Five Dietary Tips for a Romantic Dinner

Rule 1. On the big day, don't eat garlic, onions or heavily spiced foods, unless your significant other has eaten exactly the same foods. Eating the same foods negates any breath problems.

Rule 2. At dinner, drink no more than one or two small glasses of wine or champagne for women, two or three for men, before or during the meal. Drink no other alcohol except for perhaps one good but small brandy or liqueur after the meal. Why? Any more than that dulls the libido and can actually put you to sleep especially if the meal was large. A mimosa (fresh orange juice and champagne) or wine spritzer (half wine, half sparkling water) are refreshing ice breakers.

Rule 3. Keep the meal light and the size moderate. Caesar, Italian, or Greek salads are all delightful ways to start the evening. For the main course, try quail or a small piece of cod, scrod, crab, or catfish, but avoid turkey or salmon -- they contain trytophane, a natural sleep inducer. Dairy products like hollandaise, cream sauces and cream pies contain trytophane as well. Good side dishes would be wild rice, mushrooms and green vegetables, with fruit or sorbet for dessert.

Rule 4. Drink coffee. It enlarges the arteries and keeps you awake. But don't put cream or milk in it. Again, the cream contains tryptophane.

Rule 5. Have fun, laugh, feed each other big bunches of seedless grapes and drink mulled cider in fancy glasses, just not too much. Grapes are romantic, and take time to eat. Try the seedless variety -- you don't want to be spitting out seeds during your date!

Lynn Fischer is the author of The Better Sex Diet (St. Martin's Press, 1997) and Low-Fat Cooking for Dummies (IDG Books 1997).