I never liked the tradition of making New Year's resolutions. When I was a kid, I used to try to make them, but I never seemed to stick to them for very long. The most lasting changes I have made to habits have come from more spontaneous decisions. Sometimes I realize that I am either not doing something enough, or doing too much of something, and I would probably be happier if I changed that. I don't think I can get motivated simply because a certain day of the year demands that I improve myself.
My family enjoys the Southern traditional New Year's dish of Hoppin' John, a dish with black-eyed peas, greens and rice. The peas represent coins; they are supposed to bring prosperity in the year to come. I've heard that eating "poor" on New Year's day ensures "eating fat" the rest of the year--and eating leftover Hoppin' John the day after the holiday is an especially frugal way of increasing one's luck. 
Whether Hoppin' John is lucky or not, it certainly is tasty, and healthy. My eldest son usually asks me to make it whenever he comes home from college.
There's a recipe for this black-eyed pea dish in the Winter 2012 issue of the children's cooking magazine, Chop Chop.
What's that you say? You didn't know the library carried a children's cooking magazine? Well, in fact we do, and it looks fun and informative.
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