Blog

Happy Valentine’s Day

How are you spending today?? We are recovering from the massive snow storm of 2014 and anxiously awaiting 60-70 degree weather that is headed our way next week.

In the meantime, we have consistently had about 8 kids in and out of the house with snow gear everywhere!!  On a day when they are usually in school exchanging valentines, candy hearts and high-fructose “treats” with their friends; all collected in decorated shoe boxes of red, white and pink hearts.

Our family tradition is always to have a special and of course healthy dinner in the dining room with the kids; usually followed up with a dark chocolate dessert, some sparkling cider and champagne. I am looking forward to this all happening tonight if I can get my car out to get to the store…especially the dark chocolate dessert!

Here is the deal with dark chocolate (always choose 70% cocoa of higher) and  why it is good for you…..

• a square of dark chocolate a day can lower blood pressure and reduced risk of heart attack and stroke by 39 percent. Most of the credit goes to flavonoids, antioxidant compounds that increase the flexibility of veins and arteries.
• it is good for your brain, has chemical compounds that positively influence your mood and improves blood flow.
• it helps keep blood vessels healthy and is low on the glycemic index helping to control blood sugar.
• it is loaded with antioxidants helping to ward off damage from free radicals.
• dark chocolate is loaded with vitamins and minerals like potassium, copper, magnesium and iron.

Did you also know that for Valentine’s Day the average consumer spends $116; the average number of children conceived is 11,000; 180 million cards are exchanged, 2.2 billion is spent at jewelry stores; the average number of roses produced is 196 million; and the top things that money is spent on are candy, flowers, cards and dining out.???!!

So, how do you spend Valentine’s Day? What do you do to celebrate that special someone or someoneS in your life?