Great post: what can you do that you can not. What you can eat in Lent

Easter is a great Christian holiday, which unites all the historic churches and a large part of the Protestant denominations. In order that believers can prepare for it, they observe a fast, called the Great. This process of spiritual purification, among other things, involves refusal and restriction in the use of certain types of food. Even in the years of God-fighting in our country there were people who blessed the rules prescribed by the believing Orthodox Church, and today millions of believers observe Lent. What can, what can not be eaten, and what should be the menu in preparation for Easter, will be described below.

A bit of history

An example of rejection of all earthly joys, including eating food, was shown to his flock by Jesus Christ himself, who after his baptism by John the Baptist retired for 40 days in the desert. The first Christians turned this into a tradition and during the year they observed only one fast before Easter. During this period they had to eat only bread and water, giving up wine, sweet and nutritious, and also spending days in prayers and giving alms. The first followers of Christ and the fathers of the church also defined the rules of how to organize Lent, what can be done, what not, etc. They are guided to this day.

Fasting and diet

Today you can often hear from colleagues, friends or acquaintances that they are going to fast to lose weight. Especially often such thoughts are expressed by young girls and women. The Church considers this approach to be a sin, and people who consider this forty-day feat of abstinence as a certain diet, calls attention to its essence. After all, in the Great, like any other fasting, the most important is the spiritual side. Thus, the rejection of certain types of food is only intended to contribute to the sincere repentance of a Christian. But the question of what you can eat in fasting (Lent) can not be considered secondary, and it should be understood.

Kinds

According to the Orthodox tradition, the fastest are the fastest fasting of monks and clergymen, for whom several types of fast are provided:

• "With the fish", when you can eat vegetable food, seasoned with vegetable oil in any cooking, as well as fish and fish products;
• "With the welding with oil", involving the inclusion in the menu, including, hot vegetable food, dressed or cooked in vegetable oil;
• "With the welding" when using hot dishes made from ingredients of exclusively vegetable origin without oil;
• "The strictest fast", suggesting fasting, when a believer can only drink cold water;
• "With dryness": you can only eat non-boiled vegetarian food in a cold form without adding oil and drink unheated drink.

In addition, what can and can not be eaten in fasting, the monastic charter regulates the number of meals. In particular, it is allowed to eat food only once a day, after vespers.

The rules of the meal (for food) for the laity

In recent decades, the Orthodox Church has been carrying out extensive educational work in order to explain to believers the rules that their ancestors have followed for millennia. Such an educational program is really necessary, since many do not even know elementary things. For example, during public conversations with pastors, one often hears the question: "What can and can not be eaten in Lent?" As for the monastic brethren, and for laymen, different degrees of severity of abstinence from food are assumed on different days of the week. In addition, during the fast, there are several holidays, when certain indulgences are made.

Great Lent Menu: what you can eat, and what not on the days of the week

The fastest abstinence is prescribed to be observed on Net Monday (the first day) and on Good Friday, when believers should generally give up food and consume only cold water.

Asked what you can eat in fasting (Lent), you can answer this: "Much depends on what day of the week we are talking about." For example, on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, during the 40 days preceding Easter, the Orthodox are required to adhere to dry eating. In other words, they should only eat dishes from vegetable ingredients that have not been heat treated. And the number of meals should be reduced to one, which takes place at night.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays it is allowed to eat boiled food, but it should not be dressed even with vegetable oil. As for what can and can not be eaten on Saturday and Sunday, these are the most "satisfying" days when it is allowed to eat hot dishes cooked in vegetable oil. In addition, during the spiritual purification on the eve of Easter, the Annunciation Day is celebrated, as well as Palm Sunday, in honor of which believers can include fish in their menu.

It should be noted that during all 40 days of Great Lent, it is strictly forbidden to eat meat, any dairy products and eggs. Also, you should give up baking, chocolate and, of course, alcohol.

Who can not fast?

The Church makes an exception and does not require fasting by all those Orthodox, whose abstinence from food can lead to health problems. In particular, fasting, including the Great one, should not be obeyed by the sick, as well as small children, pregnant women and nursing mothers. The exception is also the elderly, people with weakened immunity, those who are engaged in heavy physical labor, traveling and prisoners in prisons. If, nevertheless, the desire to fast is very strong, then they should talk with the priest to receive his blessing and find out with what indulgences they are better off doing it.

Lent: menu (what you can and can not eat), examples of dishes

Orthodox hostesses, especially the young, often find themselves in difficulty, how to feed the household, observing all the prescribed rules. If you look at the list of products that are not included in the number of banned items, then it turns out that making the right menu is not so difficult. For example, from what you can eat in Lent, the main emphasis can be made on cereals, nuts, vegetables and fruits. And the church does not prohibit the use of all kinds of pickled fruits and vegetables and pickles. In addition, juices and jams are allowed, which can easily replace sweets and desserts. Add to this fresh and frozen fruits, vegetables and mushrooms, and it turns out that you have quite a good selection of products. By the way, it is not necessary to limit ourselves only to traditional Russian dishes, as Serbs, Bulgarians, Orthodox Arabs, Georgians, who in the national kitchens have a lot of interesting, lean dishes, also honor the canons.

What to cook

These days there is a great Lent. What can you not eat, you already know, and now is the time to learn how to prepare several dishes that will help not to hurt your health and at the same time observe all the rules.

So, the basis of the menu is to make salads from cooked or only raw foods, dressed or not filled with oil, depending on the day of the week for which it is cooked. Also it will include soups that can be consumed on days when it is allowed to eat cooked food. By the way, despite the fact that baking in fasting days is forbidden, it concerns only those rolls, dumplings and cookies, the dough for which is kneaded on eggs, sour cream, butter, cottage cheese, yoghurt or other milk products. Do you think that without all this you can not bake anything? However, recipes will be presented later that will change your idea of what you can and can not eat in Lent, without violating the rules of abstinence.

Lenten soups

Celery-carrot

2 stalks of celery, 400 g carrots, half a bow, cut into pieces, put the pan, pour two glasses of water and cook until the carrots are ready. Beat the soup in a blender, add salt, pepper, add ½ tsp. Nutmeg and the same amount of honey. Pour the contents of the blender into a saucepan and cook for 2 more minutes (no more). Sprinkle with parsley and basil before serving.

Soup with eggplants

One eggplant is cut off the stalk and baked in the oven. Peel it from the peel and chop it. Half an onion and 1 clove of garlic are finely chopped and sauteed in lean oil. Poured into a pan 1/2 st. L. Tomato paste diluted in 1 tbsp. Water, add onions and garlic together with butter, put chopped eggplants, salt, pepper and cook for about 10 minutes. Before serving sprinkle with herbs.

"Monastic"

It will take : ½ st. Mineral water (carbonated), ½ st. Vegetable oil, half a jar of jam (better pear) and flour in an amount sufficient to make it easy to roll out dough.

Preparation : Pieces of fruit are removed from the jam and allow the liquid to drain. Of all other ingredients, knead the dough. Roll it out, cut it out with a glass or a circle shape. Each wrapped in a tube, putting one piece of pear one by one. Spread out on a greased baking sheet and bake in a warmed-up oven for a quarter of an hour.

Cookies "Lean"

Take 6 tbsp. Flour, 2 tbsp. Starch, 1 tbsp. Vegetable oil, as much water, 1 tsp. Soda, citric acid on the tip of the knife and 2 cups of sugar.

Preparation : Soda is quenched with a solution of citric acid. Flour and starch are ground with vegetable oil. Enter the slaked soda. Add the sugar dissolved in water. Mix not very steep dough. Roll out, cut out with the help of molds figures and bake until ready.

Note that the power is considered in the post (which can and can not be eaten, described above). During this period, although sweet drinking is allowed, but it is not recommended to abuse them. Therefore, do not overeat even if lean, but sweet cookies.

Salads

The first thing that is recommended for those who do not know what you can eat in Lent, to prepare a salad, for example, from champignons with walnuts. To do this, the kernels of the nuts are fried in a heated frying pan without oil. Wash and finely chop the sprigs of tarragon and onion scoop. Olive oil is mixed with salt, pepper and vinegar. Salad frize tear to pieces. Mix all ingredients with canned champignons and season with a mixture of oil, vinegar and spices.

Now you know what value food has in Lent. What can, what can not and what to cook, you also know, so you can properly prepare for the Great Feast of the Bright Sunday.