Hello all!

I am still gathering workout motivation mantras.  My goal is to round up 100 mantras and create a giant list of motivation for the new year to share with you.  Comment below with some of your favorites!

___________________________________________

Yesterday was pretty much a lazy day.  Brian and I ended up feeling pretty “tired” after our little New Year‘s celebration and decided to take the opportunity to lay low and just relax.

For lunch I was craving nothing but veggies and made a black bean burger with some veggies and hummus.  Sorry, no picture of that one!  However, when about 3pm rolled around I was hungry again for more veggies, so I satisfied my hunger with some veggies and hummus.

Veggie and Hummus

By the time dinner rolled around, I was ready for a full meal and although Brian was napping, I knew that he was ready for a meal too!

I was very excited to try a new-to-me-dish:  Hoppin’ John.  Of course, I couldn’t just follow a simple recipe, I had to take a look at a couple of different recipes and put my own spin on this traditional New Year’s dish.

My mom told me about this dish a couple of years ago, and although I had never tried it I was so in love with the tradition behind this meal.

Hoppin’ John is a dish made traditionally in the Southern U.S. with onion, black eyed peas, and green pepper served along side greens and rice.  Eating this meal on New Year’s day is supposed to promise a prosperous year of wealth and luck.  The peas are symbolic of coins and the greens are symbolic of wealth as they are the same color as money.  After New Year’s Day, leftover Hoppin’ John is called Skippin’ Jenny to symbolize a person’s ability to stretch the dollar, which brings hope for an even better chance of prosperity in the year to come.

There are more fun facts about Hoppin’ John traditions here!

Vegetarian Hoppin' John Text

 

Vegetarian Hoppin’ John

Serves: 4-5 people

Ingredients:

  • 1 medium yellow onion, chopped
  • 1 green pepper, chopped
  • 3 slices of vegetarian bacon (I used MorningStar Farms!)
  • 2 cans of black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
  • 1 tsp thyme
  • 1 tsp salt
  • dash of black pepper
  • dash of cayenne pepper
  • cooked brown rice

Directions:

Begin by heating a skillet over medium high heat.  Spray with nonstick cooking spray and add the green pepper and the onion for about 2 minutes to soften.

Hoppin John 2Once the onions have softened, chop the vegetarian bacon into small pieces and add to the pan for four minutes.

Hoppin John 3

Hoppin John 4

Hoppin John 5

Once the “bacon” has been cooking for about four minutes, add the rinsed and drained black eyed peas.

Hoppin John 6

Once the black eyed peas are added to the onions and green peppers, add in the thyme, peppers, and the salt.  Continue to cook over medium heat for another five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Hoppin John 9

Once the dish is cooked thoroughly, serve alongside warm brown rice and your choice of greens.  Brian and I enjoyed ours with steamed spinach.

Overall, I really enjoyed the simplicity of this meal.  The black eyed peas had a bit of an earthier flavor that the thyme melded with perfectly.  Brian and I both enjoyed this dinner, and luckily we have leftovers for some “Skippin’ Jane” later in the week!

One quick side note, if you used to subscribe to my blog through e-mail you will need to resubscribe.  When the Blog Genie did her magic, I switched e-mail subscription plug-ins.  No biggie though, just re-enter your e-mail to the right!

Have you ever tried Hoppin’ John?  Do you have a New Year’s tradition that you do to help bring good luck into the new year?

Related Posts

Based on this post, here are a few similar ones you should check out.

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Let’s keep in touch. Subscribe to my list and get all of the best content delivered directly to your inbox.

  • By subscribing, you are confirming your consent in the collection and secure storage of this data, as described in our Privacy Policy.