Saturday, September 11, 2021

Food-Free Date Ideas

To me, our culture is over-saturated with food and food-related activities. Whenever I search date ideas, the vast majority are related to food or "getting a treat". It's interesting to reflect: How do you celebrate? Does it involve food? Or is it more about quality time with loved ones? Spending money? Food ;) for thought!

In her book, The Happiness Project, Gretchen Rubin says, "Every couple should have an indoor game, and an outdoor game." For Jared and I, our indoor game is Tetris and our outdoor game is frisbee golf. 

What are yours?

A few ideas for you to try out are:

Indoor
Cozy Cards
Choose a card game (Clubs, Five Crowns, Rage, Monopoly Deal, etc.) and play it together in a comfortable place. The loser of the round has to take off an article of clothing ;) Play until one person has no more clothes on, or the both of you can't take it anymore and it leads to something else....;)

Romantic Read-Aloud
Read a book aloud together, alternate voice each chapter. Alternately, listen to an audio book. Discuss book as you go, if desired. Switch between non-fiction and fiction choices after each book.

Desert Star Date
If you're anywhere near Desert Star Playhouse (Murray, Utah), definitely attend! Their shows make for great dates. If not, attend a play/concert/comedy/live show elsewhere!

Mute and Make-out
Place anything you're doing on hold, and squeeze your spouse/significant other. Everything else can wait! Get close and cozy. A dose of physical touch will do both of you good :)

Painting as a Pair
Attend a paint night as a couple! If there are none in your area or for a cheaper option, follow a tutorial on YouTube by Angela Anderson. 

Outdoor
Healthy Hike
Find hikes in your area of varying difficulty and venture out to blaze the new trails (new to you!) Bring a picnic dinner and put away electronics. 

Frisbee Golf & Fresh Air
Most cities have frisbee golf courses. You can find discs at Walmart relatively cheap! Do as many or as few holes as you'd like!

Dollar Store Date
Decide on a spending limit ($2-$5 per person) and part ways. Each of you spends the specified amount on the other person as a gift (favorite things) or for fun (movie treats, silly games, etc.) for the night. 

Tennis for Two
Take up tennis, or other sport of your choice, and play together! If you don't know how to play, learn! Learn together :) Ping-pong, bowling, or biking are also good options.

Earthy Exploration
Explore the neighborhood, city, state, or country in which you live. Travel near and far together. Make memories, take pictures, record the experience. 


If you've read this far, congrats! Also, thank you! If you're determined to still incorporate food, I get you :) Moderation in all things, right!? 

Here are my favorite food dates:

Food (double standard, I know ;))
Recipe & Review
Research a new recipe and create it together. Give it a review according to a pre-determined rubric you create. Another option is sampling all the ice cream/burgers/your choice in town and ranking them together.

Bake Blindfolded
For this date, one person selects a recipe and the other person dons a blindfold. The person with the recipe then guides the other person (with lots of touching) into making it! Bonus points if the blindfolded person guesses what you're making. 

Progressive Palette
Make different courses or visit different places for different parts of your meal. For example, drinks at Jamba Juice, salad at Zupas, sandwiches at Jersey Mike's, and dessert at Coldstone. 

Door Dash
Arrange for Door Dash to deliver your spouse's favorite treat. 

Movie Magic
Build up a stash of movie treats. Watch a movie together and select a favorite from the stash!

Fresh Fruit Pizza
Make a fruit pizza together! It's slightly healthier than other options ;) 

Fun Fry-date
Get fries together on a Friday for a Fry-date :D Rank them, if desired, as suggested in Recipe & Review date idea.



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