It is the season for Lent and I hope most people are still abstaining from eating meat during Fridays. I am practicing it again, after not being able to since 2006 (yes I’m bad. Ever since I got pregnant I lost all thought of abstaining!).

So who are the people who are exempted from abstinence?

The materially poor like our fellow Filipinos living in shanties or under the bridges, the very sick like those who are bedridden and immobile (the disabled also, whether they have or haven’t any disability insurance), the maids and houseboys and other laborers who have to work more than nine hours a day, employees whose jobs require them to be attentive like policemen and security guards, doctors and nurses on duty, and the like, must be exempted.

Fasting is one of those two means of Lenten penances which canon law obliges (the other being abstinence).  In canon 1251, fasting is to be observed on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.  In canon 1252, fasting binds those who have attained their majority. What does this mean? It means that this law applies to you from midnight of your eighteenth birthday until the beginning of your sixtieth year, that is, until midnight of your fifty-ninth birthday.

The law of fasting prescribes that only one full meal a day is taken.  Two lighter meals are permitted to maintain strength according to each one’s needs.  Eating between meals is not permitted, but liquids, including milk and fruit juices, are allowed.

Have no fear, for those who just could not live without burgers and fastfood, here are veggie burgers you can try:

The Country’s Best-Tasting Veggie Burger: Boca Burger at Healthy Kitchen

The Healthiest Veggie Burger: The Vegan Tofu Walnut Burger at Corner Tree Café, Jupiter, Makati

The Meatiest Veggie Burger: The Streamliner at Johnny Rockets, Eastwood, Quezon City

The Best Value for Money: The GWDC Vegeburger at Green Wok Deli & Café

The Best Burger-on-the-Run: The Veggie Salsa Mex at Good Burgers (can be made vegan by asking for no mayo or cheese), C5 and Greenhills

Honorable mentions: The veggie burgers from the Hard Rock Café; Murray & D’Vine; Bliss Café; M2M at the Renaissance Hotel; Jeepney Café at the Intercontinental Hotel; Ima’s Gulay Bar in Puerto Princesa, Palawan; the Veganite at Fort Serendra’s Arama; Herbal Nook in Makati; and Greens in Quezon City. All the veggie burgers at these locations can be made vegan just ask for no cheese, butter, or mayo.

You can still have your fries and soda!!!