The traditions of Orthodox fasting prescribe a moderate consumption of food and the rejection of non-meat products - animal products (meat, milk, eggs, etc.). At first glance, the lean menu is very limited, but in fact there are many permitted products from which you can prepare delicious dishes.
The Orthodox Church established 4 multi-day fasting during the year: Great, preceding Holy Easter, Petrov, starting a week after Trinity and ending on July 12 - on the day of the commemoration of the Apostles Peter Paul, Assumption, lasting from August 14 to 27, and Rozhdestvensky - from 28 November to January 7. There are also 3 one-day fasting: January 18 (Epiphany Christmas Eve), September 11 (Beheading of John the Baptist) and September 27 (Exaltation of the Cross of the Lord). In addition, Wednesday and Friday are fast days throughout the year.
Fasts differ from each other in severity. On Great and Dormition Lent on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, dry eating is prescribed - simple foods that do not require cooking (bread, water, fruits, vegetables), hot food is allowed on Tuesday and Thursday, and hot food with vegetable oil and some wine. On Petrov and Christmas Lent on Monday you can eat hot dishes without oil (oil), on Tuesday and Thursday - with oil, and on Saturday and Sunday fish and seafood are additionally allowed.
Dry food is provided on Wednesday and Friday throughout the year. Laxation of fasting is allowed on church holidays (Meeting of the Lord, Annunciation, Nativity of the Virgin, etc.). To understand what food is allowed to be taken during church fasts, you can use Orthodox calendars, where notes are made on the degree of severity of fasting for every day.
Despite the ban on the use of meat, eggs, milk, butter and other animal products during the fast, you can prepare a variety of hearty dishes from vegetables, fruits, cereals, mushrooms, flour, etc. In particular, vegetable salads seasoned with vegetable oil, lemon juice or vinegar, pates or caviar from courgettes, eggplants, beets, mushrooms, beans are suitable as appetizers for the dining table.
For the first, you can serve lean cabbage soup from fresh or sauerkraut, sorrel, nettle, borscht, soups with potatoes, cereals, vegetables, legumes, noodles, dumplings from flour or semolina, pickle, mushroom soup, vegetable okroshka, beetroot soup. By combining different products with each other, you can surprise your loved ones with new delicious soups every day.
The assortment of second courses made from lean products is very wide. These are potatoes in all types (boiled, stewed, deep-fried and without, stuffed, mashed potatoes, potato cutlets, zrazy, rolls, pancakes, etc.), and cabbage of all varieties, steamed, in batter, in breadcrumbs, as well as cabbage rolls, peppers, tomatoes, zucchini, eggplant stuffed with vegetables, beans and peas, mushrooms, vegetable or fruit pilaf. You can also cook lean dumplings, dumplings, manti, pasta or noodles - it all depends on the hostess's imagination.
Porridge occupies a special place in lean cuisine. They are prepared from all types of cereals and can be not only an independent dish, but also the basis for second courses and desserts: meatballs, cutlets, zraz, casseroles, puddings, rolls, etc.
During the fast, baking is quite appropriate, the main thing is to knead the dough without eggs, milk and butter. Yeast, puff, shortbread, noodle and pancake doughs can be made even without short food. There are a great variety of fillings for pies, pies and pies: cabbage, mushrooms, rhubarb, sorrel, fresh, dried and frozen fruits and berries, nuts, cereals - everything that your imagination allows.
However, one should not forget that the main purpose of fasting is not to exclude animal products, but to abstain from tasty and plentiful food, which is necessary for the humility of the flesh and cleansing from sins. We need to pay more attention to prayer and repentance, without which fasting becomes a normal diet.
