Everyone has their tips and tricks on how best to prepare for a fast. My brother likes to drink a bottle of Powerade to build up his electrolytes. My father slowly weans off his coffee starting a week before to help avoid the caffeine withdrawal headache. My mother always made us bland food so we wouldn’t be thirsty from too much salt (she didn’t care if we were extra hungry because the bland food was so bad). Some people feel you have to just eat like crazy the day before so you are so full you won’t feel hungry the next day. Others gradually eat less and less beginning a few days before the fast. Whatever your personal eating strategy, the most important advice I can give is to drink plenty of water the day before. The hardest part of fasting and the side-effects are caused by dehydration. So drink up the whole day before and then enjoy a well-balanced meal before your fast begins.
Before we get to the menu here are 5 tips for an easier fast:
1. Drink lots of water before the fast.
2. Include protein in your pre-fast menu.
3. Don’t skimp on carbs, but do make them filling.
4. Eat good healthy fats like olive oil and avocado.
5. Avoid or limit added sugar (it just makes you want more).
Now a menu suggestion for a hearty, healthy meal before the fast.
I love a good hearty pasta with whole grain pasta for extra fiber to really fill you up. When you add walnuts and greens for the pesto sauce you get extra vitamins and healthy fat to really sustain you through the fast.
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Pair that pasta with a high protein fish coated in nuts and a side of Venetian Spinach and your meal is complete.
All that’s left is a something sweet…
I like the idea of ending your meal with something minty fresh, like this chocolate mint cheesecake or some homemade Thin Mints or even some mint chip ice cream. We want to keep added sugar to a minimum so keep your portions small and save the rest for after the fast.
Wishing you an easy fast.
Barley and lentils are great for keeping you full and satisfied.
I find that the best thing to eat before the fast is barley and lentils. They are very filling and they are slow to be digested so they will stay with you well into the next day. My pre-tisha b’av meal is barley lentil pilaf followed by the hard boiled egg. I don’t think that having a fancy meal with desert is in the proper spirit of the occasion.
thx! great tip!
Eat a large portion of watermelon and pineapple before the fast. Keeps the hydration and sugar in your body throughout the day, and just makes the fast that much easier.
Have an easy meaningful fast.
After your meal that will keep you full you are supposed to have the Seduat Hamafseket, a meal of bread, water and a hard boiled egg that you eat alone and dip in ashes. This is a custom that many people follow, there is more info here: http://www.aish.com/h/9av/oal/48944076.html
Funny, I was already planning on making the Light Pasta Alfredo. Thanks for the thumbs up!
I think I will try the tilapia for sure. Don’t we have to have boiled eggs?