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30 Healthy Date Night Recipes for Sparking Romance, Not Naps

Nothing says "I'm into you" like these healthy date night recipes.
This image may contain Food Dish Meal Animal Lobster Seafood Sea Life and Platter
Photo by Alex Lau, Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich

Really, who wants to deal with wrangling Valentine's Day dinner reservations at that trendy, new spot? Here at Healthyish, we think the real pro move is to stay in and express your love (or like, or whatever ~ feelings ~ you may have) via cooking, so we're turning to these vibrant salads, impressive (but quick-cooking!) mains, minimalist cocktails, and a few killer make-ahead desserts.

  • Image may contain Food Dish Meal Platter Plant and Salad
    Photo by Laura Murray. Food Styling by Judy Mancini.
    1/30

    Celery, Apple, and Peanut Salad

    You can mix and match the types of apples with whatever you have on hand. Doing so brings out a more complex flavor as well as a more colorful salad.

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  • Image may contain Food Dish Meal Plant and Platter
    Michael Graydon + Nikole Herriott
    2/30

    Radicchio and Citrus Salad with Burrata

    We’re over having to carefully cut the peels off citrus before slicing them; simply peeling them first keeps their natural shape intact and saves time.

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  • This image may contain Food Dish Meal Animal Lobster Seafood Sea Life and Platter
    Photo by Alex Lau, Styling by Rebecca Jurkevich
    11/30

    Hanger Steak with Tahini and Smashed Charred Beets

    When tahini is whisked with just some water, lemon juice, olive oil, and salt, it becomes an all-purpose condiment that can be made ahead and spooned onto nearly any dish.

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  • Image may contain Food Meal Dish and Plant
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Emily Eisen
    12/30

    Ponzu Roasted Salmon for Two

    Salty-tart and just-sweet-enough ponzu sauce is a great back-pocket finisher for everything from salads to roasted vegetables, especially when you are tired of your everyday vinaigrette.

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  • This image may contain Food Dish Meal Plant and Pizza
    Photo by Alex Lau, Styling by Andy Baraghani
    13/30

    Butternut Squash Baked Pasta

    The assignment: A satisfying, creamy, crave-worthy baked pasta that would still be delicious without (most of) the cheese. Nailed it!

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  • Image may contain Plant Food Dish Meal Produce and Seasoning
    Photo by Alex Lau, Styling by Sue Li
    14/30

    Lamb Chops with Tomato Salad

    You want that lamb fat to render out gently; it’ll eventually become part of the sauce that will tie the whole dish together.

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  • Image may contain Spaghetti Food Pasta Noodle and Bread
    Alex Lau
    19/30

    Spaghetti Aglio e Olio With Lots of Kale

    You will think this pasta recipe calls for an absurd amount of kale, but it will shrink a ton when cooked.

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  • This image may contain Food Dessert Creme Cream Fudge and Chocolate
    Photo by Alex Lau, food styling by Rebecca Jurkevich, prop styling by Emily Eisen
    20/30

    Coconut-Chocolate Mousse

    Choose a chocolate that does not exceed 64% cacao for a mousse with the smoothest texture. If you want the mousse to be fully non-dairy, look for a vegan chocolate bar, though the flavor may differ slightly.

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  • Image may contain Accessories Tie Accessory and Purple
    Michael Graydon & Nikole Herriott
    25/30

    Black-and-White Halvah

    Both types of tahini should be roughly the same consistency for this halvah recipe—ideally pretty loose and pourable—which makes it easy to marble them. Most black tahini will be great, but Roland and Whole Foods 365 Organic were the best of the white tahini we tested.

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  • Image may contain Food Creme Ice Cream Dessert Cream Chocolate Plant Confectionery and Sweets
    Gentl & Hyers
    26/30

    Chocolate-Avocado Pudding

    Leave it to cool-kid mecca Gjusta in Venice, CA, to create a produce-based, low-sugar, vegan-friendly, “good”-fat-filled, crowd-pleasing chocolate pudding recipe. That would also be completely acceptable to eat for breakfast. Learn how to make this recipe and more in our online cooking class with Sur la Table.

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  • Image may contain Drink Cocktail Alcohol Beverage Food Ketchup and Mojito
    Photo by Alex Lau
    29/30

    Rosy Gin-Kombucha Cocktail

    New to kombucha? This cocktail is perfect for a test drive, because you’ll get a taste of “original” (unflavored) kombucha.

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  • Image may contain Drink Tea Beverage and Pottery
    Ted Cavanaugh
    30/30

    Moneygun Hot Toddy

    At Moneygun in Chicago, they make this hot toddy in a French press. It's the perfect answer to what to drink on a chilly night.

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