Eat your heart out.

FEB 14:
Eat your heart out.

As someone who has a major relationship with food, I see Valentines Day as yet another day to indulge my appetite. But still, not at the expense of feeling like a bloated python for the following week. You may scoff, but healthy can still be sexy.
Firstly, (if I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a thousand times) avoid wheat. That right sweet lips, no bread, pasta, cake or biscuits. A bloated belly, tummy ache and fuzzy head does not a sexy vixen make. So steer clear and instead choose low carb delicious whole foods that will actually help get you in the mood for love.

My most favourite loved up foods include:
• Oysters – especially good at giving you that loving feeling thanks to their high amounts of zinc.
• Strawberries – packed with vitamin C that helps stimulate libido in women. Strawberries also help relax blood vessels and promote blood flow.
• Dark chocolate – contains phenylethylamine (PEA) and serotonin. The same chemical produced in our brains when we fall in love.
• Asparagus – promotes the production of histamine a chemical that helps both men and women reach those highest of highs.
• Figs – full of trace elements like vitamin E and magnesium that are essential for sexual health.
• Watermelon – high in a compound that helps our bodies produce Nitric Oxide, a chemical that dilates our blood vessels. Very similar in action to that little blue pill starting with a V.
• Chilies – helps raise the heart rate and release endorphins, giving us a happy natural high.
• Red Wine – again with the nitric oxide production, but you can’t really get enough of this good thing when it comes to love.
• Salmon – high in omega 3 that helps raise dopamine levels and trigger arousal.
Personally, I’m planning my Valentines Day menu to look a little something like this, but shhh!!! Don’t tell Mr CH, it’s a surprise.

A VERY COSMO VALENTINES MENU
ENTRÉE
Raw oysters with a chili, lime and fresh coriander dressing.
MAIN
Crispy skinned salmon with cauliflower puree and grilled asparagus.
DESSERT
Fruit Platter with dark chocolate dip – watermelon, strawberries, figs and assorted nuts.

LEANDRA BRADY-WALKER is The Cosmopolitan Hippy. A Chiropractor, crunchy mummy, award winning small business owner and author of the books Cosmopolitan Hippy: A modern girl’s guide to being healthy and fabulous and Eat like a Cosmopolitan Hippy. She helps women find the balance between raging party girl and blissed out hippy, all while nourishing their inner goddess.
You can find her at her office at The Chiropractic Place, on instagram @cosmohippy, on the web www.cosmohippy.com.au and on Facebook for more fantastic health information.