I know this will make me sound like some ultra-serious dieter — which I’m not! — but I love raw celery.
The humble celery stalk shines in so many ways, from a bloody mary to a snack stuffed with peanut butter or pimento cheese. To me, it’s the cracker of the vegetable world. It’s what I reach for when I want a snack or a salad that is pure and simple and uncomplicated. Conveniently, it also happens to be high in fiber and low in calories.
There is an urban legend that it has zero calories — meaning that it takes more calories to digest than it contains. That is not true, but it always makes me feel better when I am on a diet. And I bet celery sales spike in January, when everyone is attempting a healthy makeover of their diet.
Sadly, raw celery often is relegated to the crudite platter that hardly gets touched when there are more crave-worthy (and fattening) dishes to choose from. But it doesn’t have to be that way! This January, eat your celery in my favorite have-it-your-way celery salad.