Healthy food choices and recipes for steamy sex

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Don’t worry about dinner reservations for Valentine’s Day. Staying home and cooking up something nutritious may be just the perfect menu option for this day of romance.

Especially if you use ingredients that can boost your boudoir performance.

So says Christine DeLozier, (ChristineDelozier.com), a licensed acupuncturist and herbalist in private practice who specializes in sexual health for all genders and orientations.

And a good diet really makes for great sex, according to DeLozier.

It’s more than just avoiding garlic and onions if you plan on getting intimate after dinner, notes DeLozier, who recently penned the steamy Diet For Great Sex – Food For Male and Female Sexual Health (IngramSpark). It’s also about making wise and healthy food choices to get the biggest bang out of intimacy.

DeLozier offers up a variety of nutritional suggestions for getting it on after eating, including adding lots of leafy greens to the menu, as they are known to improve sexual sensation.

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And don’t fear the flatulence! Foods you think you should avoid on dates for fear of making you gassy are, ironically, great for intimacy.

DeLozier addresses this and much more in the book packed with easy-to-navigate advice along with delicious food ideas, as well as no-nonsense tips on how to bring out the best passion in a ho-hum intimate encounter.

“We must care for the biological design of our bodies, and diet affects sex,” writes DeLozier from her book, adding “a great deal of clinical research demonstrates that certain eating habits increase blood flow to the genitals, balance sex hormones and help nerves to be most responsive to our partner’s touch.”

DeLozier’s offers a great sex action plan along with ingredients to help improve one’s intimate life from the inside out. She even has a special date-night sex menu specifically designed to improve blood flow and increase pleasure.

In one chapter, titled “Aphrodisiacs: Fluffers of the Gods,” DeLozier notes that lip service is given to the usual suspects (oysters, dark chocolate) but not the scientific backing “when in fact many aphrodisiacs have been studied scientifically… taken together, there’s enough evidence to explain why certain foods have been relied upon throughout the ages to stir the loins towards heightened pleasure.”

DeLozier says you can “eat your way to horny,” by making changes to your regular dietary habits. Cut back on processed and fried foods, refined sugar, carbonated drinks and white bread. Load up on fresh fruits and vegetables, and lean proteins.

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Before you know it, you’ll have the right recipe for romance!

The following recipes are from Diet For Great Sex.

Sex Juice

“This drink is appropriately named, as it gets the juices flowing thanks to the beets. Beet juice is a nitrate superstar; after drinking this, nitric oxide (which helps dilate blood vessels and improve vascular function) levels in the body will gradually rise, improving vascular function. This is important because, for the best sex we want great blood flow to where we need it most – for both men and women.” 

2 beets, washed, peeled and chopped

1 spicy pepper of choice, such as poblano or jalapeno (or use an apple if you prefer, which contains sex-boosting flavonoids)

2 tsp. (10 mL) minced fresh ginger

Juice all ingredients. If you don’t own a juicer throw everything in the blender, then strain liquid.

Serves 2.

Simple Spinach Salad with Fresh Herb Dressing:

Spinach is loaded with potassium and naturally-occurring nitrates, which dilate blood vessels and measurably improve vascular function within two hours of eating them. Wash and dry a bag of fresh, baby leaf spinach. Squeeze fresh lemon juice and toss with flavourful herbs like dill and basil – pass on the salty, fatty dressings.

Cleopatra’s Saffron Rice Stuffed Squash

“This squash is filled with delicately spiced saffron rice, fruit and nuts. Squash is loaded with sex-healthy potassium and antioxidants. Science has proven that potassium improves arterial function within a couple hours of eating it. In addition, this recipe is flavoured with aphrodisiac saffron, cloves and nutmeg for a fragrant, savoury sex food. Cloves are also a great choice as one study found they improved desire and performance within an hour of eating them. The addition of walnuts elevates this dish to sex stardom, as omega 3s quickly improve arterial function shortly after eating them.”

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1 acorn (or other) winter squash

1 Tbsp. (15 mL) vegetable oil

1/2 cup EACH fresh red pepper and onion, chopped

1 Tbsp. (15 mL) curry powder

Pinch saffron

1/8 tsp. (0.1 mL) EACH nutmeg and cloves

Pinch of salt

Pepper to taste

1/4 cup (60 mL) EACH raisins and halved walnuts

1 cup (250 mL) basmati rice

1-1/4 cups (310 mL) water

Chopped parsley for garnish

Acorn Squash: Preheat oven to 350F (180C). Halve squash, remove seeds, and place on a baking sheet. Add a few tablespoons  of water to centre hollow of squash. Bake for about 50-60 minutes, or until soft and tender.

Saffron Rice: Heat oil in a skillet on medium high. Add onion, red pepper and spices, and sautee until tender. Add rice  and toss to coat, 2-3 minutes. Add raisins, walnuts and water; reduce heat and cook 15-20 minutes, or until  rice is cooked. Spoon rice into squash and garnish with fresh parsley.

Serves 2.

Pan-Seared Herbed Salmon

DeLozier notes that testosterone falls sharply after a very fatty meal. “This has the potential to break  the mood, since adequate testosterone is necessary for strong libido in males and females.” A high-fat meal will also increase arterial stiffness within two hours – not what we want for intimacy. Omega 3 fatty acids, like those found in fish, though high in fat, improve the elasticity of blood vessels in the two-hour period after eating it. Which makes fish a perfect choice for an intimate evening.

2 salmon filets, rinsed, patted dry with paper towel

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1 tsp. (5 mL) coconut oil

Few sprigs of any fresh herbs that you like (thyme, dill, fresh parsley)

Salt, pepper to taste

1 tsp. (5 mL) low-sodium soy sauce

Take out salmon 20 minutes prior to cooking. Make sure salmon is patted dry. This will make for moister fish. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper to taste.

Heat coconut oil in a non-stick skillet at medium to medium high heat. When the oil is hot, place salmon filets skin-side-down in pan. Add fresh herbs to pan for flavour. Cook until pink flesh just starts to lighten at bottom, usually just a few minutes.

Add soy sauce to pan. Cook an additional 1-2 minutes, until there is a beautiful caramel glaze on your salmon. Flip and cook about 3 minutes or to desired doneness.

Serves 2.

Mango & Berries

Just like a high-fat meal, a high sugar meal will also cause testosterone levels to sharply decline shortly after eating. Instead of a sugary dessert, choose sex-healthy berries and mangoes. Berries are rich in polyphenols and potassium which measurably improve vascular function after eating it. And as a bonus,  they’re high in vitamin C, which improves mood within two hours.