For years, January has been the unofficial start line for healthy eating. The holiday cookies disappear, the gym ads kick in and a nation collectively picks up its kale. But lately, something quieter, and more interesting, has been happening: long before the New Year’s confetti drops, people are already eating green.
Americans aren’t waiting for January to eat green. December tables are already filling with brighter, fresher, greener dishes. Photo credit: Depositphotos.
Grocery trends tell an unexpected story about December eating. Fresh produce sales rose 3.5% year-over-year in December 2024, even as dining-out growth slowed. It’s a sign that more Americans are turning to winter vegetables and greens in the heart of the holiday season. Nestled between frosted cookies and roast turkeys are bowls of emerald salads, pan-seared Brussels sprouts and soups tinted jade with spinach or broccoli. It seems the country is no longer waiting for January’s clean slate. The green shift has arrived early.
A gentler approach to balance
Part of the appeal is simple: after years of whiplash between indulgence and austerity, people now gravitate toward balance, not in response to guilt but out of a desire to feel good right now. The December table no longer holds only roasts and sweets; it also makes room for crisp fennel salads, herb-forward grain bowls, warm sautéed greens and roasted vegetable salads brightened with citrus.
The tone has also changed. There isn’t the usual narrative of making up for holiday eating. Instead, there’s a softer recalibration. Greens appear as complements rather than corrections, incorporated naturally into meals that still feel festive and abundant.
The color of renewal
Color psychology may play a subtle role in this early shift. In the darkest month of the year, green evokes life and possibility; a visual antidote to bare trees and early sunsets. Once the holiday lights dim, that splash of color on a plate feels grounding.
Greens carry symbolic weight across cultures. They signify growth, continuity and new beginnings. When cooks add them to the December dinner rotation, they don’t reject the season’s comforts, but make space for vitality alongside them.
Produce that finally tastes like something
Winter greens now taste better than they used to. Improvements in indoor farming, vertical growing systems and controlled-environment agriculture mean that kale, chard, spinach and herbs reach grocery shelves crisp and flavorful even in cold months. Winter crops like Brussels sprouts, cabbage and broccoli are naturally at their peak in late fall and early winter.
What once felt like a compromise, like a salad in December, has become an opportunity. A nutrient-rich base, seasonal citrus, toasted nuts or a jar of homemade dressing turns an ordinary green into something worthy of the holiday table.
The quiet influence of social media
Scroll TikTok or Instagram in December and you’ll see it: green content everywhere. Salads layered like art projects, bright pesto pastas, skillet green beans with sizzling garlic, soups blended into luminous shades of jade. The tone is joyful and sensory rather than performative.
This shift matters. For years, winter health content leaned heavily on restriction. Now, creators present greens as cozy and indulgent; something you eat because you want to, not because you should. Clips pair the sound of sizzling butter with handfuls of spinach or show a holiday spread confidently making room for both cookies and Brussels sprouts. The aesthetic has changed from penitence to pleasure.
Older traditions reemerge
Eating green in December isn’t new. Many winter holiday tables around the world have long included vibrant vegetable dishes: stewed greens simmered with aromatics, herb-heavy sauces draped over roasted meats, cabbage braised until sweet and tender or leafy salads brightened with winter fruit.
What’s changed is our attention. Those recipes, once overshadowed by main dishes and desserts, now feel newly relevant. They offer warmth without heaviness, comfort without monotony. Home cooks are rediscovering them as bridges between celebration and nourishment.
Restaurants lean into the shift
Dining out in December used to mean decadence: rich sauces, meats and desserts. But chefs have noticed diners’ appetite for balance and have responded by elevating vegetables to something worthy of the spotlight.
A crisp winter salad can open a tasting menu. Charred broccolini or roasted cabbage steaks might accompany a roast. Vegetable-forward small plates give diners room to enjoy the full spectrum of flavors without feeling overwhelmed. This isn’t minimalism; it’s intentionality. Greens bring brightness and contrast to a season that can otherwise skew heavy.
Early renewal as a mindset
There’s a psychological appeal to starting early, not as a head start on resolutions, but as a release from the all-or-nothing mindset that January tends to bring. Eating green in December feels like a gentle way to stay attuned to the body’s rhythms, even amid celebration.
Researchers have long noted the power of micro-shifts, which are small habits woven into daily life rather than concentrated in sweeping resolutions. Adding greens before January aligns with this approach: realistic, sustainable and rooted in pleasure.
A new kind of comfort food
Greens have also become comfort food in their own right. A bowl of creamy spinach pasta, a bubbling kale and white bean bake or roasted Brussels sprouts with a drizzle of maple or balsamic delivers coziness without leaving diners weighed down.
These dishes have a kind of quiet luxury; unfussy ingredients prepared with care that leans on texture, richness and freshness rather than excess. For many, they embody an eating habit that feels right in winter, one that’s warm, grounding and satisfying.
A different kind of holiday table
The holiday table is evolving. Where greens once played a supporting role, a side dish at best, they’re now part of the main conversation. They sit comfortably next to the roasts, cookies and casseroles, creating a meal that feels well-paced and deeply seasonal.
This shift isn’t about virtue or self-improvement. It’s about embracing the fullness of the season: celebration, comfort, abundance and care. Greens just happen to deliver all of those in one bite.
A new food year begins before the new calendar
When January arrives, many people won’t need a reset; they’ve already begun living the balance they want to carry forward. The new rhythm begins earlier, guided by instinct rather than resolutions.
Eating green before January isn’t a trend; it’s a new expression of how people want to feel during the most indulgent month of the year. It’s a quiet refusal to wait. A belief that renewal doesn’t need a date. And a reminder that joy, even in its simplest, greenest form, is already here.
Shruthi Baskaran-Makanju is a food and travel writer and a global food systems expert based in Seattle. She has lived in or traveled extensively to over 60 countries, and shares stories and recipes inspired by those travels on Urban Farmie.
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