fbpx

6 Foods to Enjoy on Chinese New Year’s Eve for a Prosperous 2022!
Print Friendly, PDF & Email

Dietitian-approved tips for preparing Chinese New Year Eve (reunion) dinners 

Chinese New Year, or Lunar New Year, a traditional festival celebrated by the Chinese community globally will soon be upon us as of February 1st! According to the Chinese Zodiac, it is the year of the Tiger.  People born in a year of the Tiger are believed to be strong, brave, and fearless.  

Lucky Chinese New Years Food

Children love this time of year as they receive “lucky” red envelopes laced with money from parents and relatives. Some people go so far as to wear new outfits to signify a great start to the year! 

The holiday lasts for 15 days where family and friends alike visit each other and share wishes for as well as foods that are regarded as a symbols of good luck and fortuitousness.

The child in me always has loved celebrating Chinese New Year as Mom cooked delicious foods and prepared a variety of snacks for the family to enjoy together. After all, Mom’s cooking is usually the best!  You may not know this, but even the names of the dishes have symbolic meanings.  Let me introduce you a few of the popular dishes our family prepared and enjoyed the most! 

6 Foods to Eat on Chinese New Year’s Eve for a Prosperous 2022 

Chicken 

Always a popular dish at Chinese New Year, a chicken is boiled whole in a broth and then carefully chopped into pieces and then reconstructed on the serving plate to appear whole. This symbolizes family reunion with different parts, but still together while partaking the meal at the table.   

chinese new year food - chicken

Steamed (whole) Fish 

An entire fish is steamed with the head and tail intact.  This is believed to bring abundance in the coming year.  In Chinese, the pronunciation of “fish” is very similar to “abundance”. Leftovers for the following day are consciously reserved for the next day as this means the prosperity and abundance will carry forward.  

Steamed Fish - Chinese new year foods

Green Leafy vegetables 

Vegetable leaves represent longevity. Leafy greens such as lettuce, bok choy or choy sum are cooked and served whole.

Noodles 

Noodles made from wheat or rice flour are cooked and served full length and never cut smaller.  Long noodles symbolize longevity. At our house, we choose whole wheat, brown rice or buckwheat noodles as they are great sources of nutrition. 

Noodles - Chinese New Year Food To Try

Mandarin Oranges and Regular Oranges 

In Chinese, the pronunciation of the words “mandarin oranges” is similar to saying “good luck.”  Likewise, the word “orange” sounds like “wealth”.  We often eat or give these beautiful fruits as gifts to bring happiness and prosperity to the whole family. We serve fresh fruit platters as dessert after meals. 

Dumplings with Meat or Vegetables 

As a family, we make dumplings that consist of meat, fish, or vegetables around the table together. The shape of dumplings looks like Chinese gold or silver ingots. Most people believe that eating dumplings during Chinese New Year, will equate a prosperous year.  We steam or pan-fry the dumplings. 

dumplings - chinese breakfast food

Dietitian-approved Tips for Preparing Chinese New Year Reunion Dinner

If you are preparing a delicious Chinese New Year reunion dinner for your family or relatives, you can keep the following dietitian-approved tips in mind: 

  1. Include a variety of plant-based foods* such as vegetables, legumes, beans, whole grains, and nuts in your cooking to add nutrients, healthy fats, protein and fiber. 
  2. Preferably choose a fatty fish as it contains more Omega-3 fatty acids for heart health 
  3. Choose lean proteins such as lean cut of meat, skinless poultry over fatty meat, fish, and vegetable protein such as tofu. 
  4. Substitute white rice or noodles with whole wheat noodles, brown rice vermicelli, or buckwheat noodles that have more dietary fiber.
chinese new year

5. Use Asian sauces such as soy sauce, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce or chili sauce in moderation as they tend to be higher in sodium, oil, and sugar. 

6. Flavour foods with dried mushrooms, shrimps, clams, herbs and spices. 

7. Drink green tea or flower tea such as Chrysanthemum tea to stay hydrated and they have less or no caffeine. 

8. Use healthier cooking methods such as steaming, boiling, roasting, or stir-frying. 

9. Enjoy fresh fruits as dessert. 

20. Make your own Chinese New Year goodies and snacks where you can substitute or replace ingredients with healthier choices such as using brown rice flour instead of the white rice flour when you make savory turnip cake, a very popular snack during Chinese New Year.  

Homemade dinners are always the healthier option because you get to choose what actually goes into the dishes.  

This Chinese New Year, the year of the tiger, pass up the buffet dinner at a fancy restaurant and opt for a homemade reunion dinner! You and your family will thank you! 

Have a healthy and prosperous year! 

Interested in improving your health and nutrition? Subscribe to our weekly newsletter!

Sound Bites is a weekly newsletter written by our university-trained Registered Dietitians. Get the latest nutrition tips, healthy recipes, videos, and more!

Join thousands of subscribers, and sign up for the newsletter, today! Receive a FREE copy of our ’52 Snack Attacks’ PDF by subscribing now. 

If you enjoyed this blog, check out our other articles on related topics:

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

As seen in

  •  

Success stories

"I am a psychologist in private practice and it is very important to me that my clients have the best care with other health care professionals. For that reason Health Stand Nutrition is my only source for exceptional Dietitians. Andrea and her team provide highly knowledgeable, compassionate, and real world support to my clients who require assistance with food lifestyle. I trust my clients to them and you would be in excellent hands making them part of your health care team."
Adele Fox, Psychologist
“This is the first time I feel satisfied; my cravings have diminished dramatically and I have a whole new relationship with food. I am eating guilt-free for the first time in my life. My energy has also dramatically increased and I feel great!
Rhonda Jenkins, Nutrition Counseling Client
“The Dieticians at Health Stand Nutrition help you to take action on the science behind eating well by making it practical, understandable, and fun. Their office is cozy and not at all clinical or intimidating. I felt like I was sitting down with a really smart, caring friend who wanted to help me make the best choices for my lifestyle and food preferences. They really are the best in the business.”
Marty Avery, Nutrition Counseling Client
“I have come to think of the program as a one stop shopping excursion for everything one needs to know about creating a joyous relationship with food and our bodies. In a single word, the course has gifted me with freedom from the punishing rigidity of disordered eating, old stories that never were true, and body dysmorphia that did nothing but make me lose sight of a body that has done everything I've asked, despite my careless dismissal of her needs. Now when I look in the mirror I find myself shifting from harsh criticism to gentle gratitude.”
Lynn Haley, Pursuit of Healthiness Online Course Participant
“I spent 3 hours when first diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. I learned more from my Dietitian about food in those 3 hours than I had learned in all the years of my life. I also love the newsletter, there is always something to learn.”
Peter Whitehead, Nutrition Counseling Client
“I didn’t realize how strong my “diet mentality” was, and all the rules I had in my head about food. I was in a cycle of reward/punish/binge/cringe. I booked with your business very reluctantly, on the repeated advice of my doctor, to get my slowly rising cholesterol levels in check. I thought I knew everything about food, and my behaviour with food, but I was definitely re-schooled. My weight is creeping down, I feel good about my diet, exercise, body image, and lifestyle.”
Amy Floyd, Nutrition Counseling Client
“Thanks Andrea for an amazing presentation, I have heard all positive remarks from attendees and the evaluations show the same sentiment. It is really gratifying when a speaker does their “homework” and weaves in our profession’s day to day challenges within their content, you did an awesome job of this! You truly took the “die” out of Dietician! Your information on healthy eating and simplifying how we can work towards this as we are all so busy really hit the mark. Andrea connects very well with her audience; she is energetic, funny, and very approachable.”
Carole Ann LaGrange, Transfusion Medicine Safety Officer

Event Planner for Laboratory Diagnostic Imaging Annual Event

I am a family physician who sees patients with a myriad of eating concerns – from wanting to know how to plan healthy meals for active families, to weight loss, to eating disorders, and so on. I cannot recommend the Health Stand team highly enough. I have worked with (and been to!) other Dieticians in the past and too often find that they just ask for food logs and make suggestions that are easily obtained online or in books. The Dieticians at Health Stand offer much more than just telling clients what they “should be eating.” In contrast, the team really does more of a counselling practice, and they work hard to help their clients learn more about why their eating habits may be off track and not optimal for them, as well as helping people to effect change at a deep level that, most importantly, is sustainable for lifetime health.”
Dr. Deb Putnam, Family Physician

Nutrition Counseling Client & Referring Physician

“I am a busy mom, with kids in high level sports, working full-time downtown, and running our home acreage outside the City. I now have the knowledge and tools I need to plan for and manage the chaos of meal planning.”
Gillian Gray, Pursuit of Healthiness Online Course Participant
“As a construction company, we select speakers who can relate to our industry and its employees. Andrea’s message was delivered with humor and empathy. She makes people feel as though they can make changes without leaving behind every favorite food. Andrea focused her presentation on healthy eating as a way to keep energy high throughout the day. This message and the way it was delivered resonated with our predominantly male, blue collar culture. I would highly recommend Andrea as a speaker for groups such as ours. She will get your message across without alienating anyone in your audience – which is a huge hurdle when trying to introduce a wellness program in the workplace!”
Stephanie Wood, HR and Safety Manager

Fisher Construction Group, Burlington, WA

I found my Dietitian warm, funny, and skilled at teaching nutrition concepts without the overwhelm. The general approach of each session was to mix science with emotion, which was exceedingly effective in helping me shift my perspective on food from one of anxiety to one of joy and curiosity.”
Erin Kronstedt, Nutrition Counseling Client
“Excellent presentation! What a refreshing change to have a speaker inspire rather than “lecture” about nutrition. Your captivating stories, tips and overall approach to healthy eating uplifts and puts people at ease. It was great to hear we don’t need to strive to be perfect eaters, and that small changes really can make a difference in how we feel and in our health. Thanks to Andrea, we have solutions to our everyday nutrition challenges that can actually work in real life!”
Tina Tamagi, Human Resources

ARC Resources Ltd.

“Had I not joined this course I would have struggled with no focus, low energy, and mindless eating. Excellent teaching and motivation. This is not just a course, it is a nutrition club with mentorship, support, and connections with other people with similar situations.”
Lorri Lawrence, Pursuit of Healthiness online course participant

Pin It on Pinterest

Share This