Ok, I’ll admit it. I’m a romantic. I get giddy over hearts and fancy chocolates. Pink glitter is my favorite color. Did someone say roses?
I am a huge fan of Valentine’s Day. Apparently, I love LOVE. When we got married, we’d celebrate V-Day with dinner reservations at a nice restaurant. But then something happened. We had kids. Like many other new parents, we were forced to revise our romantic expectations as our family grew. Instead of hiring a sitter on Valentine’s night, we decided to stay home and celebrate with our daughters. That’s how our annual ‘Radi Family Sweetheart Dinners’ began.
Click here to read my previous blog about our early Sweetheart Dinners!
In the early years, we celebrated with spaghetti, chocolate cake, and gobs of glitter. The girls and I would spend the entire day preparing for the event—cutting out construction paper hearts and setting the table with fancy china and crystal goblets. Now, with older kids and busier schedules, we spend a little less time decorating and a little more time enjoying the food and our precious time together.
I’m happy our Sweetheart Dinner tradition continues. We celebrated a couple weeks early this year because Brooke will be out of the country on a study abroad experience on Valentine’s Day and we didn’t want to break the tradition. After 19 years, our girls still help plan the menu and dessert is, of course, always chocolate. But now, instead of spaghetti, they get a little more innovative. This year, Karen requested baked tilapia and Brooke chose chocolate mousse for dessert. Whether your kids are tots or teens like mine, this menu is a wonderful way to bring both fish and vegetables to your table. They won’t even miss the spaghetti.
2016 Sweetheart Dinner Menu
- Easy Baked Tilapia
- Sweet Potato Bites
- Oven Roasted Broccoli
- Mousse Au Chocolate
This menu is so easy and quick to prepare. And it tastes amazing! We worked together as a family to prepare the meal and, aside from the mousse, the rest of it was ready in less than 30 minutes. You don’t have to wait until Valentine’s Day to try it for yourself. With the quick prep time, this meal could be a nutritious dinner any night of the year.
Easy Baked Tilapia
I’m not kidding when I say “easy.” I think we Midwesterners sometimes shy away from preparing fish, thinking it is too much work or that we can’t get good fish here. This recipe will change your mind! We picked up some beautiful, fresh tilapia fillets (NuVal 88) from our Coborn’s meat counter. To prepare them, I lined a rimmed baking sheet with foil to make for easier clean-up. I sprayed it with Pam cooking spray to keep the fish from sticking. I placed the fillets on the pan and sprinkled them with seasoned salt, freshly-ground black pepper, and thyme. Then, I drizzled them with olive oil. They baked at 425 degrees for 15 minutes and came out perfectly flaky and flavorful.
Sweet Potato Bites
Sweet potatoes are not only good, they are good for you. Earning a NuVal score of 100, the sweet potato is a superfood! This super-easy recipe is a favorite of our girls. They like to make a huge batch so they have leftovers to nibble on the next day. To prepare this dish, wash and pat dry 2-3 (or more!) sweet potatoes and cut them into small cubes. No need to peel the skin first. Place the cubes on a rimmed baking sheet and drizzle them with olive oil and sprinkle with a little seasoned salt and pepper. Toss to evenly coat. Bake for 15-20 minutes at 425 degrees, turning half way though baking time. They will come out slightly browned on the outside and soft on the inside.
Oven Roasted Broccoli
Often, when we’re in a hurry, we microwave-steam broccoli. But roasting broccoli in the oven gives it a depth of flavor that a microwave cannot produce. And oven roasting broccoli also helps maintain its crunchy texture. It’s worth the extra effort, in my opinion. To prepare, wash and cut up your broccoli florets (NuVal 100). Place on a rimmed baking sheet. Toss with olive oil and a little salt and pepper. Bake at 425 for 5-8 minutes. If desired, top with grated parmesan cheese.
Mousse Au Chocolate
I received this decadent chocolate mousse recipe from my friend Catherine Katz (wife of NuVal founder Dr. David Katz). For our Sweetheart Dinner, we served it in individual glass dessert cups with a dusting of powdered sugar and topped with raspberries. Please note it does need to be prepared a couple of hours in advance to allow it time to set. This luscious, classic dessert was a Sweetheart Dinner hit at our house! My sweethearts are already asking when I will make it again.
Share Your Love!
How does your family celebrate Valentine’s Day? Do you give chocolates or roses? Conversation hearts or dinner out? Do you make homemade cards? Are you ga-ga for glitter? Please share your ideas in the comment section below? I’d love to hear from you.
Until next time, I hope you have a wonderful day celebrating LOVE with the people you love.
Happy Valentine’s Day!
Kelly
This is a guest post by Kelly Radi. Passionate about food and nutrition, Kelly is a freelance writer, NuVal expert, former BLEND employee, and current BLEND advocate. A wife and mother of 2 teenagers, Kelly lives in Sartell where she is often spotted at Coborn’s scouring the shelves in search of the best NuVal scores. She enjoys cooking, playing tennis, and sitting down with a good book. She can be reached at radi.to.write@gmail.com.
The opinions expressed in this blog are the opinions of the writer and not the opinions of NuVal LLC, Coborn’s, Inc., BLEND, and the CentraCare Health Foundation. Read more “Peek Into Kelly’s Kitchen” blogs, here!
