A healthier Valentine’s Day is possible! Not only is it possible, it might even be better! If you know me, you know I love a good celebration. The kind of celebrating with lots of good food, good company, and great dessert. I am the last person to ever think of asking you to give up on celebrating one of the most celebrated holidays. However, I am asking you to think of Valentine’s Day a little differently so that you can do healthy living a little differently on Valentine’s Day + every day!
Tara’s Tuesday Tips:
Ideas for a Healthier Valentine’s Day
In 2020, Americans spent $2.4 billion on chocolate (according to NRF). Almost 60 million pounds of chocolate will be bought just this week. Hmmmmmm. If you love chocolate, go for it! Eat the chocolate. Today or any day. BUT … you don’t have to eat or buy chocolate in a red heart-shaped box if it isn’t your thing or you are looking to do things out of the heart-shaped box this year. If you love yourself or someone else, sometimes prioritizing your health is the best gift of all. So, I’ve got a few simple tips for keeping the balance this Valentine’s Day, vegetarian or not! It doesn’t matter if you are celebrating with a partner, friend, sibling, or your doggo.
Choose to Do Valentine’s Day Differently
Your health is a choice, like everything else. You don’t have to give up the fun of the day to choose a healthier way to celebrate! Give the people you love the best version of yourself. I know that the best version of me has had a large helping of healthy + colorful foods and some exercise. If you know this about yourself, make that a priority every day, even the busy holidays. If the best version of yourself has enjoyed a piece of chocolate or two, do that + don’t stress about it! Do Valentine’s Day differently this year by being at peace with your choice, chocolate or no chocolate. Check this out: What To Do After Overeating.
Gift an Experience Instead of a Snack
Instead of dinner or chocolate or treats, plan a picnic, hike, kayak adventure, bike ride, boat ride, or even a local 5K. Plan it, pack it, pay for it, and take your Valentine for a healthier Valentine’s Day outing. Read this: The Vegetarian’s Guide To Packing Food for a Hike.
Make Heart-Shaped Foods
Don’t laugh + don’t skip this one. Who doesn’t love their food cut into shapes. Young, old, and everyone in between loves their food in shapes, especially hearts! Sometimes the simplest gestures turn out to be the best celebration of all!
Love Makes You Healthy
Expressing gratitude has health benefits! Hugging someone or just being around someone you care for releases oxytocin and can make you feel better. You don’t need to have a significant other to have a valentine. Find someone you care about today + thank them, recognize them, or praise them. Come back + tell me how good that feels! Check this out: Hacks For a Healthy Holiday or Tips For A Merry Healthy Holiday.
Quality Time in the Kitchen
Doesn’t matter if your valentine is your daughter, son, mom, sibling, or significant other. Cooking together is a perfect way to have a healthier Valentine’s Day! Cooking at home is the main ingredient of a healthy meal! Check this out: How To Enjoy Cooking At Home.
Sweet + Healthy
You will never find advice for deprivation or restriction anywhere on this blog. Living harmoniously in the same house with foods that are triggers for you should be something you strive for. Take it from me, it is possible. However, if you aren’t quite there yet, don’t go crazy + indulge on all the heart-shaped candy you can find in one night just because it is heart day + heart-shaped candy is everywhere. Eat it if you love it but if not, try making a healthier dessert made with oat flour, applesauce, buckwheat flour, or bananas. Start here: Healthy Alternatives to Refined Sugar.
Give the Gift of Health
Did you ever think of using Valentine’s Day as an opportunity to show the people in your life some love by paying attention to your own wellbeing? Has someone in your life been nagging you to eat better, drink better, or get a little exercise? What better gift than taking this day of love to start loving yourself + embarking on that wellness journey? Start here: Five Minute Tips For A Healthy Heart or How To Eat For Heart Health or The Vegetarian’s Guide To Cancer Prevention or How To Eat To Prevent Diabetes.
Take it Outside
So many things happen in our brains + bodies that make us feel happy + loved when we go outside! Our brain’s feel-good neurotransmitters are called endorphins. Physical activity increases our brain’s production of these! Take your valentine on a walk or a ride or a run to bump up those endorphins. Cortisol levels (the stress hormones) go down when we are outside + we get a boost in vitamin D from the sun. It’s a win, win, win! Can’t find that in a box of chocolate!
Food For Thought
I know it can be stressful to try to stick to healthy or healthier habits when holidays come around. This blog was born out of my passion for helping people understand that there is a way to be healthy + not feel deprived. My best advice to enjoy today without derailing all of your healthy habits: don’t stress about it! Eat the chocolate if that makes you happy + move on! Take your love outside, cook with them, cut their food into heart shapes, and show them that you love yourself by prioritizing your health today + every day. Do Valentine’s Day a little differently, think outside the heart-shaped box ❣️
All the best,
Tara 💖
⭐Did you learn how to have a healthier Valentine’s Day? Leave a comment below!
📸I love to see your creations! Follow me on Instagram @myvegetarianfamily and hashtag it #myvegetarianfamily
📩Be sure to subscribe here to my weekly emails for tips + recipes so that you never miss a veggie thing!
