EDMONTON - Gerry Haracsi LOVES Valentine’s Day. Juli Isaac doesn’t really celebrate it. And Sue Salsbury treats it like just another day.

So when we asked each of our Health Club Challenge finalists what’s for dinner, their choices were as varied as their opinions of the day that celebrates love.

Haracsi, who loves to cook and says it’s a release from the stresses and demands of his job, is pulling together a fancy four-course meal.

The table will be set with a red tablecloth, black dinnerware and candles.

There will be chocolates at every place setting except his, where the family will jokingly place a new resistance exercise band, still in its package.

We know this because the trio cooked their Valentine’s Day dinners early so we could run photos with their recipes for you.

Haracsi made his first special Valentine’s Day meal for wife Sandra and his two teenage sons about four or five years ago, using recipes from The Journal’s food pages.

He’s learned a lot from watching the Food Network and gets inspiration from The Dietitians of Canada website, as well as The Healthiest Meals on Earth cookbook by Johnny Bowden.

“We’re kind of a team in the kitchen,” says Sandra, who jokingly calls herself the “sous chef.”

She does the prep work, chopping vegetables for his dishes, and cleans up after him.

They’ve made these Valentine’s Day recipes before, but since Haracsi is taking part in the challenge, they’ve made them healthier.

“Normally, we would have used half a pound of butter and more salt, but we’re using olive oil and lots of herbs and spices — fresh mint, a lot of oregano, rosemary, lots of fresh garlic,” he says.

Haracsi is a maverick guided by taste in the kitchen, so his recipes have few specific ingredient amounts.

Gerry’s Valentine’s Day Dinner

Appetizer: Heart-shaped red bell peppers on toasted crostini rubbed with fresh garlic and lightly browned with oil in a frying pan.

Salad: Cherry tomatoes with mini bocconcini (cheese marinated in extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar) and fresh basil slices.

Main: Grilled lamb chops (marinated in extra virgin olive oil, lemon juice, 3 garlic cloves minced, and a tsp each of oregano, rosemary, kosher salt and pepper). Roasted potatoes (marinated in lemon juice, oregano, salt and pepper) oven roasted for 30 minutes at 400F. Green veggies (asparagus, broccolini spears and green snap peas) steamed three minutes over boiling water with juice of one fresh lemon, seasoned to taste with salt and pepper. Served tossed with 25 fresh sliced almonds.

Dessert: Watermelon yogurt (3 cups watermelon mulched in food processor or blender, then mixed with 1 cup non-fat vanilla yogurt, 1/4 cup sugar and 10 drops of red food colouring) frozen in heart-shaped moulds or in a tray and cut with a heart-shaped cookie cutter.

Fruit platter: (cherries, strawberries, blueberries, pineapple, bananas) served with small chunks of 75 per cent dark chocolate (200-gram bar broken).

Juli Isaac and husband Stuart Simmonds do a lot of cooking at home and tend to cook together, so they tag team the preparation of their Valentine’s Day dinner.

They’re not big fans of the day. “Not really, no,” says Isaac.

“We are romantic,” Simmonds adds, “but not on a specific day.”

Cooking is a way for Simmonds to unwind and relax from a day of work, he says. If he’s the one cooking, Isaac does the prepping and vice versa.

Since Isaac started the challenge they’re trying to eat fish more often, at least once a week, so their dinner includes salmon.

“We like using a lot of fresh herbs because they add so much flavour and make healthy options taste great,” she says. “We’ve made (the lentil side dish) with brown rice as well if I don’t want the lentils (or a second serving of protein, if she’s also having meat or fish).

Another thing the couple automatically does these days is up the veggie content of any recipe they come across.

“Adding baby spinach to wilt just at the end (of cooking) is a great way to pack a lot of greens into any meal,” Isaac explains. “I add it to everything — brown rice, pasta, soup!”

Salmon, Lentil and Veggie Bliss

Herbed salmon

4 salmon fillets (100 grams each)

Marinade

rind of one lemon and 1 tsp juice

approximately 2 tablespoons each of chopped parsley and dill (mint or basil can be used as well)

1 tablespoon olive oil

pinch of sugar

salt and pepper

Mix the ingredients and marinate salmon for 45 minutes (or longer) in fridge.

Grill on barbecue or preheat oven to 350F, sear salmon fillets in ovenproof frying pan for 2-3 minutes each side until golden brown, place pan in oven and bake for 10 minutes or until cooked as you like.

Lentils

12 oz (350 grams) Puy lentils (really dark green ones) rinsed

750 mL boiling water

2 carrots, finely chopped

2 celery stalks, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, crushed

1 small onion, finely chopped

2-3 cups baby spinach

2 tablespoons fresh thyme

1 tablespoon olive oil

Place lentils in a pot and cover with boiling water. Cover with a lid and simmer for 15 minutes. Add carrots, celery, garlic, onions and thyme and simmer another 15 minutes or until veggies are tender. Season with salt and pepper and cook for about 5 more minutes until lentils are tender. Add spinach just before serving to wilt.

Yogurt

1/3 cup low-fat plain yogurt

2 tablespoons chopped mint

Add mint to yogurt and serve on top of lentils.

Veggies

4 cups whole green beans

1 small package snap peas

1 red pepper sliced julienne-style

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

chilies to taste (I use 1)

Heat oil in large pan or wok. Add the chili, then add veggies and cook until tender.

Sue Salsbury doesn’t think much of Valentine’s Day.

“My husband and I might have gone out for dinner, but we weren’t big on ceremony, didn’t pay a lot of attention to Valentine’s Day,” she says of David, who died of cancer in November.

But Salsbury loves to cook: “I guess I love the instant gratification of feeding somebody.”

She hasn’t been feeding many people since last summer, because her house, including the kitchen, is being renovated.

Salsbury put together this simple and quick dinner in her daughter Jen Johnson’s kitchen.

Turkey Quesadillas

1 pkg. of 6 Dempsters Ancient Grain tortillas

grated lowfat cheddar and mozzarella cheeses

1 pre-roasted turkey breast from the grocery store, cut into cubes or cook your own 2-pound turkey breast, cut into cubes

1 large red pepper, chopped

1 large green pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

Becel margarine

In a hot frying pan, add some Becel and sauté onions and peppers, stirring frequently (cook turkey as well if not buying pre-roasted).

Cover half of each tortilla with the turkey mixture, sprinkle with low-fat mozzarella and cheddar cheese. Fold tortilla in half and heat in skillet briefly on both sides. Plate and cut in half. Serve with a mild salsa.