Healthy Valentine's Day Treats to Give

Nothing says 'I love you' quite like healthy food and treats

By Anna Lee

Healthy and delicious date and coconut balls. Picture / Babiche Martens

Wednesday Feb. 10, 2016

1. Homemade always impresses. Make Viva recipe editor Angela Casley’s healthy and delicious date and coconut balls.

2. Buy your loved one a culinary experience. One of Auckland’s most celebrated chefs, Michael Meredith of Merediths and Eat My Lunch, will be hosting a cooking class at Sabato on March 7 with an evening crammed with innovative ideas and fresh dishes you can recreate at home. $98 per person, see sabato.co.nz to book

3. There is nothing quite like fresh fruit, so spoil your other half with punnets of freshly picked berries - preferably organic and from a cute road side stall, because you’re thoughtful like that.

4. If your partner is gluten-free, dairy-free and/or vegan, surprise them with a Valentine’s Picnic Box from Little Bird. Crammed with healthy treats, it’s a perfect pick for a romantic picnic for two.

5. Try a twist on the classic ‘chocolates for Valentine’s Day’ scenario and gift them a Valrhona Guanaja tin instead. Made from the finest South American beans, the intensely bitter chocolate has deliciously soft floral notes and with the 70 per cent cocoa content - it’s full of antioxidants and good for the heart, circulation and brain. That’s sexy. $19.90, from Sabato. Ph (09) 630 8751.

6. Instead of 12 red roses, treat your beloved foodie to a dozen delicious delicacies. Spend February 14 at Waiheke’s The Oyster Inn, devouring fresh oysters with lemon, chardonnay vinegar and shallots. $50 for a dozen, ph (09) 372 2222.

7. Spend your Sunday at a special Valentine’s Day Workshop at The Centre. Join yoga teacher, naturopath, nutritionist and herbalist Dani Ramaekers from 2-4.15pm for a heart focused yoga session, before devouring a Little Bird health and libido-focused afternoon tea featuring raw chocolates infused with essential oils. $95 per person.

8. Why not gift a PHD raw juice cleanse? With six specially formulated cold pressed vegetable and fruit juices a day, it’s the perfect gift for your health conscious other half. You could do it too. Because a couple that survives a cleanse together, stays together.