In celebration of Valentine’s Day I have 8 new Valentine themed meals. But anytime is appropriate to make a heart themed meal for a loved one.

My friend and I made this easy pasta lunch during my recovery from shoulder surgery. The hardest part about it is getting the “O” shaped cheese out of the cookie cutter in one piece.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Mini Farfalle pasta with pasta sauce, X and O Cheddar cheese (cookie cutter)

Top Right: Raspberries with X and O letter picks

Bottom Right: Sugar-snap peas with heart pick

Salsa rice and black beans is very popular here so it was a natural choice to make a salsa rice heart.

Container: LunchBots Trio

Top Left: Cooked Nishiki rice mixed with a little salsa, shaped into a heart with a rice mold, and served with black beans and salsa

Top Right: Pretzel Snaps

Bottom: Celery with natural peanut butter and heart sprinkles

Mr and Mrs Heart sit on a bed of red bell pepper and green beans. (To make it a complete meal you can serve protein with it.)

Note: My niece made and photographed this with me during my shoulder surgery recovery.

Container: ECO Lunchboxes

Contents: Cooked Nishiki rice shaped into a hearts with a rice mold, spinach mustache, red pepper lips, red pepper, green beans

I used a Precious Moments cookie cutter to make the sandwich in this lunch. The heart shaped skewer was given to me by my Mom. She got it on a recent flight.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Green grapes on a stick, peanut butter sandwich on wheat bread

Top Right: Heart shaped hard boiled egg (I used this mold)

Bottom Right: Pretzel Snaps

My parents and I had these cute heart shaped calzones for lunch.

Note: My Dad made and photographed this with me during my shoulder surgery recovery.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Heart shaped calzones (pizza dough cut into heart shapes with a cookie cutter), filling: ricotta, basil, oregano, garlic powder, and mozzarella, baked in 400 degree oven until golden brown, small heart garnish, spinach

Top Right: Strawberries cut into hearts

Bottom Right: Tomato sauce (in Mini Dippers)

My swans cookie cutter made a sweet Valentine sandwich.

Note: My niece made and photographed this with me during my shoulder surgery recovery.

Container: EasyLunchBoxes

Left Side: Peanut butter sandwich on wheat bread (we used an imprint cookie cutter and cut each piece of bread separately then made the sandwich), spinach

Top Right: Macadamia nuts

Bottom Right: Celery filled with cream cheese and topped with dried cherries pushed into heart shapes

This Valentine envelope rice meal was easy to make but I think it is very cute!

Note: My niece made and photographed this with me during my shoulder surgery recovery.

Container: Book Bento Box

Contents: Nishiki rice with spinach lines and red bell pepper heart (cookie cutter)

I made this simple Quesadilla lunch for my Mom and served it on a plate.

On Plate: Salsa, flour tortilla quesadillas with shredded cheddar cheese, heart shaped cucumbers (cookie cutter)

Happy Valentine’s Day! I hope that you are able to enjoy a meal with someone you love.