2020 Nativity Fast Meal Plan Helpful Hints

 We have based this Lenten meal plan on the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America calendar which not only indicates fast days but also daily Scriptural readings and Saints days. This is a wonderful resource that you can use year long, and you can consult the calendar by clicking here.

 The following legend is found on each of the fasting days: B = Breakfast, L = Lunch, D = Dinner, D&S = Dessert and Snack. Each day during the fast we suggest 3 meals and snack and dessert ideas. Each day is also identified in either Blue, Purple (and underlined) or Red (and underlined) numbers and the significance of each of these is found on the calendar page.

 Some menu items repeat within a given week; this is because we anticipate that you will have left-overs or, if you are feeding many, that you will adjust the recipe amount to ensure you have leftovers. This makes meal prep simpler. Because of this, it is helpful to look through the recipes for the entire week, and plan accordingly.

 We have also considered that many of us work out of the house during the day and therefore we have suggested lunches that can easily be packed up and either reheated, or served cold or at room temperature.

 If you click on the menu items which are in blue and underlined, you will be taken directly to the recipe post on our website.

 If you see a menu item with an asterix (*) next to it, this means that the recipe is included in the group of recipes found in this document, after your calendar.

 The meal plan can be printed out for easy reference, but is ideally used on the computer where you can directly link to the recipes suggested.

Dates in Blue: Fish, oil and wine is allowed; no meat, dairy and eggs Dates in Red: Strict fast; no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, oil or wine November 2020 Dates in Purple: Wine and oil allowed; no meat, fish, dairy or eggs

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 B: Cereal with dairy- B: Oatmeal with non- B: Vegan banana bread B: Vegan banana bread B: Fresh fruit, rice cake + B: Toast + jam + Fruit free milk B: Toast + peanut dairy milk L: Manestra L: Mason jar salad 1 * almond butter smoothie * L: Fakes (veggies sau- butter and jam L: Black-eyed pea salad D: Fried calamari , French D: Chickpea fritters + L: Green salad with L: Mason jar salad 2 * téed in vegetable oil or L: Calamari with rice D: Orzo with shrimp fries + Broccoli Maroulosalata + Rice with tahini dressing and mixed D: Cod with eggplant water) D: Yemista D&S: Vegan banana D&S: Veggies + hummus vegetables nuts and potato D: Vegan wrap with D&S: Vegan date cake bread D&S: Vegan rizogalo, D: Fakes (veggies sautéed D&S: Olives and pita sweet potato and black Veggies and hummus in water instead of oil) beans * D&S: Toast with jam D&S: Dates stuffed with almond butter 22 23 24 25 26 27 28

B: Vegan date cake, B: Cereal with dairy-free B: Toast, Peanut Butter + jam B: Cereal with dairy-free B: Rice cakes + tahini, B: Oatmeal with dairy B: Toast, Almond but- Fruit smoothie * milk L: Briam milk honey and pumpkin free milk ter + jam L: Yemista L: Fasolatha with tomato D: Calamari and rice L: Fasolatha with tomato seeds * L: Peanut butter and L: Vegan spanakopita D: Spanakoquinoa and D: Pasta with vegetables D&S: Veggies + fava D: Spinach and potato L: Stewed green peas jelly sandwich; veggies D: Mussels with red Grilled octopus D&S: Vegan date cake Chocolate halva stew D: Maniatiki salad + D: Vegetable mine- sauce D&S: Chocolate halva D&S: Popcorn Vegan spanakopita strone (no oil version) * D&S: Loukoumades D&S: Fruit smoothie * D&S: Fruit and nuts 29 30

B: Fruit smoothie* + B: Cereal with dairy-free Rice cakes and almond milk butter L: Red lentil and bulgur L: Roasted cauliflower wraps D: Gigantes plaki D: Cod with skordalia D&S: Tiganites D&S: Vegan banana bread Dates in Blue: Fish, oil and wine is allowed; no meat, dairy and eggs Dates in Red: Strict fast; no meat, dairy, eggs, fish, oil or wine December 2020 Dates in Purple: Wine and oil allowed; no meat, fish, dairy or eggs

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

1 2 3 4 5

B: Cereal with dairy-free milk B: Fresh fruit, toast + B: Toast + jam + Fruit B: Cereal with dairy- B: Toast + peanut L: Mason jar salad 1 * almond butter smoothie * free milk butter and jam D: Mung bean soup L: Three bean salad with L: Mason jar salad 2* L: Beans and rice L: Pasta with marinara D&S: Vegan rizogalo, tahini dressing * D: Black eyed pea soup D: Pasta with creamy sauce Veggies and hummus D: Vegetable minestrone with kale artichoke sauce * D: Yemista (no oil option) * D&S: Fresh fruit, olives D&S: Tiganites D&S: Vegan date cake D&S: Rice cakes + and pita bread tahini, honey and pumpkin seeds *

6 7 8 9 10 11 12 B: Fresh fruit, rice B: Vegan date cake, B: Cereal with dairy-free B: Toast, Peanut Butter + jam B: Cereal with dairy-free B: Rice cakes + tahini, cake, almond butter B: Toast, Almond but- Fruit smoothie * milk L: Briam milk honey and pumpkin L: Three bean salad ter + jam L: Yemista L: Fasolatha with tomato D: Chili lime shrimp lettuce L: Chickpea soup seeds * with tahini dressing * L: Vegan spanakopita D: Briam D: Fried eggplant with to- wraps D: Potatoes yahni L: Stewed green peas D: Fakes (veggies sau- D: Vegan Stuffed egg- D&S: Fresh fruit mato sauce D&S: Veggies + fava D&S: Vegan rizogalo D: Spanakorizo téed in water instead of plant D&S: Vegan oatmeal cups Vegan oatmeal cups D&S: Fruit smoothie * oil) D&S: Chocolate and D&S: Fruit smoothie * strawberry cookies

13 14 15 16 17 18 19 B: Cereal with dairy-free B: Toast with jam B: Toast, Peanut Butter B: Fruit smoothie* + B: Tiganites B: Fruit smoothie + Rice milk B: Fresh fruit, rice cake, al- L: Three bean salad with + jam Toast with jam L: Briam cakes and almond butter L: Peanut butter and jelly mond butter tahini dressing * L: Herbed orzo with L: Fakes (veg saute in D: Vegan pastitsio L: Potato salad sandwich; fresh fruit L: Vegetarian chili * D: Black eyed pea soup chickpeas water) D&S: Fresh fruit D: Gigantes plaki D: Vegetarian chili * D: Mung bean soup with kale (saute vegetables D: Fried calamari + D: Vegetable mine- Apple and rasp- D&S: Tiganites D&S: Dates stuffed with D&S: Veggies + hummus, in water) Rapini + French fries strone * berry halva almond butter and coconut Mixed nuts D&S: Fruit smoothie * D&S: Fresh fruit D&S: Nuts, veggies Dates in Blue: Fish, oil and wine is allowed; no meat, dairy and eggs Dates in Red: Strict fast; no meat, dairy, eggs, fish oil, or wine December 2020 Dates in Purple: Wine and oil allowed; no meat, fish, dairy or eggs

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat

20 21 22 23 24 25 26 B: Toast with almond B: Oatmeal with non- B: Oatmeal with non-dairy B: Toast with peanut butter and banana dairy milk B: Bagels with “smoked salm- milk butter and jelly L: Fakes (veggies sau- L: Peanut butter and on” L: Mixed green salad with L: Vegetable mine- téed in vegetable oil or jelly sandwich Merry L: Youvetsi with chickpeas tahini dressing strone * water) D: Vegan wrap with D: Briam D: Vegetarian chili * D: Three bean salad D: Salad with tahini sweet potato and black Christmas D&S: Fresh fruit + mixed nuts D&S: Rice cakes + almond with tahini dressing * dressing and chickpea beans butter D&S: Vegan oatmeal wraps D&S: Dates stuffed Fresh fruit cups D&S: Fresh fruit + with almond butter and mixed nuts coconut

Special Mention:

In our family, on Christmas Eve we gather and make Lalagia, fried rings of dough from our parents’ villages. If you are abstaining from oil until Christmas Day you can enjoy them then.