Sexy Food: Libido-Boosting Meals

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We all know that food gives us energy, but what if you could plan your meals to conjure up a specific type of energy…namely, the sexy sort?

We’ve got the ingredients you need to spice up breakfast, lunch, dinner or a romantic picnic date; the foods we included are designed to get your juices flowing.

Breakfast:

Weather you’re making pancakes or just adding milk to cereal in the morning, you can stir up some excitement by cutting up bananas as a topper. The yellow fruits contain bromelain, an enzyme that’s believed to improve male libido. And instead of coffee, try a cup of ginseng tea—the root has been shown to increase desire.

MORE: Try These Frisky Foods

Lunch:

Go for a zinc-loaded menu, because the mineral helps with the production of testosterone (a hormone good for female sex drive, in addition to male). Some options include shrimp, pumpkin seeds (sprinkle them over a salad) and that classic aphrodisiac: Oysters.

Dinner:

Pasta with red wine, anyone? We have a recipe for Pasta e Fagioli soup that will boost your libido with doses of folate, lycopene and selenium, all of which may help promote sexual health.

RECIPE: Sexy Soup!

And consider uncorking a bottle of red wine with your meal—one study found that a glass or two may lead to improved sexual function in women (sorry, more than that can have the opposite effect).

Dessert:

The benefits of dark chocolate (with at least a 70 percent cocoa content) just keep coming—it can put you in the mood for love by improving blood flow, keeping estrogen stable, and increasing dopamine, also known as the brain’s “pleasure chemical.” Bonus points for a dark-chocolate-and-walnut combo—the nut’s omega-3 fatty acids also boost dopamine and arginine levels in the brain, increasing the production of nitric oxide (the essential chemical compound for erections).

MORE: The Beauty Benefits of Chocolate

Picnic Basket:

Remember the old childhood snack Ants on a Log? That’s celery with peanut butter and raisins marching along the top, and it’s a good option for an adult picnic, too, because celery contains the hormone androsterone, which is a turn-on when it’s released in male sweat. Bonus: Peanut butter is rich in monounsaturated fats, which can heighten female arousal even more. Pack a few slices of watermelon, too—studies have shown that a phyto-nutrient in the summer staple called citrulline has the ability to relax blood vessels, a bit like little blue performance-enhancing pills do.