CNY foods, recipes from China's regional culinary cuisines for Spring Festival

Chinese New Year of the Sheep kicks off Feb. 17, 2026. CNY (Spring Festival or Lantern Festival) celebrates an animal of the zodiac each year and 2026 is Year of the Horse. CNY anticipates good fortune. How better to celebrate than with food? Here are recipes and tips to eat your way through China's eight culinary regions and cuisines. Start with a virtual tour of China's food regions. from Travel China Guide.

Shandong (Lu or Mandarin cuisine) comes from north China, Beijing and Jinan City. Dishes focus on duck, carp, chicken and seafood, particularly abalone (shellfish). Shandong food emphasizes garlic, shallots and sea pumpkin. For a simplified Shandong dish, stir-fry prawns (shrimp), asparagus spears and chunks of squash or pumpkin in garlic, shallots and peanut oil.

Chuan (Szechuan cuisine) is eaten in Sichuan province. Food is very spicy and hot, using chilis, peppercorn, peanuts, sesame, garlic and ginger. For easy Szechuan, steam or boil cellophane, ramen or lo mien noodles or rice. Make a thin sauce, mixing crunchy peanut butter, garlic, sesame or peanut oil and minced ginger. Toss noodles with sauce, sesame seeds, sliced scallions, and peanuts. Offer red pepper flakes for students who wish to try it, but warn them that it's hot.

Hui (Anhui cuisine) originates in the Huangshan mountains. These foods employ vegetables, mushrooms and rice. For a Hui dish, steam jasmine or basmati rice. Make egg foo yung by mixing chopped bok choy, napa cabbage, mushrooms and bean sprouts in egg mixture and frying. Make gravy by simmering soy sauce with corn starch dissolved in cold water. Eggs are a Chinese New Year ceremonial food and symbolize fertility.

Min (Fujian cuisine) comes from the coastal region. Min cuisine specializes in soup. Using chicken broth, add any combination of sliced bamboo shoots, carrots, celery, water chestnuts, bean sprouts and shitake mushrooms. Set out wonton chips for garnish.

Yue (Cantonese or Guangdong cuisine) comes from Hong Kong. It's what most Westerners think of when they think Chinese food (Chinese buffet foods, for example). For an easy Cantonese sampler, set out assorted Chinese dumplings (potstickers), rice rolls (sushi) and dim sum. Asian Online Recipes has easy dim sum recipes. Serve with Chinese five-spice (cinnamon, anise, cloves, pepper and fennel seed).

Xiang (Hunan cuisine): Like Szechuan, Hunan food is spicy. It focuses on the "five elements": lychee fruit, longan berries, red dates, lotus seeds, and medlar fruit. The others might be tricky to find, but Lychee aren't too difficult to find canned. They can represent Hunan food. 

Jiangsu (Shanghai, Su cuisine): This cooking style uses many techniques and flavors. For a student Shanghai sampler, serve cubed tofu or dried tofu.

Zhe (Zhejiang cuisine): Stir-fry is a common technique. Students may enjoy a cooking demonstration using a wok. Cook whole smelt in oil with lemon. Toss in chopped vegetables (celery, carrots, broccoli, onions, green peppers). Serve with jasmine or oolong tea. This is perfect for Chinese New Year, as whole fish is one of the traditional foods. Sweet and sour pork is also popular.

Other Chinese New Year ceremonial foods include mandarin oranges, fat choy (algae), dumplings, noodles and dried fruit. To wish a happy new year, say "Gung Hay Fat Choy!"

Pancake Day recipes, Shrove Tuesday pancakes, waffles for Mardi Gras feast

Happy Pancake Day! Also called Mardi Gras, Fat Tuesday or Shrove Tuesday, it's the day Catholics celebrate in preparation for Ash Wednesday and the sacrificial Lenten season. Catholics give up

things for Lent. Traditionally that meant abstaining from meat, dairy, eggs, fat and sugar for 40 days till Easter. So they would use up or "shrive" the house of those foods and make them into pancakes. A

house shriven (purged) of temptation symbolizes a soul purged of sin (Catholics also to confession before Lent to ready themselves for the penitential season). There are probably as many types of pancakes as cultures in the world. Here are good ole American pancake and waffle

recipes for Pancake Day. You can cheat and use pancake mix--the best is Kodiak or Krusteaz Honey Wheat with high protein goodness. 

Flapple Jacks

Blend Kodiak buttermilk pancake mix with cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, allspice, vanilla, milk, eggs and

applesauce. Add melted butter. Fry till golden brown. Top with sliced Michigan Macintosh apples,

whipped cream, butter and pure Michigan maple syrup. Serve with fresh breakfast sausage patties.

Indian Corn Pancakes

There's an old cafe in Muskegon, Michigan called Cherokee Restaurant. In the early 1970s, my mother

and I breakfasted there on Sundays after church. The Cherokee Restaurant was a pancake purveyor

long before IHOP. The specialty of the house was Indian Pancakes. Mix Krusteaz Honey Wheat pancake mix, eggs, corn meal, one can creamed corn, or whole kernel corn and melted butter. Cook bacon. Fry pancakes in bacon grease till browned. Serve with melted

butter and maple syrup. Top with bacon and eggs for a pancake sandwich!

Behemoth Belgian Berry Waffles 

Mix into pancake batter, vanilla, lemon curd or lemon juice and granola. Fold in Fresh or frozen berries: blueberries, blackberries, black raspberries, raspberries, strawberries or cherries. Top waffles with butter, cream cheese, fresh berries and syrup. Melt berry jam and pour over waffles. Garnish with whipped topping. Toss in a slab of ham or maple sausage.

Chocolate Cataclysm Pancakes

Add to Kodiak dark chocolate pancake mix, unsweetened cocoa powder, cold black coffee, vanilla, sugar and chocolate chips. Adjust to preferred level of sweetness. Blend with eggs, milk and oil. Fry in melted butter. Top with melted butter, maple and homemade chocolate syrup, and shaved dark chocolate and whipped cream. To make homemade chocolate sauce, blend half stick of butter with one cup sugar, dash of salt and 1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa. Melt and blend with one can evaporated milk. Stir till heated and blended (add a little cornstarch to thicken if desired).

Bon Appetit! 

Healthy brunch recipes to use up leftover stale bread, holiday leftovers

Hosting a New Year's Day brunch? The last thing you need, after the spending extravaganza that was

Christmas, is something more to spend money on. New Year's Day is the time for resolutions to cut

back. So how about recipes to use up holiday leftovers, particularly stale bread, rolls, muffins and

baked goods. Don't pitch stale bread. Put leftover stale bread in a bag in the fridge (separate sweet

bread from savory). Gather up holiday leftovers of meat, sausage, cheese, dried fruit, nuts and eggs

(don't forget the separated egg yolks and whites leftover from recipes). Use up leftover vegetables

from veggies trays and holiday cooking (bits of onion, green pepper, mushrooms, etc.). When you

have enough. repurpose holiday leftovers in yummy recipes that use up leftover stale bread so it

doesn't go to waste. Remember these use up recipes won't have exact measurements and maybe

not even specific ingredients. It all depends on what leftovers you have and how much you have

leftover.

Brunch bread salad. Or, said fancier, Pan Ensalada. Use up any kind of stale bread, bagels, English

muffins, hot dog buns, hamburger buns, rolls, toast, you have. The only thing you can't use are sweet

breads or raisin bread. But don't worry--there will be other brunch recipes to use up leftover sweet

breads and rolls. Mix and match flavors of bread: onion, garlic, cheese, focaccia, pumpernickel, rye,

whole wheat and white.

Tear stale bread into bite-sized pieces and place in large salad bowl or mixing bowl. Clean the fridge

and gather leftover raw vegetable scraps. Chop and add any combination of onions, scallions, green

peppers, tomato, spring mix lettuce, cilantro, herbs. romaine or leaf lettuce, baby spinach, celery,

leeks or mushrooms. Toss with leftover Greek or Italian salad dressing or vinegar and oil. Add lemon

zest, salt, cracked pepper, oregano and basil. Season with gumbo file and pepper blend for a Cajun

twist. Shred and add leftover cheese bits if desired. 

Breakfast or brunch casserole: Here's a great way to use up holiday leftovers. Use any combination of stale bread, except sweet breads or bread with fruit. You can use seed or nut bread if you like. Omit the vegetables if desired. Use up leftover sausage, summer sausage, bacon or ham cubes if desired. Spray a 9x13 or 11x15 glass baking dish with olive oil. Place a layer of dried bread, broken into pieces, in the pan. Finely chop leftover onions and mince garlic and sprinkle over bread.  Beat six eggs with a cup of milk until smooth and pour over bread.

Slice mushrooms and green peppers and spread over egg mixture. Use up any vegetables desired. Brussels sprouts, broccoli, cauliflower, whatever sounds good. Shred leftover cheese chunks and use up leftovers from bags of shredded cheese. Sprinkle 4-8 ox shredded cheese over egg mixture. Sprinkle ground pepper on top. Bake until bubbly (about 30 minutes at 350 degrees). Top with fresh cilantro and leftover diced tomatoes or grape tomatoes. 

Vegetarian brunch casserole. Make as above only swap out meat for nuts or nut bread. 

Brunch bread pudding with lemon sauce. Bread pudding is the quintessential New Orleans leftover

stale bread use up recipes, perfect for brunch. Use any kind of stale bread, bagels, English muffins or

rolls except savory (onion, garlic), cheese, rye or pumpernickel bread. Use any sweet bread like Hawaiian, cinnamon or raisin bread. You could even use muffins, pancakes, waffles, rolls or unfrosted cake. 

Tear bread into bite-sized pieces. Arrange in 9x13 glass pan coated with non-stick cooking spray and flour. Dot bread cubes with a half cup butter or one stick of butter or margarine. Drizzle with maple syrup, about 3/4 of a cup. Mix in any combination of chopped apples, dried fruit, figs, dates, cranberries, raisins, nuts or seeds. You can even add leftover citron or cinnamon red hots. For a super healthy brunch bread, add almonds, pecans, walnuts, pumpkin seeds and chia. Blend together 2 cups of milk, 6 eggs, half cup of brown sugar, two teaspoons each vanilla and cinnamon and half a teaspoon of nutmeg. 

This is a great way to use up leftover nuts, fruits from fruit baskets, holiday leftovers of dried fruits left from baking before they get stale. You can even add in that horrible fruitcake Auntie Mildew insists on sharing every year. Toss in any leftover fruit going stale, like bananas or the cranberry sauce you made too much of. Bake 30-40 minutes at 325 degrees until bread pudding has set. Serve with lemon sauce--1 stick melted margarine, 1 cup powdered sugar, dash of salt, 2 T. lemon curd or lemon juice.

Christmas diet tips: Holiday recipes to curb sugar cravings, tame sweet tooth

Parents, are you and/or your children trying to lose weight? The holidays are the hardest time, aren't they? Halloween candy, Thanksgiving pies, Christmas cookies, holiday baked goods and desserts, Hanukkah treats, Three King Cake--from Halloween to Epiphany, the Christmas season equals sweets. And it's so hard on the poor kids--so many goodies, so little time! So here are Christmas diet tips to curb sugar cravings and holiday recipes for sweet tooth tamers.  

It's appropriate to raise diabetes awareness around the holidays. Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, Chanukah, New Year's Eve, Epiphany, whatever festivals you celebrate, they all involve food and especially desserts and sweets. Get-togethers can be really hard for diabetics and dieters. Here are ways to cut sugar and fat in recipes, so diabetics and dieters can have their cake and eat it too! 

Swap out oil and sugar in baked goods and replace with unsweetened applesauce or pumpkin (homemade preferred). You get antioxidants and fat burners. Use in cakes, cookies, cupcakes, muffins, brownies and bars--yes even chocolate kinds. Boost flavor in calorie free ways. Reduce sugar and add cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves or extra vanilla. Add cold coffee to chocolate baked goods to give chocolate a nice bite. 

Bake with milled flax seed instead of eggs and oil. Flax seed is full of good MUFAs (monounsaturated fatty acids). Substituting flax seed reduces cholesterol, saturated and transfats and adds omega-3 fatty acids and fiber. One tablespoon flax seed plus three tbsp. water equals on egg. Three tablespoons flax seed and water equals one tablespoon oil, butter, margarine. Trade wheat for whole grains. Bake with oats, chia seed, cooked quinoa and whole grain flours. You'll get the most fiber and omega fatty acids for your calorie investment. 

Swap out milk. Cut calories, fat and sugar substituting almond, flax and coconut milk for dairy in foods. Plus you get fatty acids. Unsweetened vanilla almond milk has the best taste and lowest calories. Substitute Greek yogurt for dairy. Use plain nonfat Greek yogurt in place of cream, cottage cheese, ice cream, cream cheese, milk, sour cream and some cheeses. Sweeten healthier. Use fruit and 100 percent juice, pure maple syrup. 

Avoid artificial sweeteners except for Splenda, stevia, monk fruit and xylitol. Ideal sweetener (xylitol) has zero calories, is safe to use and doesn't taste bitter like stevia can. Swap alcohol for tea or coffee. Booze is an appetite stimulant and metabolism depressant. Tea and coffee do the opposite. But watch the sugar. Eat This Not That says coffee is a sneaky source of added sugar. Brew your own. Add fat-free, sugar-free non-dairy creamer. Freeze and slush for an iced coffee treat. You can bake with non-dairy creamer, too Swap ice cream styles. 

Enjoy frozen yogurt, Skinny Cow and Weight Watchers frozen novelties. Top desserts with light whipped topping. Look for lowfat and low sugar ice cream varieties. Hudsonville vanilla has only 130 calories per serving. Have some candy. Seriously. But make it dark 70 percent cacao or higher chocolate. Dr. Oz says high cacao dark chocolate is a fat burner. Please pass the Ghirardelli Intense Dark!

Bake with almond butter, Or try PB2. a fat free peanut powder. Use PB2 chocolate for a light Nutella alternative. Mix with yogurt for a fruit dip, trifle or torte filling or cake frosting. Blast fat with a Molotov Fruit Cocktail. Try this antioxidant-rich fat blaster fruit grenade. Mix chunk muskmelon and honeydew, grapefruit sections, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries and sliced bananas. Top with Greek yogurt, shaved 70-percent cacao dark chocolate, sunflower seeds, milled flax seed, pumpkin seeds and sliced almonds. Make desserts multitask, burning fat while satisfying your sweet tooth

Ketogenic diet: High-fat, high-protein, low-carb diet aids fat burn, weight loss

Originally. the ketogenic diet was used only to treat epilepsy. Now, thanks to advocacy from celebrities who've had surprisingly high weight loss with it, the ketogenic diet is in vogue. Medical experts are finding the ketogenic diet--which is essentially a high fat, high-protein, low carb diet--burns fat and aids weight loss. And not just a little weight loss. Results from the ketogenic diet have been dramatic. Following a keto diet is part of how I lost 100 pounds without weight loss surgery or drugs. 

 Some experts question whether ketosis is dangerous for the body. But it may actually be healthy. What's ketosis? It just means the body no longer gets many carbs and so doesn't depend on carbohydrates for energy. Needing fuel to burn, the body seeks out deep tissue fat that is buried in cells, around internal organs and in the belly, thighs, buttocks, hips and under the arms. With 2/3 of the U.S. overweight and 35-percent obese, maybe it's time to rethink some of these less traditional diets, medical advisers say. 

How is weight loss achieved eating a high-fat, high-protein, low-carb diet? Well, first of all it forces the body to seek out stored fat for fuel.. This burns fat stuck in fat-prone places. Further, a high-protein diet curbs hunger, fills you up faster and keeps you full longer. Carbohydrates burn off very rapidly and you feel hungry more quickly. And as any dieter will tell you, feeling constantly hungry is the worst part of dieting. Curbing hunger and cravings was how I lost 100 pounds. 

Diets that provide too little nutrients--the fad and crash diets--crash because people can't exist in constant hunger and will eat if food is available. Also, and perhaps most important, interesting and ironic of all: good high-fat diets burn fat in the body. Eating good fats--MUFAS (monounsaturated fatty acids), MCAs (medium chain triglycerides) and essential omega oils, also called CLA, GLA and ALA (conjugated linolenic acids, gamma linolenic acids and alpha linolenic acids)--all aid in breaking down bad fat stored from over consumption of carbohydrates, sugar, saturated fats and transfats. 

The ketogenic high-fat, high-protein, low-carb diet reduces lipogenesis (manufacture of fat) and increases lipolysis (fat burning). It also increases gluconeogenesis ( manufacture of blood sugar which has a thermic effect on proteins). The ketogenic diet isn't just a fad celebrity diet, experts are finding. And, though concerns about its safety have been raised, it's actually one of the most researched meals plans for safe and rapid weight loss. The ketogenic diet aids in prevention and treatment of MS, seizures, Alzheimer's, cardiovascular disease and even some types of cancers. Doctors recommend that because the ketogenic diet is so specific, it achieves best weight loss under medical supervision. That may be even more true for obese, severely obese and morbidly obese patients. It's a whole new way of eating, that's for sure. Some ketogenic high-protein, high-fat, low-carb foods are: fish, nuts, Greek yogurt, avocados, coconut oil, almonds, nuts, seeds, flax seed, chia seeds and zucchini. High-fat, fiber-rich foods, like nuts and seeds, also help flush fat 

Mediterranean diet stops Alzheimer's: Brain food swaps slow aging, lose weight

Did you know eating a Mediterranean diet stops Alzheimer's disease and brain shrinkage? The Los Angeles Time reported on Oct. 21 that the brain shrinks in old age (that's why the elderly slow down and suffer memory loss associated with Alzheimer's). But happily, you can slow aging by eating more fish, less meat and other brain food swaps on the Mediterranean diet. Following the Mediterranean diet helps with weight loss, heart health and a bunch of other condition, too. Here are more brain food swaps to slow aging, lose weight and improve health. 

One thing that deters people from starting new diets is that they are afraid they'll have to eat weird things or buy expensive "diet" food. That's what's cool about the Mediterranean diet: it features common, simple foods, sourced locally and simply prepared. Senior citizens aren't known for liking new foods. They like foods they ate it as kids. And that's what the Mediterranean diet is: lots of vegetables, legumes (think soup beans), whole grain cereals (oatmeal), fish and monounsaturated fatty acids like olive oil (instead of transfat or saturated fats). And the old folks love it because it isn't processed junk food. It's homemade like mama used to make. And those elderly people tested who ate a brain food Mediterranean diet had larger brain volumes than those who didn't. 

Here are other Alzheimer's busting Mediterranean diet food swaps. Eat light, whole grain 35-calorie per slice bread over regular bread. Regular bread has a shocking 2-3 times as many calories as diet bread. Diet bread loses calories, high fructose corn syrup, transfat and sodium, but retains fiber and fatty acids (essential brain food to lose weight and slow aging). Eat flaxseed, chia seed, almonds and oatmeal instead of cereal or toast for breakfast. 

Drink lowfat milk, not skim (too little good fat) or whole milk (too much fat). Trade butter and mayo for olive oil margarine and mayonnaise. Use avocados instead of spreads, milk, eggs, oil and fats, even in baking. Greek yogurt doesn't just slow aging, it can stop Alzheimer's in its tracks! Greek yogurt is super healthy, with antioxidants, probiotics and acidophilous, plus it has double protein. Make Greek yogurt smoothies. Add fresh or frozen strawberries, blueberries, grapefruit, apples, melon or bananas. Walmart's 4-pound frozen blend of strawberries, peaches, mangoes and pineapple has only 70 calories per cup. Add an Emergen-C packet (for metabolism boosting, antioxidant vitamin C) and light almond, cashew or coconut milk and blend. 

Swap sour cream and cream cheese for Greek yogurt or avocados. Slow aging and increase brain health by reducing salt. The highly-rated DASH diet advocates cutting sodium to lose weight, too. Eat low sodium vegetable soups. Make homemade veggie soup by dicing summer squash, zucchini, tomato, celery, purple cabbage, peppers, mushrooms and onions. Simmer in a broth made salt-free Spike, salt-free Mrs. Dash, Bragg's Liquid Amino, sea salt or Himalayan pink salt. Add a little liquid smoke or chipotle for a bite. Swap hot dogs, lunch meat, sausage and bacon for light turkey and chicken deli meat. Serve fresh chicken sausages and turkey hot dogs. Skip meat altogether and try a nut and seed vegan burger. Roast a big portabello mushroom or sweet potato and serve instead of meat. Eat more fish. Broil salmon, swordfish, pollock, cod or tuna steaks. Season with lemon juice, dill and Greek yogurt. How's that for yummy brain food swaps to slow aging and beat Alzheimer's?

A-Z fiber fatty acids food swaps: Cleanse, burn fat, reverse Type 2 diabetes

A study for the University of Finland links obesity to Type 2 diabetes and pre-diabetes (also called insulin resistance and metabolic syndrome). The study says Type 2 diabetes is reversible with diet. I'm proof of that. After I lost 100 pounds, dropped 10 sizes and got my BMI to normal, I also lost pre diabetes. Belly fat in particular is linked to insulin resistance. Uncontrolled pre-diabetes leads eventually to Type 2 diabetes. So how did I reverse pre-diabetes? I didn't use drugs or surgery. I swapped saturated and hydrogenated fat, starch, refined sugar and flour for high-fiber, fatty acids foods. Ironically, good fats--omega oils, MUFAs (monounsaturated fatty acids)--burn bad fat. Fiber and fatty acids work together to cleanse fat. Many fiber-rich foods are also high in fatty acids but low in saturated fats. Here's an A Z list of good-fat, high-fiber foods. Eat your way to thin and diabetes-free! 

A is for apples, almonds, almond milk, avocados, amaranth flour (an ancient grains full of fiber and fatty acids). 

B is for beans (adzuki, chickpeas are best) black-eyed peas, bananas, blue-green algae, blueberries, blackberries, barley and buckwheat (ancient grain).

C is for cashews,  cashew milk, coconut oil, coconut milk, collard greens, chia seeds and unsweetened cocoa powder (fat-burning antioxidant). 

D is for dark chocolate (70-percent or higher cacao). Type 2 diabetics can have some sugar, so make sure it burns fat, like dark cacao. 

E is for edamame (raw soybeans). 

F is for milled flax seed. 

G is for grapefruit and graham flour. Grapefruit cleanses and melts fat away. 

H is for homemade hummus (grind garbanzo beans, lemon juice, tahini, garlic and za'atar and no oil). 

I is for ispaghula or isabgol, better known as psyllium husks (super colon cleanse). 

J is for juicing. Blend a fiber smoothie of berries, apples, kale, spinach and butternut squash. 

K is for kale, kamut (ancient grain) and Kashi bars cereals (Chocolate Almond & Seasalt bars with chia and Go Lean Protein are best). 

L is for sprouted lentils, legumes and lemons (add a wedge to water bottle). 

M is for miso, Kashi Mayan Harvest Bake frozen dinner and millet (ancient grain). 

O is for oranges and olives (good fatty acid source). 

P is for pumpkin, pumpkin seeds and psyllium husks. 

Q is for quinoa (ancient grain, substitute for white rice or pasta) 

R is for wild rice, raspberries, rhubarb and rye flour (ancient grain). 

S is for seeds, salmon, spinach, sunflower seeds, soybeans, tempeh, seeds, sweet potatoes, strawberries, squash (summer and winter) and spelt flour (ancient grain). 

T is for triticale wheat flour, Bob's Red Mill TVP (textured vegetable protein, avoid kinds made with hydrolyzed oils), tomatoes and tuna. 

U is for unbleached, unrefined ancient grain flour (Bob's Red Mill makes delicious 7-grain and 14-grain flours for baking and cooking). 

V is for Vitae Plus Powder (Chimex). W is for water and whole grains. 

X means cross out white bread and commercial fiber bars (lots of carbohydrates, no good fiber). 

Y is for yams and yellow squash. 

Z is for zucchini