INDIANAPOLIS — Dietitian Kim Galeaz explains the symbolism behind “good luck” foods and shares a few recipes filled with both good luck and great health!
Korean Spicy Noodle Salad

Ingredients:
- 14 to 18 ounces Soba Noodles (or any wheat, rice or buckwheat noodle)
- Spicy Korean Sauce:
- ½ cup Gochujang Korean Red Chili Paste
- ½ cup unseasoned rice vinegar
- 3 tablespoons lower sodium soy sauce
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar
- 4 tablespoons sesame oil
- 1/3 cup toasted sesame seeds
- 1 ½ – 1 ¾ cups chopped green onions (both white & green parts)
- 1 – 2 Asian Pears, unpeeled and diced
- ½ cup POM Wonderful pomegranate arils + more for garnish
Directions:
- Cook noodles according to package directions
- Drain well
- Place cooked noodles in large bowl
- While noodles cook, prepare spicy Korean sauce
- Whisk all sauce ingredients together in a separate medium bowl
- Pour sauce over cooked noodles along with green onions, diced Asian pears and ½ cup pomegranate arils
- Toss lightly to blend all ingredients
- Garnish with more pomegranate arils before serving
- Can serve immediately at room temperature or refrigerate in tightly covered container and serve cold
*Makes about 11 cups salad
Kim’s Spicy Hoppin’ John

Ingredients:
- 6 -7 slices thick-cut bacon, chopped into ¾-inch pieces
- 2 cups finely chopped onion
- 1 ½ cups finely chopped celery
- 1 ½ cups finely chopped green bell pepper
- 3 large garlic cloves, very finely minced
- 1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne red pepper
- ¼ to ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground black pepper
- 1 package (13 oz.) fully cooked andouille sausage, cut into ¼-inch slices then halved
- 3 cans (15.5 oz. each) black eyed peas, drained and rinsed
- 4 cups (1 quart) lower sodium chicken broth
- 1/2 cup chopped green onion + more for garnish (white & green parts)
- Cooked rice for serving
Directions:
- In a large stock pot over medium-high heat, cook bacon, stirring frequently, until bacon is nearly crisp, about 10 minutes
- Add onion, celery, bell pepper, and garlic
- Cook, stirring frequently, until vegetables are tender and softened
- Stir in Cajun seasoning, thyme, red pepper, black pepper and salt, along with andouille sausage, black-eyed peas and chicken broth
- Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to very low and simmer at least 20 to 25 minutes, to allow flavors to blend and meld
- Once done, stir in ½-cup green onion
- Serve with cooked rice
- Refrigerate leftovers in tightly covered container
*Makes about 9 ½ cups (8 to 10 servings at least)
Collard Greens with Ham & Bacon

Ingredients:
- 4 – 5 slices thick-cut bacon
- 1 ½ cups finely chopped onion 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2/3 – ¾ cup finely chopped cooked smoked deli ham
- 1 ½ teaspoon seasoned salt
- ¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
- ¼ teaspoon paprika
- 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
- 2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
- 1 ½ tablespoons sugar
- 1 ½ bags (16 oz. size) pre-washed, pre-chopped collard greens
- 3 cups lower sodium chicken broth
Directions:
- In a large stock pan over medium-high heat, cook bacon slices until crisp
- Remove from pan and crumble
- Set aside
- Keep all or at least 2 tablespoons bacon grease in pan and add onion
- Cook until onion is soft, about 4 minutes
- Add garlic and cook another 2 minutes
- Add crumbled bacon, diced ham and all spices and seasonings
- Stir and cook just a minute, then add chopped collard greens
- Cook, stirring constantly, until greens start to wilt and reduce
- Stir in chicken broth
- Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer about 20 minutes
- Remove lid and simmer another 10 minutes, until greens are tender. (Some people like to cook collard greens up to 2 hours; it’s your choice!)
- Serve warm/hot
*Makes heaping 5 cups (7 servings of ¾ cup each)
PomTini Cocktail

Ingredients:
- 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) Pom Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice
- ¾ ounce (1 ½ tablespoons) vodka
- ½ ounce (1 tablespoon) orange liqueur
- ½ ounce (1 tablespoon) freshly squeezed lemon juice
- ¾ ounce (1 ½ tablespoons) simple syrup or triple syrup*
- Champagne
Directions:
- Assemble the first 5 ingredients in a mixing glass and shake well with ice
- Strain into a fluted glass or martini glass and top with champagne
- Serve and enjoy!
*Makes 1 martini
*Triple syrup is a combination of simple syrup, honey syrup and agave syrup. All the syrups are made by dissolving the sweet ingredient into an equal amount of water. To make 1 pint of triple syrup, mix 5 ounces of each syrup together.
Pom Spiced Cider

Ingredients:
- 32 ounces POM Wonderful 100% Pomegranate Juice
- 8 ounces water
- 4 large cinnamon sticks, broken in half
- 6 whole cloves
- 1 star anise
- 6 green cardamom pods
- 6 juniper berries
- 1 ½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract
- Zest and juice for ½ orange
- Apple brandy
- Triple sec liqueur
Directions:
- Combine pomegranate juice, water, cinnamon sticks, cloves, star anise, cardamom pods, juniper berries, vanilla, orange zest and orange juice in a medium saucepan
- Bring to a low simmer over low heat
- Keep the heat low and allow to simmer at an additional 45 minutes
- Turn off heat
- All mixture to steep for at least 2 hours off the heat
- Strain
- Serve hot or cold and add 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) apple brandy and ½ ounce (1 tablespoon) triple sec liqueur to each 8-ounce serving of spiced cider
- Garnish with orange slice
- Refrigerate leftovers
*Makes about 4 to 6 servings