Top 10 Healthy Celebration Ideas For Valentine’s Day
Namita Nayyar (WF Team)
Valentine’s Day is a celebration of the love you share with your friends, family, and loved ones. None of us would like to jeopardize the days with wrong eating and end up paying through health problems. A minor dietary mishap is only a bump in the road and should not derail your efforts.
Focus on spending quality time with your friends and loved ones instead of food and candy. Trying a new activity together is a great way to share time with family and friends. If you want to enjoy Valentine’s Day candy have smaller portions.
Opt for cooking a meal at home instead of dining out to relieve the frustrations that come with crowded restaurants and save you money. It also allows you to control portion sizes and calories. Whether it’s splitting a steak for two, sharing an Italian meal or preparing an impressively presented whole fish or fowl for your valentine, cooking a romantic meal is a time-honored way to show you care.
Surprise your body and learn something new together to keep things fun and your fitness on track. Have you never taken a spin or Pilates class? How about partner yoga? Never go cross-country skiing or hiking? What are you waiting for? Regardless of your relationship status, physical activity releases mood-boosting endorphins, which will lighten your spirits. Whether enjoying a group fitness class or a workout on your own, adding physical activity to your Valentine’s Day is the way to go. You can change things up by going salsa dancing. Besides being an easy way to burn calories, salsa is like flirting on the dance floor. From the rhythmic Latin beats to all that hip-shaking, things are guaranteed to get hot.
Share your meal with your loved one: Think of food as fuel, not as a gift, which means passing on food that’s high in fat and sugar, and taking just half of the portion you’d normally heap on your plate. Also, keep the tank half-full at all times with several small, healthy meals. If you never get famished, you’ll make wise choices with your head, not your belly. So have more dates over more meals, but share one portion!
Serve a motivation for each other towards health and fun-filled ideas of celebrating Valentine’s day. Put one sneaker in front of the other. Trick yourselves by just getting dressed for it, putting on your favorite workout music, and not thinking about what you’re about to do. If you take it one step at a time, before you know it, you’ll finish the cool-down and feel amazing. Maybe even have enough energy left for cuddling!
A couple massage would be a good choice for you and him. It will help you both relax, offer relief from stress, and ease muscle soreness that comes from exercise or the demands of the day.
Plan a perfect picnic. Plan your picnic basket and invite your loved ones to join you for a memorable picnic. Pack in some, thin, whole-grain pita chips, organic mini carrots, celery sticks and sliced cumbers for dipping. homemade creamy dips, seasonal fruit, sliced watermelon, raspberries, blueberries, cherries, and/or grapes. San Pellegrino flavored sparkling waters, a thermos of hot tea or hot chocolate, or try Sauvignon Blanc or Pinot Noir if you prefer wine. If desired, bring ice. Chocolates, preferably dark chocolate. Not only is chocolate the perfect dessert for a light picnic, but chocolate packs antioxidants that are good for fighting all kinds of diseases and in promoting good skin health. Don’t forget an empty bag for trash. Setting up a cricket or football match will add to the excitement.
Draw a sense of intimacy by doing yoga stretches together either in a garden or a yoga class. Work together to create one beautiful pose. Like a single body, the yoga couple must give cues as to what feels good and what tension is right or wrong. Once the pose is reached, each partner should hold the pose, breathe into it, and share his/her thoughts. Try stretching together by sitting on the floor, facing each other with your legs in a wide straddle. Put your heels up against his, and hold hands. Gently pull towards your partner, while keeping your tailbone to the ground. Feel the deep stretch along your hamstrings and inner thighs. Widen your arms to adjust to your flexibility. Be sure to ask each other how the pressure feels. Once you’ve reached your maximum stretch, hold here. Take deep breaths in through your nose, and lean in a little deeper with each exhale. Stay here for 10 breaths.
An aromatic bath is a great way to begin a romantic night with your loved one. Create an oasis in your bathroom by using only fragrance-free candles for lighting, or a diffuser for essential oils. To create a sensual bath, you’ll need a carrier oil such as olive oil, and then your choice of sandalwood, rose, ylang ylang, patchouli, neroli, or jasmine. You can find essential oils at most health stores. Choose your oils based on their properties and the fragrance that appeals to you.
Choose Valentine’s Day as a time to reflect. Prepare a warm bed, and light the room. Lie back closely cuddled and reflect upon the good times you have shared. In the hard, time-pressed present scenario one is left lost and lonely. Mark out Valentine’s Day as an occasion to reflect upon the sweet memories that will serve you as emotional support in the long run. All of us have memories of our mother father siblings and friends, now is the time to refresh them and bridge up the gap.
In case you are planning a Valentine’s party go for a red theme with rose petals, balloons, and candles. Work out games like cross-linking, cupid, etc to add on to the excitement.
