Celebrating Celery, the Surprisingly Versatile Vegetable

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National Nutrition Month is a great time to start thinking about some nutritious foods to include in your diet. One versatile vegetable to consider is celery. Celery’s low-calorie content and many antioxidants make it a great choice. Celebrating Celery, the Surprisingly Versatile Vegetable - The antioxidants in celery help to reduce inflammation, and these same antioxidants are thought to help keep the digestive tract healthy as well. Celery also is an excellent source of vitamin K. Along with other important roles in the body, adequate vitamin K helps maintain bone health and prevent fractures.

Celery is easy to include as a flavorful addition to your diet. It easily can be added to soups, stews, tuna salad and many other dishes for extra nutrition with few added calories. Celery also can be a quick-to-prepare snack. It goes well with a variety of dips. Try nut butters, hummus or a veggie dip. You also could cut up a few stalks of celery to add to your next cheese and cracker plate.  

Here is an easy celery snack recipe. Follow it as is, or be creative with different types of filling and dried fruit.


Easy Celery Snack Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 stalks celery
  • ¼ cup almond butter
  • ¼ cup dried cranberries

Directions

Wash and dry celery stalks and remove the ends. Cut each stalk into three or more pieces and fill center groove with almond butter. Sprinkle dried cranberries on almond butter and serve. 

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Sarah Smith
Sarah Smith, RDN, studied nutrition at San Diego State University. Read her blog, California Coastal Nutrition, and follow her on Facebook.


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