Contacts
the main/ Cakes

Is it possible to eat pasta in the post. Lean foods for Lent

Lent is the strictest and most significant of all fasting. Do not eat meat, fish, eggs, milk, smoke or drink during fasting. alcoholic drinks; eat more than once a day. Only plant foods (fruits, vegetables, dried fruits), pickles ( sauerkraut, pickled and pickled cucumbers), crackers, drying, tea, mushrooms, nuts, black and gray bread, jelly, porridge on the water.

Grade

On Saturdays and Sundays, you can eat vegetable oil, wine and eat twice a day. IN holidays, which coincide with fasting, the fast becomes less strict: on Lazarev Saturday you can caviar, and on Annunciation, on Palm Sunday - fish.

The first four days of Great Lent, as well as the entire Holy Week, are the most severe days of fasting. On Good Friday - nothing can be eaten. Complete abstinence from food is taken on Clean Monday. On Friday of the first week, you can only eat (boiled wheat sweetened with honey or sugar).

The rest of the fasting time: Monday, Wednesday, Friday - dry food (water, bread, fruits, vegetables, compotes); Tuesday, Thursday - hot food without oil; Saturday, Sunday - food with vegetable oil.

But the main purpose of fasting is not to refuse food, but to purify a person spiritually. "True fasting is the removal of evil, the curbing of the tongue, the deposition of anger, the taming of lusts, the cessation of slander, lies, perjury."

Reasonable abstinence from food during fasting is beneficial for the body. But the church allows the sick and the elderly to fast; if they do it sincerely and not under duress. It is believed that a person who deliberately harms his health commits a mortal sin.

And here simple recipes dishes without oil. And delicious, and it won't take much time.

First meal:

. Pumpkin soup: boil potatoes, add the same amount of pumpkin, the same amount of onions, herbs. Serve

. Noodles soup : a lot of onions, carrots. Add noodles at the end. Greens in plates. It is better to eat the soup right away, until the noodles are sour.

. Mashed potato soup : boil potatoes, grind them separately in smooth puree, combine with potato broth, add crushed garlic, dill. Black pepper can. Serve with croutons. You can add some wild garlic instead of garlic.

. Soup with cereals: boil potatoes, add any cereals (buckwheat, rice, millet, etc.), a lot of onions, carrots, roots to taste (parsley, parsnips, celery). Garlic, herbs - in the plates. You can add a little tomato.

. French soup: do not boil the potatoes, but cook until tender; green pea(preferably frozen), white cabbage or cauliflower, carrots, onions. Broken asparagus can be added. Greens - in plates.

. Pickle vegetable: boil potatoes, rice, carrots, then add parsley, turnips (straws), leeks, pickles. Fresh parsley - in the plates. Serve with toasted bread.

Second courses:

. Noodles with olives: any pasta boil, rinse cold water, add juice from olives there, chop the olives themselves, tomato or ketchup like "Veres - mushroom sauce", garlic or wild garlic, basil (dried or fresh). It is good to add vegetable oil. Instead of noodles, you can cook green beans.

. Stewed potatoes with peas or mushrooms : Boil 3 parts of potatoes until half cooked, add 4 parts of diced carrots, 1 part of chopped celery roots, cook for half an hour; then 1 part of onion, 1 part of mushrooms (fresh or boiled dried) or peas (any: fresh, frozen, dried and boiled) cook for 5 minutes. Greens - in plates.

READ ALSO - Not fasting yet? But it's not just about religion ...

. Monastic beans : Boil the beans until half cooked, add a lot of finely chopped onions, cook for another half hour. Greens - in plates.

. Braised cabbage : Stew until softened 1 kg of cabbage, add red ground pepper, 2 potatoes and simmer until tender. Pour in 200g tomato juice... Add dill at the end. Can be stewed with bell pepper.

. Cabbage with mushrooms: Boil mushrooms until half cooked, finely chop. Stew the onion in a small amount of mushroom broth, then chopped cabbage, add red pepper, then mushrooms. Make a sauce from the remaining broth (dilute the flour in the broth, add spices, cook until thickened). Season the finished cabbage with sauce and herbs.

. Corn salad (peas): boil the potatoes in their skins. Cut into cubes, add finely chopped onions (preferably green, you can use wild garlic), pickled cucumbers (zucchini) without skin, canned corn with juice (peas). Add a little cucumber marinade, herbs. It is possible with olives and juice from olives.

Lean baked goods:

. Honey cake: 1 tbsp. warm water, 1 tbsp. sugar, 2 tbsp. stir honey until honey and sugar dissolve. Cool down. Add sifted flour (until thick sour cream), 0.5 tbsp each. raisins and nuts, vanilla (or zest), soda and vinegar. Mix. Bake.

. Semolina cake : 1 tbsp. water, 1 tbsp. sugar, 1 tbsp. Stir semolina, leave for 30 minutes. Then add sifted flour until sour cream is thick, add vanilla (zest or cinnamon), slaked soda... Bake. Can be lubricated ready-made cake jam. You can add cocoa to the dough. White and brown cakes can be stacked on top of each other and greased with jam - you get a tall cake. When possible, add 1-6 tablespoons to the dough. vegetable oil.

. Cherry cake : 1.5 tbsp. water, 1.5 tbsp. cherry jam, 1 tbsp. sugar, 1 tbsp. nuts, vanilla (zest) - mix, add flour until thick sour cream, slaked soda. Bake. Instead of water, you can use a decoction of dried fruit.

Enjoy your meal!

Dear Maria!

Everything must be approached rationally and judiciously.

Fasting is, first of all, spiritual cleansing from the defilement of passions and sinful attachments in order to draw closer to God. A necessary condition on the way to achieve this is restriction in food.

Indeed, there are differences between monastic rules and rules for the laity.

Bread, simple loaves, oat cookies, gingerbread cookies, "cracker" cookies are considered lean, all the rest of the buns, cookies and other products, the packaging of which says that they contain dairy products during fasting and fasting days, it is better not to eat, in addition, in the Assumption and Great ( except for 1, 4 and Passion Week) fasts laymen are blessed with food with vegetable oil, except Wednesday and Friday, and on Christmas and Petrov fasts are blessed with fish, except Wednesday and Friday.

During the fast, the following simple rules are required. This is an exception from the diet of all meat, fish(depending on the severity of the fast) and dairy dishes, as well as products containing animal fats and proteins. But you can and should use as much as possible raw vegetables and fruits and always greens. The amount of fried foods should be kept to a minimum and refried foods should be discarded once and for all, especially those cooked in recycled or boiling oil for a long time. During the fast, you should consume as much liquids as possible: kvass, jelly, compotes should take their rightful place on your table.

If you are going to fast, then you are likely to subject yourself to severe trials not so much because you have to limit yourself in food, but because your relatives, friends, acquaintances and work colleagues do not observe the fast and do not intend to. observe. Maybe they reason something like this:

“What is there in the post - one potato and pasta? You can ruin your stomach too! "

Of course, if there is one potato and pasta, there really will be no benefit. But the point is that during the post no one forces you to limit yourself to only these products. You can't even imagine what a variety of recipes for lean dishes has been created in the entire history of mankind. You can say: fasting - it is fasting, what a variety here, there are only restrictions, you can not eat almost anything ... And you will be wrong. Fasting involves a choice from a gigantic, without exaggeration, set of products. Even the strictest canons of Great Lent (which today no one obliges us to observe) are far from just bread and water. After all, what is the so-called "dry eating", which presupposes the rejection of everything boiled? This, by the way, is not only raw cabbage and carrots, but also, for example, raisins, nuts, various fruits. What is a fish lean table? Do you think this is one boiled fish? Nothing like this. These are red and black caviar and a variety of seafood, including oysters and lobsters.

Of course, the wallet of most of our fellow citizens today does not allow eating red and black caviar and oysters. Yes, we do not call you to this. With this example, we only want to emphasize that you can approach a lean table creatively, with imagination, abandon the usual culinary stereotypes - and you will see that a lean table can sometimes be even richer than your usual table!

Someone, perhaps, will say that in our time most people have such a low material wealth that even without any posts they are forced to deny themselves everything. I also anticipate such a reproach: we are already. they say, we are sitting on bread and water, that is why we are here and called to fast and show humility, they suggest that it is good to go hungry, so that people can be distracted from social problems and the manifestations of popular anger are prevented.

Yes, it is true, now many people are forced to deny themselves everything. But think about the prophecy of the holy Optina elders. Here it is: "They do not want to fast voluntarily - they will fast involuntarily." Isn't this prophecy coming true now? Maybe it comes true for you, or for someone from your family and friends? Is it not for the long-term rejection of Orthodox traditions, is it not for our universal atheism that we are now paying? Think about it. Perhaps you will come to the conclusion that it is necessary to consciously abstain from food? In order not to have to abstain from it forcibly ...

Moreover, a person, starting to observe fasting, immediately notices the result: instead of anger at the government and at reforms and envy of the well-fed and rich, we feel peace of mind, peace, and most importantly - confidence in our righteousness, because we know that, in contrast from the well-fed and the rich, by fasting, we save our soul.

And over time, you will feel that fasting has already become a necessity for you, and it is actually not so difficult to keep it.

Before you start fasting, you need to think very carefully about your diet. Nobody forces you to eat only dry crusts, and please, let's do without such extremes. It's really not long to earn gastritis, and some other bad things, especially if your faith is not yet very strong and you cannot hold on to one spiritual food, as the saints and ascetics did. Be prudent, do not earnestly "mortify" your flesh. Better get used to living with your body in friendship, listening carefully to its signals, understanding what it really needs.

So what can you eat while fasting? Of course, the most welcome guests on the table at this time are fruits and vegetables. There is the greatest amount of vitamins, mineral substances necessary for our body. So in the summer on your table every day let there be salads from fresh vegetables, and in winter - sauerkraut, pickles, carrots, beets.

We eat during fasting and boiled and vegetable stew... But here, too, we must remember that the less heat treatment, the better - more nutrients will be retained in the finished dish. Therefore, it is better to put vegetables in boiling water, and then make sure that they are not overcooked. Do not cook vegetables in a lot of water, and do not boil them too much.

And remember that it is not at all necessary to be limited to one potato and cabbage. The whole variety of the fruit and vegetable world is open before you, do not forget about zucchini, pepper, cauliflower, corn, green peas. The more varied, the better.

You can cook and vegetable soups, adding cereals there - rice, barley.

A very important component of the lean table is porridge. Of course, boiled in water, not milk, and without adding butter... But this does not mean that the porridge will necessarily be tasteless. Remember that there are many foods you can eat during the fast that you can add to your porridge for flavor. These are raisins, nuts, carrots, and mushrooms, which can be combined with buckwheat, and with rice, and with other cereals. Experiment, give free rein to your culinary imagination!

It is believed that by not eating meat, eggs, dairy products, a person deprives himself of the required amount squirrel. This is so, but only if you approach the post illiterately. Do not forget to include in your diet foods containing plant protein - and you will be fine. These are mushrooms, and eggplants, and legumes, and, of course, soybeans. Now on the shelves there are many different products from the so-called " soy meat", Which, when properly cooked, flavored with spices and sauces, perfectly replaces real meat. Nutritionists claim that soy protein by its composition and biological value, it is an equivalent substitute for protein in meat and fish.

Not prohibited in fasting and bakery products, and on lax fast days - and vegetable oil, and all the variety of fish products. And in how many different dishes can be prepared from all this, you will see culinary recipes In chapter How to conduct a Petrov post headings "Foundations of Orthodoxy".

Remember only that you should not overeat during fasting in any case - even if you limit yourself to strictly lean foods. Remember that fasting excludes any abuse - spices, spicy, salty, sour, sweet, fried foods. Better to give preference boiled dishes or steamed or grilled. Keep your food varied but simple. And you, of course, will be able to feel and appreciate this joy and holiness of the simplest food.

At the same time, it should be borne in mind that after the end of the fast, one should switch to normal nutrition gradually and in no case immediately pounce on fatty meat, smoked sausage, fried entrecotes ... It will not lead to anything good. Gradually, day by day, introduce small amounts of animal products into your diet - a little cheese, a little oil, and if it is meat, then in small pieces, boiled or steamed.


11529 visitors read the answer to this question

Already read: 20479 times

Fasting is a difficult task to prepare for lunch or dinner. However, if you and your loved ones love pasta or pasta, then we will make this difficult culinary work a little easier for you. How to make lean pasta dishes, pasta recipes with lean vegetable sauce and spaghetti with mushrooms read on.

Lean dishes: recipes for pasta (pasta) with lean sauces

Pasta or spaghetti in fasting is a real lifesaver. The dish is hearty and can be served with any sauce.

Spaghetti recipe with mushrooms and red pepper

Ingredients:

  • 300 gr. spaghetti
  • greens
  • 200 gr. cabbage
  • onion
  • 2 tooth. garlic
  • red bell pepper
  • 7-10 pcs. fresh champignons
  • vegetable oil
  • pepper

Cooking method:

1. Peel the onions and garlic. Chop the garlic and onion into small cubes.

2. In a saucepan, heat 2-3 tbsp. l. vegetable oil. Sauté garlic and onion in boiling oil until golden brown.

3. Wash the mushrooms, dry and cut into slices.

4. Wash sweet red bell pepper, remove seeds and stalk. Cut the pepper into large strips, then into cubes.

5. Chop white cabbage with a sharp knife into thin shavings.

6. Put mushrooms in a saucepan with onions and garlic, then bell pepper.

7. Mix everything and simmer for 5 minutes. Put the cabbage on top of the roast.

8. Cover the saucepan with a lid and reduce heat to low. Simmer vegetables with mushrooms until tender. At the end, add salt and pepper to the dish.

9. Boil spaghetti in salted water.

10. Discard the finished spaghetti in a colander, let the water drain and immediately transfer to the stewpan for the vegetable frying.

11. Stir the spaghetti thoroughly with the vegetable sauce.

12. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Heat spaghetti over low heat for 2-5 minutes.

Season with fragrant fresh herbs before serving. Serve spaghetti with mushrooms for lunch or dinner. Bon Appetit!

I offer you one more lean recipe pasta with sauce, it will be especially appreciated by lovers of Italian cuisine.

Italian style pasta recipe

Ingredients:

  • 300 gr. spaghetti or any other pasta
  • onion
  • 2 tooth. garlic
  • 2 red bell peppers
  • 50 gr. tomato paste
  • 100 ml of water
  • 1 tsp dry basil
  • 10 pieces. pitted olives
  • basil and parsley greens
  • olive oil

Cooking method:

  1. Pour some good into a saucepan olive oil.
  2. Peel and fry the garlic whole in heated olive oil.
  3. Onion peel and cut into small cubes. Add the onion to the garlic.
  4. Bell pepper bake on the grill or in the oven.
  5. Peel the peppers and remove the seeds.
  6. Cut the flesh of the peppers into pieces and transfer to a saucepan with the onion and garlic.
  7. Tomato paste fry in a separate frying pan with 1 tbsp. l. olive oil.
  8. Pour hot water into the paste.
  9. Boil the sauce and immediately pour into a saucepan with the pepper and other ingredients.
  10. Season the sauce with dry basil.
  11. Salt to taste.
  12. Cut the olives into rings and pour into the sauce.
  13. Gently stir the sauce, heat over the fire for 1-2 minutes, then close the lid and remove from heat.
  14. Boil pasta or spaghetti in salted water, drain the water from them and arrange on plates.
  15. Put 2-3 tbsp on top of the pasta. l. sauce. Decorate with fresh herbs.

By the way, fasting is a great reason and a way to lose weight. And don't be surprised that pasta with the right lean sauce can really help. Watch the video recipe for healthy pasta with vegetables and cook lean dishes with us!

The Epistle to the Romans of the Apostle Paul contains the words: "But if your brother is grieved for food, then you no longer walk out of love .... Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died." During fasting and fasting days at work in a secular team, it is customary to celebrate birthdays, other non-church holidays and treat colleagues. How, in such cases, not to violate Church discipline with regard to fasting and at the same time act out of love, and not out of man-pleasing?

Hello Evgeny!

If you carefully read the 14th chapter of Romans, you will see that most of this chapter is devoted to teaching not to condemn those who for one reason or another do not fast, and not to leave the fast in order not to grieve those who do not fast. Yes, in the lives of the saints, patericons, one can find situations when the saints broke the fast for love of their neighbors, but these were isolated cases, this was done with the deepest humility and love for their neighbor, and were single, not systematic.

At work, it is quite possible to come to the holiday, to be with the team for a while, to congratulate the hero of the occasion. But after all, no one forces you to eat non-fast food!

Do not be ashamed to tell your coworkers that you are fasting. It may surprise them at first, but over time it will even inspire respect for you. On the table, which is going to celebrate the New Year or other common holiday, you can always find something lean: fish, vegetables, fruits, olives, etc. Moreover, if the table is going to be "folded" you can bring some kind of lean food.

Why can't you get married during Lent? Saturday and other days? Tatyana

Hello Tatiana!

The wedding is not performed on those days when Orthodox Christians must abstain from marital intimacy (fasting, the eve of fasting days - Wednesday and Friday, and Sunday). In addition, fasting is a time of special repentance for sins; a wedding celebration during this period is inappropriate.

Best regards, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko

Answer please! I am fasting, but at work they do not prepare lean food for us. basically nobody observes it. And so, for example, I eat soup without meat, but for meat broth... Question: does this count as a violation of the fast? Should I refuse the first course? Elena

Hello, Elena!

Yes, you are breaking the fast, and if there is a possibility, then it is better to refuse the first course.

Best regards, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko

Hello! Please tell me what is the right thing to do in such a situation? My husband and I have been living for a month and a half. We got married, got married. But although he accepts my opinion about fasting and the life of a believer, he does not understand it. He wants a child. I don't want us to have fights. Family is very important ...

Hello Katerina!

You are right - if the refusal of marital relations during the post causes a negative reaction of the spouse and discord in the family, then there is no need to insist on this. According to the words of the Apostle Paul, it is not the wife who has power over her body, but the husband, and it is necessary to refrain from intimacy by mutual consent. For the future, try to negotiate with your spouse about abstinence on the eve of Communion and on the most important days, for example, on Holy Week of Great Lent. Pray for your spouse, ask the Lord to give him faith and bring him to the temple.

God help you!

Best regards, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko

Hello! Please tell me if a child can be baptized during Lent?

Hello Marina!

Yes, you can also baptize a child during Lent. Remember that it is important not only to baptize the baby, but also to educate him in Orthodoxy, to regularly partake of the Holy Mysteries of Christ.

Best regards, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko

Good day! Is it possible to get married (register a marriage) during Lent?

Hello Anastasia!

It is possible to register a marriage during fasting, but in this case, it is better to time the wedding and the beginning of family life in conjunction with the wedding, which can be performed after the end of the fast (after August 28).

May God grant you to create a strong and happy family!

Best regards, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko

Father, what to do if it is difficult to fast, if by the end of the fast there is no appetite, although you still want to eat? In our family, everyone fasts, but just like fasting, so problems with food begin. Everyone is too lazy to cook (me too), and it turns out that all the time pasta, potatoes with salad, and cookies with chocolate.

At the beginning of the post, I feel normal and physically I tolerate the post normally, and by the end I can hardly stand it. When I fasted for the first time, I got a stomach ache, so I broke the fast. How to eat during fasting if you get sick while fasting?

Hello Ulyana!

Yes, if serious health problems arise, then the fast can be weakened (with the blessing of the priest), but you do not need to bring yourself to such a state. Indeed, judging by your letter, your problems are not because of your health, but because you are too lazy to cook during the fast. The Lenten table can be varied, tasty, and healthy. For a sick stomach, by the way, oatmeal boiled in water is very useful - what is non-fasting? On our site there are recipes for lean dishes, there are even special ones cookbooks, there would be a desire to cook!

Best regards, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko

Hello. Help me please. My fiance's parents are very negative about fasting and fasting foods. Every day her parents put pressure on her and force her to eat meat. I have already become involved in this, because they care about our health. We are far from fat and are engaged in intellectual work. It got to the point where they said that there would be no wedding if we continued our posts. What to do: eat meat for their sake and keep the peace, or go to an ever-growing confrontation and continue fasting according to the charter?

Hello, Alexander! Unfortunately, your letter does not reflect the motives that induce the parents of your bride to be so zealous in protecting her health. If this is an anti-religious bias - pray for them, remember them in the church. For example, order a magpie for their health. For the time being, it is better to prefer the family world to fasting. But in confession it is imperative to repent of not keeping the fast, explaining its reasons. Perhaps in confession the priest, having understood the situation, will give you more specific and effective advice. Best regards, Priest Mikhail Samokhin.

What is needed for growth to occur, so that fasting does not turn into only abstinence from food?

- I always remember the story of St. Mitrofaniy of Voronezh by fasting. He had a cell attendant whom he loved very much. And somehow at the end of Lent, he goes to his cell and feels that from the room of his cell attendant smells strongly of fish. The saint knocked, went in, and saw: the cell attendant was sitting with some person and, in fact, was eating an ear. He says: “Brother, how are you? What suddenly? " And he had a strict monastery, he himself was the strictest fasting man. He replies: “You see, this is my fellow villager, a childhood friend, we were inseparable, he came to me for the first time in 15 years. And he brought fish as a gift. I can't throw it out, otherwise it will disappear ... And we cooked this fish soup with him ... ". “Well, okay,” says the saint. Mitrofaniy - such fish soup and I will eat with you. " He sat down and ate. Not because I wanted to, but because, in comparison with this friendship and love, the ban on fish by fasting was simply nothing ... But you and I do not need to break the fast of food. What then do we observe if we break it? Agreed - agreed. We must do it. It's a matter of loyalty. And faith without fidelity practically does not exist.

Or here's another post story. One of my friends had problems, and she went to see a spiritual person. The problems were real, very serious. She says to him: “I myself have taken upon myself such obedience, to read 2 kathisma a day for this misfortune. This is fine?" And he: “Why 2 kathismas? For you, it all burns and dies. So take it and read the whole Psalter at once! And read it and read it again. What are you mumbling ... ". And her life has changed, really. If you really need something, then sacrifice something serious! Or do you want to pay 5 kopecks all the time? So you just don't need anything - no good groom, no health for the children, no decent housing. Any sacrifice, everything that a person does, really tearing away from himself with blood, instantly responds. Nobody wants you to suffer. And if you pay 5 kopecks each time, they will give you 5 kopecks. Nothing will change in life. If you read novels, you cannot be pulled by the ears, and the Psalter is 15 minutes, and even then not every day, then it may turn out that you are just a bibliophile, and not an Orthodox Christian ...

And fasting, after all, is such a time when you can really change something in yourself. This is the time when requests are heard, when tears are especially taken into account. The Lord Himself determined such a time for us. And if it were unimportant, what, at the end of it, would the Holy Fire have descended? Fasting cannot be an ordinary life, it is some kind of movement, a jerk. And yet - this is a time when the fruit of spiritual life is obvious.

Archpriest Alexander Volokhov

Hello! Please tell me why it is during the post that the relationship is so aggravated - both at work and personal. Quarrels occur, from which it is then difficult to get out. How to avoid such situations or prevent them? Thanks. Tatyana

Hello Tatiana! The main reason for this is that often we only care about fasting bodily, sometimes very carefully reading the ingredients on the packages (so as not to break the fast), but we forget that spiritual fasting is much more important. The elders said: "Even if you eat meat in fasting, just don't eat each other." That is, for all the importance of bodily fasting, it is much more important to carry out the fast in such a way as not to become exhausted from hunger and fatigue (and this usually leads to irritability) and because of this, not to "aggravate relations" with neighbors.

You need to be very attentive to your inner mood, try to be calm and friendly with everyone, and pray regularly. For example, every hour devote 1-2 minutes to reading the Jesus prayer "Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, a sinner!" If you sinned with irritability, immediately repent fervently before the Lord, ask for forgiveness from the one you offended. Ask the Lord to grant you humility, patience and meekness.

Please tell me, is it possible to drink tea with chocolate during fasting if it is without milk? Thank you!

Cocoa is a plant-based product, so dairy-free chocolate is a lean food that can be enjoyed during fasting.

Best regards, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko

Father, bless. There is no temple here, so please tell me how to do the right thing. The team refused to prepare a festive program, thereby offended some people. After all, my husband and I are trying to observe. But she did not explain to people that fasting, she was afraid, sinful - they will not understand me. Now I still help prepare the program, but I said I will not carry it out. I am very worried that my husband and I will be called to participate in competitions, dances. How to find the middle - and not have fun, and not sit like a clogged one. I understand that it is a sin to offend people, but I did not think that by refusing I could offend someone. How to make peace with people? Is it a sin to help prepare a festive program for a corporate event? Save you Lord. Svetlana

Hello Svetlana!

It seems to me that helping to prepare a program is not a sin, if the program itself does not contain any obscene jokes, etc. At the holiday itself, you can and should congratulate your colleagues from the bottom of your heart, tell them kind words and wishes. Dancing is probably not worth it, but participation in competitions (again, not beyond the bounds of decency) is quite possible. You can come up with and hold any competition yourself. When it comes to fasting, try to participate in the preparation of lean meals. are regularly published on our website.

God help you! Best regards, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko

What is the difference between fasting time and normal time? I already try to lead a strict spiritual life ... how and what to change by fasting?

Fasting is a special time for cognizing one's own weakness and overcoming one's own "I". Why does the Church allocate special fasting periods? In order for a person to be able to consolidate what he achieved at this special time in everyday realities: the atmosphere of fasting mobilizes us, we are aware of something, we embark on the path of struggle with certain inclinations - we bring this awareness and struggle from fasting into everyday life.

The next post brings something of its own. That is why the Fathers say that fasting is a ladder that leads us to Heaven. If you have a feeling that fasting is easy for you, then consult with your confessor or with the priest to whom you constantly confess: they will help you understand what exactly is wrong, what is the reason for this relaxing ease.

It happens that the pious exercises of fasting come easily to us due to natural inclinations - there are, for example, people who do not like meat or entertainment. But each of us has something that can become the subject of special care during the days of fasting - imperfection is not outside, it is inside us and fasting helps to see it.

Best regards, Priest Alexy Kolosov

Photo: Patriarchia.ru

Good afternoon! My mother is 72 years old and has poor eyesight. She strictly adheres to fasts, because of poor eyesight she cooks only potatoes for herself. all year round... It turns out that the body does not receive any nutrients. Please tell me if there are any restrictions on fasting for health reasons and age?

Of course, the measure of fasting depends on the state of health of a person, but this is determined by him himself in a personal conversation with the priest, and not by his children in absentia via the Internet. In addition, as far as I understand, your mother "cooks her own potatoes all year round" - so the reason is not fasting, but poor eyesight.

Best regards, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko

What post should be at the age of 13. If you can describe. Arthur

Dear Arthur!

At your age, fasting is determined by what your mom prepares. You can limit yourself to some delicacies, you can not watch TV at all, help your mother more, if possible, go to church more often, not offend anyone. If you have not yet learned, then learn the prayers "Our Father" and "Virgin Mary, rejoice." The Lord is with you!

Is it allowed to eat seafood in? And these include shrimp, squid, oysters?

To the fullest extent, seafood should be eaten, like fish, that is, on the holidays of the Annunciation and on Palm Sunday. Shrimp, squid and oysters are not plant foods. However, questions of the personal measure of fasting must be coordinated with the confessor.

Best regards, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko

How can a student fast?

The measure of fasting depends primarily on the state of health of the person; it must be established in a personal conversation with the priest. Remember that fasting is not a hunger strike; lean food can be both satisfying and varied. Do not forget about spiritual fasting: try to visit church more often, devote more time to prayer, exclude watching entertainment programs and films during fasting. Be kind and merciful to your loved ones, try not to judge anyone, not quarrel with anyone, avoid irritability.

Tell me, during fasting, products of animal origin are forbidden to use only, as they say, "inside"? The fact is that most cosmetic creams, foams and masks contain milk, cream, and animal fat ... Is it possible to use honey during fasting?

Yes, you can use creams and eat honey while fasting.

Best regards, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko

Father, it's a shame to admit; I cannot stand the fast by the monastery charter, I have been at war with myself for a year, but nothing good comes of it: I break down, suffer from guilt, fear, or fall into murmur and protest. I could not get clear advice and an answer to the question about the measure of fasting from my parish priest, unfortunately in your website the answer to the question about the monastery charter of fasting and about the charter for the laity is also evasive. It’s not that I’m looking for indulgence for myself, it’s that I cannot immediately go up. I need help with advice on how to curb my belly and not miss out on everything else while fighting with it. God save you.

Try to start small - observe the established fast on Wednesdays and Fridays: do not eat meat, dairy products, and eggs on these days. During Great Lent, observe the indicated restrictions, and also refrain from fish dishes on Wednesdays and Fridays. A lean table can be hearty and tasty; recipes for lean dishes are published on our website.

Ask the Lord for strength to fast. Also pay more attention to spiritual fasting: go to church more often, devote more time to prayer, exclude watching entertainment programs and films during fasting. Be kind and merciful to your loved ones, try not to judge anyone, not quarrel with anyone, avoid irritability.

God help you! priest Alexander Ilyashenko

Is fasting so obligatory (restriction in food)? Reading spiritual literature, intense prayers, abstaining from entertainment, confession before the sacrament may be sufficient. Especially for children.

If you mean fasting before Communion, then for regularly (once every 2-3 weeks) those who receive Communion, it can be facilitated, but only with the blessing of the confessor. Young children (up to 7 years old) may not observe fasting food before the sacrament.

As for the one-day and many-day fasts established by the Church, then, if health permits, it is necessary to observe them. The measure of fasting for children is again different from that for adults. But, I repeat, all questions of personal fasting must be resolved with the priest individually.

Best regards, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko



Our body is killed not by restrictions on food and other pleasures, but by the excess in them. And besides, even if we do not harm others and do not violate the commandment to love our neighbor, we still need to love God. Hence, there are some limitations in pleasures, since love, when it is, manifests itself in action, in our actions.

For example, it’s easy to say, “I don’t love myself,” but at the same time our deeds show that we love ourselves exactly as we ought to love God. And you can say with the same ease: “I love God”, but nothing is easier than words - love is learned from deeds. And if we, by at least, we want to love God, let us limit ourselves in that which removes us from God. There is no goal, neither in worldly life, nor in spiritual life, for the sake of which we would not sacrifice something else. Those who do not want to sacrifice anything, and remain with nothing - gain nothing worthwhile, and at the same time lose what they had.

Priest Mikhail Nemnonov

Dear Anastasia!
The first thing that comes to mind is to cook for yourself and your loved ones: by doing this you will serve your loved ones, gain the experience of housekeeping, which is so useful in family life, and avoid quarrels. If for some reason this is impossible, think that your mother is prompted to such reproaches by sincere concern and concern for you - being a non-church person, she still cannot understand the true motives of your actions and this annoys her: comfort her with love, signs of attention, a kind word.

Be a good daughter, as befits an Orthodox Christian. Tell her that “everything is permissible, but not everything is useful” - explain to her the real meaning of fasting, as strengthening the will in small things so that she can be worthy of the Lord in large things. Most of all, be concerned about meekness - remember the commandment about honoring parents: although we do not choose them, we owe respect!
Peace and blessings of God to you!

Is it possible for a 15-year-old boy to refrain from fasting, because the school is preparing for exams, and this requires a lot of activity? Denis.

Hello Denis. Fasting is a time of repentance and intense prayer to combat sin and the manifestation of original sin in human nature by passions, and abstinence in food is only one of the means of our approach to God, the return of the prodigal son to the Father. The church sings in one of her chants: "From my youth, passions strive against me." At the age of 15, a person must be ready to fight with passions, so fasting must be observed.

Why are there so many restrictions on pleasures, food, sexual relations in Orthodoxy? This, it seems, does not harm others, does not violate the commandment of love for one's neighbor. Why is it necessary to “kill your body”, your desires? Why such lack of freedom?

Our body is killed not by restrictions on food and other pleasures, but by excess in them. And besides, even if we do not harm others and do not violate the commandment to love our neighbor, we still need to love God. Hence, there are some restrictions in pleasures, since love, when it is, manifests itself in action, in our actions. For example, it’s easy to say, “I don’t love myself,” but at the same time our deeds show that we love ourselves exactly as we ought to love God. And you can say with the same ease: “I love God”, but nothing is easier than words - love is learned from deeds. And if we, at least, want to love God, we will limit ourselves in that which removes us from God. There is no goal, neither in worldly life, nor in spiritual life, for the sake of which we would not sacrifice something else. Those who do not want to sacrifice anything, and remain with nothing - gain nothing worthwhile, and at the same time lose what they had.

Priest Mikhail Nemnonov

What about fasting in children? Is it possible to limit them in food as well as yourself, or can you give a weakness to growing organisms?

We have defined the following restrictions for our children - no sweets and cartoons. In all other respects, it seems unreasonable to limit children at 5 and 3 years of age. Although there are tough parents, these are their children. At the moment, these restrictions are quite enough for them to understand that everything is not for nothing. Priest Dimitri Karpenko

How is fasting time different from normal time? I already try to lead a strict spiritual life ... how and what to change by fasting? Kseniya

Hello Ksenia!
Fasting is a special time for cognizing one's own weakness and overcoming one's own "I". Why does the Church allocate special fasting periods? In order for a person to be able to consolidate what he achieved at this special time in everyday realities: the atmosphere of fasting mobilizes us, we become aware of something, we embark on the path of struggle with certain inclinations - we bring this awareness and struggle from fasting into everyday life. The next post brings something of its own. That is why the Fathers say that fasting is a ladder that leads us to Heaven. If you have a feeling that fasting is easy for you, then consult with your confessor or with the priest to whom you constantly confess: they will help you understand what exactly is wrong, what is the reason for this relaxing ease. It happens that the pious exercises of fasting come easily to us due to natural inclinations - there are, for example, people who do not like meat or entertainment. But each of us has something that can become the subject of special care during the days of fasting - imperfection is not outside, it is inside us and fasting helps to see it.
Best regards, Priest Alexy Kolosov

Is it okay to eat soy foods during the fast? Elena
Hello, Elena!
Fasting soy products quite acceptable. However, here, too, a certain caution should be observed: with what feelings, with what mood do we taste them? We abstain from modest things not because it is “bad” or “bad”, but for the sake of acquiring the skill of obedience to the Church and self-control - therefore, in relation to soy products, abstinence must be observed, both in terms of quantity and quality, avoiding delicacies or self-indulgence ...
Best regards, Priest Alexy Kolosov

Mom is against the fact that I fast, I depend on her, what should I do? She is a believer, but does not go to church, she believes that it is enough just to be a good person. Anastasia

Dear Anastasia!
The first thing that comes to mind is to cook for yourself and your loved ones: by doing this you will serve your loved ones, gain the experience of housekeeping, which is so useful in family life, and avoid quarrels. If for some reason this is impossible, think that your mother is prompted to such reproaches by sincere concern and concern for you - being a non-church person, she still cannot understand the true motives of your actions and this annoys her: comfort her with love, signs of attention, a kind word. Be a good daughter, as befits an Orthodox Christian. Tell her that "everything is permissible, but not everything is useful" - explain to her the real meaning of fasting, as strengthening the will in small things, so that she will be worthy of the Lord in large things. Most of all, be concerned about meekness - remember the commandment about honoring parents: although we do not choose them, we owe respect!
Peace and blessings of God to you!
Priest Alexy Kolosov

Great Lent in the church, the akathist of the Mother of God is read (on the fifth Saturday of Lent), and also during the Passion - the akathist to the Astyam of Christ. This does not allow us to say that akathists are not read at all in fasting. But, according to tradition, their reading is significantly diminished in comparison with other times of the church year. Priest Mikhail Nemnonov.

Can you celebrate your father's birthday with unbelieving family members while fasting? Natalia.

Your refusal to participate in a family celebration will upset your loved ones. In my opinion, you need to support this holiday, wholeheartedly congratulate the person close to you. In order not to break the fast, try to eat lean meals.
Best regards, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko

When you go to visit during a fast or fast day, what if there are almost no lean dishes on the table? The hostess may be offended that we are not eating anything. Larissa

Hello Larissa!
In order not to offend the hostess who tried and cooked for you, either eat those dishes that are lean, or simply refrain from visiting these people during the fast, visit them at another time. Best regards, Priest Alexander Ilyashenko

Please tell me, if you receive guests during fasting, should the food for them be lean? (Guests do not fast)

It is advisable to treat guests with lean food. But in any case, we ourselves, accepting such guests, must keep our fast. Priest Mikhail Nemnonov

Is it possible for a 15-year-old boy to refrain from fasting, because the school is preparing for exams, and this requires a lot of activity? Denis.

Hello Denis. Fasting is a time of repentance and intense prayer to combat sin and the manifestation of original sin in human nature by passions, and abstinence in food is only one of the means of our approach to God, the return of the prodigal son to the Father. The church sings in one of her chants: "From my youth, passions strive against me." At the age of 15, a person must be ready to fight with passions, so fasting must be observed.

And how to keep the fast in your circumstances should be determined by the confessor. The degree of fasting depends on many reasons. It is not necessary to be dry-eating, but it is imperative to pray more and more often than usual, and most importantly, limit yourself in entertainment (do not watch TV, do not take part in noisy entertainment, limit yourself to sweets), do not condemn your neighbor, confess and receive communion.
God help, priest Dimitri Lin

My daughter is one and a half years old, I breastfeed her. I tried to fast, but my teeth began to deteriorate, and now I am not fasting, am I right? Eugene.

Hello Evgenia!
No one has the right to abolish the fast established by the Church, not even a priest, not even a patriarch. But we must not forget that fasting is not only about food. Therefore, in relation to food, priests most often allow pregnant and lactating women to do what is required, because the purpose of fasting is not to damage health, but to defeat passions. In such cases, the post may consist of listening to music less, watching less TV, and limiting other entertainment. But, if possible, read something spiritual more, make a prayer to yourself, keep bad emotions in yourself and carry other feats available. So eat milk, this is not required by gluttony, but by motherhood.

You can ask your parish priest for more details.
God help you!

Priest Pavel Ilyinsky

In post I try to exclude watching entertainment programs on TV. Is it possible to watch educational programs in post, for example, BBC films about nature, culture and civilizations, about history?

My children and I watch such films in the post, and I think that they really can be watched in the post (except for Holy Week). Best regards, Priest Mikhail Nemnonov

How should the table be set at the commemoration after the cemetery? What to feed? Does this matter in the days of fasting? There is nowhere to read this. Many are interested.

There is only one obligatory requirement for a memorial meal - that people do not get drunk at it, and that people go home, standing firmly on their feet and in a clear mind. Fasting for the sake of commemoration is not canceled - if they happen on a fast day, then the table should also be fast. What exactly will be on the table is not so important. This does not affect the soul of the deceased in any way, and we will proceed from our capabilities and from what we know how to cook.

Best regards, Priest Mikhail Nemnonov

https://www.instagram.com/spasi.gospodi/. The community has more than 58,000 subscribers.

There are many of us, like-minded people, and we are growing rapidly, posting prayers, utterances of saints, prayer requests, timely posting useful information about holidays and Orthodox events ... Subscribe. Guardian Angel to you!

"Save me, God!". Thank you for visiting our site, before you start studying the information, please subscribe to our Orthodox community on Instagram, Lord, Save and Save † - https://www.instagram.com/spasi.gospodi/. The community has more than 60,000 subscribers.

There are many of us, like-minded people, and we are growing rapidly, posting prayers, sayings of saints, prayer requests, timely posting useful information about holidays and Orthodox events ... Subscribe. Guardian Angel to you!

Fasting is an integral part of the Orthodox faith. First of all, it is aimed at cleansing a person spiritually. In addition, you can also cleanse the body, removing all toxins. Therefore, those who are going to fast, try to study all the rules for fasting and learn how to cook food without oil, what you can eat and drink, what foods should be enjoyed.

This question is as basic in this period as the question of whether vegetable oil is possible during fasting. These two products are closely related, so if bread is allowed, then vegetable oil should not be denied. After all, the main prohibition is products prepared using animal fats and proteins.

Bread is best consumed black, you can fry croutons in vegetable oil, but you should refuse white bread, because prohibited ingredients are often used in its preparation.

Thus, the question of the use of bread is not very important for the church, the main thing is to choose a suitable variety. But is it possible to post pasta causes a lot of discussion. Pasta is flour product, therefore, the problem of their use during the fast is fasting among many believers. They are loved for the fact that you can quickly prepare a dish without much effort and wasting time.

As with bread, you should pay attention to the composition of the pasta. If there are no animal products, please go to the table. The choice of pasta is now very huge, and manufacturers are trying to take into account the needs of different buyers, including those who are fasting, so find lean pasta will not be difficult.

Is it possible honey in fasting

Since ancient times, when the traditions of Orthodoxy were strictly observed, honey was one of the main products during fasting:

  • to our times, many recipes for ancient lean dishes have been preserved, which included honey;
  • on Honey Spas, it is customary to consecrate this product and store it for the entire next year;
  • honey has always been given to those in need, because it is considered a gift from God.

Honey in its composition contains a large amount of useful trace elements, which are necessary during the period of abstinence. It has a positive effect on the entire human body and perfectly replaces sugar, because it contains a lot of glucose and fructose. Therefore, consuming honey during the fast will only bring great benefits.

Except honey like healthy delicacy, maybe halva on the table. Halva in fasting is not prohibited, only if it does not include egg yolk... You should carefully study the composition of the product or cook it yourself at home. To make halva at home, you will need:

  • 250 grams of sunflower seeds, pre-peeled;
  • a couple of tablespoons of raisins;
  • a couple of tablespoons of vegetable oil, not necessarily refined.

Grind the seeds and raisins using a blender. Then add oil and beat a little more. Form a sausage from the finished mixture or place it in a prepared container. Put in the cold for 60 minutes. Halva is ready to eat!

Wine in the post

Is it possible to have wine during the fast? There are two possible answers to this question. According to the charter of the monasteries, you can drink wine on weekends. But the priests believe that this rule is not acceptable today.

Previously, it was allowed to drink wine instead of water and medicine, since the inhabitants of Byzantium and Syria had a shortage of this raw material. It was in these parts that the Charter was written. Now there is no shortage of this drink, so there is no need to consume wine during the fast.

To the question of whether it is possible to drink wine in, there is an unequivocal answer - it is possible, only on certain days. Wine is allowed to be consumed only twice a week: on Saturday and Sunday. Alcohol is prohibited on other days. It is best to give preference to red when choosing a wine, it is good if it is Cahors.

Orthodox Christians can drink wine, but clergymen are still recommended to give it up for the period of abstinence, because it harms the spiritual development of a person.

Can chocolate be in fasting

You can eat chocolate during fasting, but not in all pastry dishes. Often unscrupulous manufacturers add ingredients prohibited by fasting to chocolate, and mark on the label that the chocolate is lean. Bitter chocolate can be consumed, but from milk and white chocolate it is worth giving up, because they contain animal proteins and fats.

Based on this, in order not to sin, it is better chocolate desserts cook at home yourself.

For chocolate lovers, very delicious delicacy can become a dish like bananas in chocolate. For cooking you will need:

  • dark chocolate bar;
  • 2 bananas;
  • dried fruits.

Dried fruits should be chopped. Cut the bananas into not thick slices. The chocolate should be melted using the microwave or water bath... Then the banana slices should be dipped in warm chocolate and sprinkled with prepared dried fruits. The treat is ready to eat. You can also leave these candies in the freezer to set.

Seafood in the post

It is impossible to give an unambiguous answer to the question whether it is possible to eat seafood in the post. The use of seafood in our country is considered a gourmet business, but more and more often, those who adhere to the fast are asking whether shrimp, squid, mussels, etc. can be used for fasting.

Since seafood for many remains a delicacy, it is undesirable to use them in fasting, because the church prohibits gluttony. Fasting is aimed at enabling a person to come to terms with his desires, to purify his soul, and not indulge his whims in food, in the first place. Therefore, if seafood is a delicacy, it must be abandoned for this period.

You should not completely abandon seafood if they are in your regular diet. After all, in every fast there are days on which you can eat fish. And sometimes various types of seafood are also referred to as fish. You can also in fish days eat caviar in fasting . Since ancient times, caviar has not been considered a delicacy, especially red caviar. But it is strictly forbidden to use caviar.

Fish and seafood should be on the menu, because they contain such useful material like omega-3 acids and high-quality protein, which eliminate bad cholesterol and improve heart function.

Often the Orthodox question arises: what kind of fish can you eat during the Dormition Lent. The answer is none. Fish on the Dormition Fast is strictly prohibited. You can enjoy this product only on the holiday of the Transfiguration during the exit from the post.

Potatoes in post

You can cook potatoes in post in different options... You can fry on the days when vegetable oil is allowed, you can bake, boil, add to soups. The main thing is that the finished dish contains only permitted products. Potatoes should be avoided on dry days. In general, this product is allowed by the charter, but it must be prepared correctly.

Before deciding to fast, you should study all the rules for fasting. Strict - typical only for monasteries; in worldly life, some indulgences are possible, which should be learned from a church official. Blessings should also be received from him. Pregnant women and sick people should be especially careful to fast.

The Lord is always with you!