7 Easy Dinner Substitutions for the Daniel Fast
“What’s for dinner?” is the dreaded question most days of the year at five o’clock. If you’re fasting, then it can be especially tricky to sort out what to eat. A Daniel Fast meal plan can guide you on dinner options and recipes, but here’s the problem you may still run into . . .
If you’re frazzled from a busy day of working, studying, or chasing kids, then tackling a brand new recipe at dinnertime can be overwhelming. When we start a partial fast or new meal plan, we tend to follow the plan exactly as written, which involves creating new recipes every day of the week.
Although experimenting in the kitchen can be fun, it’s not always practical. Working through new dinner recipes can eat up our time, exhaust our mental energy, and overwhelm our family with new and sometimes “strange” dishes.
But good news: there’s an easier way to adapt to a new meal plan. Read on for some time-saving solutions and seven ways to make easy Daniel Fast-friendly substitutions to your favorite meals.
Daniel Fast Meal Prep Tips
How long does it typically take to make dinner? I enjoy cooking, and spending time in the kitchen is a good way for me to unwind at the end of the day, but some days we have gymnastics, baseball, or other activities and things get hectic.
Other days, I’m just too tired – but we can’t run through our favorite fast food drive-through when we’re doing the Daniel Fast!
With intentional meal planning, you can avoid cooking a new meal every day of the week, which will make Daniel Fast dinner prep more enjoyable and less stressful. Keep the following tips in mind for stress-free meal planning.
Make Time to Plan and Prepare
Don’t just plan in your head while driving or in the shower: sit down and write it down.
Plan at least 4-7 days of meals in advance, consulting your favorite books and online resources.
Write your grocery list or order groceries for pick-up or delivery (a tremendous time saver).
Think through your calendar and put in your schedule to cook brand new recipes on days when you have the most time to focus and the least amount of distraction.
Schedule time for food prep and batch cooking.
Batching tasks (also known as Time Batching) is a productivity method in which you group similar types of tasks within the same time frame. This allows you to get in a flow and reduces time wasted when you have to “stop and start” repeatedly.
Ways To Batch Cook For the Daniel Fast
Rinse, trim, and cut vegetables and then portion out for recipes for the week
Wash fruits and cut/peel if necessary (pineapples, melons, etc.)
Cook whole grains such as rice, quinoa, or farro for multiple meals
Cook soups and prepare a large batch of salad for lunches and dinners
Organize ingredients in your pantry and refrigerator by meal so they’ll be easy to grab when it’s time to cook
Also, cook double quantities of recipes to have leftovers for future lunches and dinners
Here is another method for avoiding “new recipe fatigue”: make easy substitutions to your current meal plan.
As you examine your typical menu, ideas may pop up on how you can make simple substitutions and adjustments to turn these dishes into Daniel Fast-friendly dinners.
This substitution tactic is helpful if you have kids or family members who won’t be fasting. You can prepare their meal and tweak it to create your own Daniel Fast dinner. Here are seven ideas to get you started.
7 Easy Daniel Fast Dinner Substitutions
Stir Fry: Eliminate the meat from your stir fry and skip the egg rolls. Mix up whatever combination of vegetables you prefer and serve over brown rice. You can use Bragg Liquid Aminos as a substitute for soy sauce. Use sesame oil or another high-quality vegetable oil and top with cashews, almonds, or sesame seeds.
Tacos or Burritos: Make it a bowl. Take out the meat, sour cream, and cheese. For your bowl: layer rice, beans, sautéed veggies, lettuce, tomato, and avocado. You can also top with corn, pico de gallo, and fresh salsa.
Portabella Steak: Instead of your favorite cut of beef, try hearty portabella mushrooms instead. Clean out the mushroom caps and brush with olive oil, then you can grill or bake them. Serve with a side of potatoes and vegetables.
Veggie Noodles: Spaghetti and meatballs are a classic weeknight favorite because this meal is a quick and easy crowd-pleaser. What can you eat in place of traditional noodles? Try spaghetti squash or sub zucchini or sweet potato noodles (many stores have these already spiraled and available in the produce or freezer section). Top with simple tomato sauce and add some steamed or sautéed vegetables for a more filling entree.
Bean Chili: Instead of beef or turkey, make your favorite chili recipe without the meat. You can add extra beans, bell peppers, and onions if needed. Top with avocado, cilantro, and chopped onions (skip the sour cream, Fritos, and cheese).
Entree Salad: Have you found that you’ll order a salad as a main dish when eating out, but it’s usually only a side at home? Time to flip things around and make salad the star of your meal. The trick to a satisfying salad is adding the right ingredients to get a variety of nutrients, healthy fats, and plant-based protein. Be sure to add some beans, nuts or seeds, and healthy fats such as olives, avocado, or olive oil.
Daniel Fast-Friendly Pizza: Hold the phone, you can’t call for delivery, but you can use Daniel Fast-approved ingredients to make your pizza. Start with a flatbread or cauliflower crust (no dairy ingredients). Top with tomato or pesto sauce, then add veggies and bake. Don’t forget options like artichokes, olives, pine nuts, etc. Tip: you can process macadamia nuts in the food processor for a Parmesan-like substitute.
Hopefully, making easy dinner substitutions will save you time and effort so you can focus on the true purpose of fasting, which is not an obsession with what you’re eating, but is all about drawing closer to God.
Be sure to check out the book for a full 21-day meal plan with recipes and context for the spiritual purpose behind the Daniel Fast.