This is a feat, suffering, a test, a struggle with temptations, and not every person is able to withstand 7 weeks on a meager ration. But why fasting food should be scarce? This is fundamentally the wrong view. Although the goal of fasting is cleansing in every sense, it is not necessary to fast. Eating during fasting can be beneficial to health, it is enough to take a more responsible approach to diet planning. There are many nutritional and useful products that were known to our ancestors. Some of them can be found in modern stores, of course, if you know what to look for. About this "Culinary Eden" now and tell.
One can talk about a feat and a test during fasting only if meat, eggs and milk are removed from the usual diet, but nothing is added in return. Of course, you won’t last long on potatoes, bread, rice and pasta, and vegetables and buckwheat are terribly expensive these days. But aren't there cereals other than buckwheat? Look at the back shelves of supermarkets. They lie there, giving way to the suddenly fashionable buckwheat, polished white rice and breakfasts. fast food, nondescript, but many times more useful and incredibly cheap. Having moved into your basket, they will surely surprise the neighbors in turn and even the sellers - how do you cook them? Send them to Culinary Eden!
So, food during fasting can be varied and tasty, after a raid on the lower shelves of the store we have an impressive mountain of useful products:
whole grains:
. Pearl barley (barley),
. oatmeal,
. millet,
. Wheat (Poltava);
crushed cereals:
. barley,
. corn,
. Yellow and green peas(we will take it here, since it is prepared in a similar way);
flour:
. buckwheat,
. rye,
. rice,
. oatmeal,
. Gorokhovaya. 
Fiber or bran will also come in handy. If you're lucky, take natural flakes: oatmeal (hercules), millet, rye and others, just carefully read the list of ingredients - it should consist of a single item: “oatmeal flakes” or “steamed, flattened and dried millet”.
Do you doubt that you can cook delicious lenten dishes from this? In vain! For many, it turns out to be a discovery that porridge is not at all the mucous mass that was fed in kindergarten, but quite hearty meal"for adults". You just need to know how to cook them properly. By the way, did you notice that semolina is not on the list? It is not needed if we bought wheat - much tastier and healthier.
Before moving on to the practical part, make sure that the house has good oil. Perfect for porridge butter, but in fasting you will have to be content with vegetable, so it should be impeccable in taste. Since we cannot use milk either, sugar and jam as additives to porridge disappear. Porridges cooked on water are best combined with fresh or pickled vegetables, mushrooms, herbs, olives, capers. It may sound strange, but it turns out very tasty, and the thought of lean mayonnaise, cheese, vegetable cream and other ersatz products does not arise.
Properly cooking porridge is a separate art. Previously, there was even a special profession - a cook. Today, in city apartments, we still would not be able to cook porridge according to the recipes of the 19th century, but it would not hurt to know some of the subtleties.
So, . This cereal is not loved for its rigidity and "heaviness". It is easy to avoid this - soak barley in large quantities cold water overnight (10-12 hours), after which this water is drained, and the grits are poured into boiling water, 2-3 times larger than the grits by volume, and cook over low heat until the water is absorbed (20-40 minutes). It is better to salt barley at the beginning of cooking, and add oil at the end. There is another way: place 1 part of the soaked cereal and 3 parts of water in a pot and bake over low heat for about 30 minutes. If you don't like the consistency of the porridge, add water next time or lower the cooking temperature. Barley porridge is a dish with character.
Crushed barley is called barley groats. It is great for breakfast, but it is better to combine it with other crushed cereals, such as corn. There is little time in the morning, and quickly cooked barley, even crushed, will take a very long time to digest. Soaking crushed cereals overnight is not an option. Honestly, crushed cereals for breakfast are best cooked in milk, be sure to try after fasting.
Quite a different thing crushed peas. Green peas make an excellent bright green porridge, and yellow peas can be used to make a spicy puree soup, which is called “dal” in India. To do this, put the washed peas to boil over low heat in unsalted water, remove the foam after boiling and forget about it for half an hour. When the halves of the peas begin to crumble, we proceed to prepare the vegetable part: finely chop the onion and carrot, fry together with ground black pepper, grated ginger and your other favorite spices. We shift the fried vegetables to the peas and leave to sweat on the weakest fire for 5-7 minutes. And only at this time, when the peas are already boiled, add salt. It turned out to be a warming, tasty, interesting, healthy and not at all expensive lenten dish, a small pot of which is enough for a dinner of 3-4 people. Dal can also be made from whole peas, but you have to soak it for several hours.
Back to cereals. oatmeal cereal is not "hercules", but what it was originally: long grains, similar to rice and wheat. Oatmeal should be cooked in the same way as rice: 2 parts water to 1 part cereal, salt, cook until the water evaporates. Can be mixed oatmeal with rice or millet groats - each time you will get a new dish. Exactly the same action is required and Poltava (wheat) cereals, only washing it can be delayed due to the shells of the grains. For 5-7 washes, all light membranes are usually removed.
Millet cereals before cooking require longer preparation. The fact is that each grain of millet contains 
lives oil, which long-term storage rancid. It is not surprising that millet porridge turns out with a bitter aftertaste. There are two ways out - buy only fresh millet and, more realistically, wash the cereal before cooking hot water to wash off the spoiled oil from the surface. You will be surprised how this simple operation will change the taste millet porridge. Then, as usual: pour the cereal into boiling water, which is 2 times more, salt and cook over low heat until the water is absorbed.
You see, you can cook various side dishes for lunch for a whole week, without even resorting to the usual rice and buckwheat. You can add these cereals to vegetables and mushroom soups: pearl barley in dried white soup is a classic of Russian cuisine.
Why we bought different flour and bran, I think everyone understands: on homebaked bread. In addition, using different flours as a breading for vegetables, you can get new shades of taste every time. For example, try frying turnip slices, pumpkins, carrots, onion rings in rye and rice flour. You will get completely different, but in their own delicious dishes.
Oatmeal and pea flour have another interesting use - jelly. For their lean recipes, let's turn to Russian cuisine researcher Maxim Syrnikov. In the book "Real Russian Food" he does not give the exact proportions of the ingredients, but everything is clear without that. “Shake pea flour in cold boiled water and pour it into boiling water with oil on the stove, stirring well. Salt to taste. As it begins to thicken, pour into a glass or plate, greased with oil, and take out to the cold. The frozen jelly calmly comes out of the container, keeping its shape perfectly.
oatmeal jelly more difficult - it needs bread sourdough. But suddenly you are already baking bread?
Ingredients:
1 cup oat flour
2 glasses of water
0.5 cups peeled unroasted almonds
0.3 cups of granulated sugar,
salt to taste.
Cooking:
Brew the flour with hot water, add a little bread sourdough. After a few hours, when it begins to bubble, strain and boil, stirring, add sugar, salt, cool and eat. You can not ferment jelly, you can use wheat or rye flour but the taste won't be the same.
If suddenly, after cereals and kissels, you want something new, even fasting will not interfere with new culinary experiences. On the most prominent supermarket shelves you can find many strange names: bulgur, couscous, quinoa, dolichos, mung beans, chickpeas, various types of lentils, beans and rice. Great Lent is the best time to try all this wealth and diversify your diet during Lent. Just do not pay attention to the recipes on the packages - this is later. And mixtures of several ingredients will also have to wait. First boil these grains and legumes separately to discover their pure taste and cooking characteristics, and then, when the fast is over, start new experiments with a full set of ingredients.
Olga Borodina
They impose significant restrictions on the diet, but this does not mean at all that it cannot be satisfying and varied. An excellent confirmation of this are lean cereals, the variations and recipes of which are simply impossible to count. At first glance, it may seem that lean porridge is a very ordinary, boring and insipid dish, but no matter how it is! Just a few simple ingredients and additions can make any porridge tasty, appetizing and original, and in some cases even turn it into an exotic dish. Interested? Then read on!
Lenten cereals are primarily famous for their nutritional properties and health benefits. The high content of fiber, vitamins, minerals, vegetable protein and "slow" carbohydrates makes cereals a valuable product, and all this at a low calorie content. Due to their composition, cereals have a lot of useful properties, for example, they energize, cleanse the body of toxins and toxins, strengthen the immune system, restore strength after an illness, normalize the digestive system, stimulate metabolism, improve skin condition, rejuvenate and promote weight loss, activate brain processes. , prevent the occurrence of anemia, and also protect against cardiovascular diseases by purifying the blood and lowering cholesterol levels. Therefore, including lean cereals in your diet, you will certainly feel their beneficial effects on the body. Each porridge has its own advantages, so we advise you not to hesitate and quickly prepare this wonderful dish.
Lean cereals can be prepared from oatmeal, buckwheat, pearl barley, rice, semolina, spelt, couscous, bulgur, quinoa, corn, millet and barley, as well as peas and lentils. Agree, there are plenty to choose from! It is worth noting that not only water, but also vegetable and mushroom broths, juices from fruits and berries or vegetable analogues can be used to prepare lean cereals. traditional milk such as coconut, almond or soy. In addition, numerous additions, such as nuts, berries, fruits, dried fruits, fragrant spices, honey, cocoa, mushrooms and vegetables, will bring a unique flavor and make the taste of porridge simply delicious. You can also serve various sauces, syrups, jams and marmalades with lean cereals. Do not be afraid to try and experiment, and then lean cereals will delight you and your family with wonderful taste and health benefits. Use our lean recipes and, we are sure, the usual cereals will open for you from a completely new side!
Oatmeal with banana and raisins
Ingredients:
1 cup oatmeal,
1-2 bananas
1/2 cup raisins
2-3 tablespoons of sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon (optional)
Cooking:
pour oat flakes into a saucepan, pour 3 cups of water, bring to a boil and cook for 10-15 minutes over low heat without a lid, stirring the porridge from time to time. While the dish is cooking, pour the washed raisins with boiling water, leave for 5 minutes, then rinse again. 5 minutes before the porridge is ready, add raisins to it and mix. Lightly salt the finished porridge, add cinnamon and sugar to taste, cover and let stand for 5 to 10 minutes. You can either chop the banana finely and mix with the porridge, or arrange the finished porridge on plates and garnish with banana slices.
Barley porridge with champignons
Ingredients:
2 cups pearl barley,
500 g champignons,
1 onion
1 tablespoon soy sauce
vegetable oil,
salt to taste.
Cooking:
Before preparing porridge, pearl barley must be washed well and then steamed. To do this, a colander with cereals must be placed over a water bath with boiling water, cover with a lid and let the cereals steam for 20 minutes. Pour 4 cups of water into the pan, lightly salt, add 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil and cereals. Bring to a boil and simmer for 20 minutes over low heat.
Meanwhile, prepare the roast. To do this, boil coarsely chopped mushrooms in 300 ml of lightly salted water for 5-6 minutes. Strain the broth. Fry the chopped onion in a small amount of vegetable oil until golden brown. Add mushrooms and fry for about 4 minutes. Mix with barley porridge and remove from the stove. mushroom broth bring to a boil, add soy sauce and barley porridge with roast. Cook covered for 1 hour on the stovetop or in the oven.
Rice porridge with coconut milk and strawberries
Ingredients:
200 g round rice,
200 ml coconut milk
200 g frozen strawberries, other berries or canned pineapple
sugar and salt to taste.
Cooking:
Rice pour 2 cups of water, lightly salt, cover and cook over low heat for about 20 minutes. Pour in coconut milk, add sugar to taste, mix, cover and cook for another 20 minutes. Add pre-thawed strawberries, mix, cover and let stand for 5 minutes.
Buckwheat porridge with carrots and onions
Ingredients:
1 cup buckwheat,
1 onion
1 carrot
vegetable oil,
salt and black ground pepper taste.
Cooking:
Sort and rinse the buckwheat several times, then add water, lightly salt and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat for 25 to 30 minutes. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan, add chopped onion and fry for about 3 minutes. Add grated carrots and fry for another 7 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Add vegetable stir fry buckwheat porridge, mix and serve.
Millet porridge with pumpkin and dried apricots
Ingredients:
1 glass of millet groats,
300 g pumpkin pulp
100 g dried apricots,
2 tablespoons of sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
honey to taste.
Cooking:
Rinse the pumpkin, peel and cut into pieces. Put the pumpkin in a saucepan with a thick bottom, pour in 2.5 cups of water and cook for 10 minutes. Rinse the millet well until the water runs clear. After that, pour the cereal with boiling water and let stand for 5 minutes, then drain the water and add the millet to the pumpkin. Cook for 20 minutes over moderate heat, stirring constantly. Add salt, sugar and mix. If desired, at this stage, you can add a little vegetable oil to the porridge. Remove the pan from the stove, cover with a lid, wrap the pan with something warm and let the porridge brew for 15-20 minutes. Add chopped dried apricots, previously steamed in boiling water, and honey to taste into the porridge.
Bulgur porridge with vegetables
Ingredients:
1/2 cup bulgur
1 onion
1 bell pepper
2-3 green onions,
1-2 garlic cloves,
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
vegetable oil,
salt to taste.
Cooking:
Pour bulgur with 1 cup of water and put the pan on a slow fire. Fry chopped onion in vegetable oil until golden brown. Add chopped onion and fry for 5 minutes. Add chopped garlic and fry, stirring, for no more than 1 minute. Add the vegetables to the bulgur, season with turmeric, cover and cook until all the water has been absorbed and the groats are soft. Sprinkle crushed porridge green onions and submit.
Pea porridge with fried onions
Ingredients:
300 g dried peas,
2 bulbs
200 g flour
vegetable oil,
salt to taste.
Cooking:
Soak the peas overnight in water, then rinse it several times. Put the peas in a saucepan, cover with water, bring to a boil and turn off the gas. Cover and leave for half an hour. After that, drain the water and add boiling water so that the water is 3-4 cm higher than the peas. Cook until the peas are tender, adding more water if necessary. Puree the porridge with a blender and season with salt to taste.
Cut the onion into rings and put in a resealable bag along with flour. Shake the bag so that the rings are evenly coated with flour. Heat enough oil in a frying pan to fry onion rings deep-fried on both sides until golden brown. Pea porridge put on a plate and sprinkle with fried onions. If desired, porridge can also be additionally poured with fragrant sunflower oil.
Corn porridge with cauliflower
Ingredients:
1 cup corn grits
1 small onion
400 g cauliflower,
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
salt to taste.
Cooking:
grind cauliflower using a blender. Heat vegetable oil in a frying pan and fry the chopped onion. Add corn grits and fry for a few minutes, stirring constantly, so that the grits are browned and soaked in oil. Then pour in 2.5 cups of water, add cauliflower and salt to taste. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes over low heat, stirring occasionally. Turn off the stove, cover the pan with a lid, wrap it with something warm and leave for 10 minutes.
Barley porridge with poppy seeds and honey
Ingredients:
300 g barley groats,
70 g poppy,
1 tablespoon honey
salt.
Cooking:
Pour the washed cereal with 3 cups of water, lightly salt and cook over medium heat until mucus begins to form. Drain excess water and cook, stirring, until the porridge thickens. In the meantime, pour poppy seeds with boiling water, let stand for 5 minutes, then drain the water and pour boiling water again. When droplets of fat begin to form on the surface, drain the water and grind the poppy with a blender or pass it through a meat grinder twice, while half a teaspoon of boiling water will need to be added to each tablespoon of poppy. Add steamed poppy seeds and honey to the softened porridge, cook over low heat for 5 to 7 minutes, stirring constantly.
Lean cereals will help make your breakfasts, lunches and dinners healthy, tasty, nutritious and varied, and in order to learn more meatless recipes, take a look at our section "Lenten table". Bon appetit!
Unlike other cereals, pearl barley is not so popular in our cooking. But already in ancient times, people knew how good it is for health and how it strengthens strength. In our time, scientists have proven this by research. At the same time, a lot can be prepared from barley porridge delicious meals. Housewives especially respect pickle with pearl barley, as well as stew stewed in pots. Dried fruits, nuts, raisins, dried apricots, prunes complement the taste of cereals well.
Useful properties of barley
Barley porridge contains such important components as carbohydrates, fiber, fats and proteins in healthy proportions. In addition, it is also rich in trace elements such as phosphorus, potassium, calcium and iron. In a smaller amount, it contains other elements necessary for health: iodine, bromine, zinc, copper, chromium, manganese, cobalt. Barley is also saturated with vitamins A, D, E, PP and group B.
And it also contains substances that prevent the formation of cancer and allergies. Phosphorus and molybdenum are extremely important for children and athletes, as they contribute to muscle building and bone growth. Fiber improves the digestion process.
Barley porridge is a real discovery for those who love meatless dishes. It is quite satisfying, but low-calorie - only 105 kcal per 100 grams. With all the advantages of pearl barley, the price of this cereal is quite low and accessible to everyone.
Lean barley porridge with vegetables
To make this porridge you will need:
- pearl barley - 2 cups;
- onion - 1 pc.;
- carrots - 1 pc.;
- bell pepper - 1 pc.;
- zucchini - 1 pc.;
- tomatoes - 4 pcs.;
- garlic - 2 cloves;
- salt, spices;
- vegetable oil.
This porridge is prepared as follows:
- Pour the cereal into boiling salted water. We cook for half an hour.
- Grate the carrots, cut the onion into cubes. We start frying in a pan with vegetable oil.
- Then add chopped peppers.
- Cut the zucchini into cubes, add to the rest of the vegetables and simmer for another 10 minutes.
- Cut the tomatoes into small pieces and send them to the pan together with spices.
- After simmering a little more, add chopped garlic.
- After the porridge and vegetables are fully cooked, we mix everything - our porridge is ready!
The recipe may also contain additives, for example: mushrooms, eggplant, pumpkin, potatoes, or just fresh herbs.
Little secrets that will help you cook pearl barley faster:
- In order for barley to be friable and soft, after cooking, it must first be washed 7-8 times under water and soaked for a couple of hours or even overnight.
- If you do not wash and soak it, then the porridge will be viscous, but it will not lose antacid properties and a large amount of starch.
- So that the cereal is not hard, the amount of water during cooking should exceed the volume of porridge by 2-3 times.
- It is better to salt barley at the beginning of cooking, and add vegetable oil at the end.
- A slow cooker can make cooking easier. With it, you will not need to monitor the preparation of porridge all the time.
Many people perceive fasting as a hunger strike. But, in fact, you have to give up only some products, namely, animal origin. Everything else is allowed to eat. The only hunger strike during fasting is the rejection of negative emotions and thoughts.
And so, it is possible, and even necessary, to eat during fasting, well. Especially in the spring post, when the body is sufficiently weakened and needs vitamins. The main food during fasting is porridge. They are nutritious and rich in micronutrients. Also, fruits and vegetables are used. If everything is clear with fruits, it is better to eat them raw, write separately from the other, then things are more complicated with cereals.
You can't live on buckwheat or oatmeal alone. Therefore, you need to "use" all the riches of mother nature, using various varieties of cereals and cereals. And their range is very wide. This is both millet and semolina, and barley, and barley, and wheat, and rice, and buckwheat, and oats, and couscous, and many others.
One of these cereals is pearl barley. Diet barley porridge contains many useful substances and is easily absorbed by the body. For this reason, barley porridge for weight loss is an excellent way to lose a few pounds.
Diet cereals for weight loss, the recipes of which are quite popular on the Internet resources, have different properties and affect the human body in different ways.
Lenten barley porridge, unlike non-lean, is cooked only and only on water. At the same time, there are many recipes for how to cook dietary porridge, with what, and so on. Below are a few recipes for lean barley porridge.
Barley with mushrooms
An excellent substitute for meat during fasting is not only fish, but also mushrooms, which are useful for their protein. It is they who can be added to barley porridge.
First you need to put barley to cook. But, it takes a long time to prepare, because before that it needs to be soaked overnight. In this case, the proportions are one to one.
In the morning, barley is poured with new water in the same proportion, and simmered over low heat until tender. After that, it is left for another 30-40 minutes. In parallel with this, you can do mushrooms. They need to be washed and dried. If frozen are used, then, of course, defrost.
At the final stage barley and mushrooms are combined and mixed. If desired, you can add tomato paste or adjika.
Sweet barley
Usually sweet pearl barley is made with milk, but such a dish is clearly not for Lent. Therefore, barley is cooked in the same way as in the previous recipe. Only instead of the mushroom mixture, a sweet mixture of dried fruits will be added to it.
To do this, you need raisins, dried apricots (prunes), all kinds of candied fruits, nuts, and so on. All this is cut and sent to an almost ready barley porridge.
Also, porridge must be sugared when cooking. And before use, you can pour honey or homemade jam.
Another variation on the theme sweet porridge maybe "coconut" pearl barley. That is, instead of dried fruits, a decent amount is added to the porridge. coconut flakes which gives it a special flavor.
"Green" barley
Another in a simple way cooking lean barley is such a recipe.
The cooking scheme is the same, but a set of greens and vegetables will serve as the “filling”. You can use peppers, tomatoes, zucchini and so on.
It is better to pre-fry vegetables separately, and then add to barley. When serving barley, you can decorate with chopped herbs.
pumpkin barley
Sweet barley can be made not only with dried fruits, but also with pumpkin. To do this, the pumpkin is pre-rubbed on a fine grater and boiled until tender. After that, barley is mixed with pumpkin, sugar, cinnamon and, if desired, pumpkin seeds are added. When serving, porridge is poured with honey.
Barley porridge, for example, has a lot of fiber, because of this it is quickly absorbed and speeds up metabolic processes in general. Some believe that the very name of porridge "went" from the word "pearl", which emphasizes the usefulness and exclusivity of this porridge in its properties.
Indeed, a portion ready porridge per day - this is healthy and strong hair, clean elastic skin, good vision, stability nervous system, strong bones and teeth, as well as the normal functioning of the endocrine system. Barley is also good because you can eat it in fasting.
