Valentine's day ....

Valentine's day history is not set in stone, but Pope Gelasius declared February 14th a day of celebration in honor of Saint Valentine in the year 496. Over time, it evolved into a holiday of love. Now, V-day is a nearly $17 billion industry (crazy, right?). And while it is fun to spend dollars on your significant other, friends, etc. on the 14th, it doesn't have to cost a penny! And those non-material gifts (like a cute and sweet letter, bike ride together, picnic, photos, videos, etc...) are the most green and often most memorable.

I remember the first Valentine's Day that my husband and I spent together! We weren't veg yet. For dessert, I knew he liked pears, so I made him a pear dessert. Check out the new and improved pear dessert in the superhero section of The Kind Diet! It is perfect to make on Valentine's Day!

But back to the gift front...there's no denying that flowers will be given like crazy. And I know I've talked about this before, but I'll say it again, you must go organic...sooooo much better for the world. Regular flowers are laden with tons of chemicals (insecticides, fungicides, growth regulators) to achieve perfect flower status. Most of these things have been banned in the US, but most flowers are imported from other countries where the chemicals are not regulated. The chemicals in these flowers can be over 1000 times greater than in food products...and no, you won't be eating them, and that's a good thing, but they will be in your life and you will be smelling them. Not to mention how bad these toxins are for the workers that grow them! I think you get the point....try for local, organic flowers from your farmer's market, or google away for what is near you and check out localharvest.org/organic-flowers.jsp. In New York, I love Gardenia Organic Flower Shop!

And a few great sites I love are:

Organicbouquet.com
Organicflowers.com
Californiaorganicflowers.com
Diamondorganics.com

And of course, you could always grow your own... try seedsofchange.com.

I also found a couple cute gifts on girliegirlarmy.com. Look how cute this pillow is (pictured above)! It's from Alexandra Ferguson Pillows. And this nightie (pictured below)! This organic one is from Perfectly Impertfect Venus Lace Nighty @ embodies.com.

And check out my gift blog for these healthy for the world chocolates, candles, and cards. You can also make desserts from The Kind Diet as gifts, and wrap them up all nicely, like I blogged about a couple weeks ago. One of my work partners just had a valentine card-making little gathering with friends... her and her friends are super crafty and they just used all their art supplies they already had like beads and watercolors, and ribbon, and magazines and made their own valentines.

If you're going to be sending treats and chocolates, Allison's Gourmet makes the nicest gifts. I love her peanut butter cups, brownies, and peanut brittle. SO yummy! www.allisonsgourmet.com

Here is a link to greenlagirl.com, and Green LA Girl's super sweet V-day card recommendations: http://greenlagirl.com/eco-friendly-valentines-day-cards/.

Great ways to be eco and Valentine's Day friendly include: showering with your partner... fun AND saves water, bedroom activities with the lights out... saves energy. More on green love at eartherotics.com or treehugger.com (search "how to green your sex life").

Let me know what you are planning for your Valentine's Day!