Here are some foods traditionally considered to be lucky:

1. Greens are one of the most well-known lucky foods, which happens to be pretty convenient because you can still find some nice greens in the dead of winter. Greens are thought to be lucky because they resemble money. It’s as simple as that. So get yourself a big mess of collards going on the stove, saute some kale, cook a bunch of cabbage or add a handful of greens to a hot pot of soup such as this New Year’s Day Black-Eyed Pea Soup. You’ll feel richer even if you aren’t.

2. Legumes. Beans, peas, lentils all fall into this category and are considered lucky because they resemble coins. So there we go with the money thing again, but considering the state of the economy, perhaps we should all eat double helpings of the greens and beans this New Year. Different beans are consumed for luck in different parts of the world. According to Epicurious, they eat sausages and green lentils just after midnight in Italy, something like split pea soup with sausage in Germany, and lentil soup or lentils with rice in Brazil. Here in the south, we love to get our luck from black-eyed peas, those deliciously earthy little legumes.

3. Noodles. The longer, the better. At midnight in Japan, they eat soba noodles, which symbolize longevity. Do not break the noodle until the whole thing is in your mouth. If you don’t want to make an Asian dish, make spaghetti and let the kids have fun slurping up the noodles without breaking them.

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