A vegan menu for those new to vegan eating that uses only ingredients from the supermarket. For those new to Orthodox fasting.

I wanted to share a vegan menu for people new to vegan eating that included only common ingredients from the supermarket.  This is not an oil free menu.

The first time I decided to attempt a fast, I stopped eating for the day in order to pray for a friend.  I ended up lying on the couch with a massive headache and too dizzy to be able to stand.  I asked my (Baptist) pastor what I should do.  She didn't have an answer for me.

Then I discovered the Orthodox church, with a very long tradition of fasting.  An Orthodox fast is fasting from all animal products for the 40 days before Easter and Christmas.  Fasting is hard.  It's a struggle.  And that's o.k.  You're building up your will power muscle gradually.  You can't run a whole marathon without any practice.

After trying and failing to complete an advent (pre-Christmas) and lenten (pre-Easter) fast I decided to slow down.  First I did a vegetarian fast for two weeks before Easter and Christmas.  Then I extended it to four weeks. Later I cut out eggs, and later still dairy.  It was a few years before I managed the 40 day vegan fast.

These recipes are just part of the practicalities of the fast.  It's more important to fast from anger, hate, judgement and other sins and to pray and to repent.  Your spiritual father should be able to give you advice.  But if you're feeling alone and just don't know what to cook, despite your best resolutions, I hope these recipes help.

	Breakfast	Lunch	Dinner	Snack
Mon	Banana Porridge	Salad Sandwich with hommus, artichoke hearts, grilled egg plant, roasted capsicum.	Stir fry with cashews and noodles	Vegan banana muffin
Tue	Avocado Toast	Salad with pumpkin and pinenuts Replace honey and oil with a tiny bit of balsamic.	Falafel wraps  or you can buy pre-made falafels or a falafel mix.	Apple and almond/peanut butter
Wed	Orange and Pear Bircher Muesli	Salad Sandwich with hommus or avocado and baby spinach, tomato, and grated carrot.	Soup and bread Also used in the dhal recipe for friday	Hommus and rice crackers Use any brand of hommus and crackers.
Th	Avocado Toast	Greek lentil Soup or leftovers	Homemade vegetable pasties	Veggies and peanut butter
Fri	Blueberry Porridge	Salad Sandwich	Dhal and rice	Popcorn
Sat	Toast with avocado, wilted spinach, baked tomato and pan fried mushrooms	Take away Vegetarian Sushi	Lentil Bolognaise	Fruit and nuts
Sun		Left overs	Oven baked jacket potatoes with chilli sin carne.  Top with a mix of fresh tomato, avocado, coriander, lime.	Protein ball