Lent, Fasting and Abstinence
Lent is a period of 40 days 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 much more strict and the faithful are expected to abstain from meat, meat byproducts, poultry, eggs and dairy products for the entire Lenten period. But these Serbian Lent recipes show how much variety there is. Check the following list for what is allowed.
Foods That Are OK for Serbian Orthodox Lent and Other Fasting Times
- All vegetable oils
- All fish oils
- All seafood
- Shortening containing vegetable ingredients only
- Margarines containing vegetable ingredients only
- Noodles and pastas 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 fruits and vegetables
- All dried beans, peas and lentils
- All nuts and peanut butter
- Some crackers (read the label carefully)
- Corn chips, potato chips and popcorn fried in vegetable oil or shortening only
- Tea, coffee, cider, juices, soft drinks
- Jellies, jams and preserves
