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Fasting Recipes
Hi
Does anyone here have any good recipies for fasting food?
I personally love foule medames with oil, salt and tomatoes.
I don't think I can ever get bored of that.
There's also bamia (Ocra) - which is just marvellous.
What are your main "fasting" meals? How do you eat? What do you eat also?
For me:
Breakfast:
--> Coffee, donut, + croissant, fruit smoothie
Lunch:
--> mushroom soup, pasta, tomato sauce, bread, green salad, fruit
Super/diner:
--> Beans/Corn/Basil sauce/tomato sauce (mexican style), pasta
Evening:
--> nuts/popcorn
What do you have for your meals?
Does anyone here have any good recipies for fasting food?
I personally love foule medames with oil, salt and tomatoes.
I don't think I can ever get bored of that.
There's also bamia (Ocra) - which is just marvellous.
What are your main "fasting" meals? How do you eat? What do you eat also?
For me:
Breakfast:
--> Coffee, donut, + croissant, fruit smoothie
Lunch:
--> mushroom soup, pasta, tomato sauce, bread, green salad, fruit
Super/diner:
--> Beans/Corn/Basil sauce/tomato sauce (mexican style), pasta
Evening:
--> nuts/popcorn
What do you have for your meals?
Comments
Hi
Does anyone here have any good recipies for fasting food?
I personally love foule medames with oil, salt and tomatoes.
I don't think I can ever get bored of that.
There's also bamia (Ocra) - which is just marvellous.
What are your main "fasting" meals? How do you eat? What do you eat also?
For me:
Breakfast:
--> Coffee, donut, + croissant, fruit smoothie
Lunch:
--> mushroom soup, pasta, tomato sauce, bread, green salad, fruit
Super/diner:
--> Beans/Corn/Basil sauce/tomato sauce (mexican style), pasta
Evening:
--> nuts/popcorn
What do you have for your meals?
Breakfast:
Fava Beans and Falafel
Lunch:
Fava Beans and Falafel
Dinner:
Fava Beans and Falafel
Evening:
Fava Beans and Falafel.
You're all set.
I usually like to take the option of free will just to prove some points... I remember last lent there was a chocolate in the fridge and just by joking around with my sister that I would eat it even tho we were fasting, I did just so she can watch, laugh and be like "WHAT! I'm gonna tell" etc. And so she told, and obviously my mum didn't care because it's my free will. lolll. But seriously, I don't think I should mess with free will like that.
Fool - YUK
Felafel - I only eat it from certain restaurants in Egypt, mainly Alexandria! But not in Sydney :)
What I do live on however is mainly lebanese bread, cucumber and some arab vegetarian spread that's supposed to taste like cheese.. but it's called vegetarian spread... it's not bad.. it doesn't taste like cheese, it's got a unique weird taste... but it accompanies the cucumber and lebanese bread well enough.
I have also stocked up on noodles, but I need to buy BBQ sauce for that.
I don't have breakfast due to lack of it and also I somehow keep forgetting to eat in the morning anyways, I just get up and rush to uni.
I live at uni, so it REALLY very much sucks how I finish late every day and brings my unbothered-ness in to cooking something.. Although this is only week 2 of uni, I have plenty of time to get organised and cook stuff. Prayers please.
And then when I'm really stuck there's Subway and Hungry Jacks (AKA Burger King) disgusting, yet edible Veggie burgers!
I thank God for fridays tho - I don't have to worry about food until after the liturgy finishes at 6pm and then I worry about how to eat and get back to my church by 6pm, so it eliminates time to eat! :D
Clearly tho, this is the best example of what NOT to post on this thread ;D Therefore; I ask for your prayers.
I'm funny man
Cheers
But generally speaking most Orthodox people should not be eating breakfast during the Fast. Only those with a medical condition, the very young and the very old, and the pregnant. His Holiness explains this in his book The Spirituality of Fasting saying that if we do not feel hunger and stop eating then we are not fasting we are just vegetarians. His Holiness describes the general rule as being to not eat until 3pm, although this is to be a matter decided with our spiritual fathers.
Doughnuts and croissants are not normally fasting food. Fresh pasta is often made with eggs so there is a need to check the ingredients. If food contains dairy, meat or fish we should not eat it so as to honour God. It is good for us to feel hungry and it is better to skip something than break the fast without need. The fast is not a rule or a contest we have to pass, it is a means of entering a closer union with God. This desire for God should be something we pray for so that we are able to offer Him our hunger.
I really do recommend everyone reading His Holiness' book..
http://tasbeha.org/content/hh_books/fasting/index.html
Father Peter
Croissants are not fasting? Oh! That's right! I forgot... its made with butter.. OK..
What about pain au chocolat? That's fasting?
As for breakfast - its important to start the day with a good meal - no? I cannot concentrate otherwise at work.. That makes me less effective. in fact, its dishonest to not give 100% at work, so breakfast is important.
Let us remember the words of the Bible: The Lord prefers Mercy than Sacrifice.
What do you mean :"when do I fast"? I AM fasting.. and its great.
I had this bean/corn/salsa mix last night.. AMAZING. I gotta give you guys the name of the salsa mix. Its totally fasting.
What do you eat Fr. Peter? What does your day look like in terms of food?
Have you tried ma7shee? Ohhhh MAMA!!! MMMMMMMmmmmmmm!!!
That's lovely. Or Ocra? Do you have this in the UK? We call it BAMYA in Egypt
I could live on that.. and I agree, Lebanese bread is just awesome.
During the fast, for most of us, it is important to fast.
If you do not want to fast then that is a matter for you to discuss with your spiritual father, but you should not try to use Scripture to suggest that not fasting is a matter of indifference.
Out Lord says, 'when you fast', not 'if you fast'. And from the times of Christ the Church has always fasted. If we do not stop eating then we are not fasting. His Holiness is very clear about this. You may decide with your spiritual father that in your circumstances the rule you should follow is as you describe, but this is not fasting.
Pain au chocolat are not fasting foods either. Unless especially made for vegans.
Father Peter
If we eat breakfast then we are not fasting.
During the fast, for most of us, it is important to fast.
If you do not want to fast then that is a matter for you to discuss with your spiritual father, but you should not try to use Scripture to suggest that not fasting is a matter of indifference.
Out Lord says, 'when you fast', not 'if you fast'. And from the times of Christ the Church has always fasted. If we do not stop eating then we are not fasting. His Holiness is very clear about this. You may decide with your spiritual father that in your circumstances the rule you should follow is as you describe, but this is not fasting.
Father Peter
Well, OK.. I see. Good point.
What do I do if I'm working? I cannot concentrate at work if I'm hungry. I don't think its healthy.
I agree with your point that we should eat enough but not be "full up" - but the good thing is, fasting food really hardly fills me up. No matter what I eat, if its fasting, it tastes good (except lentil soup).
So - how do i reconcile my desire to fast and not heave breakfast with my committment to be an effective employee? Its not recommended to go to work on an empty stomach. In fact, most companies give free breakfast because the meal is THAT important to your performance at work.
I think if I was a student, MAYBE it could be possible, but if you have a family and need to concentrate at work, what do you suggest?
Only one solution would be to eat healthy and not a large amount of food. So after I break my fast I should eat a small meal and then very small amounts of food here and there until I sleep, just to keep it healthy???
Do you have any healthy food suggestions Fr. Peter? i do agree with your posts, and thanks for the link!
Keep in mind that I also live alone :(
Cheers
I have to work every day, and I am doing some programming now. I have not found my attention affected by fasting.
It would be best for you to have a conversation with your spiritual father. There is a blessing in being hungry. We do not simply exchange ordinary food for vegan food, we are to embrace hunger as a means of spiritual effort, devotion and focus.
If we are not hungry then we are not fasting.
I do suggest that your read Pope Shenouda's book since he explains everything with authority.
Father Peter
Let me post some of His Holiness' words. (Although it is hard to choose any from the book as they should all be studied)..
Fasting acquires its perfection in toleration to hunger.
If you do not become hungry, you will not understand the depth and meaning of fasting, and if you do not prolong or endure your fast and eat directly after your abstinence, you will not be awarded the benefits conveyed by hunger.
What then are the spiritual benefits conveyed by hunger?
He who hungers becomes aware of his weakness. Thus he defeats his sense of self-delusion, from self reliance and
excessive self-confidence. Bodily humility and weakness leads him to spiritual submission. When the body is humbled, the soul is humbled, feeling the need for support and pleads to God for strength, saying: O Lord, support my weakness with Your Godly power for I by myself can do nothing.
Man's prayer is intense when hungry.
Fervent spiritual prayers do not come from a full stomach. That is why prayer and fasting are inseparable. People fast when
they seek depth in their prayer. Prayers and bible readings during Passion Week become profound when united by hunger...
Easter melody recording during Passion Week exhibits spiritual depth by he who records it while fasting. A recording of the
same melody on other than fasting days, loses its spiritual depth to become in all probability a mere tune.
God desires that through hunger that man may identify his weakness. Prostration is therefore more effective when hungry
than with a stomach filled with food.
My advice to you is this: If you feel hungry, resist for a while the temptation to eat so that you may receive the blessing of
hunger. The Lord Jesus Christ fasted for forty days and finally became hungry. When the Devil tempted Christ to eat He refused
despite His hunger. In doing so, He taught us a lesson. Therefore, endure your hunger, and do not avoid it. Do not escape from the feeling of hunger through idle talk, wasting of time or sleep which you may resort to in order to overcome the period of hunger without feeling it. By escaping from hunger, you forfeit its blessings, spiritual benefits and the virtue of endurance and control over the body.
Our aim is to benefit from hunger and not escape from it.
If hunger presses on you, say to yourself that you do not deserve to eat. Say to yourself: I do not deserve to eat because of my sins. You become inwardly humble when you are physically fatigued which allows you to pray in humility and help you to relinquish
pride, vanity and self-complacency. As for he who stands to pray in might, health and the strength of iron, where will submissiveness come from?
Two minutes prayer while hungry are better than hours when full. In fact, a hungry person longs for prayer, while he who is full often forgets. That is why most faithful people pray before
eating.
Peruse hunger in wisdom when you fast.
Those who have experienced the spiritual benefit arising from hunger tend to prolong its period. However, one must be
careful not to exaggerate in utter exhaustion that you end up too frail to stand on your feet to pray. Such a person may opt to
pray while prostrating not out of submissiveness but to seek comfort and relaxation for his tired body.
Be wise to train yourself within your body's limit of endurance. However, I have a frank word to say to you:
Do not be afraid of hunger, for it is a passing sensation. The reason is that the more you give your stomach, the more it
expands to accommodate more. Moreover, in cases of those who are overweight, the stomach is flabby, its walls are weak,
and if you do not fill it, you feel hungry.
If you endure your hunger, your stomach will re-condition itself and contract. If you persist, it will no longer be in need for
much. Hunger will then not persist since a small quantity will give the stomach a feeling of fullness. A wise person is one who controls his stomach. He does not eat so much that his stomach becomes flabby, and does not over deprive it of food to make it shrink to a size unfit for the needs of his body.
Moderation in this matter is useful and wise.
Fasting and Wakefulness: Being filled with food leads to heaviness of the body and consequently to sleep. As for he who fasts, his body is light, his system is not burdened with the processes of digestion, and is able to stay awake until late.
[quote author=Zoxsasi link=topic=10934.msg132373#msg132373 date=1299595877]
I think if I was a student, MAYBE it could be possible, but if you have a family and need to concentrate at work, what do you suggest?
That's where you're totally wrong buddy! hahaha!
Students have a whole future panned out just from studying - if we don't perform we'll fail! Studying has got to be harder than working :P
I'm kidding... but seriously, students have it pretty tough... I know some priests allow some students who are living away from home, like my self, to have fish in their fast - which is bizarre! And obviously they wouldn't fast until 3 or so on. I would never allow myself to fast lent with fish - it just sounds so wrong, I think my struggle is so much satisfying on so many levels.
Oh and the kids who fast with milk! And those that say "I'm fasting with milk so therefore I can have ice cream"! Haha.
If we are not hungry then we are not fasting.
Yes. That's very true. What's the point of fasting unless we experience hunger ... otherwise we're just exchanging one type of food for another.
But the good news is this:
I love fasting food, and no matter how much I have of it, I'm always hungry.
For example, tomato salad with mustard sauce - its delicious. But its never going to fill me up, even if I eat loads of it.
What should I do? It actually tastes better than non fasting food?
Fr. Peter, do you recall who said this?
What do you eat then during the fasting period... what time do you start eating, and what foods do you eat?
What do you have for lunch, dinner and supper?
I would also suggest that you plan ahead a little so that you have a small salad or falafel sandwich, or pitta bread to break your fast with, or a box of chopped fruit or something. But so that you don't just eat anything, you are eating healthy. But you are also able to break your fast with fasting food.
It is not my place to tell you when to break your fast but I would suggest that you should have a time when you will break your fast unless you are able to persevere for a greater blessing. I am speaking generally rather than specifically. So if it was so that your rule was to break your fast at 2pm then you would make every effort to keep this rule with strictness, but if you fasted till 3pm that would be a blessing. Nevertheless it would be acceptable to break your fast at 2pm. But not at 1pm, or not at 12:30pm etc.
There will be a next year, God willing, when you will fast with greater strictness seeking a greater blessing perhaps. But it is always best, in my experience, to root in solid habits based on extending and stretching ourselves with a little discipline rather than setting too strict a rule all at once and not being able to create the spiritual habit which is so important to the rest of our life.
Having become Orthodox only 17 years ago I am still building such habits, and you are truly blessed to be able to form them while you are still young.
Whatever the allowances WE think we deserve we are generally always too soft on ourselves, and so in this matter as in so much else, it is best to speak with our spiritual fathers. The generations before us in the Church also had busy jobs, were students, were parents, were government officials etc etc. They kept the fast strictly and preserved the Orthodox Faith for us to receive.
Father Peter
I am a poor example of a Christian and easily attend to my own animal needs before caring for my spiritual welfare. But the Lord is gracious and strengthens those who show any small desire, such as my own, to progress in the spiritual life. Therefore any spiritual practice which I have been able to perform is entirely due to God and not to my weakness which has always failed to even begin to live as I should.
At this season I am fasting until after sunset when I have been eating a thick soup, or a mix of rice and beans etc. Store bought meals but all vegan, some Indian type, some Mexican type. I have some bread with it. I like Rye Bread. In the larder I have some fasting biscuits, occasionally a bready type fasting cake. At the weekends I had some avocado and salad sandwiches during the day. Sometimes I have some nuts and dried fruits. I had a few falafel during the week.
This fast, having somehow found the grace to be stricter with myself, it seems easier now that I just put anything back on the shelf that contains any dairy at all. There are lots of different interesting foods around. In the fridge today I have 'Spice Roasted Butternut Squash Soup'. I'll have it with some bread.
I am working every day and I do not find that I lack the ability to concentrate. My stomach is also shrinking and so I desire to eat less, though I am hungry. And I am filled up quicker when I do eat. I find myself drawn to pray when I am aware of my hunger - having learned a great deal from reading His Holiness book with attention.
I know other non-Christians who are eating much less than I am through various other causes. Either the desire to look slimmer or through stress. Just not eating is not anything praiseworthy. But for the Orthodox Christian it is a means, and an important means, of becoming more Christian through the exercise of self-discipline and through offering a sacrifice of fasting to God.
Father Peter
http://tasbeha.org/content/hh_books/fasting/index.html
and
http://archangelmichaeloc.org/new/books/the_spirituality_of_fasting.pdf
God bless
Father Peter
I would not normally speak about my own life, but for the sake of those hear who might benefit, and to convict myself of my own weakness.
Sounds good.. me too, I'm weak also. Sam here... i like to do that also. Same here... Tomato soup? MMmmmmm.. lovely. You're weakness is making me even weaker. Mmmmm that sounds great. Do you use margarine for that? My weakness is that I put the margarine on the bread when i eat such soup.. and it is ABSOLUTELY DELICIOUS!!!!
I really recommend this for anyone with a very high "i am weak" factor - who wants to start off weak and perhaps grow. You put the rice and beans IN the soup???
What? That's pretty good. I'm not THAT strong to do that. That would require spiritual strength... Lovely.. this is making me so hungry. I love mexican food. I find myself putting spices on everything.. You? You actually like Rye bread? If I have it, OK.. if not.. i prefer white. The fruit cake? The ones they sell at tescos? The sticky one? Mmmmmm... lovely. Mmmmmm... lovely. That's very tempting. You're giving me great ideas. Ditto. Nice touch! Is peanut butter fasting by the way?? I find myself drawn to eating more whenever I think of the avocado and the meal i just had.. I can't exactly focus. I think fasting is making me eat more. Its absolutely delicious food. Maybe I should stop if I'm enjoying this much?
If you want to get the benefit of fasting then you should speak to your spiritual father.
You are free to do what ever you want.
If you want to get the benefit of fasting then you should speak to your spiritual father.
You are correct, I will speak to my FoC - I feel we both have the same diet - which is good, but you're abstaining from breakfast - which is beyond my capacity.
Are you sure you can concentrate on work without energy in the morning?
You should speak to your FOC though because without giving up eating food we are not fasting and therefore we do not receive the benefit of the season.
I have to say that I have no trouble concentrating. Indeed eating less allows for greater concentration.
You should speak to your FOC though because without giving up eating food we are not fasting and therefore we do not receive the benefit of the season.
Well, I definately am finding myself more hungrier and less "full up" than before I was fasting .. this is for sure.
However, maybe I can eat breakfast in the morning (without the croissant), but just abstain from dinner instead?
My FoC is really easy going - but I feel i need to spend more time praying and reading the Bible - otherwise this just seems pointless.
I'm trying to lay off the chips sandwiches a bit since I eat them a lot on non-fasting days.
Tomato and onion sandwich!
I'm trying to lay off the chips sandwiches a bit since I eat them a lot on non-fasting days.
Are you fasting from breakfast also TITL?
What time are you meant to start fasting from?
The catholics, by the way, fast in a really strict manner - they just eat bread and water the entire day. That's it.
But frankly speaking, although I think fasting is great, its even better if you do this in a monastery for a spiritual retreat. Its EXTREMELY hard to balance this with a job and normal life. Isn't it???
A vegan diet is good for this fasting period.
If I ever lived alone, I'd probably only eat on the weekends when I'd see my parents lol.
[quote author=TITL link=topic=10934.msg132400#msg132400 date=1299608856]
Tomato and onion sandwich!
I'm trying to lay off the chips sandwiches a bit since I eat them a lot on non-fasting days.
Are you fasting from breakfast also TITL?
What time are you meant to start fasting from?
The catholics, by the way, fast in a really strict manner - they just eat bread and water the entire day. That's it.
But frankly speaking, although I think fasting is great, its even better if you do this in a monastery for a spiritual retreat. Its EXTREMELY hard to balance this with a job and normal life. Isn't it???
Which is why as Father Peter said, you speak with your FOC and you do things which He recommends based on your health and spiritual level. No one on this site can tell you how to fast or if its hard or easy. Recommendations regarding ones spirituality must be done delicately and with care and personally tailored. We aren't facing a mass produced one size fits all spirituality.