Celery, an overlooked vegetable
You probably haven’t given much thought to celery, an often overlooked vegetable. But think again, this inexpensive vegetable is chock full of nutrients that pack a punch when it comes to our health. Let me tell you about a few of those health benefits, some that may surprise you:
- Low calorie, no surprise here and well, we can all use that
- High fibre, exercise for our digestive tract
- Excellent source of a wide range of antioxidants including Vitamin C, Beta Carotene, Manganese-we need that to keep that nasty oxidative stress at bay so our cells stay healthy
- Antioxidant phytonutrients-these babies protect against inflammation, a well known marker for a number of disease states
- Phytochemicals that are thought to help lower blood pressure by relaxing blood vessels
- High in Vitamin K-important for blood clotting and bone health
- Low on the Glycemic index/load factor meaning no spikes in blood sugar
We mostly think of celery as cut up and eaten raw with dips, peanut butter or cheese (no cheese whiz please!), but did you know that celery lends itself well to being cooked just like the one from my favourite cooking mag fine cooking. I hope you will give it a try and if Beluga lentils seem a little exotic or hard to find any brown lentil will do. I personally love puy lentils (also known as French lentils) they hold their shape beautifully and taste great. Enjoy.
http://www.finecooking.com/recipes/caramelized-celery-lentils.aspx