Start simple. A good lentil soup, some hummus with pita, a grain bowl with rice and roasted vegetables. You don’t need to become a gourmet chef to fast well.
Orthodox fasting means going vegan most of the time, no meat, dairy, eggs, or (on strict days) even olive oil. But shellfish is allowed year-round, and fish shows up on certain feast days. If you’re coming from a Baptist background where fasting meant skipping lunch before the revival service, this probably sounds extreme. It’s not about punishment. It’s about retraining your appetites, learning that you’re not controlled by what you want right now.
The Antiochian tradition has an advantage here. We come from cultures where lentils, chickpeas, tahini, and olive oil aren’t “health food”, they’re just food. My grandmother would’ve laughed at the idea that hummus was trendy. It’s peasant food, which is exactly what you want when you’re fasting. Cheap, filling, and it doesn’t make you feel deprived.
What Actually Works on a Wednesday Night
You work a 12-hour shift at the refinery. Your kids have soccer practice. You’re fasting, but you can’t spend two hours cooking. Here’s what helps:
Make a big pot of lentil soup on Sunday. Freeze half. Lentils, carrots, onions, garlic, vegetable broth, maybe some cumin. Serve it with good bread. Done.
Get a rice cooker and keep brown rice or quinoa ready. Top it with whatever you’ve got, sautéed vegetables, canned chickpeas you’ve crisped up in a pan with garlic, some tahini thinned with lemon juice as a sauce. This is what the blog Ascetic Life of Motherhood calls a grain bowl, and it’s saved many an Orthodox parent from ordering pizza on a fasting day.
Smoothies work for breakfast. Banana, spinach, peanut butter, frozen berries, coconut water, maybe some chia seeds if you’re feeling ambitious. Blend it and go.
Pasta with marinara. Yes, really. Check the pasta ingredients (most are just wheat and water), use a tomato sauce without cheese, add some white beans for protein. Your kids won’t revolt.
Books That’ll Help
Ancient Faith Publishing sells Fasting as a Family by Melissa Naasko. It’s practical, not preachy, and it’ll keep you from staring into your fridge at 6 p.m. wondering what on earth you’re supposed to eat. There’s also When You Fast: Recipes for Lenten Seasons, which covers everything from breads to desserts and includes a section on stocking a Lenten pantry. That last bit matters. If you’ve got canned chickpeas, tahini, good olive oil, and dried lentils on hand, you’re never stuck.
Food for Paradise has 400 vegetarian recipes if you want options. Some Orthodox parishes put together their own cookbooks, St. Ignatius has one you can find online. These tend to include family favorites that actual people make, not just recipes that look impressive.
The Shellfish Loophole
Orthodox fasting rules allow shellfish anytime because they don’t have backbones or blood. Shrimp, crab, scallops, oysters, all fine. If you live near the Gulf, this is a gift. Shrimp and grits made with vegetable broth instead of butter. Gumbo without the sausage. You can work with this.
Fish with backbones (like salmon or tilapia) is only allowed on specific feast days, Palm Sunday, the Annunciation, the Transfiguration. But shellfish? That’s Wednesday dinner if you want it.
What Fasting Isn’t
It’s not a diet plan, though you might lose weight. It’s not about showing off how strict you can be. And it’s definitely not about making your spouse or kids miserable because you’ve decided to go full ascetic while they’re still figuring out what Orthodoxy even is.
The point is to learn self-control and humility. You’re training your body to obey your will, and your will to obey God. Some days you’ll do great. Some days you’ll forget and eat a breakfast taco with cheese, and you’ll have to confess it and move on. That’s normal. Talk to your priest about what fasting should look like for you, especially if you’re pregnant, nursing, sick, or working a physical job in the Texas heat.
The Church gives us fasting rules as a gift, not a burden. They’re supposed to heal us, not crush us. So start where you are. Maybe that’s just cutting out meat on Wednesdays and Fridays. Maybe it’s one Lenten meal a week that’s fully vegan. You’ll grow into it. And honestly, you’ll probably find that a bowl of lentil soup and some good bread is more satisfying than you expected. Your body adjusts. So does your soul.
