Savvy Vegetarian Blog

news and opinion on vegetarian diet and nutrition, vegetarian lifestyle, green living, and environment

Send comments to SV Blog

Tue, 07 Feb 2006

Valentine Candy Quandary

Dear Savvy Vegetarian,

I would like to buy Valentine's Day chocolate for a woman, but she cannot digest chocolate. I know she uses carob chips as a substitute for chocolate chips and likes them, but I cannot find any carob based Valentine's Day candy. Where can I find nice Valentine's Day candy (not cheap kid's stuff) that isn't chocolate based? Does carob Valentine's Day candy exist?

Thanks! - M.A.

Carob Valentine's Day Candy exists!

First, try a natural food store - maybe call around to see if they have carob valentine candy or gift baskets including carob candy.

I looked online and found a few sites selling carob candy. These two were okay in a pinch:
Goddess Chocolate, and Bulk Foods.

The best was Healthy Trader. They had a carob truffle valentine gift box for $15.89 + shipping, a little more for gift wrapping - look under February. If you order today and rush it, you should be able to get it in time for Valentine's Day.

Consider Other Options:

Take her out for dinner, restaurant of her choice.

Give her a beautiful card and roses (be aware that the flower industry is extremely non-fair trade, and uses more toxic chemicals than any other agricultural industry)

Maybe a gift, or gift certificate instead of the roses, or an organic fruit basket instead of candy.

Bake her a carob cake, if you're handy in the kitchen. If not, hire someone who is. SV's Valentine's Day Chocolate Cake was submitted to us as a carob cake, so it should work well if you substitute carob for chocolate. Hint: Buy a heart shaped cake pan.

Tell her how you feel about her - that's the best Valentine's gift of all!

Combine any of the above for a Happy Valentine's Day!