Heart Healthy Valentine's Drinks

By Anna Hazard

Introduction

With the upcoming Valentine's Day celebrations focusing on metaphorical hearts, here are an assortment of simple-to-make beverage recipes that will benefit the drinker's physical body & heart. Finished drinks will be Valentine's themed using associated shapes, tastes, and natural colors such as pinks, purples, and reds.

Most drinks will be suitable for children through seniors as well as for people who may have trouble chewing or swallowing. A further focus will be on fresh seasonal produce and other all natural ingredients (with no added salt or refined sugars) that should be easy to obtain locally even during the winter months.

February Seasonal Produce

Herbs

Chicory
Fennel
Garlic
Ginger

Fruits

Apple
Date
Grapefruit
Kiwi
Lemon
Orange
Pear
Pomegranate
Tangerine

Vegetables
 
Artichoke,
Beets (Tops, Roots)
Broccoli,
Brussels Sprout
Cabbage (White, Savoy)
Cardoon
Carrot
Cauliflower
Celery
Chestnut
Corn Salad (Valerianella)
Endive
Kale
Leek
Lettuce
Parsnip
Potato
Pumpkin
Red Radicchio
Rutabaga
Salsify (White, Black) Spinach 
Sweet Potato
Turnip

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Mocktails

Celebrate the upcoming holiday with Valentine's themed alcohol free mocktails. These brightly colored drinks gain their festive tint from fresh produce such as blood oranges, beet roots, and berries and are the virgin variety of more common cocktails without any additional refined sugars. Sparkling water can be left out or added in for its digestion & swallowing benefits.

• Sparkling Blood Orange Mocktail with Turmeric
• Love at First Sight Mocktail
• Lemonade Sangria 
• ​Rose Lemon Spritzer

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Smoothies

A popular & healthy choice as both a stand-alone beverage or meal replacement, these Valentine's themed smoothies can be sipped throughout the day with more of a focus on breakfast, lunch, or dessert depending upon the exact ingredients included. Feel free to sub in other healthy in-season  red, purple, or pink tinted produce to better suit individual taste.
 
Smoothies are some of the most filling variety of beverage and will require the use of a blender, food processor, or equivalent in order to make with fresh ingredients. In addition, seeds may need to be excluded or strained out for those who may have more difficulty with chewing or swallowing.

• Valentine's Day Smoothie
• Holiday Sweet Tart Smoothie
• Berry Green Smoothie

• Valentine’s Day Dessert Smoothie - Dark Chocolate & Strawberry

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Juices & Punches

A common and popular style of drink amongst children to the elderly, these all natural recipes sub in fresh fruits, vegetables, and other natural sweeteners (such as honey, maple syrup, or stevia) instead of the refined sugars found within pre-produced juices and punches.

Thinner bodied than smoothies, these drinks may require a thickener for those who have trouble swallowing. In addition, these recipes will require the use blenders, food processors, or juicers.

• Ruby Red Punch
• Valentine’s Day Juice
• Blood Orange Lemonade
• Red V Day Breakfast Juice

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Flavored Water

The lightest variety of beverage available is pure water flavored with seasonal produce in order to give it a festive flare in taste and color. These types of drinks would be a good hydration source throughout the day without having to worry about filling up before a meal. In addition, they require the least amount of ingredients and preparation in advance.
 
Keep in mind that fresh grapefruit may have contraindications with certain medications (such as some cholesterol, blood pressure, & mood enhancers) and that a thickener may need to be added for those who have trouble swallowing or aspirating thin liquids.

• Pomegranate Heart Ice Cubes Water
• Sparkling Blood Orange Rosemary Water
• Cinna-Sparkle
• Grapefruit Mint Infused Water

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Hot Drinks

As mid-February may still be quite nippy depending upon one's location, here are a selection of warm, hot, and otherwise heated beverages that have a specific Valentine's Day flare due to their coloring or ingredients. The focus here is on healthy, all natural ingredients including in-season produce without the addition of refined sugars.
 
For those who wish for an all natural, home made experience even if it's more time consuming, here are basic chai tea and apple cider recipes to use as bases instead of pre-packaged tea or cider.

• Blood Orange Hot Chocolate
• Love Potion Tea
• Vegan Blood Orange Chai Tea Latte
• Hot Blood Orange Apple Cider