Celebrating Valentine’s Day
Valentine’s Day, celebrated on February 14th, is a special day to celebrate love and friendship. There are many types of love and in other languages there are many different words used for the various types of love. There is the love between friends, the love you feel for your family, the love of your pet, and even the love for people you don’t know, but still have feelings for. There are many different ways to celebrate this day, and while many traditions have been passed down through the years, others are created as couples and families celebrate each year. At Earthy Family we invite you to celebrate Valentine’s Day in a way that is special to each member of your family, celebrating all the different types of love in your lives.Ideas for celebrating Valentine's Day:
Make decorations to create a festive atmosphere in your home Dress in red, pink or white Have a special Valentine’s Dinner with your family. Decorate the table with red or white napkins; sprinkle rose petals or heart shaped confetti on the table, (make the confetti ahead of time with red paper); create a centerpiece by making a bouquet of paper hearts glued to straws or popsicle sticks placed in a flowerpot; serve cranberry juice diluted with sparkling water and frozen cranberries in wineglasses; check our recipe section below for food ideas
Talk about how Valentine’s Day was celebrated in ages gone by or in other parts of the world, check Trivia section of this page
Host a Valentine Tea for your friends. Watch this section for new ideas.
Create love poems (express the different types of love you have in your life)
Make your own Valentine cards from recycled materials (think tinfoil, scrap paper or fabric, old cards, paint, crayons, bits of string or lace, etc.)
Wake your family up with a kiss
Learn to say “I Love You” or “Be My Valentine” in different languages
“Be My Valentine”
Seien Sie Mein Valentine – 
German
Sea Mi Valentine – Spanish
Soyez Mon Valentine – French
Sia Il Mio Valentine – Italian
Seja Meu Valentine – Portuguese
“I
love you”
Eu te amo – Portuguese
Ti amo – Italian
Je t'aime – French
Te amo – Spanish
Ikh Hob Dikh Lib – Yiddish
Khao Raak Thoe – Thai
Mahn doostaht doh-rahm - Iranian
Valentine Trivia
To
be awakened by a kiss on Valentine’s Day is considered
very good luck
The oldest paper valentine still around is in the collection
of the British Library in London. It was sent by Charles,
Duke of Orleans, to his wife in 1415
Legend has it that Valentine's Day is when birds find their
mates
Until
the 1800s, only English producers made Valentine cards, they
shipped them all over the world
In
North America, Valentine’s is the 2nd most popular time
to send cards (Christmas is the first)
In Japan, only girls give gifts on Valentine’s Day;
the boys reciprocate the gifts on White Day (March 14th)
In days gone by in Wales, wooden love spoons were presented
to sweethearts on February 14th
In days of yore in Turin, Italian couples announced engagements
on Valentine’s Day
Valentine
Symbols
1. Cupid is the son of Venus, the Roman Goddess of Love. Legend holds that mischievous Cupid flew around shooting arrows into people’s hearts to make them fall in love.
2. Love Birds are brightly colored birds found in Africa. They often sit very close to their mates, making it seem they are cuddling much of the time.
3. Doves are symbols of love and loyalty. Mourning Doves mate
for life and are excellent parents who share the care of their
babies.
4. Flowers are a symbol of love and happiness. Roses were sacred to Venus, the Roman Goddess of Love. Flowers are a symbol of love and happiness. Roses were sacred to Venus, the Roman Goddess of Love.
5. Red Hearts are an ancient symbol of love. Because the human heart beats faster when one is excited, the heart was thought to be the centre of emotion and feeling in ancient times.
6. Interlocking Hearts, also known as the true-love knot, represent two hearts joined as one. Sometimes the true-love knot is joined with a capital “A”. The “A” stands for the Latin phrase “Amor vincit omnia”, meaning “Love conquers all.”
The History of Valentine’s
Day
Valentine’s
Day is thought to be derived from the pagan celebration of
Lupercalia, an ancient Roman festival which began on February
15th each year and lasted for several days. Lupercalia honoured
Lupercus, the God of herds and crops, who was thought to protect
shepherds and their sheep from the wolves and bring people
luck in bearing children. During the celebration of Lupercalia,
the names of Roman girls were put into a large urn and Roman
boys would pick a name from the urn. The boys and girls then
paired up for the Lupercalia celebrations.
February 14th later became a Christian celebration and was celebrated as the Feast of St. Valentine’s. Though Roman Catholics have 8 different saints called Valentine, the most famous Valentine was a priest who lived in Rome in 270 AD. This Valentine was popular with children because of his love and kindness and young couples loved him because he secretly performed marriages, an act forbidden at that time by Emperor Claudius II. Though Valentine was jailed for his Christian beliefs, the people who adored him threw flowers and messages into his cell. While in jail, Valentine fell in love with the jailer’s daughter, Julia, whose blindness he cured. On February 14th, Valentine was executed, but 2 centuries later, in 486 AD, February 14th was declared St. Valentine’s Feast Day in honour of the martyr.
St. Valentine’s Day spread to other parts of Europe as the centuries went by, and eventually even made it around the world as a day to celebrate love. By around 1000, young men and women celebrated St. Valentine’s Day by strolling through gardens listening to music, singing songs, and reciting poetry. By the 1400’s, it was the custom for young men to send their sweethearts a gift on St. Valentine’s Day. Often they were gifts of flowers or birds, though the wealthy often gave gifts of expensive jewelry. Still later it became custom for children to go house to house on the morning of February 14th to sing and beg for pennies or treats. In England during the 1700’s valentines were placed on friends’ doorsteps and were now given to both men and women.
Valentine Food Ideas:
For Breakfast make heart-shaped pancakes or make heart-shaped
toast with a cookie cutter. Spread fruit-sweetened red jam
on your toast.
Fill heart-shaped ice cube trays with cranberry juice for
special Valentine’s ice cubes.
Make
heart-shaped pizzas for lunch or dinner.
For lunch make heart-shaped sandwiches, with a large heart
shaped cookie cutter. Try filled sandwiches, or open-faced
sandwiches with a layer of nut butter topped with fruit-sweetened
jam
Recipes for Valentine’s
Day
Valentine
Hot Chocolate
(Makes 1 serving)
1 ½ cups plain or vanilla soymilk or ricemilk
1/8 cup unsweetened cocoa or carob powder
2 – 3 Tbsp sweetener (try Sucanat or honey)
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 cup boiling water
1/8 teaspoon almond extract
1 Cinnamon stick
In a small saucepan, stir and heat the milk for 3 minutes
over medium heat. Add hot water, heated milk, cocoa powder,
fructose and cinnamon to blender. Blend on high until frothy.
Stir in almond extract. Pour into mug and garnish with a cinnamon
stick for stirring.
Cupid’s
Cider
Add a cuddle and you have a complete way to warm up on a chilly
Valentine’s!
2 cups cranberry juice
2 cups apple cider or juice
5-6 cloves
2-3 whole cinnamon sticks
Place all ingredients in a pot and simmer over low heat for
about 20 minutes.
Valentine
Shake
Ingredients:
1 cup cantaloupe chunks
1 cup whole strawberries
1/2 cup soy milk
Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Process
until frothy and serve immediately. For a complete breakfast
treat, add one serving of protein powder.
Chilled
Valentine Beet Soup
1 cup beets, peeled and sliced cooked beets
1/4 cup chopped mild onion
1 medium potato, cooked, peeled, and cubed
1 cup plain yogurt (soy yogurt will work fine)
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 cup vegetable broth
1 cup cracked ice
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh dill
1/2 cup peeled, seeded, and finely diced cucumber (optional)
Salt and black pepper to taste
Boil the beets until tender, then peel and cut into cubes
Peel the potato, boil until tender and cut into cubes
When beets and potatoes have cooled, combine the beets, potatoes,
onions, lemon juice, vegetable broth, salt & pepper and
yogurt in a blender. Blend on high until pureed. Add the cracked
ice and blend for an additional minute. Add cucumber. Garnish
with fresh dill and serve chilled.
Sweetheart
Salad
Mixed greens
dried cranberries
Toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds
Dressing:
1 tsp prepared mustard
2 cloves garlic, minced
¼ cup red wine vinegar
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 Tablespoons tomato juice or V8 juice
1/2 teaspoon tamari
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Whisk (or shake in a small jar) all dressing ingredients together.
Place mixed greens on salad plate, sprinkle with dried cranberries
and toasted pumpkin or sunflower seeds. Drizzle dressing over
salad.
Valentine
Veggies
Cold-pressed, organic safflower oil
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 cup zucchini, chopped
1 cup carrots, chopped
1 cup tomato, seeded and chopped
½ cup red bell pepper, chopped
¼ cup red onion, chopped
¾ cup fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 Tbsp fresh parsley, chopped
1 - 2 Tbsp fresh basil
1 – 2 Tbsp fresh thyme
½ tsp dried rosemary
Heat the oil in a large frying pan, add garlic and sauté
for 1 minute. Stir in tomato paste, zucchini, eggplant, tomatoes,
pepper, onions, and mushrooms. Cover and cook until vegetables
are tender. Add parsley, basil, thyme and rosemary and cook
for an additional min.
Raspberry
Tofu Cream Topping
Serve over your favourite dessert or fresh fruit
1 pkg. tofu, extra firm silken-style
¼ cup raspberry juice
2 Tbsp sweetener (cane or date sugar)
1 Tbsp cold-pressed, organic safflower oil
In a food processor or blender, combine all of the ingredients
and puree for several minutes until smooth and creamy. Chill
in refrigerator.
I
Love you Berry Much Sauce
Warm topping for fruit, sorbet, or frozen desserts. Great
on top of poached pears!
1 ½ cups frozen raspberries or strawberries
¼ cup orange juice
1 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
Combine raspberries and orange juice in a small saucepan.
Make a raspberry reduction by simmering until raspberries
cook down and become thick. Add blueberries and cook for an
additional 2 minutes. Serve warm.
I’m
Nuts for You Sauce
½ cup cashews
½ cup water
1 Tbsp maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
Blend all ingredients together until smooth. Pour over fruit
salad or strawberries.
Frozen
Strawberry Dessert
1 pkg soft tofu
1 cup sweetener (date or cane sugar)
1 pkg of frozen strawberries
Defrost the Strawberries and mix with the sweetener. Cream
the tofu then add to the strawberries. Place into an ice cream
machine and blend until frozen. Spoon into dessert glasses
or long-stemmed wine glasses. Drizzle with I Love You Berry
Much Sauce or I’m Nuts for You Sauce then top with a
fresh strawberry or cherry.
Valentine
Kisses
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa or carob powder
¼ cup soymilk powder
½ cup honey, maple syrup or rice syrup
1 cup organic nut butter (peanut, cashew, almond, etc.)
Mix cocoa and milk powder into honey, then stir in nut butter
. Mix well and form into small balls. Roll in coconut, ground
nuts, or cocoa powder. Chill to set.
How to Make A Heart Shaped Cake without a heart-shaped cake pan.
Use your favorite double cake recipe. Pour ½ the batter
in one 8 or 9 inch square cake pan, and the other ½
into the same size round cake pan. When the cakes are baked
and cooled, slice the round cake in half. Create a heart by
placing the round halves on each side of the square cake,
as diagram shows.
Ice your cake with your favorite frosting, or follow the recipe
below for a delicious chocolate icing. Use raspberries or
strawberries to decorate the cake.
Chocolate Icing
¾ cup dairy-free chocolate or carob pieces
12 ounces extra firm silken tofu
½ cup maple syrup
1 Tbsp. fructose
Melt chocolate, then blend all ingredients together with a
hand mixer or food processor until smooth. Refrigerate for
a couple of hours, then spread on cooled cake and refrigerate
cake to set icing.
