Valentine's day has evolved into a holiday that's all about cards, roses and of course chocolates and fancy dinners. The later two don't always contribute to a healthy eating lifestyle. Here are some ideas on how you can celebrate Valentine Day the healthy way, without sacrificing any of the fun.When you pick chocolates for your girl or guy, think quality, not quantity. A little chocolate really isn't that bad for you, especially if it is quality chocolate. The darker, the better. Dar chocolate contains a lot of antioxidants that will help you fight off cancer, heart disease and even changes associated with aging.Instead of a huge, fat-laden meal at your favorite restaurant, go with a light dinner. Skip dessert at the restaurant and go for a walk together instead. Going for a walk in the moonlight is very romantic. When you get back home, indulge in a little frozen fruit sorbet for sorbet, or enjoy a steamy cup of hot chocolate.If you enjoy a Valentine's Day dinner at home, browse through your favorite cookbooks or recipe sites for some lighter, low-calorie dishes. Start off with a light soup or a salad, and then serve some lean meat or fish. You could for example bake chicken breast or salmon in the oven and serve it with a little wild rice and some streamed vegetables.Instead of buying expensive jewelry or a few dozen roses, get some new workout equipment, a membership to the gym, or even a new cookbook full of healthy recipes. Show your partner how much you care about his or her health and wellbeing. Make a commitment to live healthier together, by working out, going for walks each night and taking turns cooking healthy meals. Source:
Legends abound about the origins of this most romantic of occasions, dating all the way back to a priest named Valentine who lived during the reign of Roman emperor Claudius II, 268 to 270 A.D., and was put to death for disobeying the law by secretly marrying young couples. Meanwhile, ancient cultures believed that the heart is the home of the human soul and the source of all our emotions, with red being the color of romance.
Couple all that with the fact that, during the Middle Ages in France and England, February 14th was the beginning of birds' mating season, and you get the idea...
For starters, some up-to-date Valentine's Day facts:
• About one billion cards are exchanged every year; only Christmas beats that number.
• Women purchase 85% of all cards.
• Teachers receive the most cards, followed by children, mothers, wives, and then sweethearts.
• Venus, the goddess of love, favored roses, and since red symbolizes strong feelings, red roses are considered to be the flower of love.
• Worldwide, more than 50 million roses are given on this day annually.
• Men buy 73% of Valentine's Day flowers.
• About 8 billion candy hearts will be produced this year.
• Richard Cadbury invented the first Valentine's Day candy box in 1868.
• More than 36 million heart-shaped boxes of chocolates will be sold this time around.
And speaking of chocolate, most of us know it's a heart-healthy treat-dark chocolate, that is. But there's also not-so-good news, as reported by KYW Newsradio 1060's Dr. Brian McDonough: "The amount of chocolate you should have each day is the amount in a Hershey's kiss. That's right, one Hershey kiss." Uh oh!!
But let's worry about that later; we're talking about Valentine's Day, after all.
Along with hearts and flowers, consider putting Macy's on your list, as it's a national sponsor of the American Heart Association's Go Red for Women campaign celebrating women's "energy, passion, and power" to wipe out heart disease.
From now until the 14th, a certain percentage of in-store sales of such items as an August Silk red cardigan and specially designed Donatella charm will go to Go Red for Women. In addition, for every Valentine sent through Macy's Facebook page, the company will donate $1 to the campaign, up to $250,000.
Is it important? You bet. Women are not immune from what was once considered a man's disease. As the American Heart Association reports:
• 90% of women have one or more risk factors for developing heart disease.
• Heart disease is the #1 cause of death of women 20 and older, killing one woman every minute.
So definitely go shopping, but also make time for some crafting with the kids, such as making a simple Valentine's bookmark. All you need to do is...
1. Cut a piece of pink or red card stock into a 7" x 2-1/2" rectangle.
2. Punch a hole near the top and thread with a pretty ribbon.
3. Decorate the bookmark with holiday-related pictures and/or stickers.
Then take a page from numerous elementary schools where children are celebrating this loving season by recognizing Random Acts of Kindness Week, February 14th to the 20th, and then continuing to pay it forward. You can't go wrong following suit.
And all the while you're out there crafting, shopping, and exchanging Valentine's gifts with loved ones, take heart with the American Heart Association's Life's Simple 7:
1. Get active.
2. Control cholesterol.
3. Eat better.
4. Manage blood pressure.
5. Lose weight.
6. Reduce blood sugar.
7. Stop smoking.
Keep laughing too, as it's good for both heart and soul. At the same time, heed the warning signs of a "broken" heart, and call 911 immediately if you experience:
• Chest discomfort;
• Discomfort in other areas of the upper body;
• Shortness of breath;
• And can include breaking out in a cold sweat, nausea, or lightheadedness.
In other words, make this a happy but also heart-healthy Valentine's Day--chocolates and all. No regrets.
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In the past, whenever it's Valentine's Day, everybody seems to have a sweet tooth. Chocolates coming from lovers are a common thing, and all people enjoy eating them. Nowadays, people are more health conscious and keep their bodies in check during the holidays. That's why if you can't help indulging on sweets this Valentine's Day, then make room for some healthy Valentine's food to offset the gained weight.
It's really not that hard to include some healthy add-ons to the Valentine's meal you have prepared for your loved ones. If you follow some of these tips, I bet they really wouldn't mind the change at all. Whether it's just between you and your sweetie, with the family, or a Valentine's party, you can employ some innovative cooking sense to make a leaner meal.
Starting off, while the Valentine's food is baking in the oven, you can present some healthy snacks that everyone can enjoy eating. Most of the time, these snacks are cookies or candies, but for a change, how about serving a tray full of veggies and fruit? The vegetables can be topped with your favorite cream cheese for good flavor, or some Ranch dressing. Fruits can be accompanied also by flavored fruit dips or yogurt flavors like strawberry and peach, which works quite the same.
If you're serving chicken as a Valentine's food appetizer, instead of the usual chicken wings, you can opt in with some breaded chicken chucks. It's basically the same chicken, but the difference is the calories saved when you're using boneless and skinless chicken breasts rolled in batter. To increase your metabolism even more, how about serving the chicken chunks with some hot sauce? The heat will definitely up your appetite as well as increase your metabolic rate, essential in keeping slim.
For salads, there's a good alternative for croutons and that's to use cubed pieces of wheat bread for more fiber. Wash them with a little butter before baking them in the oven. You'll be amazed at how wheat bread can still add a little crunch to the salad even though with less fat than your regular croutons. And for more advanced tactics, try adding a sprinkle of shelled sunflower seeds into the mix. That would definitely make the salad crunch even more.
Vegetable haters are the worst, but you can trick them into eating some healthy Valentine's food by hiding the vegetables in tasty soups. Valentine's Day calls for a simple serving of vegetable, chicken noodle or tomato soup. Just remember though that you should pattern the soup type to the meal you'll be serving. Anyways, the point is that other than being a healthy vegetable hider, soups will fill you up quickly without much eating on your part.
The Valentine's food main course is the hardest part because it's really difficult to eat healthy when there's a holiday festivity going on. This doesn't exclude Valentine's Day because it's real hard to monitor everything when you're too busy enjoying yourself. However, if you stick with lean cuts of meat from beef, pork or chicken, I guess you'll do very fine. As an alternative, you can also use seafood in preparing the main meal of the day, depending on what you think would be most enjoyable to eat.
Healthy Valentine's food means healthy ingredients and that mostly mean low-fat alternatives. If your recipe calls for heavy cream, sacrifice a bit of taste by going for some light cream. Try avoiding using much salt on the recipes and just add a little bit of seasoning to highlight the flavor of the meal.
Food for Valentine's Day can be very healthy too. All it takes is a little know-how of alternatives and of course, a bit of knowledge in preparing them. Besides, if you love someone, you would want to make sure he or she lives long enough for you to celebrate more Valentine's Days together. And that reason certainly calls for good health food to eat even in this sweet holiday.
February 14 is definitely a very perfect day where you can cook some Valentine's food.Source:
