How to get enough protein during the Christmas fast: what you can eat, best fasting protein sources, 7 recipes with up to 54 g protein and a sample day.
By Frixos Dimitriadis · Published November 3, 2026 · Updated November 3, 2026
The Christmas fast runs for 40 days, from 15 November to 24 December. If you train, the hard part is not giving up meat. It is protein. Meat, dairy and eggs leave the table, and what is left is mostly bread, pasta, rice and legumes cooked in olive oil.
The good news: fasting and high protein can go together. This guide shows you what the fast allows, where to find protein on fasting days, seven recipes with up to 54 g of protein per serving, and a full sample day of about 2,000 calories and 150 g of protein.
During the Orthodox Christmas fast you leave out meat, dairy and eggs. Everything plant-based is allowed: vegetables, fruit, legumes, grains, bread, pasta, nuts and seeds. So are olive oil and honey.
Seafood is the big exception to the no-animal-foods rule. Octopus, squid, shrimp and mussels are allowed throughout the fast, and they are some of the leanest protein sources there are. Fish is different: it is allowed only on some days of the Christmas fast, depending on the church calendar you follow, and the strictest calendars also keep Wednesdays and Fridays without oil.
Customs vary between families and parishes, so follow the rules you know. Every recipe in this guide leaves out meat, dairy, eggs and fish, so they work on any fasting day where olive oil is allowed.
Think of a typical fasting plate: fasolakia with bread, spaghetti with tomato sauce, lentil soup. They are good, filling meals, but most of their calories come from carbs and olive oil, not protein. Eat like that for 40 days and your protein can easily fall to half of what you normally get.
If you train, that matters. Research links a daily intake of around 1.6 g of protein per kg of body weight with the best gains in muscle and strength. For an 80 kg person, that is about 130 g a day. Fall well short for six weeks and you can lose some of the progress you worked for all year.
Plant proteins are also a little less complete on their own, so variety helps. Mixing soy, legumes and grains through the day covers all the essential amino acids, and seafood fills the gap with complete protein.
Build your meals around these. The numbers are approximate protein per 100 g:
Every recipe below is completely fasting, comes with full macros per serving, and is in the DietSync app ready to log.
607 kcal · 54.2 g protein · 67.2 g carbs · 14.2 g fat per plate
The highest-protein recipe in this guide. Octopus slow-cooked with baby onions, vinegar and warm spices, served over bulgur for fibre. Cook it on Sunday and you have lunches until Wednesday. Get the octopus stifado recipe.
601 kcal · 53.1 g protein · 71 g carbs · 12.3 g fat per plate
Orzo baked in tomato sauce, with shrimp added for the last few minutes so they stay juicy. No feta, ready in 40 minutes, and a perfect plate after training. Get the shrimp giouvetsi recipe.
567 kcal · 42.7 g protein · 74.2 g carbs · 12 g fat per serving
High-protein fusilli in a creamy sauce made in the blender from soy milk, nutritional yeast and sun-dried tomatoes. One serving, under 30 minutes. Check the pasta label: most high-protein pasta is made from legumes, but some brands add egg or whey. Get the blender pasta recipe.
591 kcal · 36.9 g protein · 83.9 g carbs · 13.4 g fat per slice
All three layers of the classic, with soy mince in the sauce and a béchamel made with olive oil and soy milk. One tray gives six slices, and it freezes well. Get the vegan pastitsio recipe.
278 kcal · 14.9 g protein · 24.4 g carbs · 15.3 g fat per serving
Chia seeds soaked in soy milk with peanut butter and strawberries. Make it the night before and breakfast is ready when you wake up. Get the chia pudding recipe.
157 kcal · 9 g protein · 14.3 g carbs · 9.1 g fat per piece
Fudgy brownies made with sweet potato, almond butter, cocoa and vegan chocolate protein. One tray makes nine pieces, an easy snack for the whole week. Get the protein brownies recipe.
395 kcal · 37.7 g protein · 47.9 g carbs · 7.1 g fat per bowl
Greek rice pudding made with soy milk and a scoop of vegan protein. As much protein as a main meal, in a dessert. Get the protein rizogalo recipe.
Here is how five of these recipes fit into one day:
Total: 2,022 kcal and 151.6 g of protein. That is 30% of your calories from protein, on a day with no meat, dairy, eggs or fish.
Need fewer calories? Skip the brownie and serve the giouvetsi with 100 g of orzo instead of 140 g. Need more protein? Swap the pastitsio for the octopus stifado and you add about 17 g.
Every recipe in this guide is in the DietSync Fitness App with its macros already worked out. Log a plate in one tap and you can see exactly how much protein you have left for the day, so the fast never costs you your progress. The app is in English and Greek, on iOS and Android.
It starts on 15 November and ends on 24 December, so it lasts 40 days. Christmas Day marks the end of the fast.
Yes. Octopus, squid, shrimp and mussels are allowed throughout the fast, which makes them the easiest high-protein foods for fasting days. Fish is allowed only on some days, depending on the church calendar you follow.
Yes, as long as you eat enough calories and enough protein and keep training with progressive overload. Seafood, soy, legumes and a vegan protein powder can take you to the same protein target you would hit with meat and dairy.
A plant-based protein, such as pea or soy protein, is allowed. Whey and casein come from milk, so they break the fast. Check the label of protein bars too, since many contain milk protein.
If you train, aim for around 1.6 g of protein per kg of body weight per day, the same as the rest of the year. For someone who weighs 80 kg, that is about 130 g a day, spread over your meals.