Wednesday of this week marks the beginning of Lent. In many Christian denominations this is a time of fasting, reflection and repentance. If you’ve been thinking about reducing the overall amount of meat and animal products in your diet Lent can be a great time to start. In this post I will share a few resources for a flexitarian Lent. You may find them helpful as you make your own preparations.
First off, you need to decide how strict you want your fast to be. Do you want to include eggs, dairy and honey? How about fish and seafood? Do you plan to abstain from bread, oil and alcoholic beverages as well? How many meals a day do you plan to eat? Before you decide to quit before you even begin, remember Sundays are feast days and you can enjoy your favorites then.
Click or touch the photos to go to the recipe.
Chickpeas in Spicy Tomato Gravy
Break out your slow cooker or pressure cooker
You can cook beans and grains in batches to eat during the week.
Spinach and Tofu Burgers
Try something new
Tofu, tempeh and seitan are common meat substitutes for vegetarians as are beans, nuts and mushrooms. Of course you could also try commercially prepared veggie meats. Some of them are pretty decent, but it may take a while to find a brand you like.
Lemony Red Lentil and Onion Soup
Focus on soup
Soups are filling and delicious. You can purchase good quality vegetable broth, make your own or decide not to fret about using a meat based broth.
Spicy Steamed Cabbage
Load up on vegetables and fruits
Baked potatoes, roasted vegetables and salads are satisfying and easy to prepare. For breakfast there’s porridges made from oats, rice or bulgur wheat that can be loaded with fruit. For dessert there are crumbles, yogurt and smoothies.
Oil Free Potatoes and Green Beans with Pesto
Recommended Blogs:
I’ve cooked from all of these blogs.
Clean Eating Veggie Girl – lots of plant forward recipes plus others featuring whole ingredients
Stuffed Veggies – vegan and oil free for the most part. Tips for feeding the omnivores in the family at the same time.
Oh My Veggies – vegetarian and vegan recipes for all meals and occasions
Fat Free Vegan Kitchen – oil free vegan recipes, lots of tips
Vegan in the Freezer – vegan meals that can be eaten today or frozen for later
Grilled Salmon with Orzo Salad
Recommended Books:
These are Amazon links but you could also look for them in your local bookstore or library.
Honey Garlic Tofu
From Lydia’s Flexitarian Kitchen
Of course, I have a ton of recipes that will suit your Flexitarian Lent right here on the blog. Check out the recipe index at the top of the page or click the category links below:
Some TERRIFIC recipes here! Thanks. 🙂