{"id":6260,"date":"2017-02-13T08:00:13","date_gmt":"2017-02-13T13:00:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/?p=6260"},"modified":"2017-02-08T14:25:22","modified_gmt":"2017-02-08T19:25:22","slug":"heart-health-valentine","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/stress-busters\/heart-health-valentine\/","title":{"rendered":"Heart Health Valentine"},"content":{"rendered":"

Your sweetheart may have the key to your heart, but eating healthy and being physically active can be the key to a healthier heart. This Valentine\u2019s Day, indulge your sweetheart with a heart-healthy gift or date.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Rather than tempting your beloved with sweets<\/strong>, consider a gift that has more permanence. Search for a poem that describes your feelings and write it on beautiful paper for a handmade Valentine. Or visit www.ShopHeart.org<\/a> for gift ideas that benefit the American Heart Association.<\/span>
    \n\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  2. Quality time is one of the most meaningful gifts<\/strong>. Bundle up and plan an active outing such as sledding, ice skating, gathering wood for a fire, or if you\u2019re feeling adventurous, visit an indoor rock wall.<\/span>
    \n\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  3. If your kids are having a Valentine\u2019s Day party at their school or day care<\/strong>, instead of sending candies, consider raisins, grapes, whole-grain pretzels, colored pencils or stickers as tokens of their friendly affection.<\/span>
    \n\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  4. Cooking at home<\/strong> is an excellent way to control what and how much you eat. Take a date to a local cooking class to practice your skills or learn a new technique.<\/span>
    \n\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  5. Prepare a romantic candlelit dinner at hom<\/strong>e using one of our heart-healthy recipes<\/a>.<\/span>
    \n\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  6. Give to one another by giving back<\/a>.<\/strong> Ask a date to volunteer with you at a local organization. Giving back is a healthy habit that can boost your mood and help beat stress<\/a>.<\/span>
    \n\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  7. Use this day as an opportunity to tell your loved one how important they are to you<\/strong>, and share ways that you can support each other\u2019s health and wellness. Get started by taking the My Life Check Assessment<\/a>.<\/span>
    \n\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  8. Craving something sweet? Gift a beautiful fresh fruit basket<\/strong> to your loved one instead of giving sweets with added sugars<\/a>.<\/span>
    \n\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  9. Sharing is caring<\/strong> \u2013 if you go out for a romantic dinner date<\/a>, order one entr\u00e9e to share. Many restaurant servings are enough for two \u2013 splitting will keep you from overdoing it.<\/span>
    \n\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  10. Don\u2019t forget to love Fido, too!<\/strong> Give your pet a Valentine and remember to walk or exercise them daily \u2013 getting active with your pet<\/a> will benefit your health and your bond with your pets.<\/span>
    \n\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  11. Take it slow<\/strong> \u2013 if you receive a luxurious box of chocolates from your sweetie, stick it in the freezer and enjoy in moderation over the next several weeks.<\/span>
    \n\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  12. Take a long, romantic walk with your beloved<\/a><\/strong> \u2013 and try to make it a regular habit. Aim for at least 150 minutes of moderately intense physical activity each week to help keep your heart healthy. You can reach this goal by walking briskly for at least 30 minutes five days each week.<\/span>
    \n\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  13. Check out our tips<\/strong> for healthier preparation methods for cookin<\/a>g.<\/span>
    \n\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n
  14. Rekindle an old flame <\/strong>\u2013 try preparing one of your sweetie\u2019s favorite recipes in a healthier way. These healthy substitutions<\/a> can help you cut down on saturated fats, trans fats, salt (sodium)<\/a>, and added sugars, while noticing little, if any, difference in taste.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    http:\/\/www.heart.org\/HEARTORG\/HealthyLiving\/HealthyEating\/Nutrition\/Heart-Health-Valentines-Day-Tips_UCM_322023_Article.jsp#.WJtvjdIrKM8<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Your sweetheart may have the key to your heart, but eating healthy and being physically active can be the key to a healthier heart. This Valentine\u2019s Day, indulge your sweetheart with a heart-healthy gift or date. Rather than tempting your … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9193321,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[313094,241883],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6260","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-health-maintenance","category-stress-busters"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paB9fc-1CY","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6260","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9193321"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6260"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6260\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6265,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6260\/revisions\/6265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6260"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6260"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blogs.butler.edu\/healthyhorizons\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6260"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}