New Year Recipes

Good Luck Foods for New Year's Day

 For many, January 1 offers an opportunity to forget the past and make a clean start. But instead of leaving everything up to fate, why not enjoy a meal to increase your good fortune? There are a variety of foods that are believed to be lucky and to improve the odds that next year will be a great one.

There are many customs and traditions associated with the diet of New Year’s Day. Many people believe that food consumed on New Year’s Day highly affect one’s life. It is considered that involving few food items in the diet on New Year’s Day, ushers good fortune and prosperity. Various types of traditional New Year foods are also thought to bring good fortune in different regions.

Let’s check out the foods that bring luck throughout the year….


Fruits
Fruit of many kinds is consumed on New Year's Eve. The Mexicans pop a grape for each stroke of midnight. Each one represents a month. If it's bitter, watch out for that month! The pomegranate's many seeds symbolize prosperity. Figs are a symbol of fertility. Chow down on fruit for a healthy sweet treat.



  • Grapes:  A Spanish ritual established that eating twelve grapes at midnight of New Year’s Eve brings luck. The tradition is meant to secure twelve happy months in the coming year. The grapes need to be eaten one at a time, when the clock strikes twelve for the twelve months. Sour grapes, if any, mark problems in the month with its number corresponding to the number of grapes. Peruvians insist on taking in a 13th grape as well, for good measure.
So friends,try to eat 12 grapes one at a time when the clock strikes twelve.(One grape for each bell the clock rings)

  • Pomegranate: Long associated with abundance and fertility, pomegranates are eaten in Turkey and other Mediterranean countries for luck in the New Year.
           Try these Recipes:   
Legumes
Legumes including beans, peas, and lentils are also symbolic of money. Their small, seedlike appearance resembles coins that swell when cooked so they are consumed with financial rewards in mind.




Some of the Lentils recipes are: 




  •    Black-Eyed Peas Any legume serves as a symbol of good luck for the new year, but black-eyed peas are the bean of choice for people in the southern U.S. This tradition’s origins come from the Civil War days. Vicksburg, a town in Virginia, was thought to be devoid of food during the battles until the people there found the peas. The legume has been considered lucky among Southerners ever since. They eat a dish called Hoppin’ John, which is comprised of black-eyed peas simmered with ham hocks, spicy seasonings, bell peppers, and rice. It’s usually served with collard greens and a side of cornbread, which is also representative of good luck, perhaps because of its golden hue.


So,black-eyed peas are thought to bring prosperity, especially when served with collard greens. Try these recipes:





Cooked Greens
Supposedly greens are eaten on New Year's Eve because they resemble money. They are also teeming with vitamins and minerals so eat up!


Cooked greens are also considered to bring in economic fortune and hence consumed on New Year, in different countries of the world. The green leaves look like folded money and hence, it is widely believed that the more greens one eats, the larger one's fortune will be, the next year.Cabbage is associated with luck and fortune since it is green and resembles money..

Some of the Cabbage Recipes are:
Noodles
In many Asian countries, long noodles are eaten on New Year's Day in order to bring a long life.Noodles The longer the noodle, the longer the life so goes the belief in Japan, where they eat soba (buckwheat) noodles in soup during their New Year’s parties to ensure a healthy lifespan. The meal is called toshikoshi, which translates to “year-bridging.” However, breaking the noodles while eating them is bad luck, so if you’re making them for your celebration, be sure to slurp them up instead of biting off smaller pieces.

Some of the Noodles Recipes: 





Fish
Fish is lucky for a couple of reasons. Its scales resemble money and fish swim in schools which invoke the idea of abundance. There are also plenty of nutritional benefits. Fatty fish (salmon and tuna) are filled with Omega-3s and leaner fish (tilapia and sole) are a great source of protein.


Because of the way their silvery scales resemble jewelry, fish are thought to represent good fortune. In some parts of China and Europe, they’re also eaten to promote fertility. Pickled herring is on the New Year’s Day menu in Poland and boiled cod is traditional in Denmark. The Japanese eat herring roe (fish eggs) and shrimp, Italians consume dried and salted cod (called baccalà) and in some parts of Germany, people not only eat carp on New Year’s, but they also walk around with fish scales in their pockets or wallets for extra good luck. Fish is a very logical choice for the New Year's table.
In North America, Asia, and Europe, people eat fish to celebrate the new year. In some countries, people associate fish with moving forward into the new year since fish swim forward. Other people think fish symbolize abundance since they swim in schools.

Try these Recipes: 



Circular Desserts:
 Many people believe that foods shaped like rings or that are round in form embody the year being properly completed. The Dutch and Hungarians eat donuts; households in Italy and Holland serve balls of fried dough sweetened with sugar and honey on New Year’s Eve. Sometimes the desserts also have surprises, such as coins or small trinkets, baked on the inside that bring good luck to the person who finds them. Mexican and Greek New Year’s traditions both involve ring-shaped cakes with goodies hidden inside.Since most New Year’s revelries revolve around consuming lots of delicious food and drink, it makes sense to include dishes that are thought to bring good luck, especially when they are as mouth-watering as ollie bollen or hot lentil soup. These tasty good luck charms are definitely finding a way to my table come New Year’s Eve.

Some of the recipes are: 







Cakes
Cakes and other baked goods are commonly served from Christmas to New Year's around the world, with a special emphasis placed on round or ring-shaped items. It is customary to place a coin in the cake, while baking. The one who gets it is considered lucky. The custom of hiding surprise in the cake is customary to many countries.

So friends,try these cakes to make new year sweeter:
Some other Special Recipes for you on this New Year:          
                    Gingerbread Doughnuts
          Crab Stuffed Mushrooms
          Beetroot Sandwich
          Lemon Crunch Dessert
          Blueberry French Toast
          Chocolate Brownie
What Not to Eat 
In addition to the aforementioned lucky foods, there are also a few to avoid. Lobster, for instance, is a bad idea because they move backwards and could therefore lead to setbacks. Chicken is also discouraged because the bird scratches backwards, which could cause regret or dwelling on the past. Another theory warns against eating any winged fowl because good luck could fly away.

Now that you know what to eat, there's one more superstition—that is, guideline—to keep in mind. In Germany, it's customary to leave a little bit of each food on your plate past midnight to guarantee a stocked pantry in the New Year. Likewise in the Philippines, it's important to have food on the table at midnight. The conclusion? Eat as much lucky food as you can, just don't get too greedy—or the first place you'll be going in the new year is the gym.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2013