When we hear the phrase “lean food”, Christmas or Easter fasting comes to mind. I recall the minutes of waiting when abstinence from forbidden food is over. But in everyday life, even a temporary rejection of fatty foods, especially of animal origin, is beneficial for the body. At this time, the liver is restored, the pancreas is resting from unnecessary loads, intestinal motility is improving . Lenten food should be part of the family diet for a harmonious diet.
Vegetable salads seasoned with vegetable oil are traditional in every dish. This tasty lean food does not need agitation for its usefulness, you can only offer a few original recipes.
Squid salad
For 100 g of squid, you will need one cucumber, two medium tomatoes, 100 g of Beijing cabbage, greens and pomegranate seeds for decoration. Cut all the ingredients into strips, mix gently so that the tomato juice does not give. Salt, sprinkle with lemon juice (you need a tablespoon of it), season with a spoon of vegetable oil, mix again. Garnish in a salad bowl with pomegranate seeds and herbs.
Mushroom Vinaigrette
You will need (each piece) boiled beets, boiled potatoes, pickles, 200 g of pickled mushrooms and canned white beans. Dice beets and potatoes, mushrooms and cucumber - in strips. Mix vegetables and beans, pour with a special dressing: 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, grind with a teaspoon of mustard, add lemon juice.
Lenten food can be a main course of lunch or a full dinner. Mushrooms or beans often act as a protein filler in such recipes, and light vegetables are harmoniously combined with cereals. Lenten second courses offered in the article are noteworthy.
Lazy cabbage rolls
It will take 1 cup of rice, two handfuls of dried porcini mushrooms, two onions, carrots, half a fork of white cabbage, one and a half tablespoons of tomato paste, refined vegetable oil. Start cooking with mushrooms. They need to be poured with boiling water for half an hour, then removed, cut very finely. Do not pour water, you will need it. Boil rice until half cooked, rinse under cold water. Chop the cabbage, grate the carrots. Dice the onion, fry in 100 g of vegetable oil until golden brown.
Cooking minced meat. For it, mix prepared rice, mushrooms, carrots, half an onion, and salt. In a deep saucepan with a thick bottom, put half of the cabbage, minced meat on top, the second half of cabbage. Add tomato paste to the pan with the remaining onion, pour in the water in which the mushrooms were soaked, stir. Fluids need to be taken so that the resulting fill completely covers the top layer of cabbage. If there is not enough water, add boiling water. Pour the cabbage with minced meat, salt the dish, cover, bring to a boil over medium heat. After boiling, reduce the fire to a minimum, continue to simmer stuffed cabbage for 20-25 minutes. At this time, you need to make sure that all the liquid does not boil away. After cooking, stuffed cabbage should be allowed to stand for 15 minutes. Spices are not added to the dish during cooking, as porcini mushrooms give a bright aroma. If desired, you can pepper the dish directly in the plate.
Eggplant with Beans
To prepare them, you need a set of the following products: eggplant, salad pepper, onion (one each), as well as two tomatoes and a glass of red canned beans. Vegetable oil should be taken so that it is enough to fry vegetables. Cut eggplant into large cubes, pepper and onion strips, tomatoes into cubes. Fry in a pan all the vegetables in turn, then mix them in the same pan or in a saucepan, add beans, warm for 5-6 minutes. Salt to taste, add parsley.