Foods That Are Okay to Eat for Orthodox Lent

And Other Fasting Times

When there are so many things Christians are forbidden to eat by their particular religious denominations, it's hard not to feel deprived, but there are just as many things that can be eaten. It just takes a little creativity and manipulation of ingredients.

Fasting and Abstinence
Lent is 40 days (46 days for Orthodox Christians) of prayer, fasting, and abstinence in preparation for the resurrection of Christ on Easter Sunday. Fasting refers to restrictions on the quantity of food eaten and when it is consumed, while abstinence refers to the complete avoidance of particular foods.

Under current Roman Catholic church law, the faithful are required to abstain from eating meat on Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays of Lent.

For Orthodox Christians, who follow the Julian calendar, the Great Lent is more strict, as the faithful are expected to abstain from meat, meat by-products, poultry, eggs, and dairy products for the entire Lenten period. These Serbian Lent recipes show how much variety there is and that there needn't be any feelings of deprivation.

Foods That Are Okay for Serbian Orthodox Lent and Other Fasting Times

All vegetable oils

All fish oils

All seafood

Shortening containing vegetable ingredients only

Margarine containing vegetable ingredients only

Noodles and pasta NOT made with eggs
All-natural grain flours, cornstarch, cocoa powder

Rice, wheat, barley, caraway, oats, natural tapioca

Hot and cold cereals like corn flakes, puffed wheat, and rice, shredded wheat, oatmeal, farina, etc.

All dried fruits and vegetables

All fresh and canned fruits and vegetables

All dried beans, peas, and lentils


Continued below.