Tips for a Healthy Valentine’s Day: Dining In or Out

Just when we’ve recovered from our holiday feasts, Valentine’s Day is here, tempting us with unhealthy treats and lavishly rich dinners. But, Valentine’s Day doesn’t have to derail your diet. A healthy Valentine’s Day is possible if you go with these tips:

Quality over Quantity

If your Valentine is a chocolate lover, ditch the store-bought box and go for some all natural dark chocolate from a local shop. Although chocolate usually gets a bad rap, it’s not as terrible for you as some dieticians make it out to be. Dark chocolate has some surprising health benefits; it can help lower blood pressure, control blood sugar and prevent type two diabetes, besides the obvious benefit of delicious taste! Chocolate is a classic gift that never goes out of style.

A thoughtful tip for a healthy Valentine’s Day: Instead of getting a big box of over-processed, high sugar chocolates that everyone else buys, find a local chocolate shop and get your special someone a small box of hand crafted artisan dark chocolates. They’ll appreciate you taking the time to find something sweet that’s truly unique!

Go for Grilled!

Whether you’re staying in to cook or going out for dinner, try grilled lean meats like fish or chicken. Remember that one serving of meat is around 3-4 oz, about the size of your palm. If the rest of your day has been filled with sweets, go light on the dinner and don’t over do it. As tempting as a 12 oz steak may be, it is too nutritionally dense for a day like Valentine’s Day. Pair a serving of lean protein with roasted veggies, they will fill you up and leave you feeling satisfied.
Also, if you have a choice of a starter salad, choose a lighter vinaigrette dressing over creamy dressings like ranch or caesar.

Share Dessert

Another one of my tips for a healthy Valentine’s Day is sharing dessert. Most bakeries will sell cake and pie by the slice. You can pick up a single slice of cake to share after dinner. Or, share a specialty dessert at a nice restaurant. Most restaurants’ portion sizes for dessert are too big to begin with, so sharing is a great way to cut back.

Get Some Exercise Together!

If you’re looking for a fun activity to do that doesn’t require spending a lot of money, take your Valentine out for some good old fashioned exercise! Go on a hike, try a new class or just walk around the city – being active is a fun way to spend time together. And of course, if you really want to show your loved one that you care, what better way than with a free personal training session with yours truly?