Daily meal calendar for laymen in Lent 2020

2024 Author: James Gerald | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 14:00

Great Lent 2020 for every Orthodox Christian is a special path that leads him to Christ's Resurrection. On the days of fasting, you must adhere to strict rules of lifestyle and food intake. And the daily food calendar for the laity will help to comply with such rules.

Rules and traditions of Great Lent

Some Christians perceive fasting as a diet, but this is wrong, because Great Lent is necessary for every believer for his spiritual cleansing. Therefore, every Orthodox Christian should know not only what products are prohibited, but also the traditions of fasting.

1. The first and last weeks of Lent are the most severe.
2. You can eat food only in the evening, and on Saturday and Sunday it is forbidden to eat only in the morning.
3. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, only raw food is allowed without oil and cooking. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, you can eat hot food, but no oil.
4. On Saturday and Sunday, you can cook food on fire with oil and even drink some wine, except on the last Saturday.
5. On Good Friday, food should be avoided for the whole day.

All of the listed traditions and rules refer to the monastery charter. For the laity, the church for Great Lent 2020 draws up a different daily food calendar so that they can choose the right diet and thereby not harm their health. Below is a table with nutritional guidelines.

And if an Orthodox Christian is confident in his health, then he can follow the charter of Orthodox monasteries. And if not, then it is better to ask the clergyman for advice on how you can soften the fast.

Dos and Don'ts in Lent

The daily food calendar for laymen will help to correctly understand what can and cannot be eaten during Great Lent 2020. So, the following foods fall under the ban:

• meat and its derivatives (ham, sausages, etc.);
• dairy products, including cheese, yogurt, kefir, cottage cheese and butter;
• eggs;
• fatty pastry;
• coffee;
• alcohol.

Also, during Lent, you cannot eat food that is too sweet or too spicy or salty. This is also considered overkill. But, despite the strictness of the post, the list of permitted products is quite wide and includes:

• vegetables - fresh, salted, pickled, boiled, pickled;
• any cereals;
• legumes;
• mushrooms - fresh, dried, pickled, salted;
• fresh berries and fruits;
• jam;
• dried fruits;
• rye, cereal, black bread;
• nuts;
• honey;
• vegetable oils;
• tea, juices, compotes, jelly.

On permitted days, you can eat stewed, baked or boiled fish. You can also eat seafood, but don't buy expensive oysters, mussels and caviar.

Reliefs in Lent 2020

The daily food calendar for lay people will also help you find out on which days of Great Lent 2020 indulgences are allowed. So on some days of fasting, which fall on Saturday and Sunday, it is allowed to cook fish and seafood with the addition of oil, drink wine. There are several Orthodox holidays during Great Lent: Annunciation, Lazarev Saturday and Palm Sunday. On such days, you can also step away from strict restrictions and serve a fish dish with a glass of wine.

Concessions are provided for pregnant women, lactating women, children, the elderly and seriously ill, it is enough for them to give up meat, and then on condition that there are no special instructions from the doctor. But even here it is worth thinking about what tasty and not so necessary you can deny yourself.

Lenten recipes

For the laity, the daily food calendar does not provide for such strict prohibitions as in monasteries. In the world in Great Lent 2020, you can eat tasty and healthy, especially since today a variety of recipes for lean dishes are presented to choose from.

Barley with mushrooms

The daily food calendar for laymen allows eating any cereals, therefore, in the menu for Great Lent 2020, you can include different recipes with the addition of dried fruits, vegetables or mushrooms.

Ingredients:

• 1 glass of pearl barley;
• 2 glasses of water;
• 1 onion;
• 2 cloves of garlic;
• 150 g of mushrooms;
• 150 g carrots;
• salt, thyme.

Preparation:

• We wash the pearl barley well, the water should become completely transparent.
• Finely chop the onion and garlic, fry the vegetables in a pan with vegetable oil until golden brown.
• Then we spread the mushrooms, and as soon as they give juice, remove them from the stove.

Cut the carrots into small cubes

Now we send the fried mushrooms with all the vegetables to the groats, add salt, thyme and fill with water

• We put on fire and cook porridge for 40 minutes in a saucepan or in a slow cooker.
• Sprinkle the finished dish with herbs, and you can serve it to the table. The porridge is delicious and nutritious, it can be prepared for lunch, dinner, or even served as a hearty breakfast.

Bulgur with vegetables

For those who observe fasting, bulgur will be a real boon. After all, such cereals are very healthy and tasty at the same time. So, bulgur can be cooked with vegetables. An excellent dish on fasting days, and on ordinary days - an excellent side dish for meat dishes.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup bulgur;
• 2 glasses of water;
• 2 sweet peppers;
• 1 onion;
• 1 carrot;
• 50 g frozen peas;
• 3 cloves of garlic;
• a bunch of parsley;
• salt and pepper to taste.

Preparation:

Finely chop the onion, three carrots on a grater, cut the sweet pepper into cubes

Cut small tomatoes into slices, crush the garlic cloves with a knife, finely chop the parsley

• Fill the bulgur with water and rinse the groats 2-3 times.
• Pour some oil into a preheated frying pan, add bulgur and fry over medium heat for 4–5 minutes, so that the cereals are browned and acquire a pleasant golden color.

• Now we shift the bulgur by one half, and saute the onion until golden brown, adding a little oil. Then mix the onion vegetable with cereals and pour the carrots to them.
• Fry for another 2-3 minutes, then add pepper and green peas, mix. Lay the tomato slices and crushed garlic on top.

• Salt and pepper the contents of the pan, pour boiling water over and simmer under the lid for 20 minutes.
• As soon as the cereal completely absorbs the water from itself, sprinkle the dish with herbs, mix and serve. For the recipe, you can use any vegetables you want, so green peas can be replaced with green beans.

Potato zrazy with mushrooms

During fasting, dishes should be primarily healthy and satisfying, so that a person thinks on such days about the spiritual, and not about the constant feeling of hunger. Potato zrazy are just such a dish, they are delicious and nutritious.

Ingredients:

• 1 kg of potatoes;
• 2 onions;
• 300 g of pickled champignons;
• any breading;
• salt and pepper to taste;
• greens.

Preparation:

• Boil the peeled potatoes until tender, add salt at the end of cooking.
• Chop the onion into small cubes and fry in a pan with butter until golden brown, then add pickled mushrooms cut into small pieces to the onion vegetable, fry for 2-3 minutes.
• Then add chopped greens to the mushrooms and onions, stir, turn off the heat, cover with a lid and leave for 5 minutes.

• Drain the water from the finished potatoes, knead with a regular crush, cool.
• We make a cake from the potatoes, put the mushroom filling, form zrazy, bread and fry on both sides until golden brown in a pan with butter.

• Serve the finished dish with herbs and fresh vegetables.
• It is better to cook such a dish from starchy potato varieties, since they are poorly molded from watery zrazy. If semolina is used for breading, then do not forget that such cereals burns easily, so we do not pour a lot of oil for frying.

Lenten borsch

Even lean borscht without meat can be tasty and nutritious, especially when cooked with beans. As you know, beans are rich in vegetable protein, which the human body needs, especially in fasting.

Ingredients:

• 250 g beans;
• 150 g onions;
• 3 cloves of garlic;
• 300 g of beets;
• 200 g of white cabbage;
• 100 g carrots;
• 400 g potatoes;
• 4 tbsp. l. vegetable oil;
• 2 tbsp. l. tomato paste;
• 2 bay leaves;
• 0.5 tsp black pepper;
• 1 tbsp. l. Sahara;
• 2 tbsp. l. lemon juice;
• salt to taste.

Preparation:

Cut the peeled potatoes into small cubes, immediately pour into a saucepan, pour in 3 liters of water and put on fire. After boiling, cook for 10 minutes

Cut the beets into thin strips, transfer them to a pan with heated oil, fry for 2-3 minutes, pour in lemon juice and simmer under the lid for 10 minutes

Chop the onion into small cubes and sauté in a frying pan with hot oil for 2-3 minutes. Then add the diced carrots, mix, fry the vegetables for 3-4 minutes

We chop the cabbage and put it with the onions and carrots to the potatoes, cook for 10 minutes

• Put tomato paste on the beets, add sugar and simmer for another 5 minutes.
• Pour canned beans into a saucepan with vegetables, and after 3 minutes add beets, put bay leaves, add salt and pepper.

• Cook for another 3 minutes and add the pressed garlic cloves, stir and immediately turn off the heat.
• Cover the pan with a lid and leave for 15 minutes.
• We serve the finished borscht with herbs, and if relaxation is allowed for someone during the fast, then with low-fat sour cream.

Lean borscht can be cooked not only with canned beans, but also with fresh ones. Only pre-soak the beans in cold water and put them on the fire to cook them first, and then add the potatoes and the rest of the ingredients.

Lenten salad "Pokrovsky"

During fasting, you can prepare any salads from vegetables, fresh or boiled, with a dressing of oil or lemon juice. We offer to prepare such a "Pokrovsky" salad - delicious and very satisfying.

Ingredients:

• 1 apple;
• 1 boiled potato;
• 1 boiled beet;
• 80 g prunes;
• half an onion;
• 150 g sauerkraut;
• 1 clove of garlic;
• 80 g of pickled mushrooms;
• herbs, spices;
• 2 tbsp. l. vegetable oil.

Preparation:

• Boil the beets and potatoes, cut the vegetables into small cups.
• Peel and seed the apple, and cut the fruit, like vegetables, into small cubes.
• Chop the onion into strips and chop the prunes into strips, if the dried fruits are too hard, then steam them in boiling water, and then dry them.
• Pass the garlic cloves through a press or a fine grater, finely chop the parsley or dill.

• Now we send potatoes, apples, dried fruits, sauerkraut, onions with garlic and herbs, as well as pickled mushrooms to the salad bowl, you can take honey mushrooms.
• Pour oil into the beets, mix and only then send to other ingredients, mix everything again, and the salad is ready.

Salting the dish is not necessary, since there is enough salt in pickled mushrooms and sauerkraut, but if you wish, you can add any spices to taste.

Hake in tomato sauce

On certain days of fasting, you can cook fish, only it is better not to fry it, but to bake or stew it. For example, you can cook hake in tomato sauce, the dish turns out to be very appetizing and tasty.

Ingredients:

• 2 hake carcasses;
• 1 onion;
• 1 carrot;
• 70 g tomato paste;
• 50 g flour;
• salt and pepper to taste;
• 3 black peppercorns;
• 1 bay leaf.

Preparation:

1. Chop the onion into cubes, pass the carrots through a coarse grater.
2. Salt and pepper two prepared hake carcasses, cut into pieces, bread in flour and fry in a pan with butter on both sides until golden brown.
3. Saute the onions in a separate frying pan until golden, then put the carrots, salt the vegetables and fry for 2-3 minutes.
4. Stir the tomato paste in a glass of water.
5. Put the fish on the vegetables, pour the sauce, put the bay leaf and add the peppercorns. Cooking covered for 10-15 minutes.
6. The prepared dish turns out to be very tasty, the fish is tender and juicy. If desired, hake can be replaced with pollock, the fish is just as healthy and affordable.

Lent 2020 is the strictest, but this does not mean that you need to follow the daily food calendar for the laity. After all, if you turn to the answers of the priest, you can find out that an ordinary person who goes to work should not sit on bread and water. It is important not to sin during fasting, as they say: "The main thing is not not to eat meat, but not to eat each other."