Meatless Friday: Making Lenten Meals Different

Lent is coming, and for Catholic families that means meatless meals will be on the menu every Friday. While the United States Council of Catholic Bishops no longer requires Catholics to abstain from meat on most Fridays during the year, offering instead an opportunity for an alternate penance (though the practice of abstaining from meat is encouraged), during Lent all Catholics ages 14 and older are required to abstain from meat on every Friday as well as Ash Wednesday (which is February 18 this year).

Meal-Planning Challenges in Lent

Over the years, the transition to Lent has been a meal-planning struggle for me. I don't serve meat on Fridays all during the year, but I enjoy eating most types of fish and seafood, so I don't feel like it's much of a sacrifice. I do think the Lenten Friday dinner should be something simpler than what we eat year 'round. I think that practice was ingrained from my childhood when families would serve a simpler meal on Fridays and donate the money that would normally be spent on that meal to people or communities in need.

One year I decided not to serve shrimp, because shrimp seems extravagant to me even if it's less expensive per pound than most fish, at least where I live. 

Another Lent, I served the old standby: grilled cheese and canned clam chowder. My family was thrilled. They loved that dinner. I, on the other hand, found it penitential to make the same exact meal every single week. (I will admit, it was humbling for me, since I enjoy cooking and trying new recipes!)

What's Your Family's Go-To Lenten Dinner?

What do you serve your family on Fridays during Lent?