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Skin it. Remove the skin from chicken and turkey before eating.

Spend Valentine's Day with your family and friends, bonding, having fun and playing. This can reduce stress and is great for the heart.

Try something new. Eat more beans and tofu in place of meat at lunch and dinner.

Don't get too saucy. Try to use sauces like marinara and oils instead of thick sauces like Alfredo, cream sauces, cheese sauces, and hollandaise.

Create a Cook Book. Have all your friends get their favorite healthy recipe from their parents and then put them together. Have copies made of all the recipes for your friends to try. Try having a potluck dinner at your house and have everyone bring the dish made from the recipe they gave for the cookbook.

Skip the sugar. Quench your thirst with water instead of soda, and grab a banana instead of a cookie – you’ll feel better.

Breads, breakfast cereals, and prepared foods, including soups may be high in salt and/or sugar. Read food labels for content and choose high-fiber, low-salt and low sugar options.

Can It. Go to the kitchen and get two of the heaviest cans that you can hold. Stand with your feet flat on the floor, with cans in your hands and your arms at your side. Pull the cans up to your chest - bending at the elbows.  Hold for 2 seconds and let your arms down slowly.  Repeat 10 times.

To gain the maximum benefits from play time, engage in moderate to vigorous activity at least half the time.

Try a new fruit or vegetable every week. Here are a few to begin with: kiwi, squash, pumpkin, asparagus, and Asian pear.

It’s all about balancing the food that you eat (energy in) with physical activity (energy out) to help your body grow.

Be a good role model to the people around you by making healthy eating choices and getting regular exercise.

Try some beets - the are rich in B vitamin folate, which is essential for cell growth.

Dance! Turn up your favorite music and get your groove on! Don't be shy, shut your door and boogie down.

For breakfast, have some whole-grain cold or hot cereal and top with fresh or frozen fruit. You can also add bran.

Turn off your screens! Screen time includes watching television or movies, playing video and computer games and surfing the internet. When you are sitting in front of a screen, you are not being active and may snack on unhealthy foods. So turn off those screens to increase your energy and make yourself healthier!    

Looking for a healthy Valentine's Day gift, make a fruit bouquet using strawberries, grapes, cantaloupe, honeydew and other colorful fruit. They are filled with nutrients and vitamins.

Meat and poultry are favorite sources of essential protein yet they can be high in fat, especially unhealthy saturated fat and cholesterol. Use only lean cuts of meat and reduced-fat meat products.

Try and get at least 60 minutes of play time or exercise throughout each day and work up a sweat when doing it. Try dancing, swimming, mowing the lawn, or bicycling to start. You don't have to do all 60 minutes at once, feel free to break it up throughout your day.

When its cold outside, visit an indoor pool, ice-skating rink or basketball court at a local gym, school, or community center for some fun.