Valentine’s Day is a real pressure cooker of stress—expectations, romance, gifting and New Year’s resolutions. That’s right. Coming only six weeks into the new year, February 14th is often smack dab in the middle of people’s diets. And diets and holidays don’t typically mix. Diets and romance are hard to mix, too. Well, not any more! I’ve scoured the internet for some very romantic and healthy meals you can make at home to stick to your healthy lifestyle and celebrate ole Saint Valentine in style.
Simple salad
This is some intense salad making. She really gets into the details here, which I love. And I dig the basic dressing and how exacting she is with the ratio measurements. You can simplify this for yourself and pick up a bag of mixed greens or only do one green. But, don’t mess around with the dressing. It’s perfection. Make a huge batch of it and save it to use throughout the week.
Roast chicken
This is Glamour’s famed engagement chicken. The story goes that an assistant at Glamour made this chicken for her boyfriend and he proposed soon after. Then, three other women at the magazine made the chicken for their boos and got rings. So, Glamour printed the recipe in their magazine and 70 women from around the country wrote in to say they’d gotten engaged after making their men this chicken. I’m not saying this recipe will take you down the aisle, but a nice, perfectly cooked, lemony chicken sure can’t hurt the cause.
Roast potatoes
If you don’t think Jamie Oliver is cute as a button, I think we might have nothing in common. He’s so adorable! And his recipes are dynamite. Check out how he makes roast potatoes taste even better than normal. I love how focused on texture he is, too. That combo of crunch and creaminess just can’t be beat. Pick any one of these as a side dish for your special meal.
Sautéed greens
A nice dark leafy green is part of nearly every healthy diet, so this dish is a must serve. You can make this with spinach, like she does in the video, or another green, like kale or collard greens. The flavors and techniques translate perfectly to a variety of greens. Just sauté heartier greens for a bit longer.
Green tea macarons
Even when you’re watching what you eat, you can’t skip dessert on Valentine’s Day. So, here’s a healthy-ish take on dessert. Green tea has restorative properties that are beneficial to the body, but what’s really great about these macarons is that they’re really small. So, it’s easy to just have a bite and indulge without feeling like you’re wasting food or denying yourself a full dessert.
Happy Valentine’s Day and happy healthy living!
ARIES.
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ARIES.
(March 20 - April 19):
A timely conversation with a friend or a pep talk with a colleague gets you up and over that hurdle today.TAURUS.
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Valentine's Day is right around the corner. I’d love to wax poetic about how romantic the holiday is, and I do think it is, but the truth is most people view Valentine’s Day with dread and anxiety. And even though I’m a total softy and romantic at heart, I can’t blame them! Valentine’s Day is fraught with emotion, expectation and, all too often, disappointment. So, the big question is…to avoid the negative parts of Valentine’s Day, should you just straight up tell your man what you want on Valentine’s Day? Some people will tell you no, but I’m going to say a big old YES! Yeah, you should tell your fellow what would make you happy on Valentine’s Day. Here’s why.
He’s not a mind reader
Your man is a lot of things, but I’m guessing he’s not a psychic. (If he is, then I guess just skip this paragraph. Actually, skip this whole post! It doesn’t apply to you.) Even if he is the person who knows you best in the entire world and you’ve been together for umpteen years, there is no way he knows 100% of what you’re thinking and feeling. So, instead of expecting the impossible from him, why not give him a break and let him know what would make your Valentine’s Day as special as possible? Sometimes you need to teach people how to show their love for you in the way you appreciate most. Just because they needed that lesson, it doesn’t mean their love for you is any less or greater.
Screw surprise
Who cares if the nice thing your dude does for you is a surprise or not? I sure don’t. I just care that he did it. The not knowing about it before it happens isn’t the important part of a romantic gesture. The effort and emotion behind it are. Guessing what you want and surprising you with it is just the same as knowing what you want and giving it to you exactly how you expect it. He still wants to make you feel great, which is all that counts! So, don’t value surprise as much and your Valentine’s Day will be a much happier and emotionally healthier holiday.
Romance is as romance does
Yeah, I don’t quite get what that means either. But, it worked when Forrest Gump’s mom said it. So, I’m assuming it works here. Basically, you get to decide what’s romantic to you. Just because Hallmark and Kay Jewelers and romantic comedies tell us that in order to be our soul mate, a man has to know our deepest desires before we do and surprise us with special treats to be romantic, that doesn’t mean that it’s the truth. You can decide that your system of telling him what you want and then him giving it to you is romantic. And guess what? It really is! You’re not cheating here. You’re just taking back the definition of romance. Empowering, right?
So, happy Valentine’s Day to everyone. And in case you’re wondering what I want for Valentine’s Day, I’ll tell you! A home cooked meal and a big box of dark chocolate would make my V-Day complete. Anyone going to make it happen for me?
