With the Nativity just around the corner and we enter this last week of the fast, let us stay the course to help prepare ourselves for the miracle that is the birth of God on Earth. Here are some ideas for vegan appetizers to help you keep the fast as the world around us continues to feast.

Vegan Appetizers

Simple & Quick Options - veggies and hummus, chips and salsa or guacamole, fresh fruit, dried fruit with nuts and seeds, olives, nut butters and crackers, shrimp and marinara sauce (not tartar sauce because of the eggs in mayonnaise; seafood can be consumed on weekends) etc.

More Complex Options

• Other dips - black bean dip (minus sour cream), babaghanoush

• Cup of soup - butternut squash, french onion, tomato, parsnip and hazelnut

• Caponata - eggplant sautéed with onions, bell peppers, rosemary and raisins

• Bruschetta - tomatoes, basil, and garlic on top of toasted baguette

Final Thoughts on Fasting:

“Of course it would be easier to get to paradise with a full stomach, all snuggled up in a soft feather-bed, but what is required is to carry one’s cross along the way, for the Kingdom of God is not attained by enduring one or two troubles, but many!”

- Elder Anthony of Optina

Sources

• Lenten Cookbook, 1998, UWAC Olha Kobylianska Branch