14 Delicious Valentine's Day Desserts & Snacks for Seniors

By Anna Hazard

Introduction

Here are a selection of easy-to-prepare recipes for Valentine's Day, particularly those suitable for stand-alone snacks or desserts. A Valentine's theme is followed through the use of holiday colors (such as reds, pinks, and purples) and appropriate shapes (such as hearts & arrows). The focus is on healthy and all natural ingredients (eschewing food dyes & refined sugars) that will be easy to chew or swallow in their prepared form. Some recipes will require the use of blenders, food processors, or heart shaped ice cube trays or molds.

Recipes

Valentine's Day Beet Hummus

• This eye-catching bright fuchsia spread is made from all natural ingredients including beets to produce its bright coloring.  Tahini can be store bought for convenience or easily made at home ahead of time. [Tahini Recipe] This smooth and creamy dip is particularly well-suited for those senior loved ones that may have trouble chewing or swallowing, although it does require the use of a food processor or blender. For an even bigger Valentine's splash, include brightly colored fruits or vegetables (such as red peppers, tomatoes, red cabbage) that have been cut into heart shapes.
• Live Simply Natural

Roasted Strawberry Fruit Dip with Dark Chocolate

• With a light pink hue, this fruit dip is Valentines appropriate and uses healthy ingredients including the more nutritious dark chocolate which is a better substitute to its lighter variations due to its antioxidant properties and being a good source of fiber, and minerals such as iron, magnesium, copper, and manganese. Dark chocolate can be added in through shavings or, for those seniors with more extreme forms of dysphagia, powdered cacao can be used. Fruits cut into appropriate Valentine's themed shapes such as hearts (as shown in the Heart Fruit Kabob recipes) can be added for an even bigger holiday flare.
• Tasty Kitchen

Sugar Free Strawberry Applesauce

• A healthy and flavorful substitution for plain applesauce, this side dish or snack is a welcome addition to a Valentine's table due to its attractive pinkish-red coloring. For a thematic addition, strawberry slices cut into the shapes of hearts, arrows, and other holiday related shapes can be added to the sauce before serving. As sense of taste tends to diminish with age, its recommended that extra cinnamon, star of anise, or other spices be added to suit an individual's taste. Raspberries can also be supplemented to give both a deeper color and flavoring, but their seeds may need to be strained for those who have more severe forms of dysphagia.
• Jennifer's Kitchen | Family Spice

Heart Fruit Kabobs, Skewers, and Chocolate Dipped Pops

• One of the simplest Valentine's themed dishes that can be created involves cutting slices of appropriately colored fruit into heart shapes and then adding them to skewers for easy handling. Strawberries and watermelons are a popular choice due to their sweet taste, availability in cold winter months, and red-hued coloring, but other fruits such as pineapples, cantaloupes, and honeydew and other melons can be easily be threaded on a skewer and subbed in for a less monochromatic treat. If the fruit skewers are meant to be dipped (either ahead of time or at meal time with a fondue) than a healthier dark chocolate is recommended.
• This Healthy Table | T1 Everyday Magic | Kiddielicious Kitchen

Cherry Tomato Hearts

• Similar to the other fruit kabobs, this dish revolved around small cherry tomatoes being sliced into an appropriately themed heart shape for Valentine's day & placed on skewers. This variation is more 3-D in structure than the other sliced fruits and is often turned into an arrow-through-the-heart edible mini-sculpture using wedges of cheese or pineapples for the arrow heads & tails. With easy handling due to their skewers, Cherry Tomato Hearts would make an accessible and taste addition to a Valentines themed dip (such as the Beet Hummus).
• Recipe by Photo | Parents.com

Jelly Love Hearts

• These dark red jelly hearts were originally meant to serve as snacks to help maintain energy while exercising but also work well as Valentine's Day treats. These snack bites use a variety of natural juices & other liquids as their base including coconut water, green tea (use matcha for the most nutritional benefit), and cherry juice (fresh or all natural with no added sugars preferred) and will require the use of heart shaped molds to set their structure. Vegan gelatin (such as agar agar) can be used, otherwise gelatin powder from grass fed animals is preferred. Due to their soft texture, these would be good snacks for those seniors that have greater trouble with chewing or swallowing.
• Boditone

Valentine's Day Real Fruit Strawberry  Gummies

• A chewier option to the jelly hearts, these bright red gummies use all natural ingredients such as fresh strawberries, fresh lemon juice, and honey (instead of refined sugars) that make them a healthier choice over store-bought varieties. Any type of unflavored gelatin can be used, but similar to the jellies, a vegan (agar agar) or grass-fed variety is recommended. The recipe will require the use of heart molds (to give the gummies their appropriate shape) as well as a food processor to puree the ingredients. If lacking a heart mold, the mixture can be poured & cooled on a tray and then later cut into the appropriate shape using heart cookie cutters.
• Bigger Bolder Baking

Homemade Pink Beet Marshmallows

• An actual healthy variation of marshmallow, these fluffy treats are a good option for those senior loved ones who may have trouble chewing the more solid gummies. They possess a dark fuchsia red coloring due to their main component of beets and include other all natural ingredients such as water and maple syrup. Use agar agar as a vegan thickening agent, otherwise grass-fed gelatin powder is recommended. This recipe will require the use of a mixer as well as the ability to juice beets. For an even bigger Valentine's flare, pour the solution into a heart shaped pan instead of a normal circular one.
• Purely Twins

Valentine's Day Smoothies

• These Valentine's themed smoothies use healthy, all natural ingredients and range in coloring from light pink to bright red to intense fuchsia. Fresh or frozen fruit & vegetables (depending upon availability) will need to be blended. The options include strawberries, pomegranates, cherries, and beets (for coloring) as well as bananas to add creaminess and body to the smoothie. The blended fruit mixtures may need to be strained for small seeds (as well as leaving optional chia seeds out of the recipe) for those seniors with more severe forms of dysphagia. The addition of coconut oil is particularly recommended for seniors due to its brain health boosting nutrients such as  medium-chain triglycerides. While the addition of Greek yogurt will greatly boost the smoothies' protein and probiotic content, almond or soy milk can be substituted for those with lactose intolerance.
• Five Spot Green Living | Smoothies and Blenders | Woman in Real Life

Valentine's Smoothie Bowls

• Compared to a normal smoothies thinner texture & consistency which is meant to be drunk, the blended ingredients in a smoothie bowl are thicker with a consistency similar to ice cream. Smoothie bowls tend to be eaten as entire meals (especially for breakfast) or larger snacks. This makes strained smoothie bowls (those not possessing chunks of food particles) particularly well suited for those with trouble chewing or swallowing more solid foods as well as those who make choke or sputter over thinner liquids. These smoothie bowls are particularly suitable for Valentine's Day due to their using brightly colored fruit & veggies such as beets or dragonfruit as their main bases. Other healthy ingredients include blueberries, anti-inflammatory ginger, dark chocolate, mango, bananas, and coconut water.
• Easy Cooking with Molly | Sunkissed Kitchen

Chocolate Sweetheart Yogurt Parfaits

• These sweet parfaits can be created using all natural and healthy ingredients (with no refined sugars) including probiotic Greek yogurt (plain Greek yogurt being the healthiest variations of yogurt available), fresh strawberries, and honey for sweetening. While the original recipe calls for chocolate health drink powder, antioxidant rich cacao or unsweetened dark cocoa powder can be substituted in instead. To further add to the parfait's Valentine's theme, strawberries can be sliced into heart shapes for decoration or blended into the yogurt to create a pink hue. Blended and strained strawberries are particularly recommended for those seniors with greater trouble chewing or swallowing.
• My Little Moppet

Ombre Yogurt Ice Pops & Frozen Bites

• These small frozen desserts come in a variety of eye-catching Valentine's themed colors from light pink to a vibrant darker red due to their fresh ingredients. Both styles of treats use yogurt (plain greek yogurt being recommended as the most healthy variety) as well as a selection of fresh fruits as their bases including strawberries, raspberries, and blood oranges. The recipes will require the use of a blender as well as a mold (heart shaped preferred for the holiday) or popsicle cup. The popsicle variety with embedded sticks for handling are recommended for those seniors who may have hand strength or dexterity issues.
• Yummy Mummy Kitchen | My Fussy Eater

3 Minute Strawberry Vegan Ice Cream

• This ice cream's pink hue makes its a suitable addition to the Valentine's table especially when its garnished with sliced strawberry hearts. Its nutritious & all natural three ingredients (just strawberries, dates, and cashews), ease of creation, and standing as a vegan, lactose free, and refined sugar free option suitable for those with diabetes (as the risk increases with age) make it a suitable treat all year round. This recipe will require the use of a blender and food processor with the dates & cashews may potentially needing to be soaked in advance for those with trouble chewing or swallowing or for those with weaker blenders on hand.
• My Kids Lick the Bowl

Valentine's Heart Ice Cubes

• These Valentine's themed ice cubes are simple to create and add a splash of eye-catching color and holiday flare to water, fresh juices, or other beverages. For best effect, they require the use of a heart shapes mold to form the ice cube along with the addition of small Valentine's hued fruit chunks such as raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, blackberry & lemon, as well as pomegranates (although any suitably in-season fresh fruit of an appropriate pink, red, or purple color may suffice). If there is a concern that the melting cube might release the fruit chunks into the drinks and cause a choking hazard (for those with particularly severe forms of dysphagia) then the fruits can be blended before being added to the ice cube water in order to create a solid colored heart instead.
• Le Zoe Musings | Two Loves Studio