It's not just Black-eyed Peas that are supposed to bring us good luck if we eat them on New Year's Day.  If you love to grill, throw a pork butt on the smoker too!  What else should we eat to have a fantastic 2018?  We've got the secrets.

Working Black-eyed Peas into meals on New Year's Day is a Southern tradition for sure, and we have so many creative ways of doing that, it's hard to count them.  I usually mix them with black and pinto beans, add some bell peppers and celery, and soak them in vinegar/sugar mix to make Texas Caviar.  Black-eyed Peas sure are tasty on Fritos.

Hungry?  Me too.  And if we eat these on January 1 we'll be full and lucky at the same time.

Traditional foods for luck on New Year's Day:

Pork -  Pork can be rich and fatty, and don't we love it.  It's come to symbolize wealth and prosperity since it doesn't hold back and it seems to appreciate its own excess.  So really pig out, and you'll have a great 2018.

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Lentils - These tiny beans are flat, and Italians eat on the first day of the year because they think they look like Roman coins. And they always seem to be at the top of the lists of healthy super foods, so we can't go wrong.

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Noodles - Noodles are long as we know, and we're supposed to eat them on New Year's Day to symbolize a long life.  But don't cut them or break them in the pot or on your plate!  They've got to reach your mouth unbroken in order to receive the full effect.  This would be the time to purse your lips and suck that long noodle all the way into your mouth and really slurp big, without getting in trouble for bad manners.

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Black-eyed Peas - Some say Black-eyed Peas have a mystical or magical power to bring good luck, and our ancestors have been eating them for luck for a thousand years or more.  It is pretty mysterious how that black dot gets into the round crease like it does, right?  A small miracle.  Black-eyed peas will be worked into rice dishes, served on chips, and made into soups on New Year's Day, and there will be so much we'll probably have leftovers for more luck on January 2.

Greens - Collards and more.  Green is the color of money, and other things tied to luck like jade and four leaf clovers.  So eating greens on New Year's Day will be lucky for your belly too.  Greens are already a southern tradition, and the rest of the world will work them in on New Year's Day.  We'll argue that southern cooks are the best at whipping these up, but we wish everyone the best of luck.

Other foods like grapes and pomegranates are also supposed to be lucky on New Year's Day.  And cakes.  If you put all of these things together you've got a pretty awesome buffet, so have your friends over and watch some football and eat big.

Happy New Year!  We hope it's a lucky one.

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