 |
| Celebrate Valentine's Day and Nourish Your Heart! (photo by LivligaHome) |
Valentine's day dinner can provide a great stage for a romantic evening. With a little thought and planning it can provide the perfect environment for all the elements necessary for romance and a memorable evening. You can even be mindful of the food you prepare, how you prepare it and that it is healthy and within a certain calorie range. By planning ahead you can put the perfect evening in place. And once you have planned it, who says you can't repeat it? Romantic dinners can occur all year long!
 |
| Splurge on Flowers by Buying a Bunch at the Grocery Store (photo by LivligaHome) |
Set the stage- create a cozy, intimate environment. Set a table with the colors of romance- pink, red or lavender. Make sure to have candles. The more the better. And turn the over head lights down low. Splurge on a bouquet of flowers. Roses are the ultimate symbol of romance and Valentine's Day. Buy a bunch when you are at the grocery store. Then there is the music. Pick you favorite sexy music or get help from Spotify, Pandora or iTunes; they will all provide playlists suited to the mood you want for your special dinner.
Cocktails or Wine? Here is where we all get challenged when planning for a special evening. Often we tend to over indulge on the alcohol. This is where pre-planning is key. Over indulging is hard on our bodies from our mind to our liver. It also contributes an overload of calories. How to celebrate the evening, enjoy imbibing without becoming inebriated? We pick and choose. One choice- have a fun cocktail for starters and then choose a low calorie romantic drink for dinner like Perrier with a splash of Torani Sugar Free Raspberry Syrup served in champagne glasses with a raspberry at the bottom of the glass. This is a drink that can afford a refill...or two! Or you could choose- to do the reverse and have the Valentine Perrier drinks for starters and serve a half bottle of champagne or wine for dinner (buying a half bottle keeps you from overindulging).
The Menu- a great way to make it special is to pick a theme. This year I picked "French Bistro". French food goes hand-in-hand with romance. There are also certain foods that are considered an aphrodisiac like mussels and chocolate which are an added bonus in planning a meal.
Bistro-style Dinner
Pre-dinner Cocktail-- Fizzy Plum Bellini
Appetizer-- Steamed Mussels in Garlic and Shallots
Dinner-- Bistro Roasted Chicken, Pomme Frite with Chives, and Baby Greens with Balsamic Vinaigrette
Dessert--Fudgy Espresso Souffle with Raspberry Sauce and French Press Coffee
Creating a romantic dinner is about engaging all our senses from what we see and hear to what we smell and taste. It is all about the cues we send to our brain and the parts of the brain we stimulate. If we spend a little time planning and prepping we end up with an evening to remember. And as we know, romance is unbeatable for boosting our health.
Need Another Idea?: Reinforce the words of love, romance and inspiration by collecting Livliga's new dinnerware line--Celebrate: The Poetry of Life. Its stunning black and white design, reminicent of a French bistro, features etched drawings and poetry, fostering the sense of feeling good and imagining what is possible. Its time to Celebrate!
Enjoy! And Live Vibrant!
No comments