 |
| "Having received God into Her womb, the Virgin hastened to Elizabeth whose unborn babe at once recognized Her embrace, rejoiced. . . " Icon from the walls of Kykkos Monastery |
tend to take our focus off of the coming of the Messiah - and cause us to gain unwanted weight in the bargain.
Historically, Christians have anticipated the coming of Christ not by feasting, but by abstaining from rich foods, keeping a mostly Vegan diet during the six weeks before Christmas.
These dishes are all frugal and simple to prepare - several of then have been prepared by my daughter who is just the age to be learning to make her own Peanut Butter & Jelly Sandwiches! This allows you to use your time and money for things you value more during this season.
This is being shared on Menu Plan Monday, Modest Monday, In & Out of the Kitchen, Teach Me Tuesdays, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays, Teaching What is Good, Healthy, Happy, Green & Natural, Wise Woman
Penny Pinching Party, Fabulously Frugal Thursday
Think Tank Thursday, Simple Lives Thursday
Frugal Days, Sustainable Ways, Thrive at Home
Home Acre Hop
This is an Advent menu for those observing this season:
Lemon Rice with Lemon Dal, Super Simple Salad
Eggplant Stew, Rice, Super Simple Salad
Chili Cornbread Casserole, Better Than Coleslaw
(The entrée here is easy enough that my little girl can make it almost all by herself)
Family Favorite Lentil Soup, Homemade Bread, Super Simple Salad
Curried Chickpeas over Rice, Super Simple Salad
Greek Style Black-Eyed Peas, Fresh Veggie Tray
(this is another one that my little girl can make! : )
Teriyaki Stir Fry with Rice
Featured on:
Awesome, Awesome dishes! Very nice! I'm so hungry and want to try it all!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much, Jennifer : )
DeleteLove this menu! Such a great idea to keep our foods simple as we prepare for a big Christmas celebration.
ReplyDeleteI really appreciate you dropping by again, C, and your kind comments.
Deletei LOVE this comment you made:
ReplyDelete"Christians have anticipated the coming of Christ not by feasting, but by abstaining from rich foods, keeping a mostly Vegan diet during the six weeks before Christmas."
WOW! Our society definitely doesn't see it this way.
Part of me would love to fast over Christmas and be so much more mindful of Christ - however, in reality I don't know how I"d make that work!!!!!!!!! However, with that in mind, I am going to focus more on simplicity.
Thank you for this post :-)
Thank you so much for your sweet comments, Sandy. Our Church (Greek Orthodox) does encourage "fasting" during this time - which is to say, reduced consumption, and eliminating animal foods (fish is permitted some days, but since I'm vegetarian anyway . . . ). We traditionally break the "fast" on Christmas day - and then have the Twelve Days of Christmas - with feasting & celebrating the Birth of Our Lord. In our modern culture, you're right - it can be quite tricky with all of the parties that are scheduled before Christmas - so sometimes I mess up! I do find though, that scheduling my home cooked meals to be "seasonally appropriate" really helps overall - even if I'm not perfect when away from home.
DeleteI agree that holiday feasting and overconsumption has really gotten out of control.We have strayed far from the true meaning of Christmas.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for reminding us of the fact that " historically Christians have anticipated the coming of Christ not by feasting, but by abstaining from rich foods, keeping a mostly Vegan diet during the six weeks before Christmas." This is a very important revelation and I can't wait to try Curried Chickpeas and Greek style Black-eyed Peas.Thank you for celebrating the holiday season with us on the Healthy, Happy, Green & Natural Party Hop. Happy Holidays to you and your family.
Thank you so much! You always leave such kind comments : ) I very much enjoy your blog hop! Thanks for hosting!
DeleteI didn't know the early church abstained, but it makes a lot of sense. So does having simple meals to make time for more important things!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for visiting! I love your Blog - and the wonderful work you do in Africa. I especially liked this recent post! http://www.lisalewiskoster.com/2013/11/im-done-being-politically-correct.html
DeleteThis is a great collection of foods. The teriyaki stir fry looks especially good. Thank you for linking to the In and Out of the Kitchen Link Party. Hope to see you next week.
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of abstaining in preparation for a feast. With our wealth of foods available year-round, I feel like we've lost sight of the differences between daily meals and feasting, and seasonal eating.
ReplyDeleteScrolling through your pictures made me very hungry. I want to try the Lemon rice and dal this week. I love soup with a lemon flavor.
Thanks for linking up at Fabulously Frugal Thursday!
Some great healthy recipes. I certainly agree with you that we are society has changed their whole way of celebrating Christmas. I believe we have made Christmas much to commercial and focusing on parties, eating, but not the real meaning of Christmas. Thanks for sharing. Visiting from Healthy Happy Green & Natural Blog Hop.
ReplyDelete