I love playing with new ingredients and proportions and whipping up new, exciting recipes for you.

Today, Raoul and I have two very different, delicious, super healthy smoothies for you.

Our first smoothie is The Big Red Heart Opener.

Historically, the color red is associated with passion, desire, and love. It’s an emotionally intense color.

It would not be Valentine's Day without big splashes of red, which also happen to be good for our heart.

Loaded with the clinically proven antioxidant power of pomegranates, raspberries, beets, and strawberries, and mixed with a creamy dose of coconut butter, real vanilla bean, and chia seeds, then drizzled with the romance of rose water – you have a delectable new love smoothie to add to your repertoire.

The Big Red Heart Opener

1 cup purified water
1/4 cup pomegranate juice
1/3 cup raw, peeled beets
1/2 cup organic raspberries
1/2 cup organic strawberries
1 tablespoon chia seeds
2 tablespoons coconut butter
1 scoop grass-fed whey protein powder
1/8 teaspoon real vanilla bean (more to taste, or you can use liquid)
1/2 to 1 teaspoon rose water (optional)

This smoothie meets all of our nutritional requirements as a meal replacement, because it contains protein, fat, fiber, and carbohydrates to provide sustained energy. It's also loaded with easy-to-use vitamins and minerals.

Our second smoothie is The Chocolate Maca Royale.

This libido booster melds the decadent flavor of raw chocolate with the earthy goodness of maca powder (an ancient Peruvian root shown to boost hormone production, fertility, and libido). Adding the spiciness of cayenne, the sweetness of raw honey, and a touch of salt put you into sensation overload.

The creaminess of raw, soaked, and blended hazelnuts completes the magic of this awesome smoothie. Not only are they an amazing nut for heart health, lowering LDL – bad cholesterol, and raising HDL – the good cholesterol (according to the American Society of Nutrition), hazlenuts are poetic as well.

The Celts equated hazelnuts with concentrated wisdom and poetic inspiration, making them the perfect addition to your Valentine's Day smoothie.

The Chocolate Maca Royale (Libido Booster)

1.5 cups unsweetened chocolate almond milk
2 tablespoons raw cacao powder
1 tablespoon maca powder
1 teaspoon coconut oil
1 tablespoon raw honey (or 2 pitted dates)
1/8 teaspoon pink salt
2 scoops collagen protein
Handful of raw, soaked hazelnuts
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Just as food can be our medicine, it can also be poetry.

Being 100% Italian, I cannot count the times that my father made us amazing meals and served them with a smile, saying “Food is love.”

It certainly can be and today is as good a day as any to serve delicious, pleasurable, nourishing food as a celebration of love.

This article is reprinted with permission from the author, Christa Orecchio, CN, HHC, and first appeared in The Whole Journey.

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