Valentine's Day: Yum!

Valentine’s Day: Yay!
Reminiscing about Valentine’s Days past:
1/Cards-Remember, those cute greetings we’d get from classmates?  I wish I’d saved a few so I could look at them again. It would be much fun to see them now!
2/Clothes-I always donned my favorite red or pink outfit for school. I still wear festive clothing. Though, these days it’s usually workout wear.
3/Candy-Those yummy treats.  It’s the sweet memories that really take me back to the 1960s & 70s. I loved those tiny, red cinnamon hearts. Oh, and those chewy, cherry hearts--cinnamon too. And then there was my all-time fav Valentine’s Day Candy.

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Let’s Talk About It
When I was in grade school, my favorite candy by far: conversation hearts—you know those little hard, pastel-colored candy with statements like “Love Me”, “Hug Me” on them?  I looked forward to seeing which color & fun phrase I’d choose next—and of course, pop into my mouth.  They’re still available today, by the way.
 
Change in Conversation
Then one day everything changed. In 1976, my palette was about to get a lot more sophisticated. I remember, the moment like it was yesterday—my new dad walked in from a long day of work and said he’d brought a Valentine’s Day gift for mom & me.   
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Strawberry Sophistication
Jerry gave us each a big, red foil-covered Russell Stover’s chocolate heart with soft, gooey marsh mellow cream strawberry inside.
Bummer.  
I was disappointed because I didn’t think it could possibly be good.
In 1976, Jerry was my new “dad” so, I didn’t want to seem ungrateful so I tried it.
Oh my! Delicious!! To this day I still LOVE those “heart” warming treats. When I have one of them it become an “event”.  You see, it’s not just the terrific taste I still love so much, but the memories that come with it. That chocolate and strawberry will forever remind me of the first gift Jerry ever gave me. Since I love him deeply, it’s a darn good memory and still so special today. Jerry, my step-dad just turned 91, mom is almost 87 and they are both as cute as ever—as you can see in the picture taken a few months ago while we were Christmas shopping in Scottsdale, Arizona.  Could they be any cuter!?

​Sophistication Snob?
Now, I’ve moved on to even more complexity. Oh sure, I still love the candy from my childhood but these days—since I try and eat nourishing foods, I’m making better choices even when it comes to chocolate.  I now buy chocolate that tastes good and is good for me, too.
We all know dark chocolate is what we should choose but if we want the “healthy’ kind there’s a lot more to it than just a darker shade of cocoa.
So, in my blog tomorrow, I’ll share the exact brand of chocolate I eat most often these days and why.
 
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Happy Valentine’s Day!
 
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