great fast
meals
Due to a family health crisis, I've been on a whole-food, plant-based nutrition plan since 2017, which is a lot like our Eastern Christian fasting regimen! It wasn't easy but it's not as hard as you might think. Let me share some of what I've
learned along the way with you!
Next up:
The Nativity Fast
November 15-Christmas
What is True Fasting?
The Nativity Fast
On November 15, we will begin Philip's fast. It is a fast of 40 days (during which the faithful abstain from animal foods, as they do during Great Lent) that continues from the day after the feast of St. Philip until Christmas Eve to spiritually prepare for the coming of the Savior.
Many contend that the fast is attributed to the 40 days of prayer after the anniversary of the death of St.Philip and may have nothing to do with the feast of the Nativity. Nevertheless, it does take place forty days before this great feast and many eastern Christians use it to prepare themselves for its celebration. We can do this by fasting from meat and dairy, from sweets, from whatever we chose to be most meaningful to us, or we can prepare in other ways.
It isn't really known when such a fast was introduced. Some say it was observed as early as the sixth century, although some say later in the eighth. However, it was in the year 1166 AD that the Nativity Fast was first formally instituted at a synod at Constantinople to imitate the 40 days that Moses fasted before receiving the tablets of the law.
It is clear that the fast is designed to prepare us both physically and spiritually for the coming of the Savior at Christmas. We are asked to abstain from meat and dairy products, eggs, and oil, just as we do during the Great Fast, but the rules are a bit less strict. We may eat fish and are allowed oil and wine on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and weekends, and on feast days such as the Presentation of the Theotokos and St. Nicholas day.
Watch ByziMom
Catherine Alexander from
Your Word From the Wise
as she interviews
Abouna Moses from
Holy Resurrection Monastery on how to observe the Fast
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See the Video HERE
Plant-Based Nutrition Certificate, Completed October 2020, from the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies at Cornell University.
My book is out!...
As you may already know, my family has been advised by our cardiologist to adopt a perpetual fast in order to combat a family health crisis. We've adopted a whole-foods, plant-based, no oil diet...just like our Eastern Christian fast!...full time, and now that we've done it, I can help you get through 40 days of fasting too.
Here are a few of ByziMom's Great Fast Recipes:
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Middle Eastern Meze: falafel, tzadziki, tabbouleh & dolmades
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Fajita Night: sweet potato tortillas, unfried beans, oil-free vegetable stir fry, cashew nacho sauce, Mexican quinoa, etc.
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What's for dinner tonight?
A Feast Day RECIPE from ByziMom.com for January 1
Vasilopita
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This traditional bread is baked for the New Year, on the feast of St. Basil, January 1st, to commemorate something that happened in the life of the saint. There is a legend that says that St Basil asked the people of his hometown of Cesarea to help him collect a bribe for an advancing army that threatened to take the city by force. When St Basil presented them with the ransom, they were so ashamed at the generosity of the people that they turned and left. As it was a difficult task to ensure that each of the objects in the treasury was returned to its rightful owner, Basil baked the coins and jewels into loaves of bread and distributed them among the people so that in this way, each person would get a surprise portion of the treasure returned to him. Others say that this was a way that the saint could give alms to the poor of the city, who were known to have been too proud a people to have accepted charity. People bake bread or cakes every year to honor the generosity of the people of Caesarea and the genius of St Basil. Today, whoever finds the coin baked into the bread will have good luck for the coming year!
Ingredients
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1 cup whole milk
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3 tablespoons sugar
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1 tablespoon active dry yeast
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4 eggs
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1 cup of sugar
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2 teaspoons vanilla
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Zest of 2 oranges
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​1/4 teaspoon salt
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2 sticks butter softened
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6 cups all-purpose flour
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Sesame seeds or sliced almonds for garnish
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Powdered sugar for dusting
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A coin wrapped in foil
Preparation
Over medium heat, warm the milk in a saucepan until it reaches 100-110 degrees. Add the 3 Tbs. sugar and yeast and stir until it is completely dissolved, then set aside until the yeast blooms (bubbles form) about 10 minutes.
Place yeast mixture into a mixing bowl and add the eggs and vanilla and beat well. Add the sugar, zest, salt, and butter and continue to beat until well incorporated.
Gradually add the 6 cups of flour, mixing continuously until it becomes a workable dough. Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and continue to knead it for at least 10 minutes to develop elasticity.
Place the dough into a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap and put into a warm place to double in bulk (for approximately 1 hour)
Once the dough has risen, divide it into three equal pieces and roll each one of them into a rope. Be sure the ropes are of somewhat equal length. Braid these pieces, tucking the two ends under so that a beautiful loaf is formed.
Place your loaf onto a parchment-lined baking sheet and
Take the foil-wrapped coin and insert it in an inconspicuous place, somewhere in the loaf. Place this loaf in a warm place and cover it with a damp tea towel for 30 minutes to finish rising.
Option: Break the egg into a cup and beat it lightly with a fork. Use this to brush on the top of the risen loaf. If desired, sprinkle with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or slivered almonds.
Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes until golden. Remove from the oven and cool completely before serving. Dust with powdered sugar if desired.
