Is it possible when fasting chocolate. What chocolates can you eat during Lent? Does chocolate contain foods prohibited in fasting?

Quite often, people who accept the observance of the Fast, laid down according to Christian canons, ask questions about the possibility of eating a particular product, in particular, this is associated with some specific dishes and drinks. Let's see if there is cocoa in fasting or something else, and how the conical church reacts to it.

Can cocoa in fasting

Let's start with a few common concepts. The fact is that fasting itself, no matter how strict it may be, implies mainly refusal of food of animal origin. It is not so easy for a person who is beginning to fast to do this. Someone tries to watch more TV or play board games during the fast to divert attention from thoughts about food.

As already clear, the question related to the topic, is it possible to post cocoa, is solved by itself. Cocoa is known to be a vegetable product and therefore is allowed in the diet.

Another thing is how exactly this drink is prepared, because many people are used to mixing it with milk. And milk, alas, is already an animal product, so such combinations are simply unacceptable.

But it is worth dwelling separately on the post itself, including the Great one. It involves the initial rejection of food of animal origin, then - fish, and during the period of strict fasting - and from any kind of food in general. Prayer should replace food.

However, a person still needs something to eat and maintain his strength even in the process of spiritual purification. And cocoa, as well as products based on it (usually chocolate), are able to cope with this task best. In terms of energy, cocoa and chocolate surpass everything that is known today. It is not for nothing that even the military is given special rations with chocolate bars. They not only support the body's performance in terms of physical activity, but also activate mental activity.

Thus, the question of whether it is possible to post cocoa is directly or indirectly explicitly decided in favor of this product. By the way, one should not confuse the energy value, which helps to maintain shape, with calories, which are deposited in fat cells and formations. There is nothing of the kind in this case. The only thing worth considering is mixing with extraneous ingredients that must meet the strict requirements of the Church, that's all. In general, as it is already clear, cocoa is a universal product that is not only allowed, but even recommended for use in Fasting. And its energy value surpasses most of the well-known products of our time.

Many traditions exist in Orthodox Church, and observance of fasts, fast days is one of the most important. From year to year, the custom of fasting finds new followers. People want to be cleansed both spiritually and physically. This is a wonderful desire, but the tradition of fasting has a number of nuances and a history of its own.

Also, before fasting, you need to take the blessing from the priest and understand how much you are able to withstand the Charter of the Church regarding fasting - it has indulgences. How to fast and what sweets to treat yourself to in the post, we will tell you in our article.

What is fasting

It is known that fasts are gospel ordinances. Already the Lord Jesus Christ at the beginning of His earthly ministry stayed in the wilderness for 40 days and fasted.

Long fasts are a tradition established in the first centuries of Christianity. They were installed by the Church so that we come to the bright holidays with a pure heart, a light soul and a renewed body. The Lord and His Mother do not need expensive gifts, but our pure heart, good deeds and the fulfillment of the word of God given in the Gospel.

Note that fasting as such cannot be called a holiday - each fast is only a preparation for the celebration of Easter, Christmas, Dormition, the memory of the holy apostles, but symbolically fasting is called a spiritual holiday.

Even Pope Saint Leo I the Great (who led the Church from 440 to 461) set the dates for the Dormition Fast and other three long Orthodox fasts. The dates for fasting were finally established in 1166, at the Council of Constantinople, which took place after the Great Schism - the division of the Churches into Orthodox and Catholic. All Christians were supposed to keep a number of fasts, which has survived to this day:

• Great, - calculated 47 days before Easter, which is a passing holiday, ends with the holiday of the Lord's Entry into Jerusalem. Throughout the next Passion Week, believers also strictly fast until Easter.
• Petrov - also counted 50 days after Easter, immediately following the Spiritual Day (Monday after Pentecost) day. It ends on July 12, on the day of commemoration of the holy apostles Peter and Paul (that is, July 11 is the last fasting day).
• Uspensky is the only post dedicated to the Virgin Mary. It begins on August 14 - on the feast of the Origin (that is, the acquisition and celebration) of the Tree of the Life-giving Cross of the Lord. It is also called the Honey Savior (by this day the honeycombs are filled with honey and its collection begins, for which they bless with a special prayer) and the Wet Savior (according to the peasant tradition, the wells were cleaned on this day and prayers for water were performed over them), ends on the feast of the Assumption
• The Nativity Fast begins on November 28 (15 - according to the old style) and lasts until January 7 (December 25), lasts forty days and therefore is referred to in the Church Charter as the Fourth Day, just like Great Lent. Since the spell for fasting (the last non-fasting day) falls on the feast day of St. the Apostle Philip, then this fast is popularly called Filippov, Filipovka.

Also on Wednesday and Friday every week, except for certain, Orthodox Christians fast in remembrance of Judas' betrayal of the Lord Jesus (on Wednesday) and the Crucifixion of the Lord (on Friday).

Weeks (more precisely, in the church way, a week in our understanding is called a week, and Sunday is a week) without fasting Wednesday and Friday is

• Christmastide - from Christmas to Epiphany, January 7-18.
• The week of the publican and the Pharisee is the week before Great Lent.
• Shrovetide (rolling, the last week before Lent) - they no longer eat meat, but they eat all other fast foods.
• Bright week. - the first week after Easter.

Bright Week and Christmastide mark our great joy from the great holidays of Easter and Christmas, and Maslenitsa and the Week of the Publican and the Pharisee remind us that you cannot be hypocrites, the main thing is not to be proud of fasting, to have time and have fun, to rejoice in the gifts of God, to prepare for a serious time of fasting.

What is in the post

Let's start with the complete Church Rite. Perhaps only monks can adhere to it, but according to your diligence, you can also observe such a fast. On ordinary fast Wednesday and Friday is not allowed

• Meat,
• Dairy,
• Eggs,
• Fish.

On long fasts on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, the charter prohibits fish, wine and oil, and it is allowed to eat without vegetable oil (dry eating) only after the evening service.

On other days, you need to abstain only from meat, milk and eggs.

Small quantities of wine are allowed, but for those prone to weakness of alcoholism it is better to abstain. People who are prone to the bad habit of smoking should try to quit it, or at least smoke less.

Post is the time to quit smoking. There are special prayer addresses with which we ask to save us from the passion of the Lord's smoking, Holy Mother of God and Saint Ambrose the Optical, who has a special grace to help in this.

How to start fasting, keep fasting

You can enter the fast gradually, in stages, starting at least with abstaining from fast food on Wednesday and Friday. Those who thoughtlessly undertake the ascetic deeds of fasting and begin to fast strictly, soon either upset their health, or become impatient and irritable from hunger. “It is better to eat meat than your neighbors,” such a saying goes.

Sweet in the post - recipes

Remember to replenish nutrients in your body. Animal proteins are limited during fasting, so replenish them with plant proteins.

• Nuts,
• Soy products,
• Legumes.

Eat more vegetables - they quickly gain weight on cereals and potatoes. Try eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower, chickpeas; use more vegetable oil (olive, sunflower and others).

People often ask if sweets are allowed during fasting? In fact, it is better sometimes to abstain from chocolate, but to eat milk and fish, because we indulge ourselves with sweets. There are also lean sweets - they also need to be eaten in moderation, since you have decided on ascetic restrictions.

Everyone can find sweetness in fasting to their liking. The only question is to consume them in moderation:

• marmalade on pectin or agar-agar - natural gelatin;
• marshmallows, that is, marshmallows are not on egg whites;
• jelly candies, roasted nuts and sweets in lean chocolate;
• caramel and candies of any taste;
• dark chocolate (no milk and milk powder, no egg powder);
• products from seeds and nuts: halva, kozinaki, nuts, it is possible in dark chocolate;
• dried fruits and candied fruits;
• nuts in a multi-colored glaze (not in milk chocolate).

Do not fast until you become very weak, consult with the priest about fasting, and take Communion more often.

Why can't marshmallows in fasting

If you are fasting completely then marshmallows and milk chocolate are not allowed: they are prepared using, respectively, egg whites and milk.

Use more actively

• Jams,
• Muesli,
• Jams,
• Dried fruits.

All this will please you without breaking the fast.

Fasting diet

Without prayer and repentance, fasting becomes just a diet. Physical fasting, without spiritual fasting - good deeds, correcting your heart, getting rid of bad habits in words and deeds - it brings little for the salvation of the soul, it can also be spiritually harmful if a person, refraining from food, is imbued with the consciousness of his own superiority from the knowledge that he is fasting.
During pregnancy, in illness - peace of mind and calmness, health of the mother and child, and fasting is secondary! All church life at this important time should bring you spiritual comfort and peace of mind, and not deprive you of your strength through fasting and constant presence at services.

Fasting holiday

It is better to postpone your birthday until the next weekend, when fish is allowed. Many non-church people do this, because on Saturday and Sunday it is simply easier to gather family and friends for their holiday.

You can also use dairy products so as not to embarrass friends and loved ones who are not fasting. The assortment of shops allows you to celebrate these days without breaking the fast or falling into gluttony. Wine on Saturday and Sunday is allowed even under the Charter.

During fasting, we should strive for a life pleasing to God, visit the temple, pray at worship services, help people, forgive the sins and mistakes of our neighbors, and calmly behave in conflicts. Fasting is given to us as a spiritual school. When we limit ourselves to only food, it will be of little benefit to the soul. Fasting is also abstinence from worldly vanity and sin.

Cake and sweets for a wedding in fasting

Weddings are allowed on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Do not marry on the following days:

On Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, because the wedding night will fall on fast (Wednesday, Friday) or festive (Sunday - Easter).

Before church holidays - twelve, great, as well as the patronal feast of the temple (the memory of that saint, feast or icon of the Mother of God, in whose honor the temple was consecrated). On the days of the holidays themselves, they do not recommend getting married either, but they do not prohibit them either - you can ask the priest about it.

IN church holidays, which are both days of grief and strict fasting: the Beheading of the head of the Prophet and Forerunner John (September 11) and the Exaltation of the Cross (September 27).

During Lent: Velikiy, Petrov, Uspensky, Rozhdestvensky.

On Shrovetide (Cheese) week, on Christmastide (in the week immediately after Christmas) and on Bright Week (in the week immediately after Easter)

Thus, the question of lean sweets for a wedding disappears, because they do not get married during fasting, do not marry.
May the Lord protect you and help you in your lean labors!

Can you eat chocolate during fasting? Then - a counter question: is it possible to eat peas and beans during fasting? No matter how rhetorical the answer may seem, there is something to speculate about.

The main product in the composition of chocolate is cocoa, the fruits of which, because of their name, are often attributed to the legume family. The history of some ancient monasteries, such as the Studite, gives us the tradition of distributing beans to the brethren at a meal, and they were eaten both raw and boiled. This tradition is reflected in the charter of fasting, which the Church still uses today.

Life in ancient monasteries was built in such a way that a very small amount of time was allotted for food and rest - just as much as was necessary to maintain strength. The rest of the time the monks spent in prayer, worship and work. Hence, a kind of diet. It was simple (what grew in the area), but at the same time it allowed physical labor. In our area, during fasting, dishes made from beans and peas are often consumed. These foods are very high in calories and contain a huge amount of protein, which allows you to maintain your physical strength without breaking the fast.

South America is considered the homeland of cocoa. According to researchers, cocoa began to be used there since the 18th century BC. The range of its use was quite wide. Acquaintance with "brown gold" on our mainland happened only in 1519. The scientific name Theobroma (food of the gods) was given to him by the scientist Carl Linnaeus, who studied the culture of using cocoa in his historical homeland.

Cocoa is most commonly used to prepare hot drinks. Only in 1828 was the technology for extracting cocoa butter and cocoa powder from cocoa beans, from which it was possible to make hard chocolate, was invented. The inhabitants of the ancient monasteries simply did not know about either cocoa or chocolate. However, it can be assumed that if they had such an opportunity, they would have positively assessed its benefits - and who knows, maybe the word "chocolate" would appear on the pages of the Charter.

Now a huge number of articles have been written about the benefits of chocolate and many reports have been read, so it makes no sense to dwell on this in detail. Suffice it to say that the antioxidants and other beneficial substances contained in chocolate reduce platelet adhesion by 70% and reduce the risk of stroke, myocardial infarction, cancer and diabetes by almost 10%. In addition, chocolate is high in calories and just delicious.

For all the advantages of chocolate, there are a couple of dangerous points to note. Firstly, this is our attitude towards him. Eating any food should never develop into an addiction to it. If a person is addicted to chocolate and cannot live a day without it, then chocolate for such a person is the first product that must be abandoned during fasting. A Christian should not be dependent on his desires and habits.

Secondly, food should not harm a person. Keep in mind that the chocolate we see on store shelves often contains unhealthy impurities such as cocoa butter substitutes and sweeteners. It can't be helped: chemistry is the key to abundance. We need to check what we have in our hands: a bar of chocolate or a piece of plastic. This is inevitably reflected in the price. Good chocolate cannot be cheap, which means that we will never have a lot of it on our table. And there's nothing you can do about it - a little good.

In general, the food culture should always have an aesthetic side, which puts the emphasis, first of all, not on quantity, but on quality. If we learn to apply this rule, then even a small piece of real fragrant dark chocolate, eaten during fasting, will not only give strength and energy, but also give joy.

Archpriest Vladislav Shestakov

On the eve of the great Christian holidays, believers observe fasting. This is done to cleanse the body and soul, to turn thoughts to the spiritual. Fasting should serve to strengthen the will, spirit and body. During fasting, many pleasures are prohibited - gastronomic and not only.

It is forbidden to eat light food (meat, eggs, dairy products), alcohol. But what about sweets?

Sweets are allowed during fasting. But these should be special, lean delicacies.

There are no restrictions on sugar, because it is a vegetable product. But eggs, dairy products and animal oils are banned. For lean delicacies flour, jam or jam, sugar, honey, vegetable oil... You can add raisins, nuts, cocoa to your lean culinary masterpieces.

Chocolate in fasting

"What about chocolate?" - you ask. You can eat chocolate during fasting. But not everyone.

Only dark bitter chocolate is allowed during the fast. It contains cocoa butter, cocoa powder and sugar. This chocolate does not contain dairy products and animal fats. So, chocolate, carefully study its composition - it is written on the packaging.

Some church fathers even argue that since despondency is a sin, then cheering yourself up with a window of dark bitter chocolate is a good and godly business. Such a little joy is not forbidden even for monks.

Special offer for those with a sweet tooth

For those with a sweet tooth, we offer recipe for honey gingerbread.

You will need:

• 1 cup of sugar,
• 200 ml of water,
• 2 tablespoons of honey and cocoa,
• 1 teaspoon of baking soda, half a cup of vegetable oil
• half a glass of any jam or jam,
• flour to taste
• raisins, nuts,
• a pinch of cinnamon.

Pour sugar into a saucepan, add honey, vegetable oil and water. Heat over low heat, stirring constantly, so that the sugar is completely dissolved. Cool the liquid slightly - up to 35-40 C. Add cocoa, cinnamon and soda. Stir. Then add the flour, stirring gently so that there are no lumps. The consistency of the finished dough should resemble thick sour cream. Add nuts and raisins.

Bake in the oven for 45 minutes. Cut the finished gingerbread lengthwise and spread with jam.

So Great Lent has come. A time of abstinence and submission. People are fasting in order to cleanse their body and soul. This means that they abstain from bad thoughts and deeds, they eat only lean food.

All products containing animal fats and proteins are prohibited. That is, you cannot eat fish, meat, dairy products. Try to eat less fried foods, more fruits, vegetables, herbs, and drinks. Drinks can be as follows: kvass, jelly, fruit drink, juice, compote, tea.

In order for your body to survive the fast normally without complications from giving up meat, you need to monitor your diet, eat as many fruits and vegetables as possible.

Sweets in the post

In addition to meat, there is another type of food during fasting, without which a person suffers. These are sweets. What sweets can and cannot be consumed in fasting? Those sweets that contain animal proteins and fats are strictly prohibited, that is, where there are dairy products and eggs, they are not lean food. For example: crackers, gingerbread, oatmeal can be consumed. Just read carefully the ingredients on the product packaging.

Chocolate in fasting - is it possible?

There are a number of foods that have raised controversy over whether they are lean or not. As for seafood, they have not yet decided exactly, because in theory they are equated to fish, although in their biological properties they are more like mushrooms.

As for baking, we figured it out, you can use those products where the label says that there are no eggs and dairy products. White bread, pies - not allowed. But with regard to chocolate, you need to figure out whether it is prohibited or not.

But milk chocolate is not allowed, because there are dairy products. Basically, read the packaging, everything is written there. The rule is one for all products - no animal proteins and fats.

Fasting sweets recipe

In fasting, sweets will help you to replace: honey, candied fruits, nuts, fruits, berries. Here are some recipes for sweets in the post.

1. Baked apples

• We remove the core from the apples,
• We put nuts, candied fruits, dried apricots, raisins (at your discretion) mixed with honey there.
• We put in the oven for 20 minutes at a temperature of 160 degrees.
• Sprinkle the baked apples with icing sugar.

2. Lean baking

• This is a bake where there are no eggs and milk. Here is a recipe for such a cookie.
• Mix one teaspoon of baking powder with three cups of flour.
• Add one glass of starch.
• Add one hundred and fifty milliliters of vegetable oil.
• We mix.
• One glass of sugar, salt on the tip of a knife, a little vanillin, dilute with water until a uniform mass. Two-thirds of a glass of water.
• Mix, knead the dough. If it is very tight, add water.
• We roll out the dough, cut out the molds: rhombuses, squares or circles, as you like.
• You can decorate each cookie with nuts, berries, dried apricots, prunes at your discretion.
• We spread the baking on a baking sheet, bake for 15 minutes at 180 degrees.