What’s your New Year’s tradition? Do you eat fish, beans, cakes with coins, grapes, or pickled herring? Perhaps your family eats pork products, lentils, black-eyed peas, cooked greens or long noodles.

The earliest recorded celebration of the New Year dates back 4,000 years to ancient Babylon. The first new moon following the vernal equinox, or the day in the spring with an equal amount of sunlight and darkness, signaled the start of a new year. Eventually civilizations around the world developed more sophisticated calendars which usually tied the first day of the year to an agricultural or astronomical event.

Food and symbolism played and still play important roles in these New Year celebrations. On special occasions different countries use certain foods — not just to celebrate — but often as a symbol of luck, wealth, and health.

What Not To Eat (Hint: Don’t Look Or Move Back)

Different cultures have foods that are supposed to be eaten at the stroke of midnight or sometime on January 1 to bring luck, fortune, and plenty (both money and food).

But, there are also foods not to eat. Things that move or scratch backwards — like lobsters, chickens, and turkeys — are to be avoided because they symbolize moving backward instead of progressing forward. To avoid any looking back at past struggles or setbacks, only things that move forward should be eaten.

In some cultures, a little food should be left on the table or on your plate to guarantee – or at least to hedge your bet – that you’ll have a well-stocked kitchen during the coming year.

Why Tempt Fate — Some Lucky Foods To Eat

There are many New Year’s foods and traditions — far too numerous to list – that are honored by people all around the world. Wouldn’t you want to consider Filling your plate with some luck on January 1? A little extra insurance can’t hurt!

Some Traditional Good Luck Foods

Round foods shaped like coins, like beans, black eyed peas, and legumes, symbolize financial prosperity, as do greens like cabbage, collard greens, and kale which resemble paper money. Golden colored foods like corn bread also symbolize financial rewards in the New Year. Examples of round good luck foods are: lentils in Italy and Brazil, pancakes in Germany, round fruit in the Philippines, and black-eyed peas in the Southern US. Green leafy vegetables that symbolize paper money are collard greens in the Southern US and kale in Denmark.

Pork symbolizes abundance, plenty of food, and the fat of the land (think pork barrel legislation). It’s a sign of prosperity and the pig symbolizes plentiful food in the New Year. The pig is considered an animal of progress because it moves forward as it roots around for food. Pork products appear in many ways – ham, sausage, ham hocks, pork ribs, and even pig’s knuckles. Years ago, if your family had a pig you were doing well. Some examples of good luck pork products are roast suckling pig with a four leaf clover in its mouth in Hungary; pork sausage with lentils in Italy; and pork with sauerkraut in Germany.In some countries, having food on your table and/or plates at the stroke of midnight is a sign that you’ll have food throughout the year.

Seafood, with the exception of the backward swimming lobster, symbolizes abundance and plenty and is a symbol of good luck. Fish also symbolize fertility because they produce multiple eggs at a time. It’s important that a fish be served whole, with the head and tail intact to symbolize a good beginning and a good end. Examples are herring and carp in Germany, pickled herring in Poland, boiled cod in
Denmark, dried salted cod in Italy, red snapper in Japan, and carp in
Vietnam.

Eating sweet food in order to have a sweet year is common in a number of countries. In Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Cuba, Ecuador, and
Peru 12 sweet grapes, one for each month of the year, are eaten at midnight in hope of having 12 sweet months. The order and sweetness of the grape is important – for instance, if the fifth grape is a bit sour, the month of May might be a bit rocky. In some places the goal is to eat all of the grapes before the last stroke of midnight and some countries eat a 13th grape just for good measure.

Another symbol for good luck involves eating food that’s in a ring shape – like doughnuts or ring shaped cakes. This represents coming full circle to successfully complete the year. Examples are Rosca de Reyes in Mexico and Olie Bollen (doughnuts) in the Netherlands.

Long noodles signify a long life. The Japanese use long Buckwheat Soba noodles – but you shouldn’t cut or break them because that could shorten life.

Sweets are symbolic of a sweet year and/or good luck. Cakes and breads with coins or trinkets baked into them are common in many countries. Greeks have a round cake called Vasilopita – made with a coin baked inside — which is cut after midnight. Whoever gets the coin is supposed to have luck throughout the year. Jews use apples dipped in honey on the Jewish New Year, Norwegians use rice pudding with an almond inside, Koreans use sweet fruits, and Egyptians have candy for children.

Chinese New Year, an all East and Southeast Asia celebration, begins on the first day of the first month in the traditional Chinese lunar calendar. It’s filled with tradition and ritual and usually considered the most important traditional holiday for Asian people. The holiday is celebrated with lucky red envelopes filled with money, lion and dragon dances, drums, fireworks, firecrackers, and feasting on traditional sweet sticky rice cake and round savory dumplings that symbolize never-ending wealth. On New Year’s Eve extended family come together for a meal that includes fish as the last course to symbolize abundance. In the first five days of the New Year people eat long noodles to symbolize long life and on the 15th and final celebratory day, round dumplings shaped like the full moon are shared to represent the family unit and perfection.

So fill your plate with a serving of luck and celebrate with family and friends.

In my family we bake Greek Vasilopita (St. Basil’s New Year’s cake) and each one of us will be hoping we crunch on the piece with the hidden coin.

I wish you a Happy and Healthy 2019.

The post What’s Your Traditional Food For Good Luck In The New Year? appeared first on Eat Out Eat Well.

Pork products, fish, beans, cakes with coins, grapes, and pickled herring? Maybe lentils, black-eyed peas, cooked greens or long noodles?

Food and symbolism play important roles in celebrations around the world. On special occasions different countries use certain foods — not just to celebrate — but often as a symbol of luck, wealth, and health.

What Not To Eat (Hint: Don’t Look Or Move Back)

Different cultures have foods that are supposed to be eaten at the stroke of midnight or sometime on January 1 to bring luck, fortune, and plenty (both money and food).

There are also foods not to eat. Things that move or scratch backwards — like lobsters, chickens, and turkeys — are to be avoided because they symbolize moving backward instead of progressing forward. To avoid any looking back, setbacks, or past struggles only things that move forward should be eaten.

In some cultures, a little food should be left on the table or on your plate to guarantee – or at least to hedge your bets – that you’ll have a well-stocked kitchen during the coming year.

Why Tempt Fate — Some Lucky Foods To Consider

There are many New Year’s foods and traditions — far too numerous to list – that are honored by people all around the world. Wouldn’t you want to consider piling some luck on your plate on January 1? Why tempt fate?

Here are some of the more common groups of good luck foods:

• Round foods shaped like coins, like beans, black eyed peas, and legumes, symbolize financial prosperity, as do greens, which resemble paper money. Examples are cabbage, collard greens, and kale. Golden colored foods like corn bread also symbolize financial rewards in the New Year. Examples of round good luck foods are: lentils in Italy and Brazil, pancakes in Germany, round fruit in the Philippines, and black-eyed peas in the Southern US. Green leafy vegetables that symbolize paper money are collard greens in the Southern US and kale in Denmark.

• Pork symbolizes abundance, plenty of food, and the fat of the land (think pork barrel legislation). It’s a sign of prosperity and the pig symbolizes plentiful food in the New Year. The pig is considered an animal of progress because it moves forward as it roots around for food. Pork products appear in many ways – ham, sausage, ham hocks, pork ribs, and even pig’s knuckles. Years ago, if your family had a pig you were doing well. Some examples of good luck pork products are roast suckling pig with a four leaf clover in its mouth in Hungary; pork sausage with lentils in Italy; and pork with sauerkraut in Germany.

• In some countries, having food on your table and/or plates at the stroke of midnight is a sign that you’ll have food throughout the year.

• Seafood, with the exception of the backward swimming lobster, symbolizes abundance and plenty and is a symbol of good luck. Fish also symbolize fertility because they produce multiple eggs at a time. It’s important that a fish be served whole, with the head and tail intact to symbolize a good beginning and a good end. Examples are herring and carp in Germany, pickled herring in Poland, boiled cod in
Denmark, dried salted cod in Italy, red snapper in Japan, and carp in
Vietnam.

• Eating sweet food in order to have a sweet year is common in a number of countries. In Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Cuba,
Ecuador, and
Peru 12 sweet grapes, one for each month of the year, are eaten at midnight in hope of having 12 sweet months. The order and sweetness of the grape is important – for instance, if the fifth grape is a bit sour, the month of May might be a bit rocky. In some places the goal is to eat all of the grapes before the last stroke of midnight and some countries eat a 13th grape just for good measure. There seems to be an awful lot of hedging of bets all around the world.

• Another symbol for good luck involves eating food that’s in a ring shape – like doughnuts or ring shaped cakes. This represents coming full circle to successfully complete the year. Examples are Rosca de Reyes in Mexico and Olie Bollen (doughnuts) in the Netherlands.

• Long noodles signify a long life. The Japanese use long Buckwheat Soba noodles – but you shouldn’t cut or break them because that could shorten life.
• Chinese New Year, an all East and Southeast Asia celebration, is known as “Spring Festival” in China, begining on the first day of the first month in the traditional Chinese lunar calendar. It’s filled with tradition and ritual and usually considered the most important traditional holiday for Chinese people around the world.
• The holiday is celebrated with lucky red envelopes filled with money, lion and dragon dances, drums, fireworks, firecrackers, and feasting on traditional sweet sticky rice cake and round savory dumplings that symbolize never-ending wealth. On New Year’s Eve extended family come together for a meal that includes fish as the last course to symbolize abundance. In the first five days of the New Year people eat long noodles to symbolize long life and on the 15th and final day of the celebration round dumplings shaped like the full moon are shared to represent the family unit and perfection. Source:com

• Sweets are symbolic of a sweet year and/or good luck. Cakes and breads with coins or trinkets baked into them are common in many countries. Greeks have a round cake called Vasilopita – made with a coin baked inside — which is cut after midnight. Whoever gets the coin is lucky throughout the year. Jews use apples dipped in honey on the Jewish New Year, Norwegians use rice pudding with an almond inside, Koreans use sweet fruits, and Egyptians have candy for children.

So fill your plate with a serving of luck. As for resolutions — they’re not quite as tasty as many food traditions, but they do have longevity — they date back 4000 years to the ancient Babylonians!

In my family we bake Vasilopita and each one of us will be hoping we crunch on the piece with the hidden coin.

I wish you a Healthy and Happy 2017.

The post What To Eat For Good Luck In The New Year — And What To Avoid! appeared first on Eat Out Eat Well.

What’s your New Year’s tradition? Do you eat fish, beans, cakes with coins, grapes, or pickled herring?

Around the world food and symbolism play important roles in New Year’s celebrations not just to celebrate but often to bring luck, fortune, and plenty (both money and food), and health.

What Not To Eat (Hint: Don’t Look Or Move Back)

Although different cultures have foods that are supposed to be eaten at the stroke of midnight or sometime on January 1^st, there are also foods not to eat. Things that move or scratch backwards — like lobsters, chickens, and turkeys — are to be avoided because they symbolize moving backward instead of progressing forward. To avoid any looking back at past struggles or setbacks, or only things that move forward should be eaten.

Want a full pantry? Some cultures leave a little food on the table or on the plate to guarantee – or at least to hedge your bet – that you’ll have a well-stocked kitchen during the coming year.

Why Tempt Fate – Here Are Some Lucky Foods To Consider

There are many New Year’s foods and traditions — far too numerous to list. Wouldn’t you want to consider piling some luck on your plate on January 1st? A little extra insurance can’t hurt!

Some common types of good luck foods:

• Round foods shaped like coins, such as beans, black eyed peas, and legumes, symbolize financial prosperity, as do greens such as cabbage, collard greens, and kale, which resemble paper money. Golden colored foods like corn bread also symbolize financial rewards in the New Year. Examples of round good luck foods are: lentils in Italy and Brazil, pancakes in Germany, round fruit in the Philippines, and black-eyed peas in the Southern US. Green leafy vegetables that symbolize paper money are collard greens in the Southern US and kale in Denmark.

• Pork symbolizes prosperity, abundance, plenty of food, and the fat of the land (think pork barrel legislation). The pig, which symbolizes plentiful food in the New Year, is considered an animal of progress because it moves forward as it roots around for food. Pork products appear as ham, sausage, ham hocks, pork ribs, and even pig’s knuckles. Years ago, if your family had a pig you were doing well! Some examples of good luck pork products are roast suckling pig with a four leaf clover in its mouth in Hungary, pork sausage with lentils in Italy, and pork with sauerkraut in Germany.

• In some countries, having food on your table and/or plates at the stroke of midnight is a sign that you’ll have food throughout the year.

• Seafood, with the exception of the backward swimming lobster, symbolizes abundance and plenty and is a symbol of good luck. Fish also symbolize fertility because they produce multiple eggs at a time. It’s important that a fish be served whole, with the head and tail intact, to symbolize a good beginning and a good end. Examples are herring and carp in Germany, pickled herring in Poland, boiled cod in
Denmark, dried salted cod in Italy, red snapper in Japan, and carp in
Vietnam.

• Eating sweet food in order to have a sweet year is common in a number of countries. In Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Cuba,
Ecuador, and
Peru, 12 sweet grapes, one for each month of the year, are eaten at midnight in hope of having 12 sweet months. The order and sweetness of the grape is important – for instance, if the fifth grape is a bit sour, May might be a bit rocky. In some places the goal is to eat all of the grapes before the last stroke of midnight and some countries eat a 13th grape just for good measure. There seems to be an awful lot of hedging of bets all around the world.

• Another symbol for good luck involves eating food that’s in a ring shape – like doughnuts or ring shaped cakes. This represents coming full circle to successfully complete the year. Examples are Rosca de Reyes in Mexico and Olie Bollen (doughnuts) in the Netherlands.

• Long noodles signify a long life. The Japanese use long Buckwheat Soba noodles – but you shouldn’t cut or break them because that could shorten life.

• Chinese New Year, an all East and Southeast Asia celebration, is known as “Spring Festival” in China, which begins on the first day of the first month in the traditional Chinese lunar calendar. It’s filled with tradition and ritual and celebrated with lucky red envelopes filled with money, lion and dragon dances, drums, fireworks, firecrackers, and feasting on traditional sweet sticky rice cake and round savory dumplings that symbolize never-ending wealth.
• Sweets are symbolic of a sweet year and/or good luck. Cakes and breads with coins or trinkets baked into them are common in many countries. Greeks have a round cake called Vasilopita – made with a coin baked inside — which is cut after midnight. Whoever gets the coin is lucky throughout the year. Jews use apples dipped in honey on the Jewish New Year, Norwegians use rice pudding with an almond inside, Koreans use sweet fruits, and Egyptians have candy for children.

Fill your plate with a serving of luck. As for resolutions — they’re not quite as tasty as most (not all) food traditions, but they do have longevity — they date back 4000 years to the ancient Babylonians!

Happy and Healthy 2015!

Remember to eat well because you really are what you eat.

The post Don’t Tempt Fate: Remember To Eat Your New Year’s Good Luck Food! appeared first on Eat Out Eat Well.

Food and symbolism play important roles in celebrations around the world. On special occasions different countries use certain foods not just to celebrate but often as a symbol of luck, wealth, and health.

What Not To Eat (Hint: Don’t Look Or Move Back)

Different cultures have foods that are supposed to be eaten at the stroke of midnight or sometime on January 1 to bring luck, fortune, and plenty (both money and food).

There are also foods not to eat.  Things that move or scratch backwards — like lobsters, chickens, and turkeys — are to be avoided because they symbolize moving backward instead of progressing forward. To avoid any looking back, setbacks, or past struggles only things that move forward should be eaten.

In some cultures, a little food should be left on the table or on your plate to guarantee – or at least to hedge your bets – that you’ll have a well-stocked kitchen during the coming year.

Why Tempt Fate — Some Lucky Foods To Consider

There are many New Year’s foods and traditions — far too numerous to list – that are honored by people all around the world. Wouldn’t you want to consider piling some luck on your plate on January 1? Why tempt fate?

Here are some of the more common groups of good luck foods:

• Round foods shaped like coins, like beans, black eyed peas, and legumes, symbolize financial prosperity, as do greens, which resemble paper money. Examples are cabbage, collard greens, and kale. Golden colored foods like corn bread also symbolize financial rewards in the New Year. Examples of round good luck foods are: lentils in Italy and Brazil, pancakes in Germany, round fruit in the Philippines, and black-eyed peas in the Southern US. Green leafy vegetables that symbolize paper money are collard greens in the Southern US and kale in Denmark.
• Pork symbolizes abundance, plenty of food, and the fat of the land (think pork barrel legislation). It’s a sign of prosperity and the pig symbolizes plentiful food in the New Year. The pig is considered an animal of progress because it moves forward as it roots around for food.  Pork products appear in many ways – ham, sausage, ham hocks, pork ribs, and even pig’s knuckles. Years ago, if your family had a pig you were doing well! Some examples of good luck pork products are roast suckling pig with a four leaf clover in its mouth in Hungary; pork sausage with lentils in Italy; and pork with sauerkraut in Germany.

• In some countries, having food on your table and/or plates at the stroke of midnight is a sign that you’ll have food throughout the year.

• Seafood, with the exception of the backward swimming lobster, symbolizes abundance and plenty and is a symbol of good luck. Fish also symbolize fertility because they produce multiple eggs at a time.  It’s important that a fish be served whole, with the head and tail intact to symbolize a good beginning and a good end. Examples are herring and carp in Germany, pickled herring in Poland, boiled cod in
Denmark, dried salted cod in Italy, red snapper in Japan, and carp in
Vietnam.

• Eating sweet food in order to have a sweet year is common in a number of countries. In Spain, Portugal, Mexico, Cuba,
Ecuador, and
Peru 12 sweet grapes, one for each month of the year, are eaten at midnight in hope of having 12 sweet months. The order and sweetness of the grape is important – for instance, if the fifth grape is a bit sour, May might be a bit rocky. In some places the goal is to eat all of the grapes before the last stroke of midnight and some countries eat a 13th grape just for good measure. There seems to be an awful lot of hedging of bets all around the world.

• Another symbol for good luck involves eating food that’s in a ring shape – like doughnuts or ring shaped cakes. This represents coming full circle to successfully complete the year. Examples are Rosca de Reyes in Mexico and Olie Bollen (doughnuts) in the Netherlands.

• Long noodles signify a long life. The Japanese use long Buckwheat Soba noodles – but you shouldn’t cut or break them because that could shorten life.

• Sweets are symbolic of a sweet year and/or good luck. Cakes and breads with coins or trinkets baked into them are common in many countries.  Greeks have a round cake called Vasilopita – made with a coin baked inside — which is cut after midnight. Whoever gets the coin is lucky throughout the year. Jews use apples dipped in honey on the Jewish New Year, Norwegians use rice pudding with an almond inside, Koreans use sweet fruits, and Egyptians have candy for children.

So fill your plate with a serving of luck. Don’t overlook resolutions. They’re not quite as tasty as most (not all) food traditions, but they do have longevity — they date back 4000 years to the ancient Babylonians!

Material in this article is taken (with the author’s permission) from “Symbolic Foods Eaten Around the World for New Years,” originally published on http://MamaLisa.com.  Visit Mama Lisa’s World, which features the internet’s largest collection of international children’s songs and a lively blog focused on parenthood and world culture.

For more interesting tips about food and eating visit the iTunes store to get Eat Out Eat Well digital magazine for your iPad or iPhone.

The post What To Eat For Good Luck In The New Year — And What To Avoid! appeared first on Eat Out Eat Well.

Sound tasty?  Maybe yes, maybe no?  So what do they have in common?  They’re a sampling of some of the foods people eat on New Year’s to bring good luck.

Food has power and especially at transitional points – like holidays and feast days — many cultures traditionally eat food that has special meaning.

I grew up with the Greek tradition of eating Vasilopita on New Year’s Day.  It’s a rich, buttery cake-like New Year’s bread with a coin baked in it.

Named after St. Basil the Great, a theologian who gave all his possessions to the poor, the needy, the underprivileged, and children, tradition has it that whoever gets the piece of cake with the coin embedded in it is supposed to have good luck in the coming year.  I once got the coin in the first piece of Vasilopita that was cut in a restaurant in Athens, which blew the hopes of everyone else in the restaurant!

Then again, I distinctly remember my Mother, who is Russian, eating pickled pig’s knuckles on New Year’s for good luck.  Try as she might, there was no way she was getting me to even go near them.  Vasilopita – even if you don’t get the coin – is a much more appealing choice.

What Not To Eat (Hint: Don’t Look Or Move Back)

Different cultures have various foods that are supposed to be eaten at the stroke of midnight or sometime on January 1 to bring luck, fortune, and plenty (both money and food).

There are also foods not to eat.  Things that move or scratch backwards — like lobsters, chickens, and turkeys — are to be avoided because they symbolize moving backward instead of progressing forward. There should be no looking back, setbacks, or past struggles – only things that move forward should be eaten.

And in some cultures, a little food should be left on the table or your plate to guarantee – or at least to hedge your bets – that you’ll have a well-stocked kitchen during the coming year.

Why Tempt Fate — Some Lucky Foods To Consider

There are many New Year’s foods and traditions — far too numerous to list – that are honored by people all around the world.

Don’t you at least want to consider piling some luck on your plate on January 1? Why tempt fate?

Here are some of the more common good luck foods:

• Pork is big.  It symbolizes abundance, plenty of food, and the fat of the land (think pork barrel legislation, too). The pig is considered an animal of progress because it moves forward as it roots around for food.  Pork products appear in many ways – ham, sausage, ham hocks, pork ribs, and even those pig’s knuckles.

• Seafood, with the exception of the backward swimming lobster, symbolizes abundance and plenty. Fish also symbolize fertility because they produce multiple eggs at a time.  It’s important that a fish be served whole, with the head and tail intact, which symbolizes a good beginning and a good end.

• Beans, black eyed peas, and legumes look like coins and symbolize prosperity – as do greens, which resemble paper money.

• Long noodles signify a long life – don’t cut or break them because that could shorten life!

• Cakes and breads with coins or trinkets baked into them are common in many countries.  Sticky rice cakes, rice pudding, and fruitcakes also fit the bill in various parts of the world.

• Grapes – in specific numbers — are lucky.  Their shape resembles a coin, sweet ones can mean a good month.  In some countries twelve grapes are eaten at midnight — one for each stroke of the clock or one for each month. The number and sweetness of the grape is important – for instance, if the fifth grape is a bit sour, May might be a bit rocky. In some places the goal is to eat all of the grapes before the last stroke of midnight, and some countries eat a 13th grape just for good measure. There seems to be an awful lot of hedging of bets all around the world.

So fill your plate with a serving of luck — and, don’t forget resolutions. They’re not quite as tasty as most (not all) food traditions, but they do have longevity — they date back 4000 years to the ancient Babylonians.

Happy New Year

The post What To Eat On New Year’s Day For Good Luck – And What To Avoid! appeared first on Eat Out Eat Well.

Resolutions Can Be Tricky

Have you ever seen the hang-dog look on the face of an athlete in a goal scoring drought — or the look on a goalie’s face when that blasted ball or puck lands in the net?

We often set broad – huge – resolutions and goals that are virtually impossible to accomplish (like losing thirty pounds by the end of next week) and end up making you feel awful when you don’t achieve them.  You’ve basically set yourself up for failure and most likely you’ll be sporting that hang-dog look, too.

Ten Tips To Boost Your Success

1. We’re guilty of all-or-nothing thinking and overly ambitious goals. Drastic changes usually don’t synch with daily life and probably won’t last more than a few weeks.  Try this often and you solidly embed a “no can do” attitude in your brain. So, don’t make too many resolutions. Your unhealthy behaviors took time to develop and replacing them with healthy ones takes time, too. Don’t get overwhelmed and think that you have to reassess everything in your life. Instead, work toward changing one thing at a time. Human brains don’t like too much disruption all at once – they like their familiar way of doing things.  Pick one thing at a time and create a new habit around it.
2. Small changes can lead to big results.  The key is to start with very small, realistic, and accomplishable goals – like using mustard instead of mayo (one tbs of mayo has 100 calories and one tbs of mustard has nine calories — replacing mayo with mustard 5 times a week saves 455 calories – enough to lose 6 ¾ pounds in a year) or riding your exercise bike for 15 minutes 3 days this week instead of everyday for an hour (what are the chances of that happening). Resolve to make changes that you think you can keep. Small changes do bring results.
3. Write your goal down (writing reinforces it) and set a time target for achieving it. Leaving it open ended is just an invitation to put it off.  Commit to taking whatever action is required twice a week, then three times, then everyday. Start small with things that are fairly easy to do and that don’t disrupt your lifestyle. Get some success under your belt.  Then move on to bigger challenges. Writing reinforces and solidifies your commitment.  It also makes it harder to lie to yourself.
4. Not having succeeded before doesn’t mean you won’t succeed this time. Everyone has made and broken resolutions. We’ve all tried to lose weight or eat more fruit and veggies.  Have a positive attitude and frame your resolution in positive terms. “I will eat vegetables instead of French fries twice a week” or I’ll have cereal only on Saturday mornings” is much more positive than “I’ll never eat French fries or cereal again.” It’s easier to put a new habit in place than to change an old one, so embed the positive behavior not the negative one.
5. Absolute perfection is unattainable so don’t beat yourself up if you go off track. Derailments happen. Having a plan for when you slip or get off track gets you back in the swing rather than throwing in the towel. What if you polished off the breadbasket last night at dinner and then followed it up with half a container of ice cream?  It happened.  It’s over.  Don’t let it derail you and, for sure, don’t give up.  What’s your strategy for getting back on plan?
6. Be realistic and certain that what you’re committing to do is what you want to do for yourself and not for your friends or relatives. A personal goal isn’t carved in stone never to be broken or altered. Don’t paint yourself into a corner by swearing you’ll do something that might be impossible to achieve — like swearing you’ll never eat ice cream again.
7. Set weekly mini-goals that lead to accomplishing the big goal. Achieving the mini-goals gives you motivation to keep going and allows you to keep track of your progress.  For example:  if your big goal is to eat fast food only once a month rather than your current 5 times a week, how about a mini goal of 4 times a week for the first two weeks, then 3 times a week, etc.
8. Create a support network. Family and friends can support your efforts, be a source of accountability, and motivate you to keep going. Unfortunately, they can also be saboteurs (both intentionally and unintentionally) so know what you’re going to do or say if that happens.  Have you heard this:  “Gee, I know you’re on a diet but why don’t you have a little piece of this chocolate cake I made just for you because I know it’s your favorite?”  Figure out how to deal with comments like that.
9. Give yourself visible cues to remind you of your new behavior(s). Old habits die hard.  Send yourself emails, ask co-workers to keep you on your toes, leave post-it reminders on your kitchen cabinets. A note on the cabinet where you keep the crackers and chips might prevent you from mindlessly reaching in and munching. Give yourself visual references – pictures, clothes you want to wear, etc. Don’t just remove negative cues; surround yourself with positive ones. Fill your cabinets with healthy food, buy a pedometer, join a gym, and make your environment weight-loss friendly.
10. Be committed and willing to work on your goal(s).  Decide if you’re really willing to make change(s) in your life. Are you serious or half-hearted about what you want to do? Just making a resolution because it’s the New Year — especially if it’s a resolution made on a whim or with I “kinda,” “sorta” want to do this attitude — won’t keep you motivated to attain your goal. “Kinda,” “sorta” goals give you “kinda,” “sorta” results. Realistic, achievable goals produce realistic results. You’ll be amazed at how good you feel with a nice sense of accomplishment tucked under your belt.  Makes you want to go back for more!

The post Ten Tips To Boost The Success Of Your Resolutions appeared first on Eat Out Eat Well.

Today, New Year’s Day–the first day of the calendar year–is celebrated in almost every country in the world, but depending the type of calendar, not all countries or cultures welcome the New Year on January 1st. The Chinese, Egyptian, Jewish, Roman, and Mohammedan years all have different start dates.

January 1 was recognized as New Years Day in the 1500’s with the introduction of the Gregorian Calendar. In 1582 most Catholic countries adopted the Gregorian calendar but the British didn’t adopt it until 1752. Until then the British Empire and their American colonies celebrated the new year in March.

Some Traditions and Legends

• In ancient Rome the first day of the New Year honored Janus, the god of gates, doors, beginnings and endings. Janus had two faces.  One looked ahead to see what the new year would bring and the other looked backward to see what had happened during the past year. To celebrate, the Romans gave gifts to friends and family members –and sometimes to Senators in exchange for favors.
• Druid priests In England celebrated the New Year on March 10. They gave branches of mistletoe to people for charms. Later on, English people cleaned their chimneys on New Year’s Day believing that this brought good luck to the household for the coming year (which is where the expression “cleaning the slate” comes from).
• In many countries people eat specific foods to bring good luck for the coming year.  In Spain they eat grapes, round fruits in the Philippines, suckling pig in Austria, soba noodles in Japan, rice pudding in Norway, black-eyed peas in the southern US, and cake with a hidden coin in Greece.  Other common worldwide customs are making resolutions–which dates to the Babylonians, and watching fireworks.
• Chinese New Year, an all East and Southeast Asia celebration, is known as “Spring Festival” in China. Filled with tradition and ritual it’s usually considered the most important traditional holiday for Chinese around the world.  It begins on the first day of the first month in the traditional Chinese lunar calendar and is celebrated with lucky red envelopes filled with money, lion and dragon dances, drums, fireworks, firecrackers.  Traditional sweet sticky the last course rice cakes and round savory dumplings symbolize never-ending wealth. On New Year’s Eve the meal includes fish to symbolize abundance. In the first five days of the New Year people eat long noodles to symbolize long life and round dumplings shaped like the full moon to represent the family unit and perfection.

Some New Year’s Eve Tips

If you have big plans for New Year’s Eve, enjoy yourself by devising an eating strategy before you go out and committing to carrying it out.  If you’re watching your weight, have a plan – you can still enjoy yourself and not feel deprived. With a plan you design just for you, you’ll have a much better chance at succeeding – and not end up hating yourself and cursing the scale on the first day of the New Year.  Here are some ideas:

• If you’re going to a party with lots of hors d’oeuvres decide beforehand how many you’ll have.  Three varieties, one of each?  Two varieties, two of each?
• Alternate your drink of choice – wine, champagne, liquor – with sparkling water to cut calories, help with sobriety, and make it easier for you to resist food temptations.  Hold that glass of sparkling water or diet soda in your hand – the only people who will know it’s non-alcoholic is you and the bartender (who most likely could care less about what you are drinking).
• If you’re going to dinner decide if you’re going to have dessert ahead of time.  If you are going to indulge – even if it’s the house specialty smothered in whipped cream — compensate by having a salad with dressing on the side as your appetizer.  Nix the bread.  Just balance your caloric intake the best you can.
• If it’s a pizza, wings, and beer affair think about ways to minimize your fat intake – pizza and wings (especially the dip) are loaded.  Cut the pizza slice in half – leave the other half in the box.  When you go back for seconds, retrieve the other half slice. You’ll end up eating just one slice but  feel like you’re having two.  If you can, take off some of the cheese – the main source of fat.  Some people use paper towels or napkins to absorb some of the extra fat floating on the surface of a slice.  Up to you – but it really cuts down on calories – mopping up the equivalent of two teaspoons of oil knocks off just under 100 calories.

How Far You’d Need To Walk to Burn Off A New Year’s Party Calories

If you go to a New Year’s party and have:

• one Irish coffee
• one glass of wine
• one cup of coffee with cream and sugar
• one cup of eggnog
• one 3 oz Stinger
• 5 large olives
• half a cup of mixed nuts
• one oz of potato or tortilla chips
• one teaspoon of chip dip, a mini-quiche
• 2 oz of boiled shrimp with cocktail sauce
• two chocolate mints
• one slice of pecan pie with  half a cup of ice cream
• one small piece of fudge
• one iced gingerbread cookie

you would have consumed 27030 calories and you would need to walk 27.03 miles, or 54060 steps (assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps) to burn off those calories.

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The definition of a resolution is a firm decision to do or not do something. Have you made one or more resolutions recently – and does one or more of them have to do with losing weight or changing an eating habit?

The #1 New Year’s resolution is to lose weight. A recent study by a psychology professor found that for people who make resolutions, 75% keep them for the first week of the New Year; 71% are still maintaining their resolution after two weeks, and 46% are still keeping their New Year’s resolutions at six months.

Are those better stats than you thought? New Year’s resolutions really help you to define your goals and to identify what you want to accomplish or change.  But, identifying your goals or desires is one thing, realizing them requires a plan, work, and most of all, a commitment.

Why Do You Want To Lose Weight?

Losing weight and keeping it off takes time, effort, and a long-term commitment. It’s important to ask yourself if you’re really ready to make permanent changes and to decide if you’ll be making those changes for the right reasons  — for instance, losing weight because your want to feel better and be healthier, or that you want to look better because you want to look better – not because your spouse or partner wants you to look better.

Staying Committed

To stay committed you really need to be focused. It takes a lot of energy, both mental and physical, to form new healthy habits. So, to clear the way, first try to address the other challenges in your life – things like relationship or financial problems. It’s awfully tough to focus on multiple challenges at the same time.  While some challenges may never completely go away, managing them should make it easier to focus on losing weight.

Then, when you’re ready to commit to working on losing weight, pick a start date and go for it. Weight loss is a personal journey.  No one else can make you lose weight, although others can certainly help support you and hold you accountable in positive ways. Try to identify what will motivate you and keep you focused and then figure out a way to call on those motivators during those inevitable moments of temptation.

To use a frequently overused phrase – weight loss is a journey – but for this journey there is a map you can draw and follow – your own foodMAP to weight control.

Next post: goals, goals, and more goals.

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The American Psychiatric Association (www.HealthyMinds.org) offers some tips to help you keep your New Year’s resolutions:

Try again. Everyone has both made and broken resolutions. We’ve all tried to lose weight or go to the gym more frequently or eat more fruit and veggies.  Not totally succeeding before doesn’t mean that you won’t succeed this time. Have a positive approach.  Create new positive habits to replace the old negative ones.

Don’t make too many resolutions. Our brains don’t like too much disruption at a time.  They’re used to doing something one way.  Pick one thing at a time and create a habit around it.

Be realistic.  Pick a realistic, attainable goal with a clear time frame. A personal goal isn’t a “deal” which can never be broken. Don’t paint yourself into a corner by swearing you’ll do something that might be impossible to achieve –like swearing you’ll never eat ice cream again.

Choose your own resolution. Make sure what you are doing is what you want to do for yourself and not for your friends or relatives. Do you really want to lose weight or are you doing it because your partner wants you to?

Make a plan and write it down. Plan what you’d like to accomplish in three and six months. Set mini goals for each week that lead to accomplishing the big goal. Achieving the mini-goals gives you motivation to keep going and allows you to keep track of your progress.  For example:  your big goal is to eat fast food only once a month rather than your current five times a week.  How about a mini goal of 4 times a week for the first two weeks, then 3 times a week, etc.

Write it down.  Writing your goals down reinforces and solidifies your commitment.  It also makes it harder to lie to yourself.

Create a support network. Family and friends can support your efforts, be a source of accountability, and motivate you to keep going. Unfortunately, they can also be saboteurs (both intentionally and unintentionally) so know what you’re going to do or say if that happens.  Have you heard this:  “Gee, I know you’re on a diet but why don’t you have a little piece of this chocolate cake I made just for you because I know it’s your favorite.”  Figure out how to deal with comments like that.

Forgive yourself and have a plan for setbacks.  Having a plan for when you slip or get off track helps you get back in the swing rather than throwing in the towel in frustration. So you polished off the breadbasket last night at dinner and then followed it up with half a container of ice cream.  It happened.  It’s over.  Don’t let it derail you.  What’s your strategy for getting back on plan?

Give yourself visible cues to remind you of your new behavior.  Send yourself emails, ask co-workers to keep you on your toes, leave post-it note reminders on your kitchen cabinets.  Old habits die hard.  A note on the cabinet where you keep the crackers and chips might prevent you from mindlessly reaching in and munching.

Be committed and willing to work on your goal.  Decide if you’re really willing to make the change in your life. Just making a resolution because it is the New Year won’t keep you motivated to attain your goal. Give yourself visual references – pictures, clothes you want to wear, etc.

Congratulate yourself. Reward yourself when your intermediate goals or resolutions are met.  Maybe it’s time to buy a new pair of jeans to fit your new slimmed down or toned up body.

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A resolution is a firm decision, a commitment, to do or not do something – often having to do with habits or lifestyle changes. Forty-four percent of Americans make New Year’s resolutions.

One main category of resolutions falls under “I’m going to improve my health” usually by losing weight, exercising more, eating better, and drinking less.  I’m wholeheartedly in support of any resolution about any of these things and almost always find myself squarely in the eye of this storm.

Recent research showed that 52% of participants in a resolution study were confident of succeeding with their goals, however, only 12% actually achieved

them. Men achieved their goal 22% more often when they set small measurable goals (lose a pound a week, instead of just saying “lose weight”).  Women were 10% more successful when they made their goals public and got support from their friends.

Gretchen Rubin author of The Happiness Project, offers several tips to help plan for your resolutions.  For more tips click on this link,  http://www.happiness-project.com/happiness_project/2009/12/five-tips-for-planning-effective-new-years-resolutions.html

1. What will make you happier?  This might mean having more of something – or less.  It also might mean fixing something that’s not right.  Think hard about what you really want or don’t want – not what you think you should want or not want.  For instance, do you really want to lose weight or do you think you should because most of your friends wear a smaller size than you do?
2. What is a specific thing you can do that will bring about the change that you really want?  We all frequently make abstract resolutions — which are hard to keep.  Resolving to put mustard rather than mayo on your sandwich every day is more specific and directed than resolving to eat less fat – and something you are far more likely to accomplish.
3.  Are you starting small enough?  So many of us are guilty of all-or-nothing thinking and overly ambitious goals.  Guess what happens?  We shoot ourselves in our collective feet and call ourselves failures.  Do it often enough and we solidly embed a “no can do” attitude and habit in our brains.  The key is to start with very small and accomplishable goals – like putting mustard on your sandwich instead of mayo.  Commit to doing it twice a week, then three, then everyday. Start small and with things that are fairly easy to do and that don’t disrupt your lifestyle. Get some success under your belt.  Then move on to bigger challenges.

By the way, one tablespoon of mayonnaise has 100 calories.  One tablespoon of yellow mustard has about nine calories.  That’s a difference of 91 calories a day.  If you replaced mayo with mustard five days a week you would save about 455 calories – enough to lose six and ¾ pounds in a year.  Small changes do bring results.

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