February 19, 2015
Gung Hay Fat Choy to you! (Best wishes for a good and prosperous year!)
Today is Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year really, because it’s celebrated in many Asian countries.
And it’s The Year of the Goat/Sheep – see below for a link to more information on what the year may bring for you.
So in honor of my background in Traditional Chinese Medicine, here is a list of lucky foods to eat to ensure a good year:
Bamboo shoots for Wealth and Happiness
Chicken for Happiness in Marriage or Relationship
Clams – Money
Daikon Radish for Good Omens
Dried Bean Curd for Happiness
Eggs for Fertility and Creativity
Fish – Whole – for Abundant Wealth and the head and tail indicate a good beginning and end of the year
Greens for Abundance
Lettuce for Rising Fortune and a Fresh Start
Lily Buds (dried) – Prosperity
Lotus Root for Continuing Wealth
Lotus Seed for Children
Lychees for Close Family Ties
Meatballs for Reunions
Noodles for Long Life
Oranges/Tangerines for Luck and Wealth (esp. good with leaves attached)
Pomelo – Continuous Prosperity and Status
Potstickers and Egg Rolls for Wealth
Rice for Abundance
Rice Cakes – both sweet and savory – A Higher Year
Peanuts for Long Life
Sea Moss for Prosperity
Shitake Mushrooms to Fulfill Wishes
Sweets – a Sweet Life in the New Year
(Thanks to my Feng Shui teacher, Lillian Pearl Bridges, for this list.)
Reading this list of somewhat unusual Asian foods brings up fond memories of my time in school and of trips with friends to Chinatown in downtown Los Angeles to find great food and the herbal medicines we were studying. It really felt like we were in China!
If you’d like, see which one or two foods you can find and celebrate the new year. I especially like getting the tangerines with leaves still on them and putting them around the house as edible decorations/offerings.
Also, here is Lillian’s forecast for The Year of the Goat/Sheep (my year! go goats!). It’s long, but an interesting read. http://lotusinstitute.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Year-of-the-Sheep-Forecast.pdf
Enjoy! And many blessings to you for the coming year.
Colleen
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