The favorites of various diets are low-calorie foods. Therefore, one of the main favorites among people trying to lose excess weight is celery. They even sometimes say about this vegetable that its calorie content has a minus sign: when assimilating the product, the body spends more calories than it gains.
Another undoubted advantage of celery is the ability to use it without heat treatment, in salads, for example. Thanks to this, everything that the vegetable is rich in remains safe and sound.
Cooking features
Making celery salads is not a complicated process, but it does require knowledge of some points.
- Celery stalks often end up covered in sand at the bottom. It is impossible to wash them without separating them. The petioles are separated from the total mass, washed in running water one at a time, dried with a napkin, and only after that they can be used to prepare a snack. It is advisable to cut off the lower part of the petioles, as the fibers there are too coarse.
- Root celery is washed and cleaned. Afterwards it can be cut into small cubes or thin slices, but more often it is grated, since this product is quite hard. The nature of chopping the celery root depends on the instructions in the recipe.
- Honey or mustard is often added to celery salads to help enhance its flavor.
- The taste of the salad depends directly on the sauce with which the salad is seasoned. Root celery goes best with dressings based on fermented milk products and mayonnaise; salads with stem celery are often seasoned with light sauces based on unsweetened yogurt or olive oil. Other options are possible - it all depends on the specific recipe. Olive oil can be replaced with any other vegetable oil, but if you choose a refined product as an alternative, the snack will be less healthy. Unrefined oil may have a pronounced odor that will distort the aroma of celery, making the salad less appetizing.
- Vegetable salads do not need to be salted. If salt is used, it is added last. If you salt the salad too early, the vegetables will release juice, making the appetizer thin and unappetizing.
- If the salad contains heat-treated products, they must be cooled before combining with other ingredients, otherwise the appetizer will quickly spoil.
Recipes for making celery salad may vary significantly. If you follow the instructions accompanying a specific recipe, you will be able to avoid mistakes and get the expected result.
Successful combinations
This natural drink can be combined with other vegetable and fruit juices. This way you will kill two birds with one stone: you will make the juice more palatable and enhance the dietary effect of taking it.
The following go well with celery: carrots, apples, pears and beets.
Another technique for softening the taste of celery juice is to give it some heat: a pinch of cayenne or chili pepper added to the glass will speed up your metabolism and help you lose weight faster.
Stem celery salad with cucumbers and tomatoes
Compound:
- stem celery – 0.3 kg;
- tomatoes – 0.4 kg;
- cucumbers – 0.3 kg;
- lettuce – 50 g;
- salt, pepper, olive oil - to taste.
Cooking method:
- Separate the celery stalks from the base, wash them, and pat dry with a napkin. Cut off the lower part of the stems with coarse fibers. Cut the petioles into thin slices and place in a bowl.
- Wash and dry the tomatoes and cucumbers with a napkin.
- For tomatoes, cut the fruit into 4 parts and remove areas with dense pulp located in the area of the stalks. Cut the vegetables into quarters.
- Cut off the ends of the cucumbers. Cut the fruit into pieces the same shape as the tomatoes.
- Place the tomato and cucumber pieces with the celery. Salt, pepper, season with olive oil.
- Wash the lettuce leaves, shake off the water, and let them dry. Tear with your hands and place on a plate.
- Place vegetables on lettuce leaves.
This version of celery salad is good to prepare in the summer, when fresh vegetables are as available as possible. The snack turns out to be light and healthy; it will almost certainly appeal to supporters of a healthy diet.
Who shouldn't
Despite all the bonuses from taking celery juice, there are a number of facts that cloud the picture.
- A sharp increase in dietary fiber sources can lead to digestive problems and cause gas, constipation and abdominal pain. Those who already have intestinal problems should take this drink with particular caution.
- Celery allergies are quite common, especially among Central Europeans (the likelihood increases if you react negatively to birch or wormwood pollen). Symptoms range from a mild itchy throat to anaphylactic shock, so talk to your doctor before using celery juice for weight loss.
- Being a natural diuretic (another plus for weight loss), this natural drink creates additional stress on the kidneys, so it is contraindicated for people with kidney problems.
- For pregnant women, weight loss techniques using celery juice are also not suitable due to the risk of bleeding and uterine contractions.
Before you put your body under the pressure of another strict diet, think about it. Perhaps with small steps you will reach your desired goal much later, but you will not lose your health and love of life along the way. And let celery juice be one of the components of your new nutrition plan, but not the only one.
Usually a certain part of the plant is eaten, for example, tomatoes have edible fruits, and beets have edible roots. But there is one unique product in which all its parts are edible - celery. The stems, leaves and roots of this vegetable are very useful. Our article will talk about how to eat celery correctly to lose weight, as well as its beneficial properties.
An important characteristic of any product is its energy value. Celery is good to use raw for weight loss, since 100 g of greens and stems contain 13 kcal. A baked or fried plant has twice as many calories, and if it is boiled or steamed, it has up to 10 kcal.
Before consuming celery root, you need to know its calorie content. This part of the plant contains about 32 kcal. Roasted root vegetables exceed 50 kcal per 100 g of product.
Energy value of the plant
:
- proteins - 0.9 g;
- carbohydrates - 2.1 g;
- fat - 0.1 g.
This vegetable contains
:
- water - 94 g;
- dietary fiber - 1.8 g;
- ash - 1 g;
- organic acids - 0.1 g;
- monosaccharides and disaccharides - 2 g;
- starch - 0.1 g.
Vitamins contained in the product
:
- C - 38 mg;
- RR - 0.5 mg;
- B9 - 21 mcg;
- B2 - 0.1 mg;
- B6 - 0.08 mg;
- B1 - 0.02 mg;
- E - 0.5 mg;
- A - 750 mcg;
- beta-carotene - 4.5 mg.
This plant contains the following minerals:
:
- potassium - 430 mg;
- iron - 1.3 mg;
- magnesium - 50 mg;
- phosphorus - 77 mg;
- sodium - 200 mg;
- calcium - 72 mg.
The first written mention of this vegetable dates back to 1623.
Celery root salad with carrots and walnuts
Compound:
- celery root – 0.5 kg;
- carrots – 0.5 kg;
- walnut kernels – 100 g;
- flax seeds – 20 g;
- vegetable oil – 60 ml;
- lemon – 1 pc.;
- salt, pepper - to taste.
Cooking method:
- Wash, peel the vegetables, chop them on a grater with large holes.
- Dry the walnuts in a dry frying pan. Place them in a bag and roll them with a rolling pin to break them into fine crumbs.
- Pour the nuts into a bowl.
- Squeeze the juice from the lemon, remove the seeds, pour the juice into the nut crumbs, and stir.
- Add olive oil to the nuts and lemon juice and whisk.
- Pour the nut dressing over the chopped vegetables and stir. Sprinkle with flax seeds.
If you prefer spicy snacks, you can add a clove of garlic passed through a press to the dressing. Grated apple, on the contrary, will make the taste of the snack softer and more delicate.
Contraindications
This plant has some contraindications. It should not be used when
:
- the presence of kidney stones - doctors have proven that when consuming this vegetable, the movement of stones begins, and this requires surgery;
- enterocolitis - the essential oils contained in the vegetable irritate the lining of the gastrointestinal tract and bloating occurs;
- epilepsy - if you eat a large amount of celery, it can trigger an attack;
- allergies - this plant is a strong allergen;
- heavy menstruation and uterine bleeding - increased blood loss is possible.
Pregnant women are prohibited from consuming celery, as this plant causes severe gas formation and this has a negative effect on the baby.
In the absence of contraindications, this vegetable can be safely included in your diet and enrich your body with valuable vitamins and elements.
Celery salad with chicken breast and apple
Compound:
- celery root – 0.25 kg;
- red apples – 0.25 kg;
- chicken breast fillet – 0.2 kg;
- lemon juice – 20 ml;
- walnut kernels – 50 g;
- fresh parsley – 20 g;
- salt, pepper - to taste;
- mayonnaise – 100–150 ml.
Cooking method:
- Wash the apples and cut out the cores. Cut the pulp into strips. The cook can decide for himself whether to peel the apples before doing this. Peeled fruits make the salad more tender, but if they are cut with the peel, the appetizer looks brighter and more appetizing.
- Pour lemon juice over apple slices and stir.
- Peel and coarsely grate the celery root and combine with apple slices.
- Boil chicken breast fillet in salted water. Cool it, cut it into small cubes or bars, combine with the rest of the products.
- Finely chop the walnuts with a knife.
- Wash, dry, finely chop the parsley.
- Season the salad with salt and pepper, season with mayonnaise, and place in a beautiful vase.
- Sprinkle with nuts and parsley.
The salad made according to this recipe turns out to be satisfying. It smells good and looks beautiful. This appetizer can be prepared not only for a home lunch, but also for a dinner party.
Unusual salad with celery and fresh cucumbers
Compound:
- fresh cucumbers – 0.4 kg;
- carrots – 100 g;
- onions – 100 g;
- celery stalks – 100 g;
- grape vinegar (6 percent) – 60 ml;
- lemon juice – 40 ml;
- olive oil – 80 ml;
- honey – 40 ml;
- fresh dill – 50 g;
- sesame seeds – 30 g;
- salt, ground black pepper - to taste.
Cooking method:
- Wash the cucumbers. Using a sharp knife or vegetable peeler, cut them into thin long slices and place in a bowl.
- Scrub and wash the carrots. Grind it on a grater designed for making Korean salads. If you don’t have such a device at home, you can cut the vegetable into thin strips by hand.
- Peel the celery root. Grind it in the same way as carrots. Add to cucumbers.
- Peel the onion, cut into thin half rings, combine with cucumbers and carrots.
- Wash the celery stalks, remove coarse fibers, and cut the stalks into thin slices. Add to other vegetables.
- In a separate container, mix lemon juice, grape vinegar and olive oil. Add pepper and salt to them, beat with a whisk.
- Finely chop the dill and pour into a bowl with vegetables. Send sesame seeds there too.
- Pour the prepared marinade over the vegetables, stir and put in the refrigerator.
Beneficial features
Celery brings a lot of benefits. It is used to treat diseases of the stomach, intestines, blood vessels, heart, and kidneys. It also helps with disorders of the nervous system. Before drinking celery juice, you need to know that it is useful for weight loss, as it normalizes metabolism. It also helps cleanse the body and improve skin condition.
From the vegetable in question you can make an infusion that heals minor wounds, bruises and hematomas. This plant is an integral part of many diets, as it does not contain many calories. According to scientists, celery slows down the aging process and also helps the body from the negative effects of the environment.
This plant is often used in cooking as an additive to dishes, because all its parts have a strong spicy aroma.
Celery is used in the presence of such medical indicators
:
- if there is a predisposition to malignant formations, phthalides and polyacetylenes, which are contained in the plant, help neutralize the effect of carcinogens;
- for diabetes - with the help of the leaves of this vegetable, blood sugar levels are normalized;
- if there are vascular and heart diseases, the plant in question can normalize cholesterol and blood pressure;
- obesity - with the help of celery, the water-salt balance is regulated, fat is broken down and the process of digesting food is facilitated;
- skin diseases - this plant cleanses blood vessels.
For varicose veins and thrombophlebitis, it is allowed to eat celery, but it is necessary to include this plant in the diet with caution.
Dietary salad of celery and beets
Compound:
- beets – 0.5 kg;
- celery stalks – 100 g;
- garlic – 2 cloves;
- lemon – 1 pc.;
- olive oil - to taste;
- ground black pepper, salt - to taste.
Cooking method:
- Boil or bake the beets until cooked. Let it cool. Clean. Cut into strips.
- Wash and dry the celery stalks with a napkin. Cut them into thin pieces and place in a separate container.
- Finely chop the garlic cloves and add to the celery.
- Mix lemon juice and vegetable oil in a bowl, adding salt and pepper.
- Pour a spoonful of the resulting dressing into the celery and stir.
- Season the beets with the remaining sauce.
- Combine both parts of the salad and mix well.
The salad according to this recipe can also be made from raw beets, then it will have a slightly different taste, but will be even healthier.