By Briana Hayes
Staff Writer
After the hustle and bustle of Valentine’s Day, those who have received gifts are normally left with stuffed animals and an abnormal amount of candy.
Having all of that candy lying around can only lead to two things: the candy gets eaten or the candy grows old.
However, there is always that third and not often used option of making all of that unhealthy candy into delicious and nutritious treats.
Chocolate is by far the most popular candy gifted on Valentine’s Day. Instead of just eating the chocolate by itself, you can melt it and pair it with various kinds of fruits.
Typically strawberries, pineapples, and melons pair nicely with chocolate.
By adding the fruit to the chocolate, fiber and vitamins are combined with the antioxidants of dark chocolate to create a simple and delicious dessert.
The antioxidants and vitamins are useful in warding off unwanted illnesses during the cold winter months.
Another option is to make homemade granola with leftover chocolate. By combining the chocolate with whole grains such as oats, as well as dried fruit, honey, flax seeds, and other ingredients you are adding to nutritional value of your snack.
Baked granola is simple and can be put on top of yogurt to add crunch. The chocolate leftover from Valentine’s Day will add sweetness and flavor. Just make sure to not add too much or the chocolate will overpower the other ingredients, flavor-wise and nutritionally.
Chocolate is not the only kind of candy you can receive on the day of the celebration of love.
An iconic Valentine’s Day candy are conversation hearts that feature messages such as “Kiss Me” or “Call Me” on them. While these hearts are normally full of sugar, there are ways to incorporate them into snacks to decrease the amount of consumed sugar.
The conversation hearts can be mixed in with all-natural popcorn and drizzled with a little bit of dark chocolate.
By choosing all-natural popcorn you are limiting the chemicals in your body and the fat from the added butter. Once again the dark chocolate provides antioxidants.
If you are going to receive candy, you may as well make the best of it and try to make candy healthy.
