Orthodox Fasting Recipes (2024)

Zucchini Breakfast Hash

March 2, 2018 by orthodoxfastingrecipes

I typically eat one of two fasting breakfasts. I eat either an apple sliced with peanut butter or this vegetable hash. If you prefer to keep it low carb, omit the quinoa and substitute some nuts or get your protein elsewhere. If you want it really low carb just don’t eat. Sometimes I forget that if I were truly pious I wouldn’t eat breakfast.

On days I observe an absolute fast, this recipe plus 5-6 lightly beaten eggs serves as a quick dinner for the kids.

I keep cooked quinoa in the fridge for salads and adding to dishes. If you like this recipe keep a couple of cups in the fridge so you can whip this up for breakfast.

Let the following photos serve as a reminder of why most of my recipes don’t have pictures.

Ingredients

1/2 cup cooked quinoa

1/2 cup shredded zucchini

1/2 cup chopped mushrooms

1/4 cup diced onion

1-2 cups kale

1 tablespoon oil

Salt to taste

1. Lord, bless my work.
2. Cook quinoa, set aside.
3. In a skillet heat the oil until shimmering. Saute the onion and mushrooms until the onion is nearly translucent.Add the zucchini stirring gently. Salt all the vegetables. Continue to cook until zucchini softens and loses it color slightly.
4. Layer 1-2 cups shredded kale on top and allow the vegetable steam to wilt it slightly. Gently stir. Cook until kale reaches desired doneness. Stir in quinoa. Serve.

Red Lentil Curry (masoordal)

February 28, 2018 by orthodoxfastingrecipes

Red lentils are easy to cook because they’re quick and they’re supposed to come out like mush. I’m not great with lentils so, for me, that’s a win.

**Double this recipe for a family

Ingredients

1 cup red lentils

2 cups water

1 onion, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

One 1/2-inch piece ginger pasted, minced, or microplaned

2 medium tomatoes, diced

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground black mustard

1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon paprika

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

Handful chopped fresh cilantro leaves and lemon juice

1. Lord, bless my work.
2. Rinse red lentils and drain.
3. Heat onion in oil until it becomes translucent. Add garlic and ginger cooking gently until onion starts to brown.
4. Add remaining spices to the oil and stir gently until fragrant.
5. Mix in tomatoes, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pan.
6. Add drained lentils, salt, and 1 1/2 cups water. Stir to combine and simmer until lentils are very soft. You may need to add more water to thin the dal. Red lentils are very starchy as they cook.
7. Whisk until smooth, but a little lumpy.
8. Remove from heat, garnish with cilantro leaves and a dash of lemon, serve over brown rice.

Red Pasta Sauce

February 26, 2018 by orthodoxfastingrecipes

When you fix pasta for dinner during the Fast be prepared to be hungry again in an hour unless you’re pious and leave the table hungry to start. I have to get my kids through 90 minutes of karate and that won’t happen on white noodles alone.

Here are a couple of noodle hacks to try:

Whole wheat pasta takes longer to metabolize

Pasta with lentil, chickpea, or quinoa flour (most well stocked groceries have these)

Use a spaghetti squash instead and the lower carb count won’t spike your blood sugar so you won’t notice the lack of protein as much

Use zucchini “noodles” for the same effect, and zucchini has a touch more protein

Try gnocci (they’re tiny potato dumplings)

Sprinkle your pasta with nutritional yeast and ground almonds (Parmesan alternative)

Serve a side salad with sunflower seeds for a bit more protein

You can literally just add some cooked beans at the last minute, chickpeas or butter beans, something without much flavor.

I occasionally add other vegetables to this recipe. I shred them on the box grater first. My husband and kids prefer it in its original veggie-less form.

Mom’s Pasta Sauce

16 ounces tomato sauce

16 ounces of water

6 ounce can of tomato paste

scant 1/4 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 bay leaves

6 cloves garlic

sprinkle of pepper

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon oregano

1 teaspoon basil

1/2 teaspoon marjoram

1/4 teaspoon rosemary

1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds

1. Lord, bless my work.
2. Bake your spaghetti squash or zoodle your zucchini and let it rest.
3. Combine all over ingredients in a large sauce pan or another pot, stir, and simmer for one hour. Remove bay leave and cloves.
4. Boil pasta with salt.
5. Serve.

You can also do this in a crock-pot on low for 6 hours. If you use other vegetables (carrot, celery, onion, sweat them in the pot before adding the other ingredients).

Finally an Index!

February 25, 2018 by orthodoxfastingrecipes

Soft Pretzels

February 24, 2018 by orthodoxfastingrecipes

This is a tasty recipe for company or game night with the kids. Alton Brown’s recipes are very reliable. He suggests a baking soda bath for the pretzels and it’s pretty good.

I’ve also done it with a lye solution and that was truly the bread which strengthens man’s heart.

Amazon sells food grade lye. You’ll need gloves, a glass bowl, and parchment paper to protect your sheet pan. Mix 30 grams (about 1 ounce) lye with 1 liter of water (about 1 quart) and using a plastic or wooden tool dunk the pretzels for 30 seconds. You should be really careful, especially to protect your eyes, but the flavor is totally worth the effort. Google around for more information–seriously! Don’t try this without more research.

You can serve the pretzels with brown mustard or with “Cheese” sauce.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups warm water (110-115 degrees F)

1 tablespoon sugar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1 package active dry yeast

22 ounches all -purpose flour, approximately 4 1/2 cups

2 ounces unsalted vegan butter spread , melted

vegetable oil for the parchment paper

10 cups water

2/3 cup baking soda

Pretzel salt

“Egg” wash: 1:1 water corn syrup, maple syrup, 1:1 sugar water solution, or vegetable oil

**The egg wash step is optional, but your pretzels won’t be as brown or shiny, they’ll still taste great

Directions:

1. Lord, bless my work.
2. Combine the water, sugar and kosher salt in the bowl of a stand mixer and sprinkle the yeast on top. Allow to sit for 5 minutes or until the mixture begins to foam. Add the flour and vegan spread and, using the dough hook attachment, mix on low speed until well combined. Change to medium speed and knead until the dough is smooth and pulls away from the side of the bowl, approximately 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, clean the bowl and then oil it well with vegetable oil. Return the dough to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and sit in a warm place for approximately 50-55 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size.
3. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Line 2 half-sheet pans with parchment paper and lightly brush with oil. Set aside.
4. Bring the 10 cups of water and the baking soda to a rolling boil in an 8 quart saucepan or roasting pan.
5. In the meantime, turn the dough out onto a slightly oiled work surface and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into a 24-inch rope. Make a U-shape with the rope, holding the ends of the rope, cross them over each other and press on the bottom of the U in order to form the shape of the pretzel. Place onto the parchment-lined half sheet pan.
6. Place the pretzels into the boiling water, 1 by 1, for 30 seconds. Remove them from the water using a large flat spatula. (Or dip in the lye bath that you researched before you began) Return to the half sheet pan, brush the top of each pretzel with the egg wash mixture and sprinkle with pretzel salt. Bake until dark golden brown in color, approximately 12-14 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for at least 5 minutes before serving.

Pressure Cooker BakedBeans

February 23, 2018 by orthodoxfastingrecipes

It’s my birthday today and I am officially old enough to know better. It’s a good thing because I’ve done some crazy stuff lately, y’all. Ah well. You fall, you get up again. Birthday on Clean Friday. *sigh*

Last birthday my old man gave me a pressure cooker so here’s a recipe for that. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you can use any old pot as long as you bring the beans to a boil for ten minutes then simmer until tender. Or, boil for ten minutes then dump them in your Crockpot for 4 hours on high or 8 on low.

If you don’t have a pressure cooker, or you’re on the fence, I recommend it. It’s a luxury I never would have allowed myself but I’m thankful for it every time I use it. If you cook a lot of beans, it’s really, really handy.

1 pound dried navy beans, soaked over night with 1 tablespoon salt or “quick soaked”

1 large onion chopped (1 1/2 cups)

2 1/2 cups water

1/2 cup molasses

1/2 cup ketchup

1/4 cup sugar (optional)

2 tablespoons yellow mustard or 1 teaspoon ground mustard

2 teaspoons liquid smoke

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 dashes garlic powder

1. Lord bless my work.
2. Lord give me strength for these olive branches you’ve given me while I try to cook.
3. On the Instant Pot saute function, or in your pot, brown onion until crisp on the edges.
4. Add 2 1/2 cups water, molasses, ketchup, mustard, 1/2 teaspoon salt, garlic powder and pepper to the onions. Stir to combine. Stir in the drained soaked beans.
5. Pressure Cooker: Select high pressure 35-40 minutes (I find this depends on the age of the beans). When timer beeps turn cooker off and wait 10 minutes and do a quick pressure release. Discard floating beans. If the beans aren’t tender do it again for 10 minutes.
6. Regular pot: Bring to a boil for 10 minutes, then simmer until beans are tender 45-50 minutes.
7. Serve with cornbread muffins.

White Bean and Roasted GarlicSoup

February 22, 2018 by orthodoxfastingrecipes

Here’s the recipe I made tonight. I roasted a couple of heads of garlic yesterday in order to put hummus in the freezer. With the leftover head I made this soup. This recipe is from the Post Punk Kitchen chef, Isa Chandra Moscowitz, who happens to have a restaurant in my home town. That’s right–a vegan restaurant in Omaha, Nebraska. Blows my mind, too.

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons olive oil (or omit and simmer gently in a little water)

1 onion chopped (1 1/2 cups)

1 teaspoon salt

dash of black pepper

1/2 teaspoon whole fennel seeds crushed

4 cups vegetable broth or 4 cups water with 2 cubes/teaspoons Better than Boullion

3 cups cooked Great Northern beans or 3 cans drained

3 fresh sage leaves, chopped, or 1 teaspoon sage

1 bay leaf

juice of half a lemon or more to taste

2 heads roasted garlic (I used one and that was fine, then you can actually taste the fennel and not kill anyone with your breath during the Great Canon)

1. Lord, bless my work.
2. In a stockpot over medium-high heat saute the onions in the olive oil for 5 to 7 minutes.
3. Add the salt, black pepper, and fennel seeds; saute for 1 minute. Add the broth, beans, sage, and bay leaf, bring to a boil, the lower the heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Add the roasted garlic and puree in batches in a blender or food processor (I used an immersion blender. And everybody said, “amen”) Return to the pot and add lemon juice. Garnish with fresh fennel leaves if you feel fancy.
4. Optional: Add kale to taste at the last minute or chopped carrots while it warms on the stove.

Black Bean Cilantro Lime RiceBowl

March 29, 2014 by orthodoxfastingrecipes

Below is a recipe modified from one of my favorite deal blogs, hip2save.com. The original wasn’t totally fasting. This one is Baba approved.

A word of caution on rice. I usually recommend brown rice. But, it might not be the best choice for your family If you haven’t read this release from the FDA regarding arsenic in US grown rice, please do. Initially, when the report was released, (a couple of years ago) the USDA recommended cooking rice in 5-6 times the amount of water and draining it. Since then, the FDA does not necessarily recommend it. I know it is really hard to cook rice well. So, if you still need a rice cooker to get it right, consider basmati as, according to the FDA q&a, itcontains the least amount of arsenic.

Black beans are a good source of iron and protein. Combined with rice they present a more complete amino acid combination. Avocados are fatty and filling. I recommend them. I also recommend serving this with salsa. Otherwise, it’ll be kind of bland. But, maybe bland is part of your discipline.

Cilantro Lime Rice Salad

Rice

1 teaspoonvegetable oil
2teaspoons fresh cilantro, minced
2/3 cup rice
1 cup water
juice from 1 lime, or 3 teaspoons bottled lime juice
1/2 teaspoonsalt

1. Lord, bless my work.

2. In a 2-quart heavy saucepan, heat oil. Add rice and lime juice, stir for 1 minute. Add water and salt and bring to a full rolling boil.

3. At boiling, cover and turn down to simmer over low heat until rice is tender and the water is absorbed – about 25 minutes. Add in the cilantro and fluff rice with a fork.

The Rest:

1 cup black beans (canned or previously cooked)
1/2 onion, sliced

2 bell peppers, sliced

1/2 tsp chili powder

1/4 tsp cumin

dash of garlic powder

1 cup corn, frozen thawed

1/2 head oflettuce, chopped (mild lettuce like butter or romaine)

optional toppings:
avocado or guacamole
salsa

Directions:

1. Sauté onion and bell peppers with a small amount of oil. Add spices and stir, 1 minute. Remove from heat.

2. Layer lettuce, rice, beans, peppers, onions, and corn. Add any additional toppings desired.

Curried Lentil and SpinachSoup

March 27, 2014 by orthodoxfastingrecipes

Delicious. Easy. Fast. Inexpensive. Free of common allergens. Doubles easily. Freezes well.

This soup is everything you want.

Notes on preparation:

You may use up 6 cloves of garlic or as few as 2.

Salt to taste. Start with a tablespoon of salt AFTER the lentils are cooked. It takes a lot longer to cook lentils if you salt first.

Nutrition: Lots of protein from the lentils. Bonus- Calcium from lentils Magnesium from spinach

Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1 1/2 cups chopped onion

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped carrots

6 cloves of garlic, mashed

1 Tablespoon curry

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh ginger

1 teaspoon cumin

1 bay leaf

16 ounces of lentils (about 2 1/2 cups)

1 9 ounce bag of fresh spinach

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

1. Lord, bless my work.

2. Heat oil in a large pot.

3. Saute onion, celery, carrot, and garlic for 10 minutes.

4. Stir in spices (this really opens them up) and cook for 1-2 minutes.

5. Add lentils and water, bring to a boil.

6. Reduce heat and simmer until lentils are tender. (Add more water if needed) SALT to taste

7. Add spinach and cilantro, cook 5 minutes longer.

Banana Pumpkin QuickBread

October 18, 2013 by orthodoxfastingrecipes

Today’s recipe comes from a very lovely friend. She has years of experience in vegan cooking and baking, so you can trust this recipe works.

According to J:

This next one is based on a banana bread recipe I changed to suit my pumpkin loving ways.

1 mashed ripe banana
2/3-1 cup pumpkin puree
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup oil (I used grapeseed oil)
2 cups flour (white whole wheat and spelt flours both work lovely if you are into that sort of thing)
3/4 tsp each baking soda and baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or its equivalent in separate spices)
Splash each vanilla extract and your favorite non dairy milk
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1. Lord, Bless my work.

2.Preheat oven to 350.

3. Mix wet ingredients.

4. Mix in the rest of the ingredients(except splashes of vanilla and milk) until well incorporated…. it will be a bit thick.

5. Add splashes of non dairy milk and vanilla and mix well. Spread in a 9 x 5 in loaf pan and bake for 1 hour.

6. Let cool for at least 30 mins. before enjoying.

Thumbs up to adding walnuts for protein and grapeseed oil for healthy fat!