MORE: So if you could write the perfect romantic menu, what would it include?
JJV: I’d start out with some snacking stuff. I love doing celery sticks with almond butter, because it’s a great two-for-one. And maybe some oysters and then, because I like more finger-food type things, maybe some grass-fed carpaccio, because beef’s another one that has great levels of zinc. Then I would look at coupling that with some roasted red peppers and some tomatoes. You could do sushi with some ginger, which is very anti-inflammatory, and wasabi to zip it up a bit. Serve it with a little red wine and end the night with some chocolates. The phenylethylamine in dark chocolate helps emit that endorphin response you feel when you’re in love. So you could end with dark-chocolate almonds.

Just try to make things sexy right from the beginning. I love the whole idea of finger foods and feeding each other and having fun. That’s really what I think will set the mood—it’s not just the foods that help but how you present them, what you wear and the candlelight, too. It’s the whole package.

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Related: Feed Your Libido

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