On Life As A Picky Foodie

Dear friends;

Sometimes I think that celery is to carrots what pears are to apples, but much like the lowly pear deserves it's fifteen minutes, so too celery warrants it's own newsletter.  

Celery is not what my mother would call a “friendly vegetable.”  It isn’t polite.  Celery doesn’t step aside and say “after you” – when there’s celery in a recipe, you bet you’ll know about it.  Friendly vegetables are things like zucchini (courgette) – they get along well with others and don’t impose themselves too much.  Friendly vegetables are easy to pair and cook with. 

No, our celery, is a strong individualist.

But, dear friends, celery has much to offer.  And ‘tis the season... 

I don’t think I have to point out that celery is healthy, but what makes it so and what the hell are we going to do with it?

In terms of straight up nutrition, celery is green – always a plus.  It also contains Vitamin A, K, antioxidants and folate and lots and lots of fibre. 

Did you know that you can use the entire celery plant?  The root, also known as celeriac, is often a base in soups; and celery seeds are a great source of calcium in addition to being blood purifiers.  Herbalists also use celery seeds to treat arthritis and psoriasis. 

But the real hero here is the stalk.  We all know that stalk.  It sits in the produce isle begging to come home with us.  Celery is high in sodium.  Now before you go off on a rant about blood pressure and all that, let me just say that the sodium found in celery stalks is about as far away from table salt as London is from rural Alaska. 

Table salt wreaks havoc on our bodies.  It has been leached of all the minerals that sodium in nature is choc full of and, as a result, is little more than a taste enhancer – if that.  However, the sodium found in celery is a wonderful tonic for people who eat a lot of sugars and concentrated starches: bread, pasta, cakes, cookies, sodas, etc. 

The sodium we get from celery also helps the body fulfil two more important functions:

1. it helps maintain proper calcium balance
2. it helps maintain proper fluidity in the body, encourages the proper flow of digestive juices and keeps us from getting dehydrated.

OK, I hear you – you’re telling me that that’s all fine and great, but how do you eat the damn stuff?

So I’ve compiled a few ideas for you:

Indian Summer Celery Smoothie
(pictured above)

You will need a good blender for this.

Immersion blenders don’t really work here – unless you like chunks in your smoothie although then it wouldn’t be a smooth-ie, would it?

Preparation time: 5 minutes

1 nice, ripe peach

1 cup raspberries (I use frozen so the drink is nice and chilled)

1 cup water (again, cold water makes it a real summery drink)

2 stalks celery – the outside ones that are larger and greener

small handful fresh mint leaves

(sweetener of choice to taste – optional)

Throw everything in the blender and blend until smooth. 

This smoothie is delicious as a snack or for breakfast.  Make it the night before and drink it on the way to work – I guarantee, everyone will be wondering what that bright pink glass of sunshine is!

Carrot, celery and ginger Juice

You will need a juicer for this, or order it at your favourite juice place.

Prep time: 10 minutes (mostly for washing and chopping)

6-8 carrots

3 stalks celery

1 large chunk of ginger  (as always, this is a question of taste – with ginger, it is important to start slow as it is very potent.  You can always add on to the concoction but removing it once it’s in there is impossible)

Did you know that the carrot juice molecule is comparable to human blood?

And ginger is very warming so wonderful as the weather cools down

Old-Fashioned Ants on a Log (almost)

Preparation time: 3 minutes

You’ll need a nice-looking plate and an elegant knife to spruce it all up.

Do you remember this favourite camp-time snack? 

What you need is:

2-3 celery sticks

A dollop of almond butter to replace the peanut butter of your youth

Raisins

Spread a generous amount of almond butter in the centre of each celery stick.

Dot with raisins.

And that, my friends, is Ants on a Log.

Now, one last thing.  The reason I go for almond butter instead of peanut butter is because almond butter is lower in saturated fat, it lowers the GI of higher glycemic index foods when eaten in combination, and peanuts are very susceptible to mould.  However, each nut has its own benefits, so pick the one that you love most.  In the end, nuts are a wonderful addition to any balanced diet and fun little snacks like Ants on a Log aren’t just for ten-year-olds anymore!

For those interested in more recipes containing celery (in addition to lots of other great stuff), I would recommend Matt Amsden's RAWvolution: Gourmet Living Cuisine.  The mock tuna is amazing as is the cream of celery soup – all raw, all vegan, extremely delicious.

With love,

Gabriela