By Rachael Schultz
I have a love/hate relationship with Valentine’s Day. I think it’s silly that there is a single day devoted to love because if you’re in love, you’re probably expressing it the other 364 days of the year. And it makes your guy think that if they do well on Valentine’s Day—bringing you flowers and chocolates and taking you out to dinner—they’ve successfully gotten out of having to do anything like that for the rest of the year. There’s so much pressure on this one day when we should be showing others we love them every day.
On the other hand, I totally fall prey to the expectations Hallmark has put on this holiday and if my boyfriend doesn’t do anything on Valentine’s, I’ll be pissed. Yes, I think it’s dumb to have one day out of the year devoted to love but, hell, I’m in love so we better be celebrating along with everyone else!
But biggest problem with Valentine’s Day is the chocolate. I have a hard enough time convincing myself to skip the candy aisle as Hershey Kisses peek at me from the shelf so all restraint goes out the window if someone hands me a heart shaped box filled with caramels and butter creams. Plus, if your boyfriend is sweet enough to actually get you chocolates, you can’t be that girl who is too body-conscious to eat any of them.
So my advice for the big day is going out to all the guys: if your sweetheart is trying to avoid irresistible, calorie packed temptations, let her know you support her efforts by ditching the Russell Stover (which are 200 calories for 3 pieces, but who only eats 3?) and get—or make and really win her over—chocolate covered strawberries which are packed with Vitamin C and far more delicious than processed candies.
For the ladies, if you’re like me and can’t resist a holiday where it’s acceptable for you to bake to your heart’s content, Self.com has 12 delectable chocolate desserts—including chocolate torte and marble cheesecake—that are full of the chocolatey goodness V-day calls for but without the calories you’re dreading.
And if you want to go all out and make Hallmark proud, bake them in heart shape tins or arrange your raspberries on the Chocolate Angel Food Cake in the shape of a heart. It’s the one day out of the year you can get away with being just that cheesy.
So this Valentine’s Day, don’t feel guilty for giving in and enjoying the pointless day. You don’t even need to be in a relationship to have the excuse to frost everything in red and pink. Celebrate some sisterly love by giving your girlfriends these desserts that will make them want to date you, the bearer of guilt-free chocolate delights.
