Tuesday, March 12

Preparing for Great Lent: Lenten Meals...


Orthodox Christians abstain from different foods during fasting periods. Though I have been Orthodox for most of my life (my parents converted when I was three), I still find it hard to plan, shop for, and cook fasting meals. Here is the general dinner rotation for this Great Lent:

Sunday: Seafood
Monday: Soup
Tuesday: Mexican
Wednesday: Soup and Sandwiches
Thursday: Veggie Burgers
Friday: Salad
Saturday: Pasta

I know that there will be overlap (pasta salad, anyone?), but I am hoping that this will help motivate me in the kitchen. I will also be making bread each day (Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day) and keeping vegetables, fruits, fresh banana or pumpkin bread, hummus/babaganoush, pretzels, popcorn, and nuts around. 


Our children will not be fasting from dairy like Father John and I do, so I will be stocking things that they will eat for breakfast and lunch:  homemade muffins, eggs (for hardboiled and fried), yogurt, cheese, tasty crackers, dip for veggies, bread and sliced cheese to make grilled cheese or mini pizzas, quesadilla fixings etc.

We will also be resuming our weekly trips to the Farmer's Market in our town this Friday.  As Spring comes, the offerings will be more abundant and will make fasting a bit easier.  I also take occasional trips to a gourmet market nearby and purchase calamata olives and other fancier things that we can't buy at our regular store. 

What is your fasting plan?

12 comments:

Jane G Meyer said...

Your plan sounds like one that will get you to the end! So many times we get too excited and then end up stumbling our way through...

My husband loves to cook, so Lent for us is a time of simplifying everything. Basic soups and bread. Fish when we can, lots of veggies and nuts, etc... I can't ingest soy, so we don't do any of the substituting of meat products, and we will allow dairy as well for the little one, and sneak him a bit of roasted chicken or red meat from time to time. If I start to lose weight, because I am slim, I may get a blessing to have an egg from time to time... My hope is that my focus will be more on prayer, and reading than food. And I'll be giving away bread!!! Look forward to that...

monica said...

Thank you for this post. Meal planning for lent is always so burdensome for me. I am not a big cook anyway, so it just adds more to a task I already avoid. This year I am pregnant, so I will be having dairy and some meat protein too. I love the "theme" for each night so you can do a variety of meals with some planning. I wonder if anyone has good lenten freezer meals.

And yes, fresh bread is a blessed thing during the fast.

Michelle M. said...

We follow this same idea with our children and when I am nursing and/or pregnant. I have always struggled finding good Lenten meals when so many online contain soy ingredients and substitutes for meat. Embracing the food guidelines for Lent means I have a completely different mindset for food. My husband is not a big fan of soups, but he is learning. We now have a Vitamix and plan to use that A LOT this Lent: smoothies for breakfast, soups, hummus, and other sauces for main dishes.
The kids continue to eat dairy and chicken/meat here and there when I think they need a little more protein (they hate beans, which is frustrating, but I keep having them eat a little). We do not eat a lot of bread, but maybe if I started making more at home, we would.

Emily said...

I have a very similiar plan! I have one meal for each night of the week and I am just going to rotate. Keep it Simple!

Bluecanopy said...

Love this....looks similar to ours. Blessed Lent :)

Anna said...

ours will be a bit more relaxed this year than in the past, but looking to keep it simple. Keep us posted on how Artisan Bread goes - I have tried it a few times, never had good loaves turn out so I went back to regular bread baking. Keep meaning to give it another go -

Anna said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anna said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anna said...

ours will be a bit more relaxed this year than in the past, but looking to keep it simple. Keep us posted on how Artisan Bread goes - I have tried it a few times, never had good loaves turn out so I went back to regular bread baking. Keep meaning to give it another go -

Anna said...

ok, not sure why that posted 3 times!

Melinda said...

This is our second Lent. Last year was our first and I made the mistake of making things very complicated. =) I poured over cookbooks, determined to make delicious vegan meals. Needless to say, I tired out pretty quickly. I also focused too much on food!
This year is going to be very simple. Soups, stews, salads, smoothies. And pbjs! Thanks for your weekly meal guideline, I might try something like that.

MamaBirdEmma said...

Thank you so much for sharing your plans, Ladies! I find it fascinating to read about what other people are doing!

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