Celery: The Crunchy Truth
By Sara Butler
Celery is a vegetable that is often overlooked. It gets purchased to use in a soup or some other recipe, then often wilts away in the vegetable crisper until you can barely recognize what it was in the first place! Here’s the thing about celery – it’s kind of the unsung hero of the vegetable world. Most people have no strong feelings about celery but it’s good for you and versatile, too! Give celery a second glance and learn more about the health benefits it has to offer!
The Facts
Celery, as you purchase it in the store, is consumed for the stalk. They’re crisp and full of water, which makes them quite good for you. But all parts of the celery plant can and do get used in cooking. The leaves make a great addition to salads or soups. The seeds are used in pickling, and the bulbs are mashed up and used as a substitute for potatoes in some places.
Celery is also great for people who are looking to achieve and maintain a healthy weight. They only have 10 calories in a whole stalk and are high in water content to help keep you hydrated. The real problem people seem to have with celery is its texture – but there are ways around that.
How You Can Enjoy More Celery
Celery does have a bit of an image problem. You probably think of it as a stringy vegetable that is more trouble to eat than it’s worth but here are some tricks that can help you enjoy it:
- Peel it – Seriously, if what is standing between you and celery is the stringy bits, then peel it. It will make it smooth and more enjoyable.
- Dice it – This helps to improve texture and will make it a great addition to salads and other dishes you may not have added it to in the past.
- Cook it – Celery belongs in more than salads and soups. It can go in stir fry, you can mash the root in place of a mashed potatoes dish – it’s amazing the things you can include celery in if you just give it a chance!
Celery deserves another shot, so try to look up some recipes that include celery or think about the places you can fit it into your recipes. It will help fill you up and add a crunchy texture!
To learn more about your health and wellness, see your local chiropractor at The Joint Chiropractic in Englewood, Colo.