As of this writing, it is Ash Wednesday 2020, the first day of the Christian season of Lent.

No, I do not care to discuss religion with you.

But I do want you to have what you need to stay healthy during every season! That’s one reason why my Bariatric Foodie Holiday Survival Guide book has recipes not only for Christmas and Easter, but a section of kosher recipes, written by my late friend Joy Muller of the former blog, Kosher Bariatric. So that is to say that I’m working on getting more resources for even more eating traditions up on the site. Bear with me! And, as always, if you have a request for resources for a specific holiday or tradition, email me at nikki@bariatricfoodie.com.

Meatless Fridays: What is it?

I thought I’d start here for those of you who have genuinely not heard of this tradition.

During the season of Lent – which is celebrated by some Christians as the 40(some) days leading up to Easter – some folks observe what has come to be called, in popular culture, “Meatless Fridays.” I think this comes out of the Catholic tradition, but don’t quote me. (And if you know, drop a comment and educate us all.) My grandpa was Catholic (I’m Lutheran, for what it’s worth) and so I grew up not eating meat on any Friday when we lived with him. Many folks still do that, but many also just observe the meatless tradition only during Lent.

But here’s where things get interesting.

The definition of “meatless” isn’t the same as if you were, say, going vegetarian. If you were going vegetarian you likely would not consume any animal flesh, although some vegetarians do milk and eggs. (By the way, if you want a good resource on eating vegetarian after weight loss surgery, check out my BF Basics series on it!) But that’s not the case here. On Meatless Fridays, fish and seafood are generally allowed and, depending on your particular beliefs, eggs and cheese.

The challenges of Meatless Friday for weight loss surgery patients

Well that seems pretty obvious, right? We need PROTEIN! And, especially in the beginning, lots of it.

And while there are many ways to get protein without eating meat, we tend to get stumped when you take meat out of the equation. (Present company included.) We also tend to be very wary of increasing our carbs – even carbs that contain protein or that form a complete protein (such as rice and beans, which come together to form a complete protein).

So what’s a post-op to do? Well…you all should know what I am going to say…play with your food!

Meatless Fridays: the easy way!

Now there are plenty of Meatless Fridays inspired recipes on this blog. I’ve run this site for more than 10 years and every year during that time I’ve observed Meatless Fridays for Lent. So at any time you can search that term and get great recipes. You can also search the terms: fish, tilapia (my fish of choice), shrimp, vegetarian, and meatless and get lots of ideas.

But if you’d like a collection of yummy ideas pre-packaged and ready for you, I have something for ya!

Ta-DAAAAAAAAA!

(Too much? It felt like a “ta-da” moment…)

I’ve put together some of my favorite meatless Fridays inspired lunches and dinners in one easy download, complete with full color pictures. This is a PDF download folks! That means it does work on your mobile devices and can be “side-loaded” into a Kindle or Nook (and usually the Kindle app can open PDF files). It features 10 recipes and are a mix of make-ahead lunches, easy-prep dinners, and both share-able and “just for you” meals.

Spoiler: Most of them contain fish or shrimp. But if you don’t like either, they can easily be swapped out for something like tofu, tempeh, etc. Play with your food!

Get your copy today

So…if you are in the market for some great ideas for Meatless Fridays (or, hey, maybe you’re thinking of going pescatarian!), consider treating yourself to a copy of this book!

Buy Now!