Healthy Ways to Show Kids You Love Them on Valentine's Day

Valentine's Day confuses me.

I don't understand why we are expected to show our love with chocolate, treats and heart-shaped candy. It's become a second Halloween. Plus, why express our love to the people we care about only on this one particular day? Shouldn't we be telling our husbands and friends and family that we love them every day?

I just don't get it.

But my kids do. My 6 year old, a first-grade student at , thinks that Valentine's Day is about getting cards from everyone and eating lots of baked goods. I'm not sure where she got the notion, but it's there.

So, this year, I'm doing my best to show my kids that I love them without sugary treats during the day.

Here are some of my ideas:

• I'm going to write a love note to each kid on a banana and pack it in their lunch.
• I'm going to make heart-shaped pancakes for breakfast to fortify them for the sugar-filled day.
• I'm going to cut their sandwiches into hearts (my heart-shaped cookie cutter is going to get a lot of work on Tuesday).
• I'm going to put heart-shaped, hard-boiled eggs in their lunches (check out how to make them here).
• I'm even going to cut some strawberries and melon slices into hearts and serve it with pink yogurt!

Hopefully, these little things will show my girls how much I love them while not losing the spirit of Valentine's Day in their minds, and they won't miss the gobs of chocolate in their lunches. Oh, and I'll let them splurge on the heart-shaped, pink frosting cupcakes I'm making for dessert.

{stay at home FOODIE}