In full transparency, Valentine’s Day has never been an important holiday for me. I have always preferred a random act of love throughout the year over a day filled with exceedingly high expectations that tends to lead to disappointment. Thankfully my husband shares my sentiment so we enjoy the day like any other. However, our two young daughters love the color pink and any excuse for gifts and tasty treats. In a loving effort to preserve the magic of childhood, I try my best to make Valentine’s Day special for them, yet simple for me.
Since we follow a vegan diet, buying heart shaped cookies from the store is not an option, as they often contain dairy and eggs. Instead, I opt to make a lot of things ourselves. This is an overview of our simple, vegan Valentine’s Day.
Breakfast: Pink Heart-Shaped Pancakes
Leslie Knope said it best, “Why would anyone ever eat anything besides breakfast food?” While waffles are obviously the G.O.A.T. when it comes to the most important meal of the day, pancakes are a close second. They are less time consuming to make, and you can easily make them into different shapes! My favorite vegan pancake recipe is this super simple one from Nora Cooks. All you need is flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, water, and plant-based milk. To add a special Valentine’s flare, I replace the water with pureed strawberries and cook them in a heart shape.
Snack: Chocolate-Covered Anything
My girls love to help in the kitchen and covering food in melted chocolate has become a favorite snack-tivity. They might eat more during the preparation than they do in the final product, but that’s okay. They had fun and they feel loved. Mission accomplished.
To make simple vegan chocolate-covered treats you need vegan friendly chocolate chips (such as Enjoy Life) and a food to cover. Some of our favorite options are strawberries, pretzels, or peanut-butter-filled dates. To melt the chocolate, pour the chocolate chips into a microwave-safe bowl, and heat in the microwave for 30 second intervals. Make sure to stir between each one to keep the chocolate from burning as it melts. Next, dip your food into the chocolate and set it on parchment paper to dry. If you’re making these with small children, expect a lot of clean-up. It is a simple snack, but it can get very messy.
Lunch: More Heart-Shaped Food
A few weeks ago, my six year old perfected her ideal lunch: a PB&J Sandwich, Hippeas (essentially dairy-free cheese puffs), ripe strawberries, and two Oreos. Like most parents, I learned early on that if it’s working, don’t change it. So while my kids typically eat some variation of this lunch every day, on February 14th I use a mini heart-shaped cookie cutter on her sandwich and fruit for a same-yet-special meal.
Dinner: Vegan Mac and “Cheese”
I’m not sure what the typical Valentine’s Day dinner is supposed to be, but in our house, mac and cheese tends to be the meal for any special occasion. We’ve been making it for so long that we freestyle the cheese sauce recipe, but it always includes a base of potatoes, carrots, cashews, and nutritional yeast. Potatoes for substance, carrots for color, cashews for creaminess, and nutritional yeast for that slightly cheesy flavor. The Ultimate Vegan Mac n Cheese is a great recipe if you’re new to vegan cheese substitutes. To make it a full meal, we top the pasta with air-fried tofu, BBQ sauce, and caramelized onions.
Bonus: Cookies for the Classroom
Like most schools, my daughter’s class is having a Valentine’s Day party complete with treats of all kinds. This year I volunteered to bring in cookies. With the rising awareness of allergies, I make it a point to prepare something that every kid in the class can enjoy. For her class, that means no dairy, eggs, peanut butter, or red dye. We have settled on these sweet Linzer Heart Cookies that are filled with strawberry jam to add some pink color.
In the midst of all the delicious food we make on February 14, I try to remember that the treats are just the expression. The true heart is showing others that you love them, that you care about their needs, that you see them, that you include them. This means doing the work to make accommodations so they can participate. For my family, it means a little bit of extra food preparation on a holiday for which I prefer to ignore. That is a price I will pay time and time again.