Valentine’s Day is coming up soon! Here are a few ideas to make the day a bit special along with some recipes for a stimulating breakfast and for an interesting dinner one that is a bit different but not too hard to make.
Fruit Bouquet
In place of flowers, opt for a tasty bouquet of fruit cut into the shapes of flowers. Include oranges, cantaloupes, honeydew melons, grapes and strawberries. For a touch of sweetness, include some chocolate-dipped fruits in your bouquet. If you’d prefer a fruit bouquet with a handmade touch, cut up chunks of fruit yourself, spear them on toothpicks or skewers and arrange them in a bowl or vase. Candy melts are an easy way to make your own chocolate-dipped fruits as well.
Breakfast in Bed
Sneak out of bed early on Valentine’s Day and provide a healthy surprise breakfast. You can give nearly any favorite breakfast food a special twist for the day. Purchase toast stamps that allow you to spell out messages like “I Love You” on your toast. With a heart- or kiss-shaped cookie cutter, give a special shape to pancakes, scones, waffles and sausage patties. Use a mold for heart-shaped eggs as well. A touch of pink or red is another way to color the meal.
Romantic Recipes
Serve romantic recipes that are hot and healthy
Spice up your romance
First, make it hot! Studies show that spicy foods can raise your heart rate, cause flushing, and generally mimic some of the effects of sexual stimulation. For centuries, chiles and other heat-inducing ingredients have been added to love potions and other sensual aids to increase desire.
Aphrodisiac appeal
What’s a better aphrodisiac than showing someone that you love them enough to prepare deliciously healthy foods? Pomegranates, those exotic fruits containing a multitude of sensual, fleshy seeds inside a thick rind, not only offer the luscious crimson color but also come packed with antioxidants and phytochemicals to keep you in top lovin’ form.
Quick-cooking is key
Brown rice offers all the benefits of a whole grain, and the parboiled “quick cooking” kinds make preparing it quick and easy as all of these strategies will come to naught if you’re spending all evening in the kitchen making supper instead of spooning morsels into each other’s mouths. And, come to think of it, facing a train-wrecked kitchen after dinner can be a surefire mood killer as well.
For your interesting and different dinner, try this hot and spicy romantic recipe on your honey for Valentine’s Day. It’s sweetly spicy, inherently healthy, and couldn’t be easier to prepare or clean up. Piri-Piri is an African term for hot and spicy. Control the amount of fire by adjusting the amount of cayenne pepper. This recipe is presented as mild-to-medium heat. Happy lovin’!
Piri-Piri Pomegranate Chicken
Serves 2
Ingredients:
- 1 cup parboiled brown rice
- 1 cup water or broth
- 2 to 3 pieces of chicken
- 1/2 cup ketchup
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons pomegranate molasses
- 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic, chopped
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne
- Salt to taste
- 18 to 20 Brussels sprouts, trimmed with shallow “x” cut into stem end
- 1-1/2 cups baby carrots, halved
- 1 cup oyster mushrooms, sliced thickly
- 1/2 pomegranate, seeded
- Fresh parsley
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Spray inside of 2-quart Dutch oven and lid with olive oil.
- Pour rice into pot and add liquid. Stir gently to coat grains and smooth into an even layer. Set chicken pieces in next in a single layer.
- In a small bowl, mix together ketchup, honey, molasses, lemon juice, garlic and cayenne pepper. Drizzle 1/2 mixture over top of chicken.
- Drop in Brussels sprouts and carrots. Pour the rest of the mixture over all. Top with mushrooms and pomegranate seeds.
- Cover and bake for about 45 minutes, or about 3 minutes after the aroma wafts from the oven.
Notes:
You can use any combination of boneless, bone-in, skinless, or skin-on chicken pieces in this recipe.
Look for pomegranate molasses in specialty or health food groceries.
