February 6, 2008 by Kavit Haria

Make February 14th A Healthy Valentines Day

Photo from wtlphotos 

I propose that together we make February 14th, 2008 our healthiest Valentines day yet.Let’s get rid of the excuses. Let’s forget the junk and begin to enjoy the quality time and nourishment with our friends, partners and loved ones by keeping our body in shape, more fitter, healthier and looking younger than ever before.

It’s a time to be original and work alone or with your partner to cook up a lovely dinner (or go out for a lovely dinner) that’s going to be very healthy, low carb and absolutely delicious. The overall effect: elegant, simplicity and elevated vitality.

What can you do if you’re staying at home? Plan out your meal in advance. If you’re cooking for the special him or her, work out in advance what you’ll make and how you’ll combine your foods. How will you keep it healthy, what will you have for appetizers and for dessert? Here are some interesting ideas for things you could prepare.

The best starter or appetizers is a big bowl of fresh salad ready to be prepared to your delight. Perhaps you could create your own mini-salad bar with lots of different varieties ready for your partner to put together the salad they want with the dressing they prefer. I also like to serve a selection of nuts including almonds, pistachios and cashews with my starters and appetizers. These are either lightly roasted or naturally raw. I avoid making them salty or sweet and prefer the raw taste. If you want to avoid the mini-salad bar idea, consider a simple and elegant Spinach and Strawberry salad. I absolutely love this. And finally remember that salad always has to be fresh - prepare it on the same day.

There are tons of ideas for healthy main meals. Just Google “healthy Valentines recipes” and you’ll find something to your taste. One of my favorite ideas is a Spanish-style beans. Although you could eat it with rice, I prefer not to mix my protein and carbohydrates so I prefer eating it with Quinoa. If you don’t know what Quinoa is, check it out because you’ll be glad you did. In simple, it is just like rice but extremely high in protein value.

So whatever you choose for your main course, choose healthily and enjoy the preparation. You don’t have to be great at it, you just have to get going with trying to prepare something you will all enjoy.Then, of course, it’s onto the desserts. Valentines is a great time for chocolates, ice-cream and other sweet delights, so what can you do that’s more healthy and will replace the cravings?

The best healthy dessert you could treat yourselves to is a bowl or two of mixed fruit salad - the beauty of this is that just like the mini-salad bar, you could create a mini-fruit bar. Get a selection of your favorite tropical or “romantic” fruits such as mangoes, papayas, variety of melons, plums, kiwis, etc and mix them as you wish and enjoy. If you really want something else in terms of dessert, why not have a spoon of ice-cream with your fruit?

You deserve to celebrate your love - that’s what Valentines day is all about. But remember, you don’t need to overeat, over-indulge and get unhealthy whilst doing so because that’s not celebrating your body’s love. Health is the most important gift one can give.

If you’re going to dine out instead of at home this Valentines day, here’s how to dine out healthily. 

Popularity: 4% [?]

Posted to: Health and Wellness

del.icio.us Digg this Stumble it!

Related Articles Others Have Read:

• Is a healthy return on investment possible?
• Create your own nutrition bars
• 15 Ways To Curb Out Your Food Cravings
• What are food cravings and why do I get them?
• 10 reasons you should drink wheatgrass juice