Need a little extra boost this Valentine’s Day? Add these aphrodisiac foods to your menu.

There are many ways to bring more lift to the love and the libido this Valentine’s Day. One creative way to do it is by cooking a Valentine’s Day feast for your loved one, only not just any meal; instead, one that not only tastes good but also boosts sexual drive. By the time dessert arrives, you’ll be ready to take it to the bedroom. These ten natural aphrodisiacs bring more flavor and fun to a home-cooked Valentine’s Day meal. Try your hand at the suggested recipes and incorporate sex drive into each bite.

1. Tomatoes

Also known as the “love apple,” the tomato deserves aphrodisiac status for several reasons. Its color and tender flesh alone are reasons enough to deem the tomato sexy, but consuming tomatoes is also known to improve sexual performance as well as calm pre-sex nerves, which can be beneficial for new couples who are getting intimate for the first time. The tomato also improves muscle control.

Recipes:

Spiced Tomato-Potato Gratin

Grilled Tomato Salsa

Chickpea, Tomato, and Egg Salad

2. Garlic

Garlic breath is  a classic turn off, but did you know that eating garlic may turn you on? Greeks and Egyptians have lauded garlic as an aphrodisiac. Other groups forbade the consumption of garlic prior to entering sacred places, as it was believed to incite passion. Modern science explains that garlic is effective in improving blood circulation and thus able to better let blood flow to the groin.

3. Avocados

Beginning in 200 B.C., the Mayans and Aztecs ate the avocado to increase their sexual desirability. It’s packed with fiber, antioxidants, healthy fats and vitamins A and E, making it good not only for you body but also for your skin and complexion. Because of its so-called “sex vitamin” — vitamin E — content, the avocado is also used to treat erectile dysfunction. The avocado is also high in folic acid, which helps to metabolize proteins and provide more energy. Additionally, it features vitamin B6, which improves male hormone production, and potassium, which regulates women’s thyroid gland.

Recipes:

Healthy Banana Bread with Avocado

Vegan Avocado Alfredo Sauce

Baked Egg in Avocado with Parsley and Goat Cheese

4. Carrots

In Ancient Greece, carrots were used as an aphrodisiac. The Arabs were known to consume carrots boiled in milk in order to boost their sex drive. Carrots  are rich in vitamins A and E, and when those two antioxidants combine, they positively affect sex hormones. Carrots are also effective in preventing weariness so you retain bedroom stamina.

Recipe:

Baked Carrot Chips

5. Chocolate

The Aztecs were the first to draw a parallel between cocoa beans and sexual desire. Today, scientists accredit chocolate’s aphrodisiac qualities to its tryptophan and phenylethylamine content. Tryptophan  incites sexual arousal by helping to produce serotonin. Phenylethylamine is a chemical released in the brain when people fall in love.

Recipe:

Avocado Chocolate Pudding

Vegan Chocolate Mousse with Sea Salt

6. Arugula

Originally from the Mediterranean region, arugula has been used throughout time as a natural aphrodisiac that contributes to sexual arousal. The Romans even consecrated the green to the god of fertility, Priapus. Science can back up ancient claims. Arugula is packed with antioxidants, which contribute to the health of your reproductive organs and increase libido.

Recipe:

Potato and Kale Soup with Parsley-Arugula Pesto

7. Asparagus

Aside from its phallic shape, asparagus offers more than its form. The vegetable is high in vitamin E, which incites sex hormones and lifts the libido. Asparagus also gets things moving down under by stimulating the urinary tract.

Recipes:

Asparagus & Leek Soup

Tabasco & Asparagus Quinoa

8. Truffles

The truffle takes the prize as having the reputation as the world’s greatest natural aphrodisiac, and as far back as ancient Greek and Roman times. Be it the allure of the truffle’s rarity or its unique flavor, it surely has mastered the libido. The scent of truffles is very similar to male pheromones and their amino acid and protein content ensure greater energy in the bedroom.

9. Red Wine

According to a study conducted in Florence, Italy, women who drank one to two glasses of wine per day exhibited a greater sex drive and sexual performance than those who drank less than one glass or more than two. The reason for this can be tied to the fact that red wine is high in antioxidants, and when enjoyed in moderation, can help you to unwind, relax, and increase your sexual appetite. Be sure to pick the right organic wine.

10. Ginger

Ginger not only has a refreshing aroma but also contributes to the health of the circulatory system, making the erogenous zones particularly sensitive and more easily aroused.

Kale and Ginger Green Smoothie

Honey, Ginger Sparkling Lemonade with Rosemary

Photo Credit: ButterflySha, St0rmz, Muffet, Tim Sackton, WoodleyWonderworks, Ira Gelb

The post 10 Aphrodisiacs to Use in Your Home-Cooked Valentine’s Day Meal appeared first on EcoSalon.

With ingredients like cardamom, ginger, jasmine and chili peppers, these 10 cocktails & non-alcoholic drinks will get you revved up and ready for some action.

Can a cocktail facilitate better sex? Sure, once you’ve had a certain amount of alcohol, your inhibitions begin to slip away – but when you add certain ingredients to a drink, the effects are even greater. Aphrodisiacs like ginger, honey, vanilla, hot peppers and saffron get your blood pumping, flood your brain with feel-good chemicals and increase hormone levels to heighten arousal, increase your stamina and just plain get you in the mood. And the starring ingredients in these 10 libido-boosting drinks (both the hard kind and the non-alcoholic) will please your taste buds, too.

Cardamom Rose Cocktail

Who can resist the aromatic allure of cardamom? This stimulating seed pod, which is often used as a natural treatment for impotence,  packs a lot of flavor into a small package. Pair it with romantic rose in the Cardamom Rose Cocktail by Apothecary, featured at Design Sponge. Rose and cucumber-infused Hendrick’s gin, homemade rose syrup, grapefruit juice, bitters and a single cardamom pod are combined into a sophisticated drink in a beautiful shade of petal-pink.

Kiwi Blackberry Summer Sangria

Helping to control all-important progesterone levels in both men and women, zinc is essential to a healthy libido. It’s found in a wide variety of food sources including pumpkin seeds, mushrooms and spinach – but when it comes to drinks, the tastiest ways to get it are blackberries and kiwi. Yummy Mummy has a recipe for a sweet-sounding Kiwi Blackberry Sangria that includes white wine and fresh mint. Try juicing or just blending up additional blackberries in place of the berry juice to get an extra punch of this mineral.

Ginger Mango Granita (Non-Alcoholic)

Ginger enhances blood flow down below, and pairs perfectly with sensual, sticky-sweet mango. This Ginger Mango Granita recipe from Food Network brings the two together into a refreshing frozen treat that’s non-alcoholic (but would be off-the-charts delicious with a little champagne.)

Jasmine Cocktail

Renowned as an aphrodisiac for centuries, jasmine is said to induce a euphoric response. This night-blooming flower is certainly romantic, and an exotic addition to both alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks. Try the light and refreshing Mango Jasmine Bubble Tea, which includes frozen mango, jasmine tea and tapioca pearls. The distillery Koval offers an organic, floral jasmine liqueur, and a recipe for a drink called “Koval’s Crossing” that mixes it with lime, mint, cucumber and rosemary.

The Spicy Lemon

Chili peppers are another powerful ingredient for enhancing blood flow and stimulating the release of feel-good endorphins. Infuse a little gin or vodka with a slice of your favorite pepper – from a medium-heat serrano to a fiery scotch bonnet – and balance it with some honey and lemon. Get the recipe for “The Spicy Lemon” at Tokyo Terrace.

Vanilla Honey Martini

It’s called a honeymoon for a reason – honey has been tied to sexual desire for so long that it was once custom for newlyweds to down mead for a month after marrying. The B vitamins in honey aid in the production of testosterone, and it’s also a great energy booster. Add it to vanilla – the scent of which is a powerful aphrodisiac for both sexes – and you’ve got quite the winning combination. Epicurious has a recipe for a super-simple Vanilla Honey Martini that lets these two ingredients shine.

Mexican Hot Chocolate Martini

We associate chocolate with pleasure, sin – and, of course, sex. Chocolate stimulates the production of dopamine in the brain and is packed with all kinds of stimulating substances like caffeine. It’s also a natural mood booster, and helps improve stress levels so you can relax. Combine some dark cocoa powder with a little ground chipotle pepper in the dessert-worthy Mexican Hot Chocolate Martini at Noche Latina. Of course, the non-alcoholic version is delicious, too.

Bloody Mary Oyster Shooters

Sliding a slimy raw oyster down your gullet may not sound like the sexiest thing to do, but there’s some scientific research to back up claims that oysters are among the most powerful aphrodisiacs. The amino acids in raw oysters, which are at their highest levels in the spring, increase production of testosterone in men and progesterone in women. Make them more palatable (and add some extra libido-boosting power) with spicy Bloody Mary Oyster Shooters.  Be sure to eat that celery, too – it contains androsterone, a hormone that stimulates arousal. And as long as you don’t mind the effects on your breath, add a little garlic, while you’re at it – it contains a heat-inducing component that can get you even more riled up.

Honey, Saffron & Ginger Champagne Cocktail

Spicy ginger, soothing honey and warm, comforting saffron are mixed into a dreamy champagne cocktail in this recipe from Eat Boutique. It involves making your own honey and saffron liqueur – which may seem intimidating, but is actually quite a simple process. You’re simply infusing some vodka with vanilla, honey, cinnamon, peppercorns, saffron, nutmeg and lemon in a saucepan on the stovetop. Researchers have discovered that along with ginseng (which you can add to virtually any drink in tincture form), saffron is nature’s most potent aphrodisiac.

Lucky Devil

How many aphrodisiacs can you pack into one drink? The Lucky Devil is an alcohol-free cocktail with cinnamon, cardamom, honey and saffron. Developed by New York City’s Museum of Sex, the recipe includes homemade cinnamon and cardamom elixirs, granulated honey and a saffron rock candy garnish.

The post 10 Alcoholic Drinks that Can Improve Your Sex Life appeared first on EcoSalon.

EcoSalon celebrates its 5,555th post with something groundbreaking like this really weird 5,556th post.

This week marked our 5,555th post and at first, we thought we should run for cover when all those 5’s lined up. After all, freaky things happen when the shapely number rears its big, flat head: in Egyptian mythology people get beaten to a pulp, cylons in Battlestar Galactica get meaner than hell and let’s not forget the satanic pentagram in all its five pointedness.

To celebrate this major milestone, we decided to pull the strangest articles out from the woodworks that we could find. Here are some goodies we hope will make you keep reading EcoSalon until the end of the world happens on our 6,666th post.

This week we got to learn about a very sacred space in a woman’s drawer, the low income pantie housing section, where dreams and romance basically die and tragic revelations about self-worth emerge. In The Psychology of a Woman’s Underwear, we go to that comedic space and listen to the tale of our new writer Jane F. King-Doe.

What do chickens and Jesus have in common? Religion. And according to one eco-fashion blogger who was completely incensed by our article Jesus, Enough With The Chicken, we got a Letter to the Editor from her stating our stance on fast food chain Chick Fil-A was not only wrong, it was just pure blasphemy.

We can totally appreciate the work that PETA does to protect animals but some of their work borders lunacy. In 5 More Utterly Outrageous PETA Stunts, writer Mike Sowden documents PETA’s denial that fish exist, tries to wrap his brain around how dressing up like the KKK helps prevent dog breeding and wrings his hands over targeting children with profusely bleeding cows via video games.

Sexy, sexy, sexy, that’s what garlic is, and cardamom and of course just-out-of-the-oven steaming pumpkin seeds. They are so spicy sexy they can actually get your orgasmic motor running and in Orgasmic Organics: 20 Tasty Aphrodisiacs To Put Sizzle In Your Sex Life we gobble up all the information we can get before we set out to start our (cough) eco-friendly weekends.

If we can’t wear mink we should turn to something furry still like, say…nutria! New Orleans based Righteous Fur says this “colossal waste” of fur from rodents causing major coastal erosion should be recycled into fun hats, bags and other nutria-fur-based accessories. Maybe just clicking over to Guilt Free Fur to see the pictures will be enough for you to realize, fur, any way you slice it is just so, dead.

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