Valentine’s Day is all about love and is filled with images of hearts, including hearts on greeting cards, heart-shaped boxes of chocolates, tiny heart candies with affectionate sayings and heart-shaped boxes holding precious, little gifts.
Although all of this emphasis is placed on hearts and love, we sometimes show our affection for our loved ones with gifts and celebrations that are not so heart healthy, like heavy meals at steakhouses filled with red meat and butter-laden potatoes, high cholesterol sweets and other high calorie treats that play a role in obesity, heart disease and diabetes, rather than showing our loved ones our affection by giving them gifts that show them we would like them to be around for a long time and that encourage healthy eating.
Heart-healthy Valentine’s Day gifts do not have to be boring or unsavory; to the contrary, gifts that might actually make your boyfriend’s or husband’s doctor proud can be quite delicious and fun. If the man – or woman – in your life is currently managing diabetes, heart disease, elevated cholesterol levels, high blood pressure or obesity, there are many healthy Valentine’s Day food gift options that will show just how much you love them and will provide tasty, special treats that will delight their taste buds, while also fitting their dietary restrictions and promoting heart health.
With the American Heart Association reporting that over 81,000,000 people in the United States alone are living with some form of heart disease and that heart disease continues to be the number one cause of death in the United States year after year, there is no better time to give gifts of love that promote healthy dietary changes and show that you care about your loved one’s heart health.
To give you an idea of all of the healthful, delicious Valentine’s Day food gifts available and can be delivered directly to the recipient, here are five popular websites and samples of their offerings:
1-800-BASKETS (ww12.1800baskets.com) – Always perfectly packaged and famous for their food baskets, 1-800-BASKETS offers a wide variety of fruit gift baskets and wine gift baskets that are heart healthy and delicious. Their abundant Arbor Harvest Supreme Fruit Box or delectable Esser Vineyards Wine Trio are two examples of food gifts that are perfect for Valentine’s Day.
Figi’s (www.figis.com) – Figi’s is well-known for their savory delights and offers options that are low sodium, low cholesterol and heart healthy. For example, their Deluxe Nut Mix & Jumbo Cashews comes in a heart-shaped box and allows you to choose from one pound of cashews or one pound of mixed nuts that are either salted or unsalted. Opt for the unsalted nuts for the greatest health benefits. They also offer delightful Sun Fresh Snack Mix that is filled with dried fruits, nuts and seeds.
Gift Baskets Remembered (www.giftbasketsremembered.com) – This site has a whole section of special dietary gifts, which includes their Heart Healthy Low Fat Gourmet Gift Basket and their Healthy Gourmet Gift Box, each of which are filled with low fat, low cholesterol, low salt food items.
Savorique (www.savorique.com) – For upscale food gifts that come brilliantly displayed, Savorique offers several healthy options. Their Healthy Harvest Basket with a mix of dried fruits and mixed nuts, and their Fresh Fruit Gift Baskets are just two examples of their many offerings.
Gourmet Gift Baskets (www.gourmetgiftbaskets.com) – Gourmet Gift Baskets has an entire section devoted to healthy food gift baskets for men, making it easy to find just the right thing for your boyfriend or husband for Valentine’s Day. A prime example is their Signature Series Healthy Gift Basket that is absolutely filled with low fat, low calorie snacks, nuts, smoked salmon, salsas and dips, and other gourmet treats. Their Super Salad Gift Basket complete with salad mix, dried cranberries, olives, toasted sunflower seeds and everything he needs for a fun, healthy salad is another unique option that is healthy and fun.
