Chocolate-Covered Strawberries: Protect Your Valentine’s Heart [Video]

What is it about chocolate-covered strawberries and Valentine’s Day? There’s a lot that make these luscious little treats a wise way into your Valentine’s heart. They are appealing to look at and delicious to the taste, but there’s more to this treat than you might think, especially if you are partial to dark chocolate. If you want to both win and protect your Valentine’s heart, dark chocolate-covered strawberries are a great way to go.

Let’s start with the strawberries themselves. Everyone knows they are a great source of vitamin C, supplying 42 percent of your recommended daily intake if you are a woman or 30 percent for a man, but did you know that vitamin C helps protect you from cardiovascular disease and boosts your immune system? Vitamin C also helps break down fat cells so your body can burn them for energy, as well as assists in building collagen for stronger tissues. Strawberries also provide fiber and a healthy dose of vitamin A.

Take those healthy little berries and dip them in dark chocolate, and magical things happen– for your mood and your health. Chocolate-covered strawberries give you a boost of manganese, which ups your metabolism by helping you burn more carbohydrates and proteins. Both strawberries and dark chocolate contribute much-needed antioxidants into your day, which protect the body’s cells against aging by fighting free-radicals in the bloodstream. Those who have diabetes can also benefit from eating a dark chocolate-covered strawberry or two, because the flavonoids in dark chocolate help fight insulin resistance. Dark chocolate also provides mood-boosting polyphenols. What Valentine won’t appreciate the many health benefits associated with chocolate-covered strawberries?

Even if your Valentine doesn’t care much about the health benefits of chocolate-covered strawberries, he or she will love the taste and the thought. Perhaps the best thing about them is that they are easy to make yourself. By making them yourself, you can customize the kind of chocolate you use, including milk, white, dark or bittersweet options, as well as vegan chocolate for your favorite vegan Valentine.

Chocolate-covered strawberries are healthy and romantic. What’s not to love?