Menu Plan: February 23 - 29 (Quinquagesima - Mardi Gras and Ash Wednesday)

The blog is a little delayed this week. I try to draft my planned posts for the week on Saturday, and we were so busy and without adequate time or internet coverage to get that done. Then, this morning, I gave myself a second degree burn while making breakfast.

We in the west are in the last days before Lent. Sadly, this means we are a week off from our brethren in the east. We've cleaned out most of the non-Lenten foods in the house and I have done most of our Lenten preparatory shopping. Tuesday, we will be having our traditional doughnut feast, too! Even though Ash Wednesday is a strict fast, there are still three kids in our house too young to try to fast the entire day. So, I have some basic meals planned for that day for those who are eating. All of the kids make an attempt of the fast, so those two meals on the list here may be the only things we need to make that day. Because we still have young children at home, we also still sometimes have fish and dairy/eggs, and often, even if we are not eating those foods as a family, we will give them some milk or egg (or yogurt cups for breakfast, for instance). The fast is about struggling within our strength so we will understand how much we need God. If you are not eating that way, obviously ignore those ideas. We still try to keep as close to the full fast as we can on all the days of the week except Sundays, so I hope you do find some suggestions to mix up your meal plans - it can be so hard finding different foods for the fast. Last year I learned that the fast is properly called a xerophagy, which means dry eating or dry food. Eating without meat and fish and dairy and egg results in "dry" eating. So if you need a Scrabble word, there you go!

• Sunday - Quinquagesima - Feast of Saint Polycarp
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Salsa and Tortilla Strips, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Meats of the World Pizza
• Monday - Feast of Saint Matthias the Apostle
  Breakfast: Polenta with Maple Syrup, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Baked Tortiglioni with Italian Sausage, Peppers, Roasted Tomatoes and Garlic, and Mozzarella, Cara Cara Oranges
• Tuesday - Fat Tuesday
  Breakfast: Migas with Salsa, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Papas con Chorizo, Yeasted Potato Doughnuts with Lemon Glaze German Fastnacht Kreppel, Louqaimat*, Apple Fritters
• Wednesday - Ash Wednesday
  Breakfast: Peanut Butter Toast, Bananas, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Peanut Noodles and Vegetables, Oranges
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats with Apples, Raisins and Brown Sugar, Coffee
  Dinner: Minestrone with Broken Pasta, Garlic Bread, Oranges
• Friday
  Breakfast: Lemon Blueberry Granola Bars, Bananas, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Chick Pea Shawerma Bowls, Tamis
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Lenten Pancakes* with Maple Syrup, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Vegetarian Rouz Bukhari, Batattas Harra, Middle Eastern Chopped Salad

What is on your menu this week? I hope these breakfast and dinner ideas help you make plans, too. If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.



Linking to Menu Plan Monday