AmericanPapist Comments
It was fish sticks for us.
Nowadays, it's gallons of decaf tea.
We had cod fish or salmon patties all the time, and what we called tuna rounds, in which you put tuna on an English muffin, toast it and put some cheese on top. Now that I'm on my own, I still eat tuna rounds, but I also dig pancakes, grilled cheese sandwiches, mac and cheese, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Those are my Lenten Friday options. The rest of the week, though, sees a return to my omnivorous ways.
Here at ND, hot cross buns which are a kind of heavy roll with bits of "fruitcake" dried fruits are served on Fridays in Lent. Once only associated with Good Friday, the hot cross bun has nearly vanished in my experience except here at Our Lady's University.
Other than that we eat macc and cheese and tuna rounds, salmon patties and fish, just like growing up and just like everyone else.
Nathan, so funny that you have pancakes as they are the historical food of fat tuesday for the English as lard was once a forbidden ingredient during lent.
Fish sticks and tater tots was the standard Friday dinner growing up.
For me now as an adult it's grilled cheese sandwiches.
In the Latin rite, Lent has become a vestigial remnant of what it was. In the Eastern rite, however, one must abstain from meat, fish, fowl, dairy products, and rich foods cooked in oil. So what does that leave us? Think macrobiotic: brown rice, beans, and . . . of course . . . lentil soup.
"Nathan, so funny that you have pancakes as they are the historical food of fat tuesday for the English as lard was once a forbidden ingredient during lent."
I didn't know that. All I know is no meat is involved with them--just water and some powder mix--and I don't have a waffle iron, so pancakes are what I go with! :)
I'm actually surprised you also eat tuna rounds, Father. I've never known anyone outside of my family to eat them.
Tuna Casserole: Noodles with tuna, peas and Mayo. A very cheap vat of food for the entire family.
When I was a kid, we had fish sticks pretty much EVERY Friday. (My father was an old-time Catholic and never allowed meat on Friday.) Since returning to the Church, I have been faithful to the no meat rule... There are a couple of exceptions:
1) I forget
2) I have been invited to a well-meaning person's home who doesn't know I abstain on Friday. Making an issue would be less charitable than simply offering my gracious thanks.
Of course, for me, the fish they serve here is usually fried, and since I gave up fried foods (MY FAVORITE!) for Lent, I am having cheese pizza (like last year)
For lunch this lent, I've been just eating two handfuls of sunflower seeds. They're loaded with nutrients (esp. potassium, phosphorus, and vitamins E and B12). They also taste pretty good, are in no respect sweet, and make you feel just this side of uncomfortable after a couple of handfuls. I was in my twenties when suddenly you could eat meat on Friday. Whee. It's just not that big a deal, so I never stopped with the meatless regimen. You do have to be sure to have something meatless on hand, which serves to remind you that Fridays have a solemnity about them (that society has pretty much lost touch with). For abstinence times, then, it's a combination of the above comments, plus, now and then, a tuna salad sandwich, eggs, all kinds of meatless soups, or crabcakes (which are really really really great if you're lucky).
Anyone do Bean Burrito's at Taco Bell?
I'm diabetic, so starchy stuff is out, like mac & cheese. I have found low-carb bread so I can make grilled cheese. But, other than fish which I do like, I make scrambled eggs with hashbrowns folded right in, along with onions, peppers and anything else. I guess you could call it a less than skillful omelette.
growing up it was either fish sticks, pancakes, salmon loaf (mmm, think meatloaf, but with salmony goodness) or, if Mom was working at the parish and not able to cook, fried shrimp dinners with lots of fries from Tony's (a venerable Saginaw institution).
Nowdays I lean towards grilled salmon or tuna melts.
Fish sticks 52 times a year was the rule at our house (plus a few more for Ember Days when the little fishies showed up on Wednesdays and I think Fridays on the church calendar).
I'm surprised that meatless spaghetti/pasta hasn't been mentioned for adventuresome single folks. Actually, that's the way I most always eat pasta when I cook it so it isn't much of a sacrifice.
Pancakes, tuna salad, PB&J, cheese pizza, grilled cheese, etc. round out my Lentan menu.
Fish sticks and tomato soup. Isn't that its own food group?
For picky-eating younger sister? Grilled cheese.
When I was about 10 we moved to New England and lived in a coastal town with a busy fishing fleet, and we switched to fresh schrod, steamers, occasionally lobster (which does not seem terribly penitent, eh?).
Well, I didn't mean to sound like decaf tea is ALL I have on Fridays in Lent (which would be noble -- but I'm not that noble)! There's also spinach & feta quiche, ratatouille, vegetable burritos... One of these years, I might have to give up garlic and onions. Now THAT would be penitential!
Our lenten meal when I was a kid was strained Fall River chow mein. Fall River chow mein is rather like regular chow mein except that it is mostly crispy noodles with a little of the vegetables mixed in and a whole lot of sauce with some ground beef.
When strained it was just noodles and sauce. Fall River vegetable chow mein was also popular.
Another popular lenten meal is cheese pizza.
Cod coated with italian bread crumbs and lightly fried in extra light olive oil with basmati rice is a good Friday meal. BTW, Friday is still a penitential day throughout the whole year and in the absence of guidance(what a surprise!) from the American Bishops the restriction on meat every friday still exists. Check the code of canon law #1250 on the vatican.va website. Pray for Holy Bishops! I see a lot of desire for holiness in the young people who know better than to succumb to the apostasy that has permeated throughout the Church in the last 40 years. It is time to come out of the desert and truly worship God instead of ourselves. Continue the work of renewal with personal devotions and sometimes just saying no to aberrations experienced in the liturgy, the unholy music, and doublespeak from the 'shepherds'.
Find an FSSP mass if you can to worship God as he deserves but continue to work for renewal in your home parish also. God is there in the Eucharist and needs visits and adoration most especially where he is treated with disrespect or ignored. The true Church will prevail as promised.
+Domine, quid me vis facere?+
Lance Patrick
hmm, my family would always go to McDonald's on the way home from mass on lenten fridays and order up alot of Fillet O'Fishes, and Shamrock Shakes. I always liked to think of it as the one time in the year that corporate America recognized catholic culture-albeit in a shallow consumer oriented way. I always liked that. Other than that, Fish Sticks were another popular choice.
I eat only bread and water on Wednesdays and Fridays. Bread does not include muffins, as some have tried to persuade me. Though I find it helpful to have dried fruit or nuts in the bread or a handful on the side, just to keep things regular.
"hmm, my family would always go to McDonald's on the way home from mass on lenten fridays and order up alot of Fillet O'Fishes, and Shamrock Shakes."
Long John Silver's was always my family's fast-food restaurant of choice during Lent.
And how about this? My kids go to a regional system of Catholic schools.
One of their big annual fund raisers is a candy sale.
Guess when they have the candy sale each year? Yep, during Lent.
Now I know that not everyone gives up candy during Lent, but it's a pretty common practice, particularly with younger kids.
And I know that they can eat the candy on Sundays, but it still seems like a needless temptation.
Fridays when I was a child in the 1960's were very often tuna fish salad, Kraft mac and cheese and applesauce.
Have to eat those three together or it's bad luck.
I also remember cream cheese and jelly sandwiches for school lunches.
Now, I tend to eat vegetarian on Fridays throughout the year, cheese and veggies, because I'm not nuts about fish. And no treats, no chips with lunch, nothing between meals.
Chilimac: Canned vegetarian chili mixed with elbow noodles and topped with cheese. Yum!
Growing up, we always had Hot Cross buns on the table. Friday's dinner fare was usually fried fish.
Though RC, I attend a Maronite Church and have developed a fondness for Lebanese cuisine. Lunch today is Tabouleh and Hummous.
How about traditional Lenten pretzels?
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