1: Saturdays and Sundays;
December 4 (on the feast of the Entry of the Virgin Mary into the Temple);
December 19 (St. Nicholas Day).

Can I drink wine?
The consumption of this drink is allowed on Saturdays and Sundays, as well as on the holidays of the Entry of the Virgin Mary into the Temple and St. Nicholas.

How to prepare and smoothly enter the fast

To make dietary restrictions easier for your body to accept and not harm your well-being, you should:

prepare for fasting several weeks in advance. Animal products should be eliminated gradually so as not to cause stress in the body due to sudden starvation. The first foods to avoid: lamb, beef, pork. Then the ban should apply to milk and eggs;
the day before entering the fast, cleanse the intestines so that the mechanisms of intracellular nutrition are launched. This will also help get rid of the obsessive feeling of hunger. People who neglect bowel cleansing will find it more difficult to suppress their appetite, especially in the first 2-3 days;
before the spell, eating fatty, heavy and difficult-to-digest foods is prohibited;
enter the fast with weak restrictions that must be gradually tightened;
the reduced calorie content of food can be compensated by increasing the serving size at one time;
In the first days, you can experiment with your diet and eat more often. When the body finally gets used to new diet, you can return to your previous daily routine;
have frequent fruit and vegetable snacks between meals;
drink water instead of other drinks: juice, compote.

Rules of conduct and traditions of the Nativity Fast

The Nativity fast is not only food restrictions, but also a time when you can repent of your thoughts and actions. This means that a person must give up many familiar things:

food of animal origin - milk, butter, eggs, cheese, sour cream and partly fish;
use alcoholic drinks- they are prohibited according to the Church Charter throughout the entire period of Lent (except for wine);
idleness - excessive rest can harm both body and soul;
entertainment - visiting entertainment venues, noisy celebrations with friends, celebrating anniversaries, excessive enthusiasm for the Internet are unacceptable during Lent;
watching TV - scenes of cruelty, violence from television series and news will complicate the process of searching for the Divine principle within oneself;
travel - trips that are not related to visiting shrines or do not contain a spiritual basis are better postponed to another time;
marital relations - carnal restrictions are welcome only with the mutual consent of both spouses.

Changes should also affect the sphere of relationships with people. During the Nativity Fast, you need to become kinder and more tolerant of others, put aside all grievances and stop using obscene language.

On days of fasting, it is advisable to attend churches and services, read the Gospel, pray, read the Psalter, perform godly deeds and give alms, and receive communion.

Orthodox Church does not prohibit reading akathists during the Nativity Fast. Considering the large number of days of remembrance in the Orthodox calendar for December, doing this is not only possible, but also useful from a spiritual point of view.

What you can and cannot do during the Nativity Fast

Fasting is a period of restrictions not only in nutrition, but also in lifestyle. To achieve spiritual purification, one must abstain from everyday sins. You cannot remain angry, irritable, or allow bad thoughts, quarrel with loved ones, judge others and gossip. It is prohibited to attend entertainment events and abuse television and Internet resources. Neglecting these rules is considered a violation of fasting.

Is it possible to do handicrafts
During the Nativity Fast, it is allowed to sew, embroider with beads, knit and crochet. Restrictions on handicraft arise only when it replaces saying prayers and going to church.

Is it possible to baptize a child
You can choose any day of the Nativity Fast for christening.

Is it possible to remember the dead?
It is allowed to commemorate the deceased from November 28 to January 5. It is better to do this through prayer - in church or at home. You can also order memorial services and submit notes for the proskomedia. If there is a memorial meal during this period, her diet should be as simple and lean as possible. Relaxation of fasting requirements can only be done with the permission of a priest or personal spiritual mentor.

Is it possible to conceive a child?
By church traditions, conceiving a child during fasting is undesirable, although restrictions on intimacy can only be by mutual consent. If conception does happen, you should not torment yourself with prejudices and worry once again. Date of conception by church calendar has nothing to do with the health and development of the unborn child.

Is it possible to get married
The Sacrament of Marriage is not performed during fasting days.

Is it possible to have a wedding?
A modest version of the painting in the registry office does not go beyond the postal restrictions. A merry party with an abundance of meat and fish dishes is not welcome during the 40 days of fasting. It is believed that such a wedding promises misfortune and hardship to the newlyweds.

Is it possible to go hunting and fishing?
The Orthodox Church does not support killing animals and fishing for the sake of excitement and an interesting pastime. Therefore, it is better to avoid them during fasting.

Sayings and signs

If during the Nativity Fast the weather is extremely cloudy or snowy, then May will be quite stormy.
If there are frequent snowstorms, you should expect an early spring.
If there are frosts in the first days, then the grain harvest will be good.
If relatives quarrel during Lent, then the whole next year will be full of troubles.
The loss of something promises losses in the coming year, and any discovery promises new income.
If, at the end of the moon, you touch a dry branch with a wart, saying: “Just as during fasting the meat on a platter is empty, so that the wart is thin,” then it will dry out and fall off.

Advent fast for Catholics

Catholics have traditions of the Nativity Fast that are in many ways similar to Orthodox ones. The main difference is the dates. The Catholic Nativity Fast begins on November 15 and ends on December 24. During this period, people take on individual responsibilities that may concern various fields Everyday life: limiting visits to entertainment events, charity, reconciliation with others. Catholics do not adhere to any special dietary restrictions.

Most on strict days Lent among Catholics are the four Sundays preceding Christmas, which are called Advent. These days are dedicated to repentance and prayers. An attribute of Advent is a wreath with four candles, which is placed on the home altar.

Today is the first day of the Nativity Fast. And I would really like to endure it all. To do this, I decided to make a section marked “Diary of the Nativity Fast”, in which I will try to write out the menu for every day. I understand perfectly well that fasting without prayer is just a diet. However, in my diary I am going to cover only one side of this topic, related to abstinence in food.

Sample menu for the first 7 days of the Nativity Fast!

Menu for November 28, 2015. Lean fish, food and vegetable oil are allowed.

Breakfast:

Buckwheat porridge, beans in tomato, pickled tomatoes. Tea with kozinaki (puffed rice).

Dinner:

Cauliflower soup, radish salad (dragon heart) with sunflower oil, bread. Strawberry jelly (I prepared strawberries from the summer)

Dinner:

Boiled hake fish, sour cabbage with butter, rice. Cocoa in water with cinnamon.

During the day, sometimes I drink coffee, also with cinnamon. I eat walnuts, apples and dried fruits (if you really want a snack, crackers).

Menu as of November 29, 2015 Can be consumed lean fish, plant foods, vegetable oil.

Breakfast:

Oatmeal in water with dried fruits, nuts and poppy seeds. Black tea with lemon and oatmeal cookies.

Dinner:

Pilaf with mushrooms and corn, pickled tomatoes. Dried fruit compote, croutons (loaf dried in the oven) with berry jam or jam.

Dinner:

Baked apples with pumpkin, honey, walnuts and cinnamon. Herbal tea with lean chocolate muffin.

Menu as of November 30, 2015 Plant products no oil!

Breakfast:

Wheat porridge in water with apple, raisins, poppy seeds and honey. Cocoa in water.

Dinner:

Pea soup with croutons and garlic (no frying! Because we don’t use oil). Apple compote with lemon and cinnamon.

Dinner:

Boiled rice and baked apples. Green tea with a slice of orange.

Menu for 1.12. 2015 You can eat vegetable with the addition of vegetable oil.

Breakfast:

Oatmeal with dried fruits, orange and honey. Lenten bun and black tea with ginger and lemon.

Dinner:

Dumplings with potatoes and mushrooms + fried onions. Beet salad with walnuts and butter. Berry jelly.

Dinner:

Lenten manna with orange zest. Mint tea with honey. Apples, oranges.

Menu for December 2, 2015 Plant food with vegetable oil!

Breakfast:

Rice with raisins, nuts (any) and honey. 2 toasts with jam and black tea with lemon.

Dinner:

Millet soup kulesh, lean dumplings. Salad with fresh cabbage, carrots and lemon juice. Blackcurrant jelly.

Dinner:

Lenten pancakes on water with honey. Compote of apples and pears.

Menu for December 3, 2015 Plant foods and vegetable oil are allowed!

Breakfast:

Lenten pancakes with apple. Black tea with lemon and ginger. Dried fruits. Seeds.

Dinner:

Stuffed cabbage rolls with rice and mushrooms in tomato. Berry jelly and a lean bun with poppy seeds without eggs.

Dinner:

Spaghetti with mushrooms, garlic, herbs, olives and spices. Lean poppy seed bun and dried fruit compote.

Menu for 4.12. 2015 Plant food with vegetable oil .

Breakfast:

Oatmeal in a pot on water with cherries, nuts and honey.

Dinner:

Light vegetable soup. Braised cabbage with mushrooms. Berry compote with cookies.

Dinner:

Country baked potatoes with skins (with spices and garlic). Beetroot salad with walnuts. Canned pineapple or fresh. Herbal tea with marmalade.

If you are interested in any particular dishes, I will be happy to share the recipe for any of them! Write in the comments!

Making a menu for myself, looked into orthodox calendar. Focused solely on my taste. If it is useful to someone, I will be very glad. I would like to point out that I am not a nutritionist!

Nutrition calendar by day for the Nativity Fast 2015 - 2016

December 4, Friday, Entry into the Temple of Our Most Holy Lady Theotokos and Ever-Virgin Mary - Food with vegetable oil.

Post and New Year. It is better for Orthodox Christians not to break fast on New Year's Day, but they should not condemn family and friends who do not fast. Place it on New Year's table both lenten and fast dishes, in order to maintain peace in the family and not turn household members away from the faith with their condemnation - the priests advise.

January 6, Wednesday, Christmas Eve - Monastic charter: dry eating (bread, vegetables, fruits).

The Nativity Fast is not as strict as the Great Lent; it even has days of “relaxation” when it is allowed to cook fish dishes. Throughout Lent, dairy products, meat, and eggs are strictly prohibited. It is allowed to eat vegetables and fruits, other products of plant origin, cereals, legumes, nuts, and honey. Children and pregnant women are allowed to make small concessions during fasting if this is necessary for health.

On a note!

The Nativity fast is also called the Lenten fast because it lasts 40 days.

Meals by day

For convenience, to make it easier to understand on which days which foods are allowed, we made table 1. Table 1 lists the days of fasting, and another column provides a list of foods allowed for consumption on a given day.

Table 1 Meals by day during the Nativity Fast

	Authorized Products
28.11-29.11	Fish, vegetables, fruits, cereals without adding oil
30.11
1.12-2.12	Porridge with butter, mushrooms, vegetables
3.12-4.12
5.12
6.12	Fish cutlets and other fish dishes, porridge, nuts, vegetables
7.12	Vegetables, fruits, porridge without oil
8.12-9.12
10.12-11.12	Fish, vegetables, fresh fruit
12.12
13.12	Fish, vegetables, fresh fruit
14.12	Vegetable soups, steamed vegetables without oil
15.12	Plant foods with added oil
16.12	Vegetables, fruits, porridge without oil
17.12-18.12	Fish, vegetables, fresh fruit
19.12-20.12	Fish dishes, vegetables with added oil
21.12	Only products of plant origin
22.12	Porridge with butter, mushrooms, vegetables
23.12	Vegetable soups, steamed vegetables without oil
24.12-25.12	Fish dishes, vegetables
26.12-29.12	Vegetables, dishes with added oil
30.12	Plant food without oil
31.12	Fish, legumes, cereals, nuts, fruits
1.01	Dishes without oil, porridge
2.01	Only dried fruits, nuts
3.01	Baked vegetables, fruits, porridge without adding oil
4.01	Dried fruits, nuts
5.01	Vegetable soups, steamed vegetables without oil
6.01	Only dried fruits, nuts

Dishes can be varied, choose those products that you and your family members love the most. Add berries, dried fruits and fruits to your porridge. Sugar can be replaced with honey, for example, it will be even tastier. Vegetables and fish can be steamed or baked in the oven in foil. Use your imagination and start creating culinary masterpieces, but remember that they should be lean, follow your diet according to the days of the week.

Lenten porridge recipes

Every morning traditionally begins with porridge. You can cook porridge for lunch or dinner, it will be satisfying. Remember that milk should not be added under any circumstances, and butter is allowed only of vegetable origin and only on days of relaxation.

Millet porridge with prunes

Take soft pitted prunes. If there are still seeds in it, cut the dried fruit in half and remove it. The recipe is for 2 servings.

200-220 g millet;
100-120 g prunes;
water – 2 glasses.

How to cook:

Rinse the millet in water first. Place the washed cereal in a saucepan, add water and cook until tender for 13-15 minutes.

Discard the remaining hot water. Chop the prunes into cubes and add to the porridge. Close the lid so that the dish is saturated with the aroma of dried fruits. Pour the porridge into plates and have breakfast.

If the prunes are too hard, soak them for 5 minutes in hot water, it will noticeably soften.

Pea porridge with added vegetables

This porridge can be served as a side dish with fish or as an independent dish on fish-free days. Take spices for cooking, then the dish will turn out aromatic.

150-200 g peas;
350-400 ml water;
medium-sized carrots;
half an onion;
2 tbsp. oils

How to cook:

Place the peas in a deep cup and cover with water for 5-6 hours. Then rinse the cereal, place it in a saucepan, add clean water and place on the stove. Cook the porridge for 40-50 minutes, add a little salt.

Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan, cut the onion and carrots into cubes. Place the vegetable mixture in a frying pan and fry for 5-7 minutes until golden brown. Add vegetable mixture to pea porridge, stir. Cover the pan with a lid; you can add coriander, thyme and fresh herbs to the peas if desired.

Hercules porridge with nuts

Hearty porridge can be supplemented with walnuts. Add a fresh sweet and sour apple for variety, it will turn out delicious. The recipe is for 2 servings.

a glass of oatmeal;
400-500 ml of water;
a handful of walnuts;
salt and sugar to taste.

How to cook:

Pour water into the pan and wait until it boils. Throw the flakes into boiling water, reduce the heat, cook for 12-15 minutes, stir.

Add granulated sugar and salt, and at the end of cooking, add nuts to the porridge. Remove the pan from the stove but keep the lid closed. You can try the porridge after 15-20 minutes.

Soups for the Nativity Fast

For those who cannot imagine their lunch or dinner without soup, we have selected delicious and simple recipes first courses. You can cook a large pot of soup so that it will last for several days.

Pickle recipe with cauliflower

Originally Russian soup can be served as a Lenten soup; it is not necessary to cook it in meat broth. The soup turns out light, but satisfying due to the grains. The recipe is designed for a small saucepan with a volume of 2.5-3 liters.

120-130 g pearl barley;
3 potato tubers;
150-200 g cauliflower;
a jar of pitted olives;
bay leaves - 2-3 pcs.;
a pinch of cloves;
a bunch of greenery.

How to cook:

Fill the pearl barley with water in advance and leave it like that for an hour. Then drain the water and rinse the cereal. Pour 1.8-2 liters of water into the pan and let it boil. After boiling, transfer the cereal to a saucepan, reduce the heat, and cook for about half an hour.

Cut the potatoes and carrots into cubes. Cauliflower divide into inflorescences. Place vegetables in the pan, add salt to the broth, and add seasonings. Cook for another 10 minutes.

Before the end of cooking, add olives to the soup, stir everything well, then turn off the heat.

Let the dish sit for at least 15-20 minutes, crumble the greens into the soup before serving.

You can add canned or dried beans to the pickle.

Chickpea and vegetable soup

Chickpeas are the name given to peas that grow in Turkey. It resembles ours, but is healthier. Try making lean soup - it will work great option for lunch.

100-130 g dried chickpeas;
small zucchini;
2 liters of water;
carrots – 1 pc.;
onion - 1 pc.;
10-15 g tomato paste;
vegetable oil -2 tbsp;
spices, salt to taste.

How to cook:

Immerse the chickpeas in water in advance; they should swell. This usually takes 4 hours. The water needs to be changed at least 2-3 times. Place the peas in a saucepan, add 2 liters of water, and put on fire. Cook until almost done for 40 minutes.

Remove the skin from the onion and scald with boiling water to remove the bitterness. Cut the onion into small cubes. Grate the peeled carrots. Cut the young zucchini into small cubes; you don’t have to remove the skin.

Pour a little oil into the frying pan, put the onions and carrots there. Fry the contents for 5-7 minutes, then add the zucchini. Fry for another 3-4 minutes, then add tomato paste.

When the peas in the broth become soft, add potatoes and the prepared vegetable mixture to the soup, stir, do not forget to add seasonings and salt. Cook the soup for another 5-6 minutes, then turn off the heat.

Garnish with fresh herbs before serving.

Carrot soup with rice

To add variety to the Lenten menu, we suggest you cook a simple carrot and rice soup. The color of the dish turns out beautiful, it immediately awakens the appetite. The amount of ingredients is calculated for 1.5 liters of water.

3 large carrots;
onion head;
3 tbsp. round rice;
tbsp oils;
seasoning mixture, salt to taste.

How to cook:

Remove the skin from the carrots and cut it into slices. Peel the onion and chop with a knife. Pour water into the pan and wait until it boils. Place the carrots in the pan for 5 minutes to soften them, then remove the carrots using a slotted spoon.

Pour oil into the frying pan, add onions and carrots, and add salt. Fry for another 5-6 minutes. Transfer the contents of the frying pan to the pan, cook for another 20-25 minutes. First fill the rice with water so that it swells. Place the cereal in the pan with the vegetables and continue cooking for another 15 minutes.

Using an immersion blender, puree until smooth.

The dish is ready, garnish the soup with fresh parsley and season with spices.

Second courses

There are so many options for preparing main dishes for a Lenten menu that it is impossible to count them. We have selected the most delicious recipes that you will definitely like. Perhaps you will use them without fasting, but simply in everyday life.

Rice with vegetables in pots

If you have clay pots at home, that's great. Take them out because the recipe will call for them. If there are no pots, no problem, make rice in a cauldron or in a regular saucepan.

a glass of rice;
half a sweet pepper;
a small head of cabbage weighing 300 g;
2 onions;
100 g green beans;
carrot – 1 pc.;
a bunch of fresh herbs;
a mixture of spices (khmeli-suneli, paprika, bay leaf, black pepper);
oil for sautéing.

How to cook

Shred the cabbage with a knife and chop the pepper into strips. Peel the onion and chop into cubes. Heat oil in a frying pan, add onion to it.

Cut the carrots into circles, add them to the onions, continue sautéing the vegetable mixture for another 4-5 minutes.

Take a clean pot and place the roasted vegetables on the bottom. Wash the rice, put it in a pot, cover the rice with a layer of bell pepper and cabbage. Put green beans, and then sprinkle the dish with spices and salt.

Add water to the contents of the pot, stir and cover the top of the pot with foil or a lid. Place the pot in the oven for 40 minutes.

You can serve the finished rice with vegetables directly in the pot or transfer it to a plate. Be sure to sprinkle the dish with fresh finely chopped herbs for decoration.

If you can’t find fresh herbs, take dried ones, they are also fragrant.

Bean meatballs recipe

Did you know that meatballs can be made not only from minced meat, but, for example, from beans? Be sure to prepare this for your second meal tasty dish, it will be appreciated by all members of your family. The dish is ideal for a Lenten menu, since it contains only permitted products.

beans – 170-200 g;
4 medium-sized onions;
3 tbsp. vegetable oil;
large carrot;
2-3 garlic cloves;
2 tbsp. tomato paste;
2 tbsp. flour;
80-100 ml of water;
salt, spices to taste.

How to cook:

First fill the beans with water for 5-6 hours; you can leave them in water overnight. Chop the onion into small cubes and fry in a frying pan with butter until golden brown. Place the legumes in a blender cup, add the fried onions with spices and turn on the grinding function. When the contents turn into a homogeneous paste, roll the mixture into meatballs, place them on a plate and put them in the refrigerator so that they take shape.

Peel the carrots and grate them. Peel the garlic cloves and pass through a press. Pour oil into a frying pan, add carrots and garlic and add tomato paste. If the mixture turns out thick, add water.

Dredge the meatballs in flour and place in the simmering sauce. Cover the contents of the pan with a lid and cook over low heat for at least 20-25 minutes.

As a side dish for meatballs, boil rice or bake potato wedges in the oven. Bon appetit!

Cabbage with mushrooms

If you like mushrooms, then stew them with vegetables, for example, with white cabbage. The recipe specifies dried white ones, but absolutely any mushrooms will do, be it boletus, champignons, chanterelles or honey mushrooms. You can take both frozen and fresh mushrooms.

450-500 g cabbage head;
dried mushrooms -50 g;
2 onions;
tbsp flour.

How to cook:

Shred the cabbage into a deep bowl. Dried mushrooms put in boiling water for a few minutes, then remove and cut into medium pieces. Do not drain the mushroom broth.

Transfer part of the mushroom broth to a casserole, or to a deep frying pan. Finely chop the onion and add to the frying pan. Simmer the onion for 4-5 minutes in the broth, then add the cabbage to it, cover the pan with a lid, and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Make béchamel sauce from the remaining mushroom broth. Bring the broth to a boil, sprinkle flour into it in a thin stream, stir constantly with a whisk. Season with spices, add salt and cook the sauce until thickened.

Place the stewed cabbage on a plate and pour bechamel sauce on top. Bon appetit!

Monastery-style beans recipe

Legumes are great for those who like options hearty dinner or lunch. The feeling of hunger disappears immediately and does not reappear for a long time. Beans can be taken either red or white.

1.5 cups beans;
onion head;
a bunch of greenery;
universal seasoning mixture, salt.

How to cook:

First, sort the beans, rinse well and soak for a couple of hours in cool water. Place the prepared beans in a saucepan, add 500 ml of water, and place the saucepan on the stove. Cook the beans until they are soft.

Peel the onion and chop with a knife. Wash the greens, dry them on a towel, and chop finely.

When the beans are almost ready, add the onion and seasoning mixture, and add salt. Pour the chopped herbs into the pan, turn off the heat and cover the contents with a lid. You can try the dish 15-20 minutes after cooking.

On a note!

If oil is allowed on the day of cooking, then add a little of it to the beans, it will be tastier.

Bakery

After the main course you always want something sweet for tea. Cakes and pastries are prohibited, but don’t worry. There are many Lenten desserts, choose the one you like best and start cooking.

Chocolate Cake Recipe

The dough does not contain eggs, milk or butter, but the dessert turns out delicious. It takes no more than half an hour to prepare, and the cupcake is eaten in a couple of minutes, before you have time to blink an eye.

250-300 g flour;
a glass of sugar;
6 tbsp. cocoa powder;
1.5 tsp. baking powder;
tsp vanilla sugar;
5 tbsp. vegetable oil;
tsp powdered sugar for sprinkling.

How to cook:

Sift the flour into a cup, add granulated sugar and vanilla sugar, and then baking powder with cocoa. Stir the contents with a spoon.

In a separate bowl, dilute a glass of water with the specified amount of oil. Add liquid to flour, stir until smooth. Pour the dough into a baking dish that has been previously greased with oil.

Preheat the oven to 180 degrees, place the cake pan in it and bake for 35-40 minutes. Assess the readiness of the cake by piercing the dough in several places with a toothpick. If there are no traces of dough, then the cake is ready.

Remove the cake from the mold, place on a plate, and sprinkle with powdered sugar. Enjoy your tea!

On a note!

You can add candied fruits or nuts to the cake by first mixing them into the raw dough.

Berry muffins recipe

Do you want to surprise your household, but not break the rules of the Nativity Fast? Then take note of this simple recipe for making muffins. You will need a glass of blackcurrant, but you can use any berry you want.

a glass of black tea;
100-120 g granulated sugar;
350-400 g flour;
a pinch of vanillin;
tbsp cocoa powder;
½ tsp. soda;
80-100 ml oil;
200 g black currants.

How to cook:

Take a deep bowl and pour warm tea into it. Add granulated sugar to the tea, stir until completely dissolved.

Sift the flour into a separate cup, add vanillin, moda and add vegetable oil. Add sweet tea at the end, stir everything until smooth. The dough should look like sour cream.

Sort out the blackcurrants, rinse under water, add the berries to the dough, and stir. Take muffin tins and spoon the batter into them.

Place the molds in the oven, bake at 180 degrees for 35-40 minutes. Dust the tops of the muffins with powder and garnish with fresh berries.

Fish day ideas

On days when you are allowed to eat fish, you can allow yourself to relax a little. The fish can be red or white, depending on which one you like best; in the selection of recipes we suggest you take trout, grass carp and pollock.

Trout fish soup

Trout is a very delicate fish, and the dishes made from it are amazing, especially the soup. This stew is easy to prepare, the list of ingredients is small, use spices as desired.

small trout;
8-10 dried dogwood berries;
3 potatoes;
2-3 black peppercorns;
a couple of cilantro sprigs;
green onion feathers.

How to cook:

Clean the fish from scales, remove the gills from the head, gut it and cut into small pieces. Cut the dogwood into several pieces, and cut the potato tubers into cubes.

Pour 1-1.5 liters of water into the pan, bring it to a boil and add the potatoes. After 5 minutes, add pepper, dogwood, trout pieces and add salt. Cook the soup for 7-10 minutes. When the soup is ready, cover it and leave it on the stove. Ladle the dish into bowls and sprinkle with chopped cilantro and onion.

Baked fish

Fish baked with spices in the oven can be a wonderful family dinner for a fasting family. Take white fish, the recipe specifies grass carp, but mackerel, greenling and other species are suitable.

4-5 grass carp steaks;
spice mixture;
salt;
2-3 tbsp. oils

How to cook:

Cut the fish into pieces 3-4 cm thick. Do not make the pieces too thin, otherwise the meat will be dry. Rub the fish pieces with spices and salt. To make the meat more tender, leave it to marinate for 20-30 minutes.

Grease a baking sheet with vegetable oil. Place pieces of fish on it, grease them with a small amount of oil. Bake the fish at a temperature of 180-200 degrees for 15-20 minutes.

Boil as a side dish for the main dish White rice or steam the potatoes. Sprinkle the steak with herbs.

On a note!

If consuming oil is prohibited, you can bake the fish in foil.

Baked trout

Trout meat melts in your mouth itself, you don’t even need to chew it. The fish turns out especially tasty in the oven. Take aluminum foil for cooking, then the fish will languish in its own juice.

250-300 g trout;
half a lemon;
olive oil for greasing;
lemon pepper, salt to taste.

How to cook:

Cut the fish into portions, remove the bones from the meat. If the fish was frozen, wait until the meat has completely thawed and then start cooking.

Sprinkle trout pieces with spices and salt, brush olive oil. Squeeze onto meat lemon juice. Place the pieces on a plate and leave them for 15-20 minutes. The meat should be well marinated.

Place a sheet of foil on a baking sheet and place the fish pieces on it. Place lemon slices on top of the fish. Wrap the pieces in foil. Place the baking sheet in the oven for 20 minutes, set the temperature to 180-200 degrees.

You can serve the trout as soon as you take it out of the oven. Make a vegetable salad as a side dish. Bon appetit!

Pollock under marinade

My favorite dish since childhood is marinated pollock. The easy-to-prepare dish is loved by adults and children, and it is perfect for a Lenten menu, as it does not contain prohibited foods.

250-300 g pollock;
large carrot;
medium bulb;
tbsp tomato paste;
200 ml water;
peppercorns – 2-3 pcs.;
black pepper, salt;
oil for frying.

How to cook:

Clean the pollock from scales, gut it, remove the entrails and fins. Cut the fish into small pieces.

Peel the skins of the onions and carrots. Grate the carrots on a coarse grater and chop the onion with a knife. Heat oil in a frying pan, add onions and carrots, fry for 5-6 minutes. Don't forget to stir so the vegetable mixture doesn't burn.