Aphrodisiacs for Valentine's Day!

Well, hello there!

In celebration of the upcoming Valentine's Day, I wanted to share with you a few aphrodisiac foods that you might be interested in enjoying. ;) I've always thought it was just completely awesome to learn about the nutritional benefits of various foods...

Years ago... in college, I would often find myself typing in "benefits of ________ " in the Google search bar, when I probably should have been doing homework instead. Garlic is antiviral? Lemons are great for detoxing the liver? Onions reduce inflammation? This is so cool! And this was just the tip of the iceberg...

"Why didn't they teach me any of this in health class?!" I would always ask myself. This strange fascination with learning about what foods were beneficial in what ways ultimately lead me to enroll at The Institute for Integrative Nutrition.

Anyways, here are 8 foods to well, let's just say it... spice up your love life! this Valentine's Day!

Garlic: stimulating to the circulatory system, the taste and smell have a calming effect
Honey: the sweet taste can awaken your senses, provides an increase in energy
Pineapple: supporting to reproductive health, packed with antioxidants
Oysters: an excellent source of zinc, which boosts libido
Chili peppers: stimulating to the circulatory system and the production of feel-good endorphins
Cacao: (the unprocessed beans used to make cocoa) rich in antioxidants as well as libido-enhancing hormones
Almonds: an excellent source of libido-boosting vitamin E
Bananas: increase the production of sex hormones, as they provide a high level of potassium and B vitamins

If you want to read about even more of the aphrodisiac properties of these foods, as well as strategies to open your heart to happiness this Valentine's Day, then you might be interested in checking out this complimentary ebook, created by the fantastic people at at my beloved nutrition school!

I also want to share with you today.... one of the first websites that started feeding my obsession with learning about the benefits of specific foods:

World's Healthiest Foods

If you haven't yet checked out this site yet... I highly recommend visiting it! (It's sponsored by a not-for-profit foundation with no corporate interests or advertising!) Love that.

I wish you a very happy Valentine's Day!!

xoxoxo,
Ashley


Integrative Nutrition® and Institute for Integrative Nutrition® are registered trademarks of Integrative Nutrition Inc.

Simple Honey-Coconut Glazed Carrots

Greetings wellness lovers!

I hope you had an excellent weekend!

Jon and I celebrated the Easter holiday by spending the day relaxing at home with family over, enjoying delicious spring-time cuisine, and enjoying the perfect weather!

Since I know most busy, health-minded individuals are always looking for easy ways to sneak more veggies into their diets without a lot of time + ingredients, I wanted to share an easy recipe with you from this past weekend!

Simple Honey-Coconut Glazed Carrots

Serves: about 4


Ingredients:

• 1 lb. organic, whole carrots
• 2 tablespoons organic unrefined coconut oil
• 2 tablespoons local honey
• 2 tablespoons fresh thyme

Directions:
Wash and peel carrots, and slice into pieces of similar sizes. Fill a large pot with water, and bring to a boil. Add carrots to pot, boil until slightly tender... usually about 13-15 minutes. Drain carrots in colander. Add coconut oil and honey to pot, then add carrots back in. Cook, stirring occasionally for several minutes, mainly to just coat all of the carrots evenly with the coconut oil and honey. Add thyme. Serve and enjoy immediately.

*Holistic health bonus point: As you likely already know... enjoying local honey can be useful in remedying seasonal allergies!

Have an excellent rest of the day!

xoxo,
Ashley