Five Fast Ways to Be More Romantic...Right Now

By Laura Snyder

Who has time for romance, we wonder, as we rush from work to errands to bed with nary a free minute to light the requisite candles or whip up a fancy dinner.
While occasionally having the trappings of time-intensive romance never hurt, there are plenty of other things you easily fit in your too-busy schedule that will keep you and your honey close.

Focus Your Attention

Romance is no time for multi-tasking. When you want to make time for your partner, really make time for your partner. Even if you're only taking a minute to kiss your sweetie good-bye, make that minute count by giving them your full attention, direct eye contact, and a full 60 second of smoochin'. Remember the phrase "I love you" can be said in less than five seconds, and paired with a longing gaze, is impossible to resist.

Snare a Surprise

Gifts don't have to be grand gestures to be romantic (though, "honey, I bought you a new car" does have a nice ring to it). Little things like picking up her favorite flavor of ice cream, or taping his favorite television show when he's working late are the real stuff of romance.

Get Touchy

Physical contact is an immediate reminder of our love for someone. Though you might not have time for long hours of lovemaking, you can still have a little pre-breakfast groping, mid-afternoon hand holding, or evening backrubs. When you pass your partner - even when it's just to reach past him or her for the car keys - reach out and grant a friendly rub. Use Candlelight

Pump Up Pride

Who doesn't love feeling valued and appreciated? In long term relationships in particularly, it's easy to tell our partners what drives us crazy and often harder to remember to praise them for the things we love.

Grant Sex Object Status

She sees him clipping his toenails. He's seen her with mustache bleach on. The closeness many long-term couples share is not the stuff romance is made of. Remember when you used to lust after this person? Now, do you remember why? Break out those rusty flirting skills you employed to win this person over, and treat them like the lust object they really are.  Use Candlelight

Ready..Set...KISS!!!

Foods To Give You That Sexy Feeling
By Cynthia Yoder

I'm a connoisseur of magical foods - especially love potions. After eating, exercising and talking my way out of depression (see my forthcoming memoir Crazy Quilt: Pieces of a Mennonite Life), I see the special powers of the palette. Here are foods that two top nutrition gurus recommended to whet your appetite for more than dinner. Bon appetite!

1. Eat like a gerbil. "Many nuts and seeds like sunflower, sesame, poppy and pumpkin seeds are rich sources of Essential Fatty Acids (EFA's), which help sex hormone production," says Dr. Linda Page, N.D., Ph.D., author of Healthy Healing: A Guide For Self-Healing for Everyone. The seeds are also good sources of zinc, so they can enhance your ability to catch your lover's pheromone scent - the key scent for animal attraction. Sunflower seeds also contain a substance called chlorogenic acid, which helps stimulate sexual appetite in men and women.

2. Eat like the Queen Bee. This is one of my favorites - royal jelly in honey. Royal jelly is the food that worker bees feed to their queen bee, and it's rich in B-complex and other nutrients to stimulate sexual function. It's pricey, but how much is it worth to you to be Queen Bee? And speaking of "B's," B-12, along with Vitamin A, strengthen the reproductive system, says Dr. Carolyn Dean, M.D., author of The Miracle of Magnesium. And we all know that reproduction exists for the purpose of sex!

3. Eat like Pop-eye. Dark green leafy vegetables like spinach, kale, collards and others contain lots of magnesium and vitamin B that are absolute musts for sexual energy. They help regulate your body's stress responses. And we all know stress has to strip off with the undies if there's going to be any action! "When you're under extreme stress, your body doesn't want to procreate [read: copulate]," says Dr. Dean.

4. Imbibe the Oil of the Gods. Flax seed oil is another personal favorite. Like other seeds, flax seed gives your body Essential Fatty Acids- and it's available in oil so it's easy to "slip it in" every day. I drink Barlean's Flax Oil with a protein shake every morning. It's also good as a dressing -- shake it up with a little lemon juice and balsamic vinegar, and pour it over a spinach salad for a powerhouse lunch.

Build these foods into your every-day diet, and give them time to work - two weeks at least! And forget things like sugar that create a crash and burn cycle in your body that steals your energy away. If you need to sweeten your tea, grab a squeeze bottle of royal jelly in honey and pour! Oh yes, and don't forget to exercise - it's important for circulation in the places where it counts.