Whether it is going out to enjoy an expensive dinner with your sweetheart or deciding to stay home and flirtatiously make a messy pizza together, what you eat on Valentine’s Day has an undeniable power for setting the mood — especially aphrodisiacs.

In short, aphrodisiacs are substances that increase sexual libido upon consumption. The list of aphrodisiacs is long, and most lack any scientific proof of actually working — kind of like some relationships we know. Fortunately many aphrodisiac foods are common, delicious and easy to cook with.

Follow this guide to incorporate some love foods into any or all of your Valentine’s Day cooking plans and experience the magic for yourself.

Fruit

Start the morning off easy. Share breakfast in bed — a bowl of fruit — with your lover. Make sure you include a banana because its suggestive shape should not be overlooked on this holiday of romance. You may also want to include a few juicy figs as they yield a sensual eating experience and deliver mind-blowing flavor.

Chocolate

Dip everything in dark chocolate — even your lover. Chocolate is a pleasure-inducing food. It releases endorphins and will surely set the mood for any romantic occasion. Let there be no limits.

Spicy foods

Next, turn up the heat. Spicy foods will not only make your honey’s heart beat faster with adrenaline but will also make them more inclined to wear less clothing. Add one tablespoon of chili pepper (or five) to whatever you’ve got cooking and prepare to sweat.

Seafood

Oysters are also a well-known romance-inducing culinary delight. If their amino acids don’t trigger sex hormones, the sheer luxuriousness of them will surely make your loved one swoon. Few foods speak more of commitment than a plate of oysters. Just make sure to get them from a good source. Nothing says “I love you” quite like a bout of food poisoning.

Vegetables

Finally, for a vegetarian option this holiday, buy your lover an artichoke. Eat it together, slowly. Experience the tension of peeling back the leaves of a vegetable that clearly does not want to be eaten. Take turns and reach the center heart together. You’ll find the intimacy to be almost unreal.

Reaching new levels with your partner on Valentine’s Day can be more than a dream. By adding a few aphrodisiacs to the pot, it is sure to be a recipe for love.

Grace Kerfoot can be reached at [email protected] or @gracekerf on Twitter.