Lenten Fast Meals

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Bruised_Reed

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Since the fast is much stricter in the the Eastern rite churches I have no idea what a typical meal would look like for Eastern Rite Catholics. I think Polish traditions are similar but I need to check into that.

I know there are certain foods that are avoided so what is left? It seems like dairy, eggs, oil, etc. are in everything. Describe typical meals you eat during Lent.
 
The season of Lent is so named because the only thing you are allowed to eat is lentils…
Lol I know im not funny, but me personally growing up in a family who attend a Melkite church, they seem to only fast on red meat for 40 days but seafood seemed to be fine.
 
murraymuzz said:
The season of Lent is so named because the only thing you are allowed to eat is lentils…
Lol I know im not funny, but me personally growing up in a family who attend a Melkite church, they seem to only fast on red meat for 40 days but seafood seemed to be fine.
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I actually think it is funny. An ex-coworker, who was raised Catholic mind you, thought that the two words were related. She couldn’t sort out lenten and lentil.
 
Bruised_Reed said:
Since the fast is much stricter in the the Eastern rite churches I have no idea what a typical meal would look like for Eastern Rite Catholics. I think Polish traditions are similar but I need to check into that.

I know there are certain foods that are avoided so what is left? It seems like dairy, eggs, oil, etc. are in everything. Describe typical meals you eat during Lent.
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Strict observance: No meat, milk, eggs, oil, nor wine…

So, lentils, beans, rice, veggies. If not hardliner, fish, and/or shellfish, lobster, crab, shrimp.

Homemade breads - wheat, yeast, water, sugar, salt. Flavor with fruit and veggies if desired. Potato, carrot, pumpkin, zucchini. You can also bake crackers, too… just a thin bread, baked crisp.

Nuts are fair game, too. Use as a garnish, texture, and/or alternate protein.

One of my better tasting choices was a peanut and spinach sauce over egg-free pasta. Fresh spinach, a touch of salt, roast peanuts, and honey (in place of oil), a bit of garlic. Make like you would a pesto… thin with water if needed. Also excellent served as a dip.
 
Aramis said:
Strict observance: No meat, milk, eggs, oil, nor wine…

So, lentils, beans, rice, veggies. If not hardliner, fish, and/or shellfish, lobster, crab, shrimp.

Homemade breads - wheat, yeast, water, sugar, salt. Flavor with fruit and veggies if desired. Potato, carrot, pumpkin, zucchini. You can also bake crackers, too… just a thin bread, baked crisp.

Nuts are fair game, too. Use as a garnish, texture, and/or alternate protein.
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I like the variety. I’m not a vegetarian (obviously) so I really ddon’t have a clue what the possibilities are; this helps.
One of my better tasting choices was a peanut and spinach sauce
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yum!
over egg-free pasta.
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And that is a perfect example of why I said that those foods, like eggs, seem to be everywhere.
Fresh spinach, a touch of salt, roast peanuts, and honey (in place of oil), a bit of garlic. Make like you would a pesto… thin with water if needed. Also excellent served as a dip.
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I would be game to try making that sometime. Thanks.
 
Aramis said:
Strict observance: No meat, milk, eggs, oil, nor wine…

So, lentils, beans, rice, veggies. If not hardliner, fish, and/or shellfish, lobster, crab, shrimp.

Homemade breads - wheat, yeast, water, sugar, salt. Flavor with fruit and veggies if desired. Potato, carrot, pumpkin, zucchini. You can also bake crackers, too… just a thin bread, baked crisp.

Nuts are fair game, too. Use as a garnish, texture, and/or alternate protein.

One of my better tasting choices was a peanut and spinach sauce over egg-free pasta. Fresh spinach, a touch of salt, roast peanuts, and honey (in place of oil), a bit of garlic. Make like you would a pesto… thin with water if needed. Also excellent served as a dip.
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Check the rules of your Eparchy as to what is permitted for strict observance.
 
Patchunky said:
Check the rules of your Eparchy as to what is permitted for strict observance.
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We don’t get a definition for “strict” out of the Eparchy… we get “No land dwelling animal flesh on Wednesdays and Fridays” as the lenten minimum. Pastors (and the text of the liturgy) push for more strict.

The local Russian Orthodox do “nothing with a spine” for the whole of lent, sundays included, as the “standard” fast… as well as no eggs, oil, milk, vinegar, wine. (And most of them ignore it. It’s amazing how many are having a burger on fridays of lent.)
 
Aramis said:
We don’t get a definition for “strict” out of the Eparchy… we get “No land dwelling animal flesh on Wednesdays and Fridays” as the lenten minimum. Pastors (and the text of the liturgy) push for more strict.

The local Russian Orthodox do “nothing with a spine” for the whole of lent, sundays included, as the “standard” fast… as well as no eggs, oil, milk, vinegar, wine. (And most of them ignore it. It’s amazing how many are having a burger on fridays of lent.)
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This is from the Eparchy of Phoenix for 2012…

eparchyofphoenix.org/docs/January-February2012towebsite.pdf

Seems to cover it all…
 
Aramis said:
One of my better tasting choices was a peanut and spinach sauce over egg-free pasta. Fresh spinach, a touch of salt, roast peanuts, and honey (in place of oil), a bit of garlic. Make like you would a pesto… thin with water if needed. Also excellent served as a dip.
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Oh, my… I must try this!
 
Aramis said:
those are the minimums… note that strict, in that document’s sense, is the minimum for two days, and less than what each of the last 5 pastors at St Nick. encourage as routine and traditional.

not that I expect you to be aware of what’s taught…
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This is what is decreed by the Council of Eparchs but I guess you know more than the Eparchs do…
 
Patchunky said:
This is what is decreed by the Council of Eparchs but I guess you know more than the Eparchs do…
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read it, patchunky… it is not what you think it is.
nor is it what is being taught by the pastors here as traditional, but well less rigid.

that promulgation is the minimum prescribed. And I will trust 5 priests over you on that.
 
Patchunky said:
This is what is decreed by the Council of Eparchs but I guess you know more than the Eparchs do…
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Aramis said:
read it, patchunky… it is not what you think it is.
nor is it what is being taught by the pastors here as traditional, but well less rigid.

that promulgation is the minimum prescribed. And I will trust 5 priests over you on that.
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Either of you want to share any menus you enjoy?
 
I really feel a lack of guidance on this matter. I tried to ask one of the local priests in confession about this during the Nativity Fast, but he was just kind of like…whatever you want…

I had to do a ton of research to find what was the* minimum requirements* even in my eparchy. I finally did all my research and then asked my priest…is this correct??? and he said yes.

Then the 3rd and 4th generation Ukrainians, who don’t speak Ukrainian more or less just push for things to be as lax as the Roman Church-- “If the Roman Catholics don’t have to do it, why do we?”

If it wasn’t for the internet, I’d be completely lost as to a lot of things. I’m not complaining, I love that I am Ukrainian Catholic now, but I just think that our church would grow so much more if we educated people in our tradition.
 
It’s sad some of you don’t get good direction. Fr. Vivona, here in Vegas, knows he’s got a lot of Roman Refugees. I find the term funny but applicable. So he’s like a font of data for us. Explained the fast, the Black Fast, that the Eastern Church differs from the West in that we don’t use any seafood with bones. So no fish. But shellfish is allowed.

For all around meals, breakfast, lunch and dinner hit the library for some vegan cook books or find a few vegan blogs. Then you know you are safe. No meat. No dairy. You may surprise yourself at how many things become staples in your every day diet.

There are some good essentials you should use a lot of. For nutrient content. Coconut milk (and coconut water if you are counting calories) and Nutritional Yeast. Not brewer’s yeast or baker’s yeast. You can find it in some groceries stores with all the Bob’s Redmill products. You may need to go to a health food store. Keeps your b vitamins up. Will put a pep in your step.

Try not to rely too much on ready made products. There are lots of really REALLY bad vegan cheeses out there. Daiya is made from pea protein and is delicious. The only one I can recommend.

daiyafoods.com/

churchyear.blogspot.com/2012/02/vegan-and-vegetarian-recipes-for-lent.html

ohsheglows.com/

veganyumyum.com/

holycowvegan.net/

theppk.com/

Don’t be daunted. Vegan cooking is easy. And the clean up is even easier because there’s nothing to stick to the pan.

It’s not all about tofu. Seitan is a great prefab vegan meat. Twice the protein of red meat, half the calories and zero fat. Look for Field Roast products. They are kind of expensive. So learning how to make your own vegan meat loaf would be better. But in a pinch. Their “sundried tomato Italian sausage” is the BOMB.

Soba noodles are great. I use Trader Joe’s Hearty Veggie Broth and make noodle bowls. Wakame is a small and highly nutritious sea weed. You can also have them dry with oil. But most days of Great Lent, I think oil is a no no.
 
Right… I don’t understand how this works.

All the ‘restrictions’ I cannot eat anyway. So basically this ‘fast’ isn’t a fast for me at all. So instead of ‘fasting’ according to the ‘tradition’, I’m cutting out food entirely. It’s just 24 hours. Won’t kill me. Because my diet is ALREADY restricted, I just didn’t feel I was giving enough by simply cutting back …

But I’d like to know how it is you are truly in the spirit of things if you’re finding way to enjoy your favorite foods anyway. For example, instead of having regular pasta you have egg-free pasta… how are you missing out? They taste the same!!! I don’t get it.

Sorry if that wasn’t coherent. It just feels like people sometimes seem to miss the point.
 
Oh no. I totally understand.

I have had this exact discussion with Father. I am not a true Vegan as I can’t stand the thought of requiring friends and family make special things for me. So when I am out and about I do eat eggs and cheese.

But primarily my diet is Vegan. How do I observe the fast? All I really have to give up is wine and oil.

Father said with the Great Fast our focus should not be on self-denial. We are, without a doubt, cleaning the junk out. With healthier foods, our bodies heal. When we are not allowed our favorite things we SHOULD - we don’t always but we should - turn to God. More time in prayer. More time in reading scripture. More time in simply dwelling near to God.

For me, there is one little statistic. If America alone cut its beef and alcohol consumption in half we could end world hunger with the remaining grain. It takes 22 pounds of grain and 5000 gallons of water to “create” one pound of edible beef.

We Catholics, at least for Lent, are doing our part to feed the hungry.
 
All this so-called “vegan” stuff may be very nice, (well, for some anyway: personally I hate fake meat and fake dairy, but never mind that), but it seems to me there’s an inherent problem in that all these so-called “vegan” things are astronomically expensive. Frankly I don’t see Lent as a time to have to go into debt by purchasing what are essentially luxury items in order to abstain from meat, etc. Maybe it’s just me, but that seems the antithesis of the spirit of what Lent is about. 🤷
 
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