Dietary restrictions during Lent purify both the soul and the body. But this should be approached wisely. If you have health problems - do not exhaust the body with hunger strikes and diets. Today the church makes exceptions for those who cannot limit themselves for health reasons. Therefore, what is impossible, and what can be eaten in fasting, concerns only people who are ready for this not only mentally, but also physically.

Fasting varies in severity. People of the highest rank and those who stay in monasteries eat a little differently than those who observe abstinence from harmful food at home. But at the same time, any believer can “sit down” on strict restrictions at will.

The post is divided into several degrees:

The fast lasts for 40 days, and during this time all kinds of recreational activities and quarrels are prohibited. For those who abide by the strictest rules, there are several additional responsibilities:

1. In the first and last week, fruits, vegetables and bread are allowed. You can only drink water.
2. On other days, it is recommended to eat nuts with honey, plant foods.
3. On the first day and subsequent Fridays of fasting, you can only eat raw plant foods and drink water.

Such a fast should be held only by trained people who do not have health problems, and whose body can endure abstinence from an abundance of food without adverse consequences.

Prepare for restrictions in advance. You can not eat before the start of the post, and then starve. This can make you feel worse. It is necessary to exclude forbidden foods from the diet gradually, a few days before the great event. Do not abuse alcohol and tobacco products.

In the early days, hunger can be very strong, since the allowed plant foods do not contain enough protein to saturate the body. You will have to eat more often and do not forget about breakfast.

There is a myth that only cereals, raw vegetables and fruits are allowed during fasting. Many do not dare to such serious restrictions on food, believing that such a meager diet is too harsh. In fact, the menu these days can be varied. The main thing is to be able to cook the right and tasty dishes. Desserts, casseroles, sandwiches, dumplings, salads, cereals, soups - all these delicacies are available to fasting people.

Before you start fasting, it is recommended to go through the sacrament of communion. You need to contact the priest in advance, and he will tell you what you can eat in fasting before communion and what - after.

It is worth following all the prescribed rules in order to be completely cleansed. Restrictions before communion last 3 days and hold out is not special work for the Orthodox. But if for some reason this was not observed, one must repent to the priest during confession, and the priest will forgive this sin.

The most important thing in this short-term restriction is not to overeat. Eat only when you really feel hungry.

Products that can be consumed:

• fish and seafood (boiled or baked);
• mushrooms;
• nuts and candied fruits;
• vegetables (only raw);
• fruits and dried fruits;
• porridge on the water;
• unleavened bread;
• tomato paste;
• pasta (not made from wheat flour);
• black bitter chocolate;
• natural marmalade and marshmallow;
• seeds;
• compote;
• kvass;
• jelly;

There are countless posts, the main one being Great. There are also one-day posts with a strict menu. There is a special calendar where you can see what you can eat during fasting.

Proper nutrition by day

Who wants to fast correctly, for those there is an established menu for the days, which says what you can eat in the post:

It would be better for the entire period of restrictions to abandon white bread and switch to black. Season vegetables with lemon juice.

Special days of fasting

According to the canons of the church, there are several special days during the year when you also need to fast:

• the first Monday of Lent is hunger;
• Palm Sunday - you can fish, wine and caviar;
• Good Friday - hunger;
• Wednesday in the fourth week - wine is allowed;
• Christmas Eve - hunger;
• martyr's day - you can oil and wine.

The menu recommended by the church is actually quite varied. Many housewives come up with more and more recipes with each period of restrictions. Food in fasting should be moderate, but does not exclude delicacies and delicious dishes:

Fasting is not only possible, but it also needs to be tasty. Food and fasting can be varied, the main thing is not to deviate from the recipe and not to use animal fats.

Tomato soup

To prepare this delicious soup you will need:

For bruschetta, take yesterday's yeast-free bread, a couple of cloves of garlic, olive oil and salt.

Cooking:

When the soup is ready, you can punch it with a blender or eat it like that. The taste will not change, but the texture will become more pleasant.

Since meat is not allowed in fasting, and on some days even fish, cereals come to the rescue. You can make hearty meals from oatmeal delicious meatballs which are indistinguishable from meat.

You will need:

• a glass of oatmeal;
• potato;
• carrot;
• spices to taste.

Cooking:

• pour boiling water over oatmeal and leave to swell;
• peel and grate vegetables;
• combine cereals with vegetables, add spices and mix;
• form cutlets and fry on both sides in a frying pan, greased with oil.

Mushrooms can be added to the cutlets if desired.

Seed sweets

There is a recipe for an insanely delicious treat with seeds. He certainly will not leave anyone indifferent.

You will need:

• 200 g of sesame or sunflower seeds;
• 2 tablespoons of honey;
• a pinch of cinnamon;
• salt to taste.

The preparation here is pretty simple. You just need to fry the seeds in a dry frying pan and mix with the rest of the ingredients. Serve sweetness on bread or instead of jam for tea.

You need to understand that the rejection of the usual food for such a long time adjusts the body to change. Therefore, you should not overeat on the first day after the costs. Bright Easter, of course, is a sacred holiday when it is customary to lay a rich table. But a hearty meal after abstinence can affect well-being. It is necessary to add the usual food to the diet gradually, without immediately switching to fried meat. It is better to give preference to less fatty foods.

To make a decision whether to fast or not, you need to take into account all your physiological abilities. And most importantly, remember that it is important not only to start and keep fasting with dignity, but also to finish it with dignity.

In the photo: vegetable salads in the lenten menu are not only tasty, but also healthy

What foods will help maintain health during fasting and how not to gain weight in fasting?

What can not be eaten in the post?

According to Orthodox traditions, it is forbidden to eat any products of animal origin during fasting.

A large list of products includes: meat, poultry, fish, milk and dairy products (sour cream, cottage cheese, kefir, cheese, butter, yogurt, etc.), as well as eggs.

About seafood (shrimp, mussels, squid, oysters, etc.), different denominations did not come to a single agreement. So, according to the Greek charter, seafood is equated with mushrooms, since they have plant and animal cells. And occasionally eat seafood.

Vegetable oil (from sunflower and olive) is allowed only on Saturday, Sunday and holidays.

Mayonnaise, beloved by many, should also be excluded from the post.

You can not drink in fasting any alcoholic drinks.

You should also exclude rich white bread, a variety of pastries from wheat flour and sweets from your diet.

What can you eat in a post?

You can eat any foods of plant origin: potatoes, cabbage, pumpkin, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, turnips, radishes, beans, mushrooms, nuts, various berries, fruits and dried fruits.

In our stores you can also find the "Lenten Menu" stamps, which were developed with the participation and with the blessing of the Danilov Patriarchal Monastery.

It is not possible for everyone to sustain dietary restrictions during the entire period of fasting, especially if you decide to fast for the first time.

Doctors pay attention to this fact: in fasting, some may ... gain weight.

It would seem: you deliberately refuse meat and other animal products, but gain weight a few kg per month.

Reasons for gaining weight in fasting

1. Fast carbohydrates

The reason for the fullness in the post: a large number fast carbohydrates.

You feel hungry, which is quite natural, and drink tea with sugar and bagels, eat instant vegetable soups, snack on white bread with homemade jam. All this leads to the release of insulin, and this hormone, as you know, synthesizes fat, and increases appetite.

You feel hungry, consume fast carbohydrate meals, are hungry again and eat again. Eventually - excess weight.

2. Don't forget to eat breakfast

Be sure to have breakfast. Brew yourself in the morning oatmeal, eat buckwheat, millet, bulgur, yachka, couscous, spelt and polenta.

Try making a salad with quinoa, a very fashionable plant from South America today. The Incas called it "golden grain".

Quinoa contains a lot of protein and about 20 amino acids. Also in this plant are many important trace elements: iron, calcium and phosphorus.

Even the chefs of trendy restaurants make warm vegetable salads and soups with quinoa.

Remember that at breakfast you should eat a third of the food from the daily allowance.

If you do not have time to have breakfast, then for lunch and dinner you will eat much more than your body needs.

The norm of calorie intake for women is no more than 1500 kilocalories, for men employed physical labor, - 1900 kilocalories.

10 x weight (kg) + 6.25 x height (cm) - 5 x age (years) - 161.

3. Frequent snacking

Many people think that when you feel hungry, you can snack on nuts and dried fruits. Yes, these products are very rich in various trace elements, but they are also very high in calories. 100 g of nuts contains on average up to 600 kilocalories.

The same applies to oil. Do not pour plenty of vegetable (olive) oil on all dishes. According to doctors, the norm of oil consumption is no more than 1 tablespoon per day.

4. Food for the night

Eat dinner at least 4 hours before bed. Salad with vegetables and herbs, durum wheat pasta, with vegetables, fish or seafood on non-strict days of fasting, beets, cereal porridge with pumpkin - all this contributes to normal digestion.

And do not forget about the greens: parsley, dill, mint, green onion, arugula, pea pods, spinach help cleanse the body of toxins.

And the lack of fats and proteins can be filled with fish oil, which is now available in capsules. In pharmacies, you can also buy fish oil with wheat germ oil, sea buckthorn and rose hips.

According to church canons, during this period, all Orthodox believers should exclude a number of foods from their daily diet, devote themselves to purification, repentance and the fight against their own sins. Food restrictions in great post suggest a ban on eggs, meat and dairy foods. The Church also calls for abandoning entertainment, fuss and bodily pleasures, thinking about God, devoting time to serving others and attending the temple.

In Buryatia, everything joins the fasting every year more people. And although many are frightened by the thought of such a long "gastronomic" abstinence, doctors assure that it has a positive effect on human health. The main thing is to know everything in moderation and correctly combine products so as not to harm the body. Priests remind: food restriction is not the purpose of fasting, but only a means. This is necessary so that the body does not interfere with the soul to carry out inner spiritual work. And therefore, it is not worth considering fasting as a “diet” and the ability to lose weight.

The seven weeks of Great Lent are made up of Lent - forty days from February 19 to March 30, and Holy Week - the last week before Easter (from April 2 to April 7). It is dedicated to the memories of last days earthly life and the death of Christ on the cross.

Holy Week is preceded by Lazarus Saturday (March 31), when the church remembers the miracle of the resurrection of the righteous Lazarus by Jesus Christ, and Palm Sunday (April 1) - the feast of the Lord's Entry into Jerusalem. These days the fast is weakened.

Prohibited

Those who decide to fast should give up “fast food”, that is, animal products - meat, dairy products, eggs, white bread, partly fish, caviar and vegetable oil. In addition, pastries, chocolate, sweets, fast food and all alcoholic beverages - with the exception of red wine - fall under the taboo. It can be used on Saturdays and Sundays during the whole of Lent, but only in moderate doses.

The main components of the menu during this period are vegetables (fresh, salted or pickled), fruits and dried fruits, mushrooms, greens, cereals on the water, soups (without meat), pasta, vegetable salads, black bread, honey, various spices, jelly, tea and kvass.

The first two and last two days of fasting impose the most severe restrictions: believers are required to completely abstain from food. The laity are encouraged to receive a blessing from the confessor in advance. The first and last weeks (except weekends), as well as all Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from the second to the sixth week inclusive (from February 26 to April 1) - dry eating, when the church allows only cold food (not thermally processed): raw vegetables and fruits , unleavened bread (without sugar and butter), pickles, pickles, nuts and honey.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays from the second to the sixth week of fasting, you can eat hot food without oil - soups and cereals from cereals, boiled potatoes, boiled and stewed hot vegetables. On weekends (Saturday and Sunday) it is allowed to include alcohol in the menu, as well as hot food with butter - fried potatoes, cabbage or carrot cutlets, etc.

On Lazarus Saturday and Palm Sunday, you can eat fish dishes, but on the Annunciation they will have to be abandoned, because in 2018 it falls on Good Saturday (April 7). On this day, for the sake of the holiday, the canons allow hot food with vegetable oil and wine. On Good (or Great) Friday, April 6, they abstain from food until Friday Vespers, the culminating moment of which is the removal of the shroud from the altar to the middle of the temple, where it remains until Saturday night - Easter Midnight Office.

Who can not fast?

From a medical point of view, a sharp reduction in protein foods during fasting can lead to loss of muscle tissue and a weakened immune system. First of all, this applies to young children, adolescents, pregnant and lactating women, the elderly and people with poor health, as well as those who suffer from anemia, diseases of the stomach, heart, diabetes, osteoporosis and various inflammations.

Food restrictions are also dangerous for people with low hemoglobin levels. The Church treats such situations loyally. To receive a blessing for a “softer” post, it is enough to come to your confessor and explain the situation to him.

Health Benefits

According to dietitians, regular rejection of food of animal origin and an increase in the menu of plant foods during fasting is very beneficial for the body: cholesterol and blood sugar levels decrease, blood pressure and intestinal microflora normalize, liver and gallbladder function improves. But in order to endure fasting, it is important to approach this issue reasonably and not rush to extremes. Otherwise, you may face serious complications.

1. If you decide to fast, consult your doctor: for some diseases, the lean menu is strictly contraindicated.
2. During fasting, try to eat at least 4-5 times a day. Since plant-based foods are much lower in calories than meat-based foods, it will be much harder to get full. It is desirable that the daily calorie content remains at the usual level. For an adult, the norm is 1600-2000 kcal.
3. Observe the diet: every day it is better to sit down at the table at the same time.
4. Include cereals, lentils, beans, peas, nuts, mushrooms and soy products in your daily menu: this will help fill the protein deficiency in the body.
5. Keep track of your fluid intake. It is better if these are freshly squeezed juices diluted with water, “mineral water” without gas, green tea, cranberry and lingonberry fruit drinks or homemade compotes. But it is better to refuse strong coffee or tea: these drinks overload nervous system. Try to drink at least 1.5-2 liters of fluid per day. By the way, perfect option to quench thirst - ordinary drinking water.
6. Plan your diet: Lent falls in the spring, when the body already suffers from beriberi. Therefore, it is important not only to provide it essential vitamins and trace elements, but also correctly combine them with each other. Deficiency of fat-soluble vitamins A, E, K and D can be replenished by taking appropriate vitamin complexes. Carbohydrates, which give the body energy, are found in bread, cereals, vegetables and potatoes. Do not forget about the sources of iron and calcium - apples, buckwheat, walnuts and oatmeal.
7. You can add natural spices to food that improve digestion: cardamom, anise, cumin, lemon balm, dill, rosemary, thyme, sage, flax seeds, mint, sesame. Between main meals, satisfy your hunger with nuts, dried fruits or fresh fruits.
8. Do not abuse pickles: this can lead to high blood pressure and exacerbation of various gastrointestinal diseases.
9. On the morning of Easter, you can eat about 200 g of Easter cake, one egg and a small piece of meat. It is recommended to drink a glass of water before the meal.
10. Fasting should not be harmful to health. If in the first week you feel unwell, and your health worsens, you should relax the restrictions (for example, include fish in the diet) or completely abandon them. Psychological attitude also plays a big role. To make it easier to survive the days of abstinence, get enough sleep, walk more on fresh air, and for relaxation, take baths with pine needles or soothing herbs - mint, oregano, valerian or motherwort.

Right way out

During fasting, the body gets used to working in the "economy" mode. If you do not follow certain rules, it will be quite problematic to get out of this state.

The “transitional” period is usually 10-14 days, so you should not immediately pounce on fatty and meat foods immediately after the end of Lent. This is fraught with exacerbation of gastritis or stomach ulcers. The fact is that the body, already accustomed to herbal products, worse secretes the enzymes necessary for the breakdown of proteins of animal origin. And the abuse of fatty foods, cakes and pastries can result in the development of cholecystitis, pancreatitis or overweight. You need to introduce such products into your daily diet gradually and little by little.

1. To get started, include in the menu fruits and vegetables rich in vitamins and trace elements, low-fat dairy products(ryazhenka, cottage cheese, kefir, yogurt), then whole milk (milk, eggs and cottage cheese) and finally fish dishes. Meat products can be eaten on the fifth or sixth day: it is better if it is chicken, lean pork, veal or steamed cutlets.
2. Eat 5-6 times a day in small portions: this will save the stomach from overload.
3. As a side dish for meat dishes, it is better to use potatoes: the simple carbohydrates contained in it improve the absorption of animal protein.
4. At first, give up alcohol and fast food products - sandwiches, sandwiches, crackers, chips and a variety of crackers.

What can you eat in a post

In this article:

Orthodox fasting has the most important, but not the only task - the expulsion of the evil spirit from one's soul.

The Lord said to His disciples - "This kind is driven out only by prayer and fasting."

Saint Athanasius the Great writes: "You see what fasting does - heals illnesses, drives away demons, removes evil thoughts and makes the heart pure."

Lent time - days are not random

Fasting periods are associated with certain events in the life of the church and important church holidays. By duration, Orthodox fasts can be divided into multi-day and one-day fasts.

One day posts:

• Wednesday- this is the tradition of the Savior - the highest of the moments of fall and shame human soul who goes in the person of Judas to betray for 30 pieces of silver of the Son of God;
• Friday- this is the patience of bullying, painful suffering and the death of the Redeemer of mankind on the cross;
• Days of some religious holidays.

Multi-day posts:

• Filippov or Rozhdestvensky- precedes the feast of the Nativity of Christ, the coming into the world of the Savior of all mankind;
• Great- this post prepares for major event history of mankind - the Resurrection of Christ. This is the path of the God-man to the Calvary sacrifice.
• Petrov- this post prepares for the memory of the chief apostles Peter and Paul. The apostles, disciples of Christ, carried throughout the earth the good news of the Resurrection of the Savior.
• Uspensky- celebrating the feast of the Assumption, Christians hope that by the grace of God, at the end of time, they will rise and share with Christ His eternal blessedness.

The basis of any post

For healthy people physically, the basis of fasting is abstinence in food. Five degrees of fasting can be distinguished:

• refusal of meat;
• refusal of dairy;
• refusal of fish;
• refusal of oil;
• depriving oneself for some periods of food in general.

The first degree of fasting is more suitable for the elderly and the sick, and only healthy people can go to the last degrees of fasting.

You need to understand that not only the replacement of a fast table with a lenten one constitutes true fasting: you can cook gourmet dishes from lean food and thus satisfy your voluptuousness.

If a person gets up from the table with delicious meatless dishes, as well as with a feeling of overburdening the stomach, there will be no fasting. There will be few hardships and sacrifices, and without them there will be no true fasting.

And vice versa, when it is not possible to observe the usual norms of fasting due to illness or lack of food, then one can still join the fast to one degree or another, for example: fast only on Wednesdays and Fridays, give up sweets, dainty dishes and entertainment .

Post from a nutritional standpoint

There are nutritionists who believe that Orthodox fasting is safer, healthier and healthier than many modern food systems and advertised diets. After all, removing animal fats from the diet and temporarily switching to vegetable food, the body gets rid of excess cholesterol, carcinogens and toxins.

Lean food includes antioxidants that improve the functioning of blood vessels, the heart and the musculoskeletal system, as well as excellently “unload” the body and help put the psyche in order.

In winter and summer, the human body assimilates food differently, and in order to switch from a winter type of exchange to a summer one without harm to health, you need to do a “reboot”. Perhaps this is what lies deep meaning fasting, say some nutritionists.

During fasting, the load on the gastrointestinal tract is reduced due to the restriction of food intake. There is a kind of renewal of the gastric mucosa. By self-purifying, the body gets rid of harmful and unnecessary substances.

Western scientists, in dairy products and meat, have identified a toxin that, when accumulated, can provoke the formation of serious diseases and oncological formations. In each liter of milk it contains 600-700 mg, and in a kilogram of meat 5000-12000 mg.

Every Orthodox person who observes all fasts cleanses his body of such substances for more than 200 days a year, since he does not eat milk or meat on these days. Therefore, the risk of contracting serious illnesses is reduced several times if fasting is observed.

What do they eat in fasting

Foods that cannot be eaten in fasting, and which must be abandoned for a while, are not the main ones in the food pyramid. The most important and necessary products for the proper functioning of the human body are water, fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, vegetable oils and legumes, they can be consumed just in fasting. Not everyone is accustomed to replacing meat with beans, but it will be satisfying and tasty.

Doctors on the impact of fasting (video)

There is no doubt that long fasts spiritually purify and strengthen a person, but can the same be said about the state of the basic systems of the body. This question was asked to doctors of different specialties. Let's take a look at their answers by watching the video.

“Although I have always been against hunger strikes, even this also has a certain physiological meaning: after a week of pancakes with butter, caviar, cottage cheese, the body needs to rest. Unload." - writes A. Kovalkov.

In the article "Diet and fasting - together or apart?" Dr. Kovalkov advises:

1. In addition to the spiritual superior, it is worth talking with your doctor. Since there are diseases in which irreversible changes in the body can occur with strict adherence to fasting.
2. Fasting should not be observed by lactating and pregnant women, children, sick people (after surgery, with diabetes, gastritis, gastrointestinal diseases, cholecystitis, pancreatitis, who have undergone physical or mental trauma).
3. It is necessary to approach the observance of Great Lent wisely. Do not be too demanding of yourself, eat a little more varied food than the strict rules for believers prescribe.
4. With the blessing of your confessor, you can get a relaxation of the strict rules of fasting if you are obese and undergoing treatment, but the entire spiritual part in this case should not only be observed, but even increased.
5. Also keep in mind that you will have to carry out your normal duties and go to work during the fast.

great post

For the Orthodox, Great Lent is the time of preparation for the Bright Resurrection of Christ - the main holiday of the Orthodox. Of all the fasts, Lent is the central and most significant. It falls on March-April and lasts 40 days (7 weeks).

Great Lent is no less useful to the body than the soul. Prolonged rejection of fatty and meat foods prepares the human body for the summer-autumn "herbalism". If the body is prepared - "spring and summer vitamins" are well digested and absorbed.

In the healing effect of fasting on the body and soul, most people do not doubt. Even doctors advise fasting as a diet, noting the positive effect of fasting on the body when refusing to use animal fats and proteins. According to some estimates, with a general reduction in the calorie content of food, life expectancy increases by up to 40%. However, the true meaning of fasting is not to improve health or lose weight.

What can you eat in Lent

From a culinary point of view, the Church charter divides fasting into 4 degrees:

• "dry food" - pickled, dried or fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as bread (food is not boiled or fried);
• "cooking without oil" - boiled vegetables, without vegetable oil;
• "permission for wine and oil" - wine is allowed in moderation;
• fish license.

General rules What to eat during Lent:

• you can not eat more than once a day;
• you can’t eat “fast” foods, vegetable oil, fish and wine;
• on Saturday and Sunday you can eat twice a day, as well as vegetable oil and wine (except Saturday in Holy Week);
• fish can only be eaten on April 7, (on the Annunciation) and on Palm Sunday;
• before Palm Sunday (on Lazarus Saturday) it is allowed to eat fish caviar.

The strictest time of Great Lent is the first and last week. On the first two days of the first Lenten week, the Church Charter establishes complete abstinence from food. On Holy Week, dry eating is prescribed, and on Friday and Saturday - complete abstinence from food.

You have to be smart about your post. The rules indicate only the strictest norms, which believers must strive to comply with. We can't take on what we can't handle. Those who are inexperienced in fasting should approach it gradually and prudently.

Lay people often make it easier for themselves (this should be done with the blessing of the priest). Light fasting (fasting on the first and Holy Week) can be fasted by children and the sick.

It is necessary to adhere to such a fast that will be spiritually pleasant, measure one’s strength and not fast too hard or, conversely, not at all strict.

What to cook for fasting

Lenten menu is compiled without the use of any dairy and meat products, eggs, poultry, animal fats and fish (fish is allowed only on some holidays). Despite this, lean food is healthy and can be nutritious and very tasty, the main thing is to try to diversify the menu.

Pickles, stews, boils and cereals are the basis of any lean diet, they can be supplemented with salads, fruits, vegetables, nuts, mushrooms, etc. Using these products, you can cook many different dishes.

You can include in your fasting diet various first meat-free meals. For example, instead of a traditional meat soup, you can cook vegetable or mushroom puree soup.

Simple vegetable salads perfectly diversify the lean table, they can be seasoned with one of the vegetable oils, apple cider vinegar or just lemon juice.

Boiled potatoes are also a great base for meatless dishes. It can be supplemented with stewed, pickled, salted or fresh vegetables, fried mushrooms and salads.

Legumes (peas, beans, lentils) contain a lot of vegetable protein and well satisfy the feeling of hunger and perfectly compensate for the lack of animal protein.

During fasting, dishes based on flour and no eggs (spaghetti, pasta) are also popular.

Many Orthodox believers look forward to Lent, despite the severe restrictions it brings with it. - this is the time to think about your earthly life, to engage in spiritual perfection. Also during the fasting period, it is important to eat right, following certain rules.

Before moving on to what is in Great Lent in 2017, you need to find out when fasting begins. This year, the start date of the fast falls on February 27th. AT church calendars This day is called "Clean Monday". Lent lasts 48 days and ends on Holy Saturday, April 15, when Easter arrives.

Great Lent in 2017: what you can eat by day, it's easy to figure it out. The church on this occasion has specific instructions, which will be written below. It is important to understand that the meaning of Great Lent is not just a refusal of food. The meaning lies in repentance, the taming of carnal desires and spiritual renewal. Abstinence in food only contributes to all this.




Features of nutrition during Lent

Established canons Orthodox Church have strict guidelines about what to eat and when. Write down the diet according to the days of the week. Lent in 2017: what you can’t eat is more difficult to designate than what you can eat.

On Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the fasting period, believers must adhere to a dry diet. That is, eat only plant foods that have not undergone any heat treatment. These days you can eat only once a day, in the evening.

On Tuesdays and Thursdays during Lent, you can eat boiled food, but you can’t even use it when cooking. vegetable oil. Saturday and Sunday are the most satisfying days of fasting, because hot food, cooking with the addition of vegetable oil are allowed. A more specific menu will be outlined below, it may differ depending on which week of Lent is in progress.

Note! During the entire period of Orthodox fasting before Easter, any dairy products, meat and eggs are prohibited.

During Great Lent, an important holiday is celebrated - the Annunciation Holy Mother of God(this year it falls on April 7th) and Palm Sunday (this year it falls on April 9th). On these holidays, believers can eat fish.




On Friday in Holy Week (the last week before Easter), it is customary to completely abstain from food. Many believers also abstain from food on Holy Saturday until Easter.

It is important! You should not fanatically adhere to all the rules of nutrition during fasting. It is necessary to monitor the state of your health not to bring yourself to complete exhaustion. The church also allows relief for pregnant and lactating women, people whose work is associated with heavy physical labor, as well as the sick. Restrictions on food during fasting should not be the reason that a person does not have enough strength to perform his daily duties.

List of prohibited foods during Lent:

* Meat, any meat products or those containing meat;

* Milk and all dairy products, including powdered milk;

* Fish (except for the Annunciation and Palm Sunday);

* Alcohol;

* Vegetable oil (allowed only on Saturdays and Sundays for people who are not clergymen);

* Chocolate, pastries;

It's important to know! A week is a “week” in the church dictionary. The post is clearly divided into weeks. It is useful to know what you can eat on specific days, and what you should abstain from.

Lent lasts 7 full weeks (the last week consists of 6 days and ends with Easter, when you can eat everything). We have already published and you can read it.

* 1st, 4th and 7th week of fasting means eating food prepared without the use of vegetable oil. Boiled food for the laity on Saturdays and Sundays can be eaten with the addition of vegetable oil. Such relief is not permitted for clergymen;

* 2,3,5 and 6 weeks of fasting. From Monday to Friday you can eat boiled food. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, laymen can add vegetable oil when cooking;

* On Good Friday (before Easter Sunday) you can not eat;

* On Holy Saturday you can eat boiled food;

* Church rules also on Saturdays and Sundays allow the laity such indulgence as the use of fish;




What can you eat during Lent (cook only from food that is acceptable for consumption):

* First and second courses;

* All kinds of pickles, pickled fruits and vegetables;

* Juices and jams;

* Fresh and frozen mushrooms, fruits and vegetables;

* Greenery;

Lent in 2017: what you can eat by day is described in this article, taking into account all the rigor and nuances of the lenten menu. But it must be understood that only the clergy should observe Great Lent in full. The Church allows for indulgences for the laity. If a person does not dare to deviate from all the rules of fasting, but does not feel very well, you can contact the clergyman to allow him to eat more food.

During Lent, one should not fixate only on food. This period of time, first of all, should be a time of spiritual repentance and self-improvement.

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