Are you tired of eating the same old meal on New Year’s Day? Put a new twist on your family’s New Year food traditions!
You probably have New Year food traditions in your family. Things you’ve eaten every January 1st your whole life. Some of these things you might look forward to eating every year. But you might also dread eating some of these foods.
If you dread eating one of your New Year food traditions but you want to keep the tradition alive in a way that’s more palatable, don’t be afraid to put a new twist on the food tradition!
My Traditions
I grew up in the South, eating classic Southern New Year foods on New Year’s Day. Although I looked forward to the pork (we ate ham) and the cornbread, the black-eyed peas were my most dreaded bite of food all year. My grandmother was having none of my refusal to eat them, though. She would tell me how awful my year would be and that my refusal to eat black-eyed peas would basically ruin the year for the whole family. Yep, she guilted me into eating them.
Even now that she’s been gone for almost 20 years, I still feel that guilt every New Year’s Day. But I get to choose how I eat the traditional New Year foods now! If you’re looking for new twists on New Year food traditions to ease your guilt and actually enjoy your meal, you’re in the right place!
New Twists on New Year Food Traditions
Black-eyed peas
As I mentioned in the introduction, black-eyed peas were my most reviled New Year food tradition as a kid. Honestly, they’re still not something I’m jazzed about eating. I eat them on January 1st, and only on January 1st. The traditional way to eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day is in a Southern dish called Hoppin’ John, which is black eyed peas cooked with fatty pork and served with rice. Even the fatty pork can’t save black-eyed peas for me.
To prevent my Mam from haunting me (it wouldn’t be pretty), I have found a way to eat black-eyed peas on New Year’s Day that doesn’t make me want to gag. I make a dip that I found over a decade ago on The Pioneer Woman’s blog – Zannie’s Black-Eyed Pea Dip. The dip is creamy, slightly spicy, and full of cheese. The best part about this dip is that you can barely taste or feel the texture of black-eyed peas. If you’re a black-eyed pea hater, but you have a deceased loved one who would haunt you if you declined to eat them as your New Year food tradition, give this dip a try!
Greens
I don’t hate collard greens, but I don’t love them either. To be honest, collard greens weren’t a necessary part of our New Year food traditions when I was growing up, even though we ate the rest of the traditional Southern New Year’s Day meal. Because I didn’t have to eat them as a kid, I don’t feel the same guilt about eating them as an adult.
I do still appreciate the concept of eating leafy greens on New Year’s Day, though. I mean, who doesn’t want a prosperous year, as symbolized by a bunch of green vegetables? Because I like the symbolism, I try to eat something with greens in it as part of my New Year good traditions. It’s rarely stewed greens, though. Instead, I like to get creative with my greens consumption on New Year’s Day.
Some of the leafy green dishes I’ve enjoyed eating on New Year’s Day in the past have been a delicious spinach salad, a classic hot spinach dip, and a bright and vibrant kale pesto that you can use on pasta, pizza, or sandwiches. You can find a way to put a modern twist on eating greens on New Year’s Day that’s compatible with your palate (and your kids’ palates – mine eat all these dishes).
Pork
Eating pork on New Year’s Day was always one of the New Year food traditions I could get behind. We usually had a ham as our pork product, and ham is delicious. My mom usually did the classic spiral ham with the glaze that came in the little foil pouch. Oh, the memories!
To put a bit of a modern twist on the pork eating tradition, I make a super easy slow cooker ham. I take a small, sliced ham (Kentucky Legend brand is the best) and throw it in the slow cooker with a can of pineapple tidbits for a few hours. Don’t give it too much time in the slow cooker or it will dry out. You can sprinkle some brown sugar on the ham before you add the pineapple, but I don’t think you need it. The pineapple gives the ham plenty of sweetness. The kids absolutely gobble up this ham!
Cornbread
My other favorite part of my family’s New Year food traditions was cornbread. I mean, no one’s mad about cornbread. Unless, of course, your only experience with cornbread is with overcooked plain Jiffy cornbread. That’s not cornbread, that’s a hockey puck.
If you’re a cornbread fan, but you want to maybe spice up your New Year food traditions a little bit, try my favorite broccoli cornbread. I’ve shared the recipe a few times before, but I’ll pop it here again because it’s just that good.
Broccoli cornbread
What you need
4 eggs
1 box of frozen chopped broccoli
¼ tsp salt
1 Cup cottage cheese
1 stick butter, melted
2 boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix
Shredded cheddar cheese, measure with your heart
How to make it
Throw the thawed broccoli, eggs, salt, and cottage cheese in the blender and blend until smooth-ish. Mix with the melted butter. Fold in cornbread mix. Pour the finished mixture into a 9 x 13 casserole dish. Top with cheddar cheese. Bake at 350°F for 30-45 minutes, or until firm to the touch.
Pretzel
I had no idea that some people eat a pretzel as one of their New Year food traditions until I moved to Pittsburgh. Literally never. Now that I’m here, though, I’ve been down to embrace a New Year’s pretzel. I mean, I love pretzels. They’re pretty much my favorite food.
The New Year’s pretzel isn’t a typical pretzel. It’s sweet! If you’re local, most of the bakeries have them available at the end of the year, but if you want to make it an activity to keep your kids busy during this long stretch of being home from school, make a New Year’s pretzel from scratch! We haven’t tried to make one yet, but this year is the year! I found a recipe for a New Year’s pretzel that I’ve saved and I will report back!
Other posts
Looking for more year-end inspiration? Try these posts:
What are your New Year food traditions? Do you love them or hate them? I love to learn other people’s traditions, so please share below or over on Instagram @sarainseason!