Question for all Catholics on Atkins during Lent
 

Okay. First of all, I am not looking forward to Ash Wednesday for the fasting part of it.
Now, in the past, I have given up a certain food for Lent. Well, not this year! But, I am going to try the guidelines that are recommended during Lent. This is what our bulletin says:
"...it is recommended that during Lent all Catholics eat meat only once at the main meal, apart from Fridays when they abstain completely."

:help: My question is how many ways can you dress up shrimp, eggs and cheese so you don't get completely sick of it? Meat is anything from land.
I will miss my bacon. :cry: Perhaps I will have a big bacon dinner one night! hehehe. Oh, Easter Sunday will have to be a big breakfast casserole with lots of bacon and sausage!!!

Thanks for the input.

I'm not Catholic, but from reading some things, you can give up something else for lent...some people give up sweets and chocolate, I've read.

I was kindof thinking about giving up dairy...not sure if I can though.

What about other kinds of fish, tofu, protein shakes? Can you have things other than shrimp, eggs and cheese?


Beth

This must be something that your diocese is doing. Roman Catholics are only required to fast and abstain from meat on Ash Wednesday and the Fridays of Lent. However, if you are going to follow your parish's guidelines, you might consider protein shakes, mock danish, or try some of the fabulous recipes in the recipe site.
Wishing you a fruitful Lent

Laudate Dominum

♥ Mary

You can have fish!! That'll help. You can aslo try a quiche for dinner. YUM!! How bout a veggie stir fry?

You'll make it. If you think your starting to get bored, just remember it is lent. Remember why your doing it and it won't seem so hard. :)

lucky me
 

Episcopalians celebrate Lent, too! I was seriously considering giving up meat altogether. But I'm afraid I might die. Your one meat meal a day might be a good compromise.

By the way, as a former Catholic I know that Lent isn't only about giving up certain things - you can also accentuate the positive as they say. You could make a goal of attending Mass one extra time a week or volunteering or something like that - giving of yourself.

I was thinking about that this weekend. What else can we eat?

I am sick of eggs.

We can have shrimp, salmon, tuna, ........what else?


red

Like the others said don't forget fish. They also have a large variety of meat alternatives for vegetarians- mostly made of soy. They have fake bacon, sausage, burgers, etc... Morning Star Farms offers alot of good products and the Boca Burgers are good too- they're located in the frozen food section of your grocery store. Just remember to check the carb count. Good luck.
God Bless,
Amy-lynne

Yes, I've become used to my bacon the mornings also. I guess we will have to use our imagination for Lent.

Cut up shrimp sauteed in butter, stuff into mushrooms.

Grilled, Fish, Baked fish, fish with shrimp on top of it, Fish with salsa on top of it.

Tuna fish salad on to of lettuce with a tomato on the side.

Good luck.

Fish! Many great fish dishes abound. Baked with tomato sauce and mozzarella, with cream and mushrooms, with lemon, butter and dill. A lot of ways you prepare chicken can be used for fish, especially the dishes that have simple seasonings and are baked. You could use Donald's Awsome Chicken and Broccoli recipe and substitute halibut or cod. Digwig's Collaboration lasagna with a cheese filling...

I think that there are a couple of ways you can look at Lent. Some folks look upon it as being a time of sacrifice - giving up that which you love the most.

Here's my take on it. When I give up the food(s) that I am most attached to, it first leaves a "void". It gives me time to reflect on why I am so attached to something that is only there to provide physical sustenance. Now, if I allow spiritual sustenance to enter and take the place of that food, it will feed me in a way that no food ever can do. It gives me great strength. Not strength of will, but strength of character.

Lent. A good thing!

Karen

Re: Question for all Catholics on Atkins during Lent
 

I'm glad to see this in the bulletin. Many people don't realize that this is the RECOMMENDED approach to lent. They only realize what is REQUIRED (fasting on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday and abstaining from meat on each Friday.)

Many people also don't realize that the Church STILL recommends we abstain from meat on ALL Fridays throughout the year...not just during Lent.

Anyway, I think it is a GREAT approach to Lent, and it certainly can be done via Low Carbing.

Yes, eggs are great for breakfast, so find all sorts of ways to do eggs
(mock danish; or adding cream cheese to scrambled eggs).
A protein shake might be a good change every now and then.

Lunches with tuna or shrimp. (Make sure to add the fats)
Cottage cheese (higher carb, but good protein bang for the buck).
Lots more veggies and salads.

Learn how to bake/broil fishes for dinners (so you can choose chicken or beef for lunch sometimes). I have always been afraid of cooking fish 'cause I never really knew how. But over the course of LCing, I've had to do it to get variety in the diet.

Now might be a good time to invest in one of the LC cookbooks out there. Make sure it has a decent-sized fish section!

Being limited/restricted IS the idea. That we are in control of what we do to/with our body, instead of our body/appetite controling what we choose.
So when you feel limited, just remember WHY you're doing it!

I'm going to join you in the recommended Lenten approach.
Harder for me! I am eating 6 meals a day!

-- Loretta

Oh, what I meant was that I am not going to give up any certain food (like I have with ice cream and chocolate in the past). I am giving up tv after dinner. I am such a couch potato. I just vegitate and that is very bad. More opportunity to walk, do house chores, read, spend time with hubby, finish braiding my rug, etc.

I really hate to cook fish but I can learn to do it for Lent. Grumble, grumble. It never comes out quite right. I love shrimp but am afraid if I eat it everyday I will soon detest it. Eggs will be tough for me. I cannot tolerate the texture some days.

Good idea about subbing fish for chicken.
Folks, I am in a land-locked state. Also, one that thinks good fish is a catfish fry! Blech! Fish is just not as fun here. But, again, I think I can do it for 40 days. Who knows, maybe I will eat fish more often afterwards.

Meat is considered anything that comes from the land like lamb, beef, pork and poultry. Things from the sea are okay as are milk eggs and cheeses.

Happy Mardi Gras (Fat Tuesday) to you all tomorrow.

I'm not Catholic so not sure why I followed this thread. I noticed that you are from OK a "land locked state". I'm from KS so I truly understand what you mean. I have found excellent salmon at Sam's Club -- I imagine there is at least one Sam's Club in Tulsa.
Good luck.

Cindy

Good point...
 

Never thought about it before...
Living in Boston...we gots fish!

Hi at my church...
 

At my church we were told to fast on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday which means one meal of no protein (which includes shellfish) and two other (no meat) snacks that when added up doesn't equal the main meal.
I'm planning on an Atkins bar for breakfast, a can of tuna and mayo for lunch with a fish dinner for those two days.
My Fridays are fish only too. But for most of you, you can eat cheese and eggs too. I can't but you know? I like fish :D
I'm giving up desserts for lent... it can only help me in a long run.

Great Thread
 

Just a comment that Lent isn't just about "giving up" a certain food. You can give up some spare time for "shut ins", give up some spare change towards a meal for someone who is hungry.

RE: Topic - I'm Roman Catholic so it's fish fridays and on Lent.

Peace to all. :) ;) :) ;) :) ;)

Sorry for going off main topic.

Can someone tell me where it says in the Bible that you have to give up ANYTHING for Lent? I always thought it was a ridiculous man made rule, along with confession and baptizing babies....

Before it gets out of hand...
 

Granted, this could get out of hand quickly, but in quick response to the question (and hopefully we'll agree to disagree because that's where this always ends up anyway)...

It comes from Christ himself fasting in the desert before he began his public ministry.
Such an intense time and intense self-sacrifice was apparently necessary, even for the Son of God Himself, to be able to master his HUMAN nature (which is what we all have and struggle with) - so that He could go on and successfully become the saviour of the world.

Christ was in the desert for 40 days.
Lent is 40 days long (not including Sundays, as Sundays are always special feast days)...

It's not directly written "Thou shalt give up something for Lent."
But Christ certainly did.
And we are to immitate Christ.
Logical deduction...we give something up as well.

Interesting question for this board, though...
I'm sure the fishermen of Christ's time had some good fish recipes!
-- Loretta

p.s...you may email me privately regarding the answer to the other (also off topic) "rules"

Edited by moderator.
I have removed the email address as posting email addresses is against our forum rules. Please use the private messaging system for this.

On the happy side...

Today is FAT TUESDAY! :yum: I'M PLANNING a GRAND FAT-FEST!

(i'll worry about lent on Wednesday & all the numerous ways to dress up tuna fish & soy!) :rolleyes:

viv

Hi everyone,

I'm an Anglo-Catholic Orthodox Christian (just to tell you where I'm coming from).

When it comes to diet I think we give up quite enough already! if I were you I would just stick to the REQUIRED fasting and do something else to celebrate lent. Personally, I always give money to beggars during lent. Trouble is this has become a habit so now I give them money all year round and I'll have to think of something else!

If lent is to be a time of sacrifice, maybe we should sacrifice something which will do some good for others.

Robert

Looks like lobster and crab legs all week long.

Robert, what a wonderful habit you've caught on to. If only all our good intentions took hold like that.

I've decided to give up cheating on my diet for lent...40 days cheat free!!!!!

Gail

I'll eat all you guys portions of steak during Ash Wednesday and Lent. ;) I'm Methodist.