Now you may be one of these people who are very skeptical about the value of Valentine’s Day. Sure, you could be one of those who thinks that romance should happen every day, and you shouldn’t need a special day to be prompted to show your affection!
To some extent I agree with you. Obviously, we all know, Valentine’s Day is manufactured and the push behind it is for you to spend money. Restaurants, food stores, cards, flowers, presents and gifts of all sorts, it’s just a modern money machine.
But that’s not the whole story. And it’s not just about your loved one either. It can be about love for your whole family. That’s what I want to emphasize here.
Don’t just look at Valentine’s Day as a corporate machine. Don’t just look at it as romantic meals with your partner. Look at it is a day where you can show your love for everyone in your family.
So what I’ve done here is put together some healthy and nutritious Valentine’s Day meal ideas for the whole family. These are suitable for adults and kids, and with relevant presentation really can make the day feel a little more special than the clichéd event around expensive red roses that it has in some ways become.
I’ll be spending this Valentine’s Day in the gym to be honest. I really got into working out recently, and even started a course of SARMs, which are supplements that can really help with your strength and endurance.
Don’t worry, I haven’t gone crazy, this is about health and fitness, and enhancing what I can achieve naturally. I’ve used natural bodybuilding supplements for years, to SARMs are just a step up.
All of the snacks if Valentine’s Day are also as healthy as I can make them. I’m trying to use natural sugar sources, natural ingredients, and plenty of protein. So they are healthy for the family, and healthy if you are trying to develop your body and mind
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1. Heart-Shaped Pizza
This is so beautifully simple that anyone can do it. You’ll just make some regular pizza dough, and then using either heart shaped cutter, or just a knife, you can cut it into a delicate heart-shaped.
Take it one step further, you could make mini heart-shaped pizzas as smaller snacks as part of a bigger Valentine’s meal.
Once you have created the heart-shaped dough pizza bases, then you can use a variety of traditional and non-traditional pizza toppings to appeal to all the family.
One point I would make is always use wholewheat (wholemeal) flower. That way the pizza dough is also more nutritious than refined white flour.
You can also use non-traditional heart-shaped pizza toppings. Why not try good quality chocolate, strawberries and other fruits? Pizza doesn’t just have to be savory.
2. Chocolate Covered Clementines
If you only want natural sugar, then clementines are a perfect way of getting that sweet hit.
But surely on Valentine’s Day, just like Christmas, you can push the boat out a little bit?
Get yourself some really good quality dark chocolate, and gently melt it. Then roll the clementines in it, and let them set. To make this easier, you can push a skewer through the center and pour the chocolate over.
Taking it a step further, break the clementines down into segments, and cover those in chocolate. That way they then form small treats as part of a bigger meal and aren’t quite as messy to eat.
3. Dark Chocolate Pancakes
Healthy doesn’t mean sacrificing everything. Good quality chocolate on occasion can be beneficial for the mind.
Just make yourself a regular pancake, and top it up with fresh fruit, honey, and drizzles of melted dark chocolate. Simple, beautiful to present, and everyone will love them.
4. Vanilla Berry Cupid Smoothie
This is a beautiful valentines drink that the whole family can enjoy, or just your special one if you want.
Why not use this to start off that special day, if you’ve got the day off together?
This very simple and consists of berries of your choice. I would recommend strawberries, raspberries, and a few blueberries. Then, I’d maybe add a little melon and banana traditional sweetness.
This is a little trick that I’ve learned through my bodybuilding. If you want to give a smoothie more body, without packing it so full of fruit or vegetables that it becomes undrinkable, you can buy unflavored protein shake powder.
One scoop of protein shake powder into around 2 pints of smoothie liquid will give it a thickness and smoothness. It’s a top trick for me, and it’s especially good if you are looking to up your protein because you are working out.
5. Tomatoes & Bocconcini
This is a great idea if you are your partner is more savory rather than sweet in taste. It’s an amazing but simple dish that can really start off a full Valentine’s meal.
It very simply consists of cherry tomatoes and diced bocconcini cheese. Sprinkle a bit of basil on the top and you are good to go. It’s a perfect accompaniment to white meat or fish.
To go a little further with it, you can slice the cherry tomatoes in half. This lets the juices out, and creates a slightly mushier, but juicy version.
Take it yet another step further, and mix in wholemeal pasta shapes. That way, you’ve got a meal on its own, or something more substantial to put on your plate.
6. Bonus: Watermelon & Strawberry Valentine Hearts Kebabs
Now put aside the word kebabs which doesn’t sound very attractive and sexy, and focus on the watermelon and strawberry.
This is an incredibly easy, but visually stunning way to produce something as part of larger buffet, or as part of the desert.
Get yourself a little heart-shaped cookie/cake cutter. Then buy to melon and some good quality large strawberries. You’ll also need some thin skewers. Wooden ones are better because they are usually thinner.
Create slices of watermelon about ¼ of an inch thick. Then use the cookie-cutter to create little watermelon heart-shaped.
To prepare the strawberries, cut out the green stalk, and then cut them in half. They then create a natural heart-shaped.
The final step is simply to put them on the skewer alternately, creating a beautifully red and juicy sweet kebabs.
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