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It’s that dreaded day of the year–Valentine’s Day. Everywhere you go there is an abundance of candy, cakes, and other treats to tease you and entice you over to the dark side. Whether your lifestyle is traditional low-carb, Paleo, or primal, there are a few simple ways to stay on track. With just a bit of planning, your Valentine’s Day can still be filled with decadent dinners and scrumptious treats that you and your loved ones will enjoy guilt-free and low-carb.

Get your workout in early

Valentine’s Day is not an excuse to take a break from your low carb routine. More than likely, you will indulge a bit more than usual. It is said that until you love yourself, you can’t truly love another; by ensuring a great workout, you are doing just that. After your workout, treat yourself to a fruity low carb protein smoothie. Sweating out the toxins and getting those endorphins going will allow you to resist the sugar laden junk throughout the day.

Make sure to keep some healthy treats on hand at the office

Well meaning co-workers will probably bring all sorts of candy and other sweets to the office that you may find difficult to resist. Dip some strawberries in low carb dark chocolate the night before or try making a healthy candy treat like our low-carb Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups recipe. Maybe your healthy treats will convert a co-worker or two into trying a healthier low-carb lifestyle. Maybe it will just get some people trying almond butter!

Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups Recipe

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With just a bit of planning, your Valentine’s Day can still be filled with decadent dinners and scrumptious treats that you and your loved ones will enjoy guilt free and low carb.

Author: Deena Segal

Ingredients

Units Scale

12 paper or silicone muffin cups
12 ounces of unsweetened dark chocolate
1/2 teaspoon of granulated Swerve or 1/4 teaspoon liquid stevia
1 cup almond butter (crunchy or smooth)
1/2 cup Swerve confectioner’s sweetener
1/4 teaspoon salt

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Instructions

If using paper muffin cups, cut the top half off the muffin cups so that they are more shallow and place them in a muffin tin for stability. If using the silicone muffin cups, place them in a muffin tin.
In the microwave, melt the chocolate in a glass bowl for 2 minutes at 50% power. Stir the chocolate and melt for 30 seconds more if necessary. Be careful not to over heat the chocolate or it will seize up. Repeat as necessary for no longer that 30 seconds each time until chocolate is smooth.
Add the granulated swerve or liquid stevia to the chocolate and mix well.
Using a teaspoon, spoon a portion of the chocolate into the middle of a muffin cup. Draw the chocolate up the edges of the cup and with the back of the spoon. Coat the entire inside of the muffin cup with the chocolate. If you use paper muffin cups, be sure to make the chocolate thick to enough to hold it’s shape when you eventually peel back the paper, but not so thick that you can’t bite into it or run out of chocolate for the top layer later on.
Repeat with the remaining muffin cups and then put the whole muffin tin into the fridge until the chocolate hardens and set the remaining chocolate aside.
Combine the almond butter, confectioner’s sweetener, and salt in a bowl and microwave on high for 1 minute to soften the mixture.
Spoon a small portion of the almond butter mixture into each of the chocolate cups, leaving room at the top for an additional layer of chocolate to add later.
Pop the candy back in the fridge to firm up the almond butter, for about an hour.
When the almond butter filling has hardened, re-melt the remaining chocolate in the microwave at half power for 30-60 seconds. Use a teaspoon to spread a layer of chocolate over the top of each candy. Once again, chill the candy to set up the chocolate.
Remove paper before eating and enjoy!

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Optional Equipment

Since it is low-carb Valentine’s Day, do you want to look like a superstar to your loved one? Try one or more of these heart-shaped silicone molds for making the low-carb Dark Chocolate Almond Butter Cups:

Wilton 6-Cavity Heart-Shaped Mold Pan:

Allforhome Silicone 10 Heart-Shaped Molds:

iClover Vermilion-Food Grade Heart-Shaped Silicone Bakeware Silicone Mold:

Plan a Special Valentine’s Dinner

Whether you are dining with your family, a special someone, or a group of friends, make something decadent–but keep it low carb. Check out Susie T. Gibb’s Romantic Low Carb Valentine’s Day Dinner.

More Valentine’s Day Recipes & Sugar-Free Holiday Options items.

ENCORE: Refusing Holiday Food and Staying Low-Carb – CarbSmart Podcast Episode 23

CarbSmart Podcast Episode 23: Refusing Holiday Food and Staying Low-Carb can be tough at first but you can do it to avoid the Food Pushers. The holidays are straight ahead, and with them piles and piles of carby junk, and worse, people nagging you to eat the stuff. Why so many people think that saying things like "But you have to eat it! It's traditional!" and "I worked all afternoon making it just for you" constitutes an expression of holiday goodwill, I have no idea, but sadly this behavior is all too common. You need to think ahead about how to respond to this sort of thing.