Tips when eating chocolates on Valentine’s Day

February 14 is coming, and you have to take care of yourself despite the excesses, so we will give you several tips when eating chocolates on Valentine’s Day.

There is no doubt that the flavor of February 14 is chocolate, one of the most common gifts on that date.

This sweet is so common that it is appropriate to give some tips when eating chocolates on Valentine’s Day.

It is also necessary to take into account the facets of this sweet and, therefore, its relationship with health and nutrition.

In this sense, what kind of products made with chocolate is advisable to give on Valentine’s Day, to delight the palate of our partner, and also provide benefits for your body without encouraging weight gain? 

“We have to be clear if our consumption of this paste made with ground cocoa and sugar, and to which cinnamon or vanilla is usually added, is sporadic or habitual,” explains Carmen Escalada, clinical nutritionist at the European Medical Institute of Obesity (IMEO).

Eating a piece of dessert cake with chocolate every Saturday when we go out to eat with our family or as a couple, falls within what is considered habitual consumption, according to the IMEO nutritionist.

But what happens when we eat something in regular quantity every day, there begin the excesses.

“In the case that we are going to eat chocolates only on Valentine’s Day, we do not need to choose as a gift a cake or chocolates that are especially healthy, if our usual diet is in itself complete, balanced, varied and beneficial to our health,” explains Escalada.

—Tips when eating chocolates on Valentine’s Day—

Therefore, it is necessary to consider the tips when eating chocolates on Valentine’s Day, which do not affect your health, above all.

If the gift of chocolates occurs within a frequent or habitual consumption of this type of sweet, “it is essential to look for an option that is as healthy as possible”, taking into account the following aspects:

Choose a chocolate that contains the highest possible percentage of cocoa, above 75%, at least.

Another tip when eating chocolates on Valentine’s Day is that they have the minimum amount of sugar. 

Opt for those products whose composition includes olive oil as a fat, instead of refined sunflower oils, palm oil, margarine, etcetera.

Look for products with pieces of natural fruit, vegetables such as pumpkin or carrots or spices such as cinnamon or nutmeg instead of jams, jellies, marmalades or refined sugar, or those made with dates or honey, as intermediate options, suggests Escalada.

Avoid those desserts in which the sweetness has been achieved by means of acaloric sweeteners.

Another tip when eating chocolates on Valentine’s Day, try to avoid flours, preferably wholemeal.

Prefer those chocolates that include dairy or eggs in their composition, since the protein provided by these ingredients makes them more satiating and, therefore, less addictive.

Buy portions adjusted to the number of people (in this case, the members of the couple) who are going to eat the chocolate.

Finally, remember that chocolate and chocolate products are highly caloric, even if they are healthy, and never too much is never good.

Read more:The diverse vegan gastronomy in Buenos Aires.