{"id":157,"date":"2014-03-04T13:43:17","date_gmt":"2014-03-04T18:43:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jenniferfitz\/?p=157"},"modified":"2016-11-11T11:57:30","modified_gmt":"2016-11-11T16:57:30","slug":"lenten-tactics-thwarting-the-meat-demon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/jenniferfitz\/2014\/03\/lenten-tactics-thwarting-the-meat-demon\/","title":{"rendered":"Lenten Tactics: Thwarting the Meat Demon"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

Meat Demon reports to duty at midnight tonight.\u00a0 He prowls around every Lent, quietly working behind the scenes six days a week so that come Ash Wednesday and all the Fridays, all you can think about is meat, meat, meat<\/a>. You are not helpless in this fight.\u00a0 In addition to the grace of God, you also posess the ability to think, plan, and act.<\/p>\n

1. Have a cheeseburger on Thursday.<\/h2>\n

Meat demon will try to convince you that you are anemic, wasting away, and cannot possibly survive until Saturday without a big ol\u2019 slab of meat to see you through. And hey, maybe you do have one of those bodies that does better with relatively more protein, more iron-rich foods, and so forth.\u00a0 But you can definitely make it 25 hours with no meat.\u00a0 Eat what you need to on Thursday so that you aren\u2019t falling for meat demon\u2019s nonsense on Friday.<\/p>\n

2. Eat down the meaty leftovers earlier in the week.<\/h2>\n

I\u2019m writing this on Mardi Gras, but you can think of it, and every Thursday, as Empty the Fridge Day.\u00a0 Trust me \u2014 that doubtful chicken wing tucked behind the old Jello is utterly unappealing today, but come tomorrow you may find you desperately, desperately want it.\u00a0 Eat it today or throw it away.<\/p>\n

3. Toss that slab of steak in the freezer.<\/h2>\n

Meat demon is sneaky.\u00a0 He knows you\u2019d never, ever, go to the steakhouse on a Friday.\u00a0 So he sends you there on Thursday, and puts a to-go box in your hands at the end of the evening.\u00a0 You cannot have this thing in your refrigerator on a day of abstinence.\u00a0 Stick the leftovers in a ziplock freezer bag and toss it in the freezer.\u00a0 In the back.\u00a0 Deep. It\u2019ll be just fine there for a couple days, until it\u2019s time to make a lovely steak sandwich not on a Friday.<\/p>\n

4. Grocery shop on the proper day of the week.<\/h2>\n

There are two ways to do this, depending on what your ideal Friday meal is:<\/p>\n

If you eat frozen fish or non-perishable vegetarian<\/strong> dishes on Fridays, shop earlier in the week \u2013 Saturday or Monday is ideal.\u00a0 Buy, cook, and consume your meat foods early, so that the fridge is emptied out come Friday morning.\u00a0 What\u2019s left in the pantry or freezer for Friday is something Lenten-compliant.<\/p>\n

If you eat fresh fish or perishable vegetarian dishes<\/strong> on Friday, shop Thursday or first thing Friday morning.\u00a0 You\u2019ll want to use up those foods before they spoil, so you\u2019ll be motivated to abstain.\u00a0 Make sure any fresh meat you buy has a sell-by date for Saturday or later, so it can wait in the back of the fridge a couple days; if not, bag it and freeze it as soon as you get home.<\/p>\n

Not sure what to eat?<\/strong> CatholicMom.com has been running a meatless Friday recipe feature for years now<\/a>.\u00a0 No shortage of ideas.<\/p>\n

5. Remind yourself that this matters.<\/h2>\n

Meat demon will try to convince you that it\u2019s impossible to abstain for 24 hours.\u00a0 If he can\u2019t do that, he\u2019ll try to convince you that it doesn\u2019t matter anyway.\u00a0 He\u2019ll point to vegetarians and tell you that since it\u2019s not a difficult penance for them, it\u2019s not a penance at all.\u00a0 He\u2019ll point out that there are many good meatless meals, so you aren\u2019t really suffering, so it can\u2019t be doing any good.\u00a0\u00a0 He\u2019ll point out any historical tidbit, no matter how utterly unrelated to your life today, to convince you that somehow therefore the current discipline of the Church <\/a>can be set aside.<\/p>\n

Not so:<\/p>\n