Healthy tips for Valentine's Day

WHILE Valentine's Day is a popular celebration in America, many Australians do make some sort of effort to tell their loved one that they are special on the 14th February.

I remember being at a restaurant one Valentine's Day and one of the diners proposed to his girlfriend that night, it was so lovely.

This is one of the biggest nights for restaurants, which can be a lot of fun. However many people prefer to make a romantic meal at home and avoid the crowds and long waits for food, so if you are planning to wine and dine someone special here are a few tips to remember if you want to celebrate and be healthy too:

• If you overload yourself with heavy creamy fatty food all you'll want to do at the end of the meal is sleep, which is not ideal if you have a big night planned.
• Garlic needs to be eaten by you both, rather than just one of you!
• Don't overdo the alcohol as this can turn a great night into a nothing night, so go light on the alcohol and not only will you have your wits about you but you will feel good in the morning too.
• Every girl loves flowers and chocolates for Valentine's Day but if your sweetheart is trying to lose weight or is a health nut then can I suggest that a very small box of chocolates is fine, but then include something such as a bottle of her favourite perfume as well.
• They say the most romantic foods to eat are oysters, asparagus, and bananas which contain chelating minerals and the bromelain enzyme, said to enhance the male libido. Also the aroma of almonds are supposedly great to arouse passion in females. Who would have thought?
• This is a special night so they say eating chocolate is a sure fire way to feel more joy and happiness. It's a chemical thing. Chocolate contains theobromine, a stimulating alkaloid similar to caffeine. Chocolate also helps the brain produce feel-good serotonin. The best choice is dark chocolate as it contains incredible amounts of antioxidants, whereas milk chocolate is just that: milk and sugar with trace amounts of cocoa.

Try my delicious Chocolate Mousse Pie recipe for dessert for those wishing to stay at home but also make sure the ambiance is romantic with candles, soft music and dim lights.

Annette's cookbooks SYMPLY TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE 1-6 are sold in all good newsagencies.

Visit Annette's website symplytoogood.com.au for more tips and recipes, and join Annette's Facebook page at Symply Too Good.

 

CHOCOLATE MOUSSE / PIE, RECIPE FROM SYMPLY TOO GOOD TO BE TRUE, BOOK 4 - SERVES 12

Base

• 12 low fat choc chip cookies (Paradise Lite®)
• 1 tablespoon (15g) Flora Light® margarine melted
• ¾ teaspoon skim milk
• Cooking spray

Filling

• 24 squares (100g) dark cooking chocolate
• 1 x 375ml can CHILLED evaporated light milk
• ½ teaspoon vanilla essence
• 2 tablespoons gelatine
• ¼ cup boiling water
• 2 x Jarrah Choc O Lait® sachets

Before starting, make sure your evaporated milk is CHILLED.  Place chilled canned milk into freezer for 1 hour before making filling.

To make base: In a food processor crumble biscuits. Add melted margarine and milk, process until combined. Coat a pie plate with cooking spray then spread biscuit mixture over base, pressing firmly. Refrigerate.

To make filling: In a small ceramic bowl melt chocolate in microwave on high temperature for one minute. Leave to sit in microwave while you prepare other ingredients. Make sure evaporated milk is very cold. In a large mixing bowl beat chilled milk and vanilla essence until really thick, using an electric beater. Add melted chocolate and blend well. Dissolve gelatine completely in boiling water then add Jarrah sachets, mix well. Pour mixture into milk, beat continuously until well combined. Pour mixture over biscuit base, refrigerate until set.

VARIATION: TO MAKE CHOCOLATE MOUSSE, OMIT BASE AND REDUCE GELATINE DOWN TO 1½ TABLESPOONS, SERVES 8.

Chocolate PIE - Nutritional Information
PER SERVE
FAT	TOTAL	4.5g
	SATURATED	2.2g
FIBRE		0.3g
PROTEIN		5.6g
CARBS		18.6g
SUGAR		12.4.g
SODIUM		90mg
KILOJOULES		573 (cals 136)
GI RATING		Low

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chocolate MOUSSE - Nutritional Information
PER SERVE
FAT	TOTAL	4.4g
	SATURATED	2.7g
FIBRE		0.2g
PROTEIN		7.2g
CARBS		15.0g
SUGAR		12.9.g
SODIUM		65mg
KILOJOULES		534 (cals 127)
GI RATING		Low