Greens

Supposedly greens are eaten on New Year’s Eve because they resemble money.

Beans

Beans, like greens, resemble money; more specifically, they symbolize coins. Whether you choose black beans, lentils, or black-eyes peas, healthy fiber-filled beans will help soak up that champagne.

Noodles and Grains

Noodles are symbols of long life, and grains like rice, quinoa, and barley stand for abundance. Slurp the noodles whole for even more luck.

Fruit

On New Year’s Eve, Mexicans pop a grape for each stroke of midnight, with each representing a page of the calendar ahead. If one is bitter, watch out for that month! Other popular fruits to eat include the pomegranates, with its many seeds standing in for prosperity, and figs, which are a symbol of fertility.

Pork

Pigs are a lucky symbol because they root forward, and are rotund. Traditionally, in the American South, pork, beans, and greens are combined in a dish called Hoppin’ John for New Year’s Eve.

Cake

Ring shaped cakes—sometimes with trinkets baked inside—are a symbol of coming full circle. Indulge a little with the delicious chocolate recipe below.

Fish

Fish are believed to be lucky because their scales resemble coins, and they swim in schools which invoke the idea of abundance.