This is an epic collaboration with our blog partner Celebrate Health! And yes, we have a discount for you below! YAY!
Ooo-lala Valentine’s Day is just around the corner. We’re all for the day, as it celebrates LOVE… and love always wins. Love over everything, yah? Yah!
Partner love, parent love, pet love, friend love, food love, yoga love, pilates love, bliss love… SELF LOVE!
All. The. Love.
Should we say love again? LOVE!
If you don’t have plans for Valentine’s Day… do not fret (funny word), cuz we got you covered! Either… you can come with us to see 50 Shades Darker (we know, it’s a terrible movie, what is it about it though?) OR actually, a better idea is to make a healthy, yum-as, love-themed dinner for your favourite person. And yes… that person can be YOU.
But if you have another favourite person, liiiiike your lover, your partner, your bestie, your mum, whoever… then maybe invite them too!
OUR ADVICE: ladies (because we know it’s mostly ladies reading) with a lover… send this very blog post to your love and give them an ever-so-not-actually-yes-definitely-obvious-hint that THIS could be a nice idea for Valentine’s Day. If you don’t ask… you don’t get 😉
We’ve made our dinner LOVE themed (duh), which means it’s all share-style. These are the best kinds of dinners because you get a bit of everything and sharing is caring.
SPECIAL LOVE DISCOUNT
You can LITERALLY have this ready to go in under an hour with the help of all the Celebrate Health products… and we love them even more this month because they’re giving all of YOU 20% off EVERYTHING when you use code: VALENTINES20
Check out the store here and use the code (expires 1 March 2017) and sign up to their Newsletter so you ALWAYS get the latest on products and promotins!
Okie dokie, karaoke… let’s get this love din dins started.
Step 1: the setting
It’s all about first impressions, right? Well, no this isn’t Tinder… if it was, you’d swipe right though, right? 😉 But a little effort into the ambience and mood of a room can go a long way we say!
SO… clean (we can hear the groans from here… at least tidy) your house (or at least the area you’ll be dining in). A clutter free area always wins and will create a calm and relaxed feel.
Make a playlist! Or take the easy way out, the hot hits playlist on Spotify is #winning at the moment and it’s got a collection of fun, upbeat as well as slow and lovey-dovey songs.
Make the table pretty! We vote create a cute centrepiece with crystals and sparkles. Use a mix of patterned plates to bring in some fun! AND of course… candles for the win! Make sure they’re unscented as scented candles can funk with the taste of your dinner (true story!).
Dim the lights. Because…. romance.
OUR ADVICE TO REALLY WOO: add a bunch of pretty blooms to the table (could double as a Valentines gift!).
Step 2: arrival drinks
Ha! We’re getting all formal on you! But we reckon it’s always fun to have options to offer. We’re not talking white, red or beer (but totally do that if you want), we’re talking waters! We always have coconut water, sparkling water or normal water on hand. Because FUN and freaking yum and good for you. Add some fresh lime or lemon and your guest will be refreshed and ready to rock.
OUR ADVICE TO REALLY WOO: take it up a notch and offer a healthy-as cocktail… we vote the watermelon cooler because it’s pink.
Step 3: dinner time
Ok, the setting is perfect, the drinks are delish and conversation is flowing… this healthy Valentine’s Day dinner is going down a treat! But what’s for dinner? AKA probably the most important part! Well… except for dessert!
We say… keep it quick and easy, it’s a school night after all so we don’t have THAT much time to prepare (unless you take the day off then that really is going above and beyond… go YOU!). Ok back to the menu.
We vote make 2 main dishes (and yep, we’re using our cheat card and going for recipe bases!) along with a side of amazing quinoa, roasted pumpkin and steamed greens.
Here we have Butter Chicken and Teriyaki Chicken with Tomato and Basil Quinoa. Using the Celebrate Health Bases and Quinoa mix, this main meal took us under 30 minutes to make.
And the taste: seriously restaurant quality.
Pick some seasonal greens, steam them and top with sesame seeds and chilli flakes because #fancy.
As for the pumpkin, simply coat with a little oil, paprika, cinnamon and salt and bake for 30 minutes on 180°C (350°F).
How could you not impress with this AMAZING healthy Valentine’s Day dinner.
OUR ADVICE TO REALLY WOO: leftovers? Package up a take home lunch box for your lover. Uhh… how cah-UTE!
Step 4: dessert
Ok… it’s come to that time of the night… aka the BEST time of the night… we’re talking healthy dessert! Nothing beats healthy shared fondue for a Valentine’s Day dessert. The perfect opportunity for a Lady and the Tramp moment (you know… the one where they grab the same piece of spaghetti and end up kissing? Like that could totally happen with strawberries. Just saying.)
Here’s our recipe for our 5 minute easy as fondue… and yes… cute fruit shapes are compulsory.
OUR ADVICE TO REALLY WOO: make the fondue together! And be sure to feed each other the fruit because that’s adorable.
Step 5: the goodbye
Ok, dinner was amazing, dessert, even better… but it’s nearly midnight! So Cinderellas it’s time to get home to bed… buuuut… if things go really well and it’s a sleep over kinda night (oh this IS getting serious!), have some Rice and Quinoa Cereal ready to go in the morning for brekky in bed. Top with leftover fruit from the fondue, your choice of milk and you are seriously ticking all the boxes. We don’t really recommend eating brekky in bed, especially cereal… that could get messy.
OUR ADVICE TO REALLY WOO: morning kisses and cuddles.
Alright all you lovers out there… you wanna know the most important thing about this healthy Valentine’s Day dinner? You don’t have to wait for Valentine’s Day! You can do this ANY night of the year. We all have an infinite amount of love to give… so we may as well sprinkle that stuff all over the place like endless love heart confetti!
Remember, if you want to re-create all this goodness, use code VALENTINES20 over at the Celebrate Health store!
Sending out LOVE to you! Because… we truly, rooly love you!
Always merrymaking,
Emma + Carla