5 Tips on Taking a Healthy Approach to Valentine’s Day

For some, Valentine’s Day may mark the beginning of the end of those healthy New Year’s Resolutions. Perhaps it’s a fancy, decadent four-course dinner; a special box of chocolates from a loved one; baking red and white cupcakes for your kids’ school; or just the temptation of the candy aisle.

One thing is for sure, Valentine’s Day is not known for being the healthiest or most sustainable of holidays!

But here’s a thought: isn’t the best way to express your love to a significant other, friend, or family member to show them you care about their health and well-being?

You don’t have to get caught up in the commercialized idea of Valentine’s Day – all the candy, the eating, the sugary treats. You can do the opposite. You can celebrate love by celebrating health, compassion, sustainability, and making choices that just feel great. Here are a few ideas for doing just that:

1. Get out and do something active together. Go for a walk, play tennis, go snowshoeing, or even just hit the gym for 30 minutes. The point is to spend time together doing something you both enjoy…and that’s good for your heart!
2. Do something good for others. Show some love to animals, the planet, or other people through an organized volunteer activity or a simple, impromptu litter pick-up. Help out at an animal sanctuary, make a donation to a charitable organization in a loved one’s name, or just ensure that your celebrations are cruelty-free. You’ll certainly spread some love, and feel great about doing it.
3. Don’t make the meal the focus of the day. There’s nothing wrong with going out and enjoying a nice meal together, but there’s no need to get carried away just because it’s a holiday. If you want to split a dessert or have that second glass of wine, just make sure it fits into the context of a healthy and balanced day, week, month, and lifestyle of physical activity and healthy eating.
4. You don’t have to buy candy this year. Just because it comes in a heart-shaped box doesn’t mean candy is the ultimate expression of true love. Most conventional Valentine’s Day assortments are filled with animal products, high fructose corn syrup, food coloring, and tons of other junky ingredients. Even if you happen to find a more wholesome assortment, you’re still giving your loved one a big heart-shaped box of sugar. If you want some high-quality dark chocolate, have it. But don’t buy into the convention that candy means love.
5. Don’t wait for a holiday. Don’t wait for a holiday to show the people in your life how much you care. Every day, prioritize making your loved ones feel valued and appreciated. Gifts and flowers are not required. Simply preparing (or sharing) a healthy meal together, showing interest in life events, and being generous with praise for notable efforts and accomplishments go a long way toward building a strong, healthy relationship and a robust emotional bank account.

Do you have some other great ideas for celebrating Valentine’s Day in a healthy, planet-friendly way? We’d love to hear about them (in the comments section below).

Learn How to Cook Plant-Based Meals at Home

Reducing your meat intake and eating more plant-based foods is known to help with chronic inflammation, heart health, mental well-being, fitness goals, nutritional needs, allergies, gut health, and more! Unfortunately, dairy consumption also has been linked to many health problems, including acne, hormonal imbalance, cancer, and prostate cancer, and has many side effects. 

For those interested in eating more plant-based, we highly recommend purchasing one of our many plant-based cookbooks or downloading the Food Monster App which has thousands of delicious recipes making it the largest vegan recipe resource to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy! And, while you are at it, we encourage you to also learn about the environmental and health benefits of a plant-based diet.

Here are some resources to get you started:

• Weekly Vegan Meal Plans
• Plant-Based Health Resources
• Plant-Based Food & Recipes
• The Ultimate Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition
• Plant-Based Nutrition Resources
• Budget-Friendly Plant-Based Recipes
• High Protein Plant-Based Recipes
• Plant-Based Meal Prep

Easy Ways to Help the Planet:

• Eat Less Meat: Download Food Monster, the largest plant-based Recipe app on the App Store, to help reduce your environmental footprint, save animals and get healthy. You can also buy a hard or soft copy of our favorite vegan cookbooks.
• Reduce Your Fast Fashion Footprint: Take initiative by standing up against fast fashion Pollution and supporting sustainable and circular brands like Tiny Rescue that raise awareness around important issues through recycled zero-waste clothing designed to be returned and remade over and over again.
• Support Independent Media: Being publicly funded gives us a greater chance to continue providing you with high-quality content. Please consider supporting us by donating!
• Sign a Petition: Your voice matters! Help turn petitions into victories by signing the latest list of must-sign petitions to help people, animals, and the planet.
• Stay Informed: Keep up with the latest news and important stories involving animals, the environment, sustainable living, food, health, and human interest topics by subscribing to our newsletter!
• Do What You Can: Reduce waste, plant trees, eat local, travel responsibly, reuse stuff, say no to single-use plastics, recycle, vote smart, switch to cold water laundry, divest from fossil fuels, save water, shop wisely, Donate if you can, grow your food, volunteer, conserve energy, compost, and don’t forget about the microplastics and microbeads lurking in common household and personal care products!