3 Aphrodisiac Foods To Zest Up Your Love Life

February is here and love is in the air. Did you know the foods you eat can create more love in your life? Chris Shuff, RD, a Sexual Health Nutritionist, registered dietitian and chef is here with a guest blog post with creative ways to spice up your love life just in time for an extra special Valentine’s day.

He is sharing this easy quick dinner menu with 3 easy recipes that highlight the 3 aphrodisiac foods; red peppers, roasted beet, and chocolate.

Passion Salsa

Ingredients:

1 red bell pepper (small), diced into 1/4″ cubes
1 mango, diced into 1/4″ cubes
1 avocado, chopped into 1/2″ cubes
Tortilla chips or lettuce wraps
1/8 tsp Salt
Pepper, to taste
1/4c red onion, diced (optional)
1 clove garlic, minced (optional)
1/8 tsp chili powder (optional)

Directions:

De-seed and chop the bell pepper, mango, avocado and the optional onion and garlic. Place ingredients into a bowl and mix. Season with salt, pepper, and optional chili powder. Pair with chips or lettuce wraps.  Serves two. 

Fun facts:

  • Red bell pepper provides 280% Vitamin C. That’s almost 3 times the amount of a Florida orange. The vitamin C is great for healthy veins and proper blood flow long into our later years of life.
  • This recipe balances sweet, acidic, crunchy and creamy flavors for good love life balance.
  • Pairing with a California Merlot is most desirable.

 


 

Power Couple Salad

Ingredients:

3 red beets, chopped into 1/2″ cubes
3 oz spinach
2 Tbsp. olive oil
3 tsp. pear vinegar (or other fruity vinegar of choice)
1/2 lb organic chicken breast
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Preheat sauté pan to medium heat.

Trim cut the top and bottom off each beet, peel and then chop into 1/2″ cubes. Transfer the beets onto a baking sheet, drizzle with ½ Tbsp olive oil and mix to coat the beets evenly with oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. Place into preheated oven, bake for 15 minutes, stir and bake for another 15 minutes. Once cooked let the beets cool for 3 minutes and toss with 1 tsp vinegar.

Meanwhile, trim the chicken of any visible fat. Lay your hand on atop the breast and slice lengthwise to make two identically sized 1/4 lb breasts.  Gently rub with ½ tbsp. olive oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Place the chicken in preheated sauté pan for 3-5 minutes per side, or until chicken is cooked throughout.

To finish, place spinach into a large mixing bowl. Drizzle with 1 Tbsp olive oil and toss that salad good. I mean it. You want every leaf to have a very light layer of oil. The oil coating will help prevent the vinegar from wilting the leaves prematurely. Then and only then is it ok to drizzle in 2 tsp vinegar. Toss the salad once more. Once the beets and chicken have finished lay them atop the plated salad and enjoy. Serves two.

Fun facts:

  • The beets and spinach are the power couple here. Each can naturally increase our nitric oxide levels that are needed for improving circulation on date night.
  • This recipe provides a balance of earthy, sweet, and savory flavor to keep your love grounded.
  • Pairing with a sauvignon blanc is most desirable.

 


 

Dipped Forbidden Fruit

Ingredients:

1 big banana
2 peaches, sliced
1 pound strawberries, whole
1 pound  dipping chocolate (you may not use all of this)
1/8 tsp (heaping) ground cayenne pepper

Directions:

Peel and slice the banana across the middle into 2 pieces.

Split the peach, remove the pit and cut into 6 slices.

The strawberries are perfect just the way they are.

Heat the chocolate using a microwave or double boiler.

If using the microwave, place the chocolate into a light colored microwave safe bowl.  Load the microwave with 8 minutes worth of cooking time on medium-high power. It won’t need that much time. It will just make things a lot easier. Start with an initial burst of 60 seconds followed by 20 second increments making sure to stir between each to determine consistency. Once it’s  melted, add your cayenne pepper, stir, and quickly dip your forbidden fruits.

If using a double boiler, add 1 inch of water into the bottom pot. Place chocolate into the top pot and begin heating. Stir the chocolate frequently. Once it’s melted just enough, turn the burner to very low, add the cayenne pepper, mix well and dip your forbidden fruits. Enjoy these hot or refrigerate until the chocolate has set.

Whatever method you use; take your time and don’t rush things. Chris promises it’ll be worth the wait. You can always heat the chocolate more but you can’t take the burnt flavor out.

Fun facts:

  • Chocolate is one of the most well-known aphrodisiacs. It has many powers. The taste and thought alone are powerful aphrodisiacs that put anyone in the romantic state of mind.
  • This recipe uses a combination of sweet and spicy for an opposites attract approach to date night.
  • IMPORTANT: save this dessert for the end of the night or make sure not to eat too much! Belly aches are the opposite of romantic on date night.

 


 

Meet Chris Shuff, RD

Chris loves surfing and wakeboarding! They are the primary reasons he lives healthy and stays fit. Well, that and he loves feeling his best.

Tell us about your path to becoming a Registered Dietitian

Well, I was interested in architecture for a long time as a kid and had even taken a number of college level courses in high school. Then I took an introductory nutrition course in college. After that it was all over. I saw the progression of obesity and knew it would be a burden on Americans for a long time to come. I wanted to help, knew there was a secure future in it, enjoyed learning the material and was good at the science behind it. I decided to switch my major to dietetics during the course.

Tell us all about your practice, Love & Fire Nutrition! What is your approach to care?

In one sentence, to ignite sex lives and strengthen relationships through health and nutrition! In longer form, I am a hopeful romantic. I believe love and life passions can help save lives, change lives and enrich lives. When someone is pursuing health with a primary motivation of achieving some form of sexual health that’s where I enter the picture. The client goals can vary but I find that the deep set motivations are almost always selfless.

I’m a bit new to the field of sex nutrition. Can you tell me a little about what your professional experience has been like in this field? 

First of all, who’s ears don’t perk up when they hear the term, sex nutrition? The funniest response I get is, “I’m sorry, what did you say?” as if they think they heard me wrong. The next biggest questions I get are, “what is that?” and “what can you do as a dietitian to actually help with that?”. To answer the first, I generally describe sex nutrition as having to do with fertility, libido and sexual performance. To answer the second, I share that it hasn’t been easy but the evidence is there. It all started while I was working with a my career coach and dietitian, Chere Bork. I was contemplating what the next step in life was and it turned out I liked sex and nutrition. Shocking right?! We both agreed the topic sounded fun, unique and right up my alley. I began looking into whether the idea of sex nutrition was actually a valid avenue to pursue. There’s a lot of bogus theories out there but when you’re truly looking there are many efficacious strategies as well. It’s hard but they’re there. As I explored, I found that many people were struggling with these issues. Worst of all, they were struggling quietly. Love, sex and fertility are things we all desire but few people are comfortable talking about them personally, let alone professionally. They are so tied to our identity, especially when they’re dysfunctional, but no one is talking about it. That’s when I knew I had to help.

I noticed on your blog that you have a lot of great advice on how nutrition can improve your sex life, what is your favorite tip?

Wow, that’s a big one. Honestly, I don’t think I can pick a single favorite but I am really interested in nutrition’s ability to increase nitric oxide levels which are needed for sexual performance. I’ve been following the work of a lead researcher in the nitric oxide field, Dr. Nathan Bryan, who is dedicated to increasing awareness about the subject. Our ability to produce nitric oxide reduces with age and other factors. On top of that, nitric oxide is pivotal for successful arousal in both males and females. For example, a majority of males who don’t respond to the drug Sildenafil (Viagra) are most likely not producing enough nitric oxide and therefore the drug can’t be effective. By improving nitric oxide levels through targeted nutrition approaches the underlying deficit can be corrected and the male can once again enjoy intimacy on a regular basis

For more information and to connect with Chris!