Big salads rule!
I love making salads in my huge Tupperware container. :)
The Big Salad:
- 1 heart organic romaine
- 1 cup chickpea stir fry (with zucchini, carrots, celery, sesame seeds)
- Vitality Sprouts (see below)
- 4-5 T salsa
- 1/2 red pepper
- EVOO + Red wine vinegar (dressing)
- Ground black pepper
- handful sunflower seeds
Nothing is better than a big salad!
The Vitality Sprouts from Whole Foods:
It dawned on me after I bought these that I could probably MAKE sprouts on my own…fairly easily? Anyone know how? :) What a fun little science experiment that would be.
Dessert: Organic dark chocolate chips x 2…or 3…
I am obsessed with chocolate lately. And Adore bars. Lock me up and throw away the key!
Valentine’s Day: Who Is It For?
Eric and I got into a discussion on Sunday about Valentine’s Day.
It is no secret that…
1) I love Valentine’s Day. I’m a huge romantic and I start thinking about it in early January!
2) Eric does not like Valentine’s Day and thinks it is a commercial holiday (I pout my lip when he says this!).
I agree about it being a commercial holiday, however I still love the fact that it is a day to devote entirely to your loved one. So many holidays are commercial now, but that doesn’t mean I can’t look forward to it anyways.
When I was single I would use the day as an excuse to spoil myself rotten. One single year I sent myself flowers and I smiled all week. It is all in the perspective.
Eric claims that Valentine’s Day is for women. In other words, men just kind of go along with the motions of the gifts, roses, etc., but they don’t really anticipate it as much as women do. Eric’s male coworkers are his reference group for his scientific survey. ;)
While he does enjoy Valentine’s Day, he thinks that we could celebrate our love on any day we wanted to. He is a person who likes to do things on his own terms and not feel outside pressure to do something. One rule we have is that I told him not to buy me flowers on V-Day. He did a couple times and I found out the price and we agreed to buy them when they were 1/4 the price (and in good shape!).
So the question remains…Is Valentine’s Day for women, men (let’s be real, they get something out of it too!), or both? How do you feel about it? If you are attached, how does your partner feel about it (honestly)?
I have found men who didn’t know how to kiss.
I’ve always found time to teach them.
~ by Mae West ~
Those are sunflower seeds?! They’re so tiny!
I wouldn’t say valentines day is just for women, but I do agree it’s a commercial holiday. But hey, it’s a good excuse to get chocolate :D
nope those are sesame seeds..you can’tsee the sunflower seeds in the pic b/c I put them in after haha
That is my kind of salad!
I would have to agree with Eric.
I think it sets women up for disappoinment when men don’t live up to the commerrcial expectation…..
I think that like everything else V-Day can definitely be too commercialized and people can start to feel the pressure. It’s never been a day that I have looked forward to but I always make the best out of it. Last year when I worked in a HUGE office, every time flowers would come in, myself and my cubemate would be like, “Oh I’ll take them right over here! It’s me you’re looking for!!!” Making a joke of it made the day more tolerable for a single girl.
I really want to love Valentine’s Day but I think it creates unreal and too high expectations on both men and women. My husband (like yours) doesn’t really like the holiday and we never do too much. Each year I expect (well maybe more like wish) that we do something super romantic but that never really comes about. I love the idea of having a day devoted to your loved one but I think if a couple can create a great tradition for that day then it helps to get rid of some of the pressure that comes along with Valentine’s Day.
PS. I love the idea that if your single it’s a day to spoil yourself.
I’m definitely not a Valentine’s day kinda girl–I’d rather be surprised with fun things at random times of the year and I really don’t like the getting of flowers/chocolates/romantic cards! Thank goodness the husband is just as anti-Valentine’s day as me. We also have my birthday in January, his in March, and our getting-together and wedding anniversary in April, so Valentine’s is just too much for us.
Having said that, we usually have a nice meal at home on that day anyway, just because it’s a good excuse to buy and drink fancy wine :-)
I just made my first batch of alfalfa sprouts. It was so easy and made a huge jar of them. (They are almost gone two days later) You can buy a jar with a mesh lid for sprouting at your local health food store, and you can also buy seeds for sprouting. I’ve been wanting to do this for a long time and I can’t believe I didn’t do it sooner.
I don’t think either me or my boyfriend really care about valentines, for us it is just an excuse to go out to a fancy dinner!
For my hubby and me it is a chance to splurge on ourselves in a way that we wouldn’t do on just any other day. We plan things to do together – this year a weekend at a Bed & Breakfast – so there is no pressure on either one of us to plan an amazing surprise that the other will just love since we’re planning something together that is guaranteed ;)
Here’s a video that shows you how to make sprouts. I was tempted to make them myself except I haven’t searched for any seeds yet.
http://meghantelpnerblog.com/2009/09/24/sprout-sprout-let-it-all-out/
Love your blog. I just found it a couple of weeks ago! I’m going to try making the crunchy quinoa cereal this weekend if I can find the ingredients!
Not a Valentine’s Day person. My husband and I feel the way Eric does. Celebrate your love every day and buy your special person flowers as a thoughtful surprise on a day when they’re not expected and when they’re not twice the price they normally are!
I always tell eric NOT to buy me flowers on V-Day. He did one year, told me the price (after I begged him haha) and I said ‘never again’
I love Valentine’s Day – but not for the fact of having dated my fiance for 7 years! I like to go back to elementary school thinking, and giving Valentine’s to those around me. The Love of Valentine’s Day doesn’t need to be about those who are in a relationship, and those who aren’t! It’s a day to show love to the people around you who mean the most to you.
I plan on giving a Valentine’s gift to all of my family members, and especially my niece – since Valentine’s Day will be her 1st birthday!
i’m typically not the biggest fan of valentine’s day but this year, i’m going to be my valentine!!
I can’t not like a holiday that’s all about showing your love for other people :) Although I’ve never had a particularly romantic Vday. I do love Valentine’s cards and candy hearts though!
My Husband feels the exact same way yours does about Valentine’s Day. He calls it a “fake” holiday. Our first year of marriage he didn’t acknowledge it at all, other then saying Happy Valentines Day. Now it might have been pregnancy hormones, or just being a girl in general but I was really upset. Of course the next year he made up for it with a sweet card and flowers. He is a man of few words and the first time he told me he loved me he explained to me that he probably wouldn’t say it often in words, but rather he would show me every day with his actions. He has followed through on his word. I think that’s why he doesn’t care for Valentine’s day, because he feels we should make our significant others feel the love every day. Not just with presents, but rather with our actions. I’ll be cooking a nice meal at home for us that we’ll enjoy once the kids are bed. Cheaper, and more intimate.
I can’t say I don’t like Valentine’s Day, but I don’t hate it either. I guess I’m indifferent! I don’t want or expect expensive presents from my boyfriend. A heartfelt card is good enough for me (and maybe some chocolate!) You made a really great point about buying flowers, though. I think I’ll tell my guy not to get me flowers either! I agree with what Eric said, you should show your love to the special people in your life everyday!
As far as celebrating goes, this year we’re keeping it low-key as always, by making a pizza together. We both LOVE pizza and making dinner together is not something we get to to do ever since we both still live at home. I will also make a special dessert. I’m thinking lava cake and some choco covered strawberries!
I love Valentines Day!! Great day to show someone you love them.I usually bake or do a good deed for someone I love. Tome, it’s not just about buying gifts.
I do agree that Valentines day is a slightly manufactured holiday in terms of the expectation built on it and the advertisements. Personally, I like to use it as a day where you can tell anyone and everyone how much you love them! It can be a wonderfully romantic day but it can also be a fab day to see good friends, close family or someone new!
The expense kills me though :)
I make sprouts just like in Katie’s comment. Except that I don’t bother turning the jar upside down over the bowl. I usually keep them in a dark place (cupboard, etc.)until the last day. You can get all kinds of big old mason jars at thrift stores (they are gorgeous as display/storage containers for grains and seeds), I buy cheesecloth at the dollar store, then secure it on with a rubber band from a bunch of broccoli(yep, I’m cheap!). You can pick up a small bags of alfalfa seeds at the health food store. But my favourite thing to sprout is chickpeas and mung beans, do them is separate jars; the sprouts won’t get too long, maybe a couple centimetres. Then I rinse them off and toss with some smushed garic, umeboshe vinegar and just a touch of olive oil (if you want an asian version replace the garlic with ginger and the olive oil with toasted sesame oil.) You can seriously make sprouts anywhere. I live in the Canadian rockies and made them once on a backpacking trip in an old nalgene bottle, washing them in glacier water. So delicious when all you’re eating is dehydrated food. I hope this inspires you to make something yummy!
Definitely a woman’s holiday. Men go along for the ride, b/c they know if they don’t they’re in trouble. I’ve yet to meet a man who actually enjoys or likes the holiday. (And the ones who claim to only do b/c diamonds/flowers = lovin’.)
I completely agree Amanda! Men don’t really like it but if they ignore it then it’s a bad scene. I’ve had some boyfriends make it special by getting me a massage gift certificate or flowers and dinner and guys who just blow it off. I never forget the ones who blow it off-deep down I think women want it to be special, the holiday is all about women anyway, and we are all romantics at heart.
My boyfriend also thinks that Valentine’s Day is commercial, and in reality it is, but that doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it! Everyone says we should “celebrate relationships every day” but really, we don’t! Everyone gets busy with work and other activities, and it is not often someone receives flowers or buys a gift for no reason. I LOVE Valentine’s Day too! My boyfriend and I have agreed that we will only buy each other gag gifts…the whole point is to have fun and enjoy our time together! I figure its a good trade off to still be able to celebrate but not make it so mushy that he would want no part of it =)