What is in Lent? 16 healthy lean recipes

Lent is an important event for the Orthodox. From fasting begins preparations for Easter. This is a period of purification not only of the body, but also of the soul. Nutrition during the fasting period changes dramatically. We have to forget about the usual dishes and switch to vegetable products.

Animal food - eggs, milk, cheese, meat, butter and others, is excluded from the diet. Home-cooked meals should not be heavily salted or seasoned with spices. This is an excess. The taste of food should be fresh, neutral.

According to nutritionists, plant foods do not harm the body. All vitamins, trace elements, proteins can be obtained from vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, legumes. During fasting, with strict adherence, the body is cleansed, toxins are excreted.

General food directions by day

• From Monday to Friday of the first week of fasting it is allowed to consume cold foods, without vegetable fat, without heat treatment.
  The most strict days of the fasting period include the first week, as well as Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays of the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth weeks.
• Of the products on strict days allowed bread baked without milk and butter.
• Tuesday and Thursday - you can eat hot food, but without vegetable fats.
• On Saturday and Sunday it is allowed to add sunflower oil to dishes.
• The diet should be enriched with vitamins, adding greens, vegetables and fruits.
• Fasting is a time when you can try other types of cereals - barley, millet, corn, lentils.
• Use dried fruits, honey, mushrooms, nuts, and legumes. They support the body, are rich in trace elements, proteins, carbohydrates.

Salads

Fortified Lean Salad Recipe

• Cook the couscous and put in a deep container.
• Mix lemon juice, oil, salt and pour into rice, mix.
• Pour pomegranate seeds on top, add grated lemon peel, chopped mint, cucumber chopped in circles, honey.
• Mix everything.

The salad is ready to eat.

Avocado Salad

It will satisfy the hunger of avocado. This is a high calorie product. Salad with it will make up for the lack of vitamins and saturate the body.

• one avocado;
• a couple of tomatoes;
• one medium-sized onion;
• two cucumbers;
• two hundred grams of radish;
• salt;
• lemon juice.

1. Cut all the ingredients.
2. Chop the onion and hold for 10 minutes in lemon juice.
3. To mix.
4. Season with lemon juice.
5. When the use of vegetable fats is allowed, add olive oil.

Salad of familiar vegetables

• a kilogram of cabbage;
• one large bell pepper;
• a pair of cucumbers;
• a bunch of fresh dill;
• a tablespoon of sugar;
• a teaspoon of salt;
• table vinegar - one, you can two tbsp. spoons;
• vegetable oil.

1. Chop cabbage into thin strips, pepper strips, julienne cucumbers, chop dill.
2. Mix cabbage with salt, vinegar, sugar and mash hands until juice appears, then add pepper and cucumbers, season with oil.

Porridge

Buckwheat porridge with vegetables

You can take any vegetables to taste.

• buckwheat;
• one onion;
• one carrot;
• one pepper;
• one tomato;
• one eggplant;
• greenery;
• garlic;
• green beans - 100g;
• olive or sunflower oil - 2 tbsp. spoons.

1. Buckwheat on the specified number of vegetables, take two hundred grams.
2. First, fry the onion with carrots in a pan.
3. Then they add pepper, eggplant.
4. Stew for about seven minutes, covering the pan with a lid.
5. Beans are sent to the pan. Cook another 5 minutes.
6. Washed buckwheat is added to vegetables, water is poured (2 parts of water on 1 part of buckwheat).
7. Top with chopped tomato, garlic, add salt and boil until tender.

Buckwheat should turn out friable, without excess water.

Oatmeal with nuts and dried fruits

Ordinary cereals on the water during fasting can be varied by adding nuts, candied fruits, raisins, dried fruits. The following is an oatmeal recipe with these ingredients.

• a glass of hercules;
• 30 g candied fruits and dried fruits;
• 50 g of nuts;
• a pinch of salt;
• some fresh fruit.

In the pan we spread the oatmeal, nuts, candied fruits, dried fruits, salt. We take two glasses of water. Cook for 12-15 minutes. When serving, the dish can be decorated with fresh berries or fruits.

First meal

Borsch in the slow cooker

It will take 2 hours to prepare, but the result is worth the time spent. It turns out saturated, aromatic, thick borsch. The crock-pot preserves taste, aroma, the form of vegetables.

• one large beet;
• one or two carrots;
• one onion;
• one pepper is big;
• cabbage - a quarter of an average head of cabbage;
• three potatoes;
• litere of water;
• salt to taste;
• two bay leaves.

Cut vegetables into cubes, strips, etc. Prepared ingredients, except for potatoes, put in a multicooker container, add half a glass of water.

Close, cook for half an hour in stewing mode. Then add chopped potatoes, salt, water. Cook another hour in soup mode.

Lean solyanka with mushrooms

• 150 g sauerkraut;
• 400 g of fresh cabbage;
• 150 g of onions and carrots;
• 200 g of dried and fresh mushrooms;
• 200 g of pickles;
• 3 tablespoons of pickled capers;
• any fresh greens;
• three bay leaves;
• 5 tablespoons of tomato paste;
• spices and salt to taste;
• black olives.

1. Soak dried mushrooms when softened pour another half liter of water. Boil for half an hour.
2. Fresh mushrooms cut into slices. Grate the carrots. Chop and fry the onion. Finely chop the cabbage. Cucumbers also cut.
3. Add grated carrots, cucumbers, sauerkraut to the fried onions. Put out for about three minutes.
4. Add fresh cabbage, salt, pasta. Cook another 15 minutes.
5. To boiling dried mushrooms add fresh, capers, bay leaf.
6. Transfer vegetables to mushroom broth and cook for another 10 minutes.
7. To fill up greens, a little salt, spices.
8. Turn off the slow cooker and let the borscht brew.

If you wish, you can add something of your own or remove something that is not to your taste.

Lean Soup - A Simple Recipe

• a kilogram of cabbage;
• five potatoes;
• three carrots;
• two onions;
• six cloves of garlic;
• any greens;
• salt to taste;
• vegetable oil.

1. Chop the cabbage, immerse in 2.5 liters of water, salt, cook for half an hour. Chop onion, carrot, garlic.
2. First, fry the garlic lightly, add onions with carrots to it and fry until golden brown.
3. Add potatoes to the cabbage, cook for 10 minutes, then pour the roasting from vegetables.
4. Boil for 5 minutes, turn off.
5. Throw greens, insist 15 minutes.

Second courses

Lenten pilaf with mushrooms

• 400 g of rice;
• 600 ml of water;
• five fresh champignons;
• one large onion;
• two cloves of garlic;
• salt, allspice to taste;
• 20 ml of soy sauce;
• greenery;
• some vegetable oil for frying;
• turmeric.

1. Fry the rice until transparent - 5 minutes. Add water, salt, pepper, turmeric. Cover the container and cook for about half an hour over low heat.
2. Finely chop the onion into cubes, mushrooms into slices. Fry them together.
3. Add the sauce to the mushrooms with onions, salt and stew.
4. Cut greens and garlic, toss to fry.
5. Ready rice mixed with mushroom roasting. Pilaf is ready.

Potato patties with peas

• kilogram of potatoes;
• a glass of canned peas;
• one small onion;
• salt;
• one bay leaf;
• seasoning to taste;
• vegetable oil for frying;
• flour for deboning.

1. Boil potatoes in water with bay leaf. Make mashed potatoes from it.
2. Finely chop the onion, fry until golden brown and mix with mashed potatoes. During onion preparation, you can add turmeric with paprika.
3. Pour peas without liquid, salt and mix.
4. It remains to form cutlets, roll in flour and put in a greased pan.
5. Fry on both sides, serve with tomatoes, mushrooms, with various sauces.

Stuffed cabbage lean mushroom

• 700 g of mushrooms (champignons, oyster mushrooms or others);
• a head of cabbage weighing one and a half kg;
• two carrots;
• two hundred grams of rice;
• one onion;
• salt, herbs, pepper, ground to taste;
• 4 bay leaves;
• 4 peas of black pepper;
• 3 tbsp. l Tomato
• vegetable fat for frying.

1. Preparation of cabbage leaves. Break off the upper leaves. Around the stump, make several cuts, lower the head of cabbage into the water, cook in boiling water for about 5 minutes. Remove the head of cabbage from the water and remove the soft leaves. Having reached fresh leaves, repeat the procedure. Do not digest, otherwise they will begin to break.
2. Cook rice for seven minutes.
3. Grate carrots and onions.
4. Finely chop the mushrooms.
5. Fry carrots, mushrooms, onions, add rice to them.
6. Salt, pepper, mix. Stuffing is ready.
7. Next, take a leaf of cabbage. The necessary amount of minced meat is laid out on it and wrapped with an envelope. Stuffed cabbage stacked in one row tightly to each other.
8. Cooking the sauce. A little flour is fried in oil, add tomato paste and pour 500 ml of water. The sauce is salted, pepper and boil for 3 minutes. Stuffed cabbage is watered with sauce, bay leaves and peppercorns are spread on top. Cook in the oven for 40-50 minutes. Temperature condition 200 degrees.

Barley porridge with pumpkin

• 200 g of pearl barley;
• 600 ml of water;
• one onion;
• 270 g pumpkin;
• one large carrot;
• 30 g of vegetable oil;
• salt, pepper, ground to taste.

1. Barley survive the night in water. Grate the pumpkin.
2. FROM barley drain and pour fresh. Mix cereal with pumpkin.
3. Stir and cook for about an hour over low heat. If the water boils, you can add more.
4. Cut onion and fry. Grate the carrots and continue to fry with the onion.
5. Mix porridge with frying. Pepper, salt and still hold on low heat for five minutes.
6. Let stand under the lid.

Desserts and Baking

Oatmeal cookies

• 75 g of oatmeal;
• 140 g of sugar and wheat flour;
• 3 tablespoons of any fruit juice;
• 50 g of vegetable oil;
• ⅓ teaspoon of salt and soda.

1. Combine dry ingredients (salt, sugar, flour, soda). Mix the oil with juice, and then gradually pour into the composition with flour.
2. Knead the dough, it should be soft, tender, not stick to the hands.
3. Roll out, cut into small squares or use cookie cutters.
4. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 200 degrees.
5. You can add candied fruits, nuts, dried fruits to the dough.

Orange cupcake

What is required:

• 150 g of freshly squeezed orange juice, sugar, vegetable fat (oil);
• the zest of one large orange;
• 380 g flour;
• two tbsp. l water;
• one tbsp. l vinegar
• the third part of tsp salts;
• one tsp soda.

1. Mix juice, oil, sugar. Wait until the sugar dissolves, add flour, salt, zest, add vinegar.
2. Knead a homogeneous dough. Combine soda with water and send to the dough.
3. Lubricate the cake pan with vegetable fat, sprinkle lightly with flour and lay out the mass.
4. Oven 40 minutes at 180 degrees. Sprinkle the finished cake with powdered sugar.

Napoleon Cake - Lenten

Ingredients for cakes:

• a glass of vegetable oil;
• a glass of mineral water with gas;
• 0.5 tsp salts;
• 4 and a half cups of flour.

Ingredients for Cream:

• 200 g semolina;
• 300 g of sugar;
• litere of water;
• 150 g almonds;
• one lemon.

1. Korzhi. Pour water into the oil and add salt. Pour flour in small portions and knead non-sticky dough.
2. Soak the dough in the refrigerator for 2-3 hours.
3. Mass divided into 12 or 15 parts. Roll each part thinly, bake for 5-7 minutes.
4. After rolling, do not forget to prick with a fork. The temperature is 200 degrees.
5. Cream. Grind almonds into crumbs, pouring water. It will turn out something like milk.
6. Mix it with sugar, put on fire. After boiling, carefully pour in the semolina.
7. Cook until thick porridge. Cool, pour in lemon juice and chopped zest, beat with a blender.
8. Lubricate the cakes and let it soak for 5 hours. Top can be sprinkled with crumbs from cakes.

Baked apples with nuts and honey.

• four large, with firm, firm flesh, apples;
• 60 g of walnuts and the same amount of honey;
• four tsp Sahara;
• Art. l cinnamon.

1. Wash apples, remove the core, expanding upward, without breaking.
2. Pour a teaspoon of sugar into the hole. On it a little cinnamon, and walnuts complete the composition.
3. Grease the mold with vegetable oil. Apples must not touch. Keep a distance of at least three cm.
4. Bake in the oven for about half an hour at 180. Make sure that the peel does not crack much.

Put the finished fruit on a flat dish and pour liquid honey.

What do they eat in monasteries during fasting

There is no general dietary plan for all monasteries combined. The charter assumes its own set of dishes and products, in compliance with generally accepted standards.

• Athos monks eat seafood on Saturdays and Sundays, excluding fish.
• Cypriot brotherhood, in addition to Wednesday Friday, prepares octopus with aromatic spices.
• In the northern regions, people spend a lot of energy, therefore, to consume the charter, it is allowed to eat fish. It is allowed to cook on Sundays.
• Eastern monks are easier to cope with hunger, and their charter distributes the use of certain types of vegetables and fruits by the day.
• For Russian monks, the first week of fasting and the last is especially strict. The brethren are not eating these days. But, bread, boiled potatoes, pickled vegetables are always ready for them.

During fasting, all products of animal origin are excluded from the diet.

How to make a full menu for every day

During fasting, the usual diet changes, which can negatively affect health, so you need to seriously approach the preparation of a nutrition plan.

• The main dishes on the table will consist of plant products, beans, grains, vegetables, fruits, mushrooms, nuts, honey.
• The usual diet should be left. It should be present and breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, dinner.
• Animal food is a source of protein. Without it, a feeling of hunger. Do not lean on sweets. This will have a bad effect on the figure. Bean, mushrooms, whole grains, nuts will help fill in the lack of protein. They perfectly satisfy hunger.
• Include soy products in the menu.

The list of allowed foods for fasting is quite large. From them you can cook full meals.

Helpful information

Lenten meals are vegetarian. Vegetables, fruits are used. During the post you can lose weight, losing a week from 2 to 7 kilograms. Low-calorie foods provide weight loss. Plant food renews, cleanses the body, speeds up the metabolism, but weight loss is possible if you do not lean on nuts, cereals with sweet fruits, which increase the calorie content of dishes.

Those who regularly observe fasts are less likely to suffer from heart diseases, their vessels maintain elasticity for a long time, and cholesterol is maintained at a safe level.

The Holy Scripture says that the refusal of entertainment, gluttony at least for the time of fasting, helps to direct thoughts in the right direction, take a different look at the world, change something in life. Fasting is considered the time of repentance, cleansing not only the body but also the soul. It is as if a man is awakening from a long sleep, he sees everything in a different light. There is a desire to do good deeds, to correct old mistakes. With this step, the path to God begins.