Celery Hacks: Creative Ways to Enjoy This Low-Calorie Veggie

I’m a nutritionist with more than 7 years of experience, and I’m always looking for new ways to help my clients eat better without giving up taste. Celery is one of my favorite low-calorie vegetables to put forward. Read below about “Celery Hacks: Creative Ways to Enjoy This Low-Calorie Veggie”.

A lot of people think of celery as a boring diet food, but if you get creative, you can make it a tasty and healthy part of any meal. I’ll talk about some of my favorite ways to make celery more fun in this article. This is a great way to add bulk to your meals and snacks without adding a lot of calories. Each stalk has only 10 to 20 calories.

The Power of Celery 

Before we get to the hacks, let’s quickly talk about some of the ways celery can help your health. Celery is a very healthy food because it has a lot of different nutrients in it, like fiber, vitamins C, K, B6, and folate, and antioxidants. It also keeps you hydrated because it has a lot of water in it. It can help to eat more celery:

• Lessen inflammation
• Lower your blood pressure
• Help your digestion
• Help people lose weight
• Cleanse the body

Don’t forget about this crunchy green vegetable! Now, let’s look at some fun and different ways to eat more celery.

Tips for Making Celery Better

Celery can be used in a lot of different ways, but how you cook it makes a huge difference. These are some of my favorite tips:

Clean well: Clean the celery by running water over it and scrubbing it. Pat dry with a paper towel.

Trim ends: Slice off the bottom end and leafy tops. The leafy parts tend to be quite bitter.

Cut to the desired size: Celery can be chopped, sliced, or cut into sticks. Cutting on an angle creates more surface area for holding toppings.

Keep crisp: Store freshly cut celery in an airtight container lined with paper towels to absorb excess moisture. It will stay crisper longer.

Now let’s look at some tasty ways to enjoy celery!

Snack Ideas: Celery makes a fantastic low-calorie snack on its own or paired with dips and toppings. Here are a few go-to snack ideas:

Celery with peanut or almond butter:  Spread nut butter into the celery grooves for a protein-packed snack. Raisins make a nice addition too.

Celery with hummus:  Hummus comes in so many delicious flavors these days. It adds creaminess and nutrition to plain celery sticks.

Ants on a log:  Fill celery with nut butter and top with raisins for a fun, kid-friendly snack.

Celery with cottage cheese: Top celery with reduced-fat cottage cheese and sprinkle with black pepper and dried basil.

Celery with avocado: Mash up avocado and spread it onto celery for a creamy, healthy fat-filled snack. Sprinkle with chili powder for a kick.

These snack ideas pack much more nutrition than typical processed snack foods. Celery provides the perfect crunchy, low-calorie vehicle for healthy toppings.

Meal Ideas 

Beyond snacking, celery can be incorporated into full meals too. It adds texture, nutrients, and bulk without weighing down a dish. Here are some meal ideas that highlight celery:

Celery soup: Puree celery into a creamy, low-calorie soup along with onions, garlic, broth, and herbs. Top with croutons or roasted chickpeas.

Celery salad: Toss chopped celery in a salad with other veggies, chickpeas, nuts, and light dressing like lemon juice or vinegar.

Celery stir fry: Add sliced celery to stir-fries for crunch. It goes well with lean protein and Asian-inspired sauces.

Adding celery to egg salad: Cut the celery into small pieces and add them to the egg salad to make it crunchier. Stuff into a tomato or spread on toast. It has celery in it. Cut up some celery and add it to the tuna salad instead of relish. Put it in a lettuce wrap or a sandwich and eat it.

Roast chicken and celery: Roast chicken thighs with roughly chopped celery, carrots, onions, and garlic for a one-pan meal.

As you can see, celery’s mild flavor allows it to work in both main dishes and sides. Reach for it any time a recipe calls for onions or other aromatics.

Smoothies and Juices: Don’t forget about smoothies and juices! Blending or juicing celery creates a hydrating drink full of nutrients. It also helps tone down the flavors of stronger ingredients like leafy greens. Here are some combinations I recommend:

• Celery, cucumber, apple, lemon – Refreshing and hydrating
• Celery, spinach, pineapple, ginger – Sweet and green
• Celery, carrot, beet, orange – Earthy and vibrant
• Celery, kale, avocado, banana, almond milk – Creamy and filling

Celery brings a mild flavor and crunchy texture when blended. For an extra nutrient boost, use the leaves too!

DIY Celery Seasoning 

Don’t toss those celery leaves! Make the most of the entire vegetable by drying and blending the leaves into a homemade celery salt or seasoning blend. Here’s how:

Separate celery leaves from the stalks. Clean and dry with a towel.

Use a very low oven or a dehydrator to dry the leaves all the way through.

Put salt, garlic powder, onion powder, black pepper, and any other herbs and spices you want in a blender or food processor with the dried leaves.

Mix into a fine powder to make a seasoning for celery that can be used in many ways.

Put in a container that won’t let air in. You can put it on eggs, roasted vegetables, and more.

Instead of fresh celery, this seasoning gives food a strong celery flavor. You can use the leaves to make your own unique spice blends.

Conclusion

Cereal can be used for a lot more than just a boring crudités platter, as you can see. This low-calorie, high-nutrient vegetable can be used in a lot of different ways, from drinks and snacks to main dishes and snacks.

I hope these clever ways in “Celery Hacks: Creative Ways to Enjoy This Low-Calorie Veggie” to use celery have made you want to eat more of it! Let me know if there are any other ways you like to eat celery that I should try. Let’s eat well and stay healthy!