April is Celery Month and it is time to celebrate! Celery may be an afterthought in the produce aisle but it is a simple and inexpensive vegetable to add to your daily meal plan. This low-calorie vegetable is a good source of vitamin C and vitamin A.
When selecting celery, choose straight, rigid stalk with fresh leaves. Avoid limp celery that smells mushy. Once you have selected your celery and have brought it home, refrigerate it, unwashed, for up to two weeks.
Celery isn’t just for Ants on a Log, use it in a variety of ways and recipes. Celery stalks can be eaten raw, stir-fried, baked, steamed or microwaved. Before using celery, rinse the stems thoroughly before preparing as dirt can be found between the ribs. Next, cut the root off the stem and throw it away.
Here are the top 10 ways to eat celery from fruitsandveggiesmorematters.org.
- A Quick Appetizer. Stuff stalks with low-fat cream cheese and sprinkle with paprika.
- Can You Eat the Leaves? Yes, you can! Instead of throwing the leaves away, use them in soup, stuffing, salad or other cooked dishes.
- More Veggies for Your Stews! Pump up the nutrition in your soups and stews by adding chopped celery. Adds a little crunch too.
- Tacos! That’s right! Celery adds just a little more crunch to your tasty tacos.
- Celery and Spinach. Do something different with your spinach salad. Combine diced celery, shredded carrot, cooked pasta, bell peppers and corn. Serve over a bed of spinach and top with your favorite low-calorie dressing.
- Texture for Tuna. Add a little texture to your tuna or chicken salad. Mix together chopped celery, mayonnaise or mustard, and tuna or chicken. Serve over whole wheat bread or a toasted English muffin. For an extra kick, add a dash of hot sauce to the mixture.
- An Easy Side. For an easy side dish, braise celery in vegetable stock and season with your favorite herbs or a little bit of salt and pepper.
- Celery Salsa! Heat oil and stir in garlic, tomato, celery and onion. Pour in tomato juice and bring to a boil. Cook until onions and celery are tender. Stir flour into salsa to thicken. Season with salt, pepper and hot sauce. Serve with baked tortilla chips.
- Stir-Fried Celery? Absolutely! Use celery in your next vegetable stir-fry. Heat a little olive oil and sauté chopped celery, carrots, broccoli florets, onions and bell peppers. Add reduced-sodium soy sauce and serve over brown rice or in a whole wheat pita.
- Ants on a Log. Add peanut butter to the inside of celery and top off with raisins for a quick, fun and nutritious treat for your kids! Also, try switching hummus for the peanut butter.
Celery and Pepper Stoplight Snacks
All you need:
- Light cream cheese or Laughing Cow cheese, for a lower-in-fat option
- 3-inch celery sticks
- Red, yellow and green bell peppers or frozen peas
- Skewers
All you do:
- Simply spread cream cheese or Laughing Cow cheese onto each stick of celery.
- Cut circles out of peppers in all three colors. Arrange your circles on the celery like a stoplight.
- Poke a skewer into the bottom, so each can stand up.
Nutrition Facts per serving: 40 calories, 2g fat, 0g saturated fat, 8mg cholesterol, 85mg sodium, 4g carbohydrate, 1g fiber, 2g protein.
Source: SuperHealthyKids.com
Fruit and Veggie Snails
All you need:
- 2 small red apples
- 1 bunch celery, cleaned
- 1 (16 oz) jar creamy peanut butter or other nut butter
- 1 (1.65 oz) box any flavor Wonka Nerds candies
- 1 (10 oz) bag shredded carrots or julienned carrots
All you do:
- Cut a thick vertical slice from a whole apple, just missing the core. Do this on both sides.
- Cut a celery stick that is about 1 inch longer than the width of the apple slice.
- Place the peanut butter into the plastic bag; snip off the end to make a small hole. Fill the trough of the celery stick by squeezing the bag of peanut butter; set aside.
- Using the plastic bag filled with peanut butter again, draw a spiral on both sides of the apple slice.
- Wedge the apple slice into the filled celery stick. (Larger apples like to fall over.)
- Add Nerds to one end of the celery stick to make his eyes. Add 2 carrot shreds for antennae.
Nutrition Facts per serving: 120 calories, 7g fat, 1g saturated fat, 0m cholesterol, 80mg sodium, 11g carbohydrate, 2g fiber, 4g protein.
Source: adapted from Nestle Kitchens.
The information is not intended as medical advice. Please consult a medical professional for individual advice.
