Tag: low calorie

Vegan Cream of Celery Soup

Celery, along with onions and peppers, is often referred to as the holy trinity of vegetables. These vegetables often take on a supporting role in enhancing the flavor and texture of dishes but seldom take on the leading role. The distinct flavor of celery – slightly sweet, savory and aromatic – is not only the star performer in this soup but wins an academy award hands down!

Celery is comprised of fibrous ribs and darker green outer leaves. The ribs are readily incorporated in culinary dishes, but sadly, the leaves are often discarded. From a nutritional standpoint, it is the soft delicate leaves – not the ribs – that are packed with nutrition. From a culinary standpoint, it is the leaves – not the ribs – that are packed with an intense punchy flavor. To enhance not only the nutrition and flavor of this soup I use both ribs and leaves.


Is it a stalk or rib of celery? According to the USDA, a stalk means the whole bunch of celery, whereas a single piece is called a rib. One stalk of celery usually contains around 7-9 ribs.

If you see celery hearts in the grocery store it means the inner ribs from the stalk. These are lighter in color and more tender.

The darker the color of celery ribs the stronger the flavor and the higher nutritional content.

Celery is related to fennel, parsley and carrots.

The health benefits of celery, once considered hokey pokey folk medicine, has been scientifically proven. Celery contains coumarin which has calcium antagonistic properties. Coumarin prevents calcium from depositing on the walls of the coronary arteries disrupting blood supply . Celery contains a phytochemical called phthalide which relaxes the tissues of artery walls increasing blood flow and decreasing blood pressure. Celery also has a diuretic effect so it can help to remove excess water from the body. Lastly, with only 10 calories per rib celery is an excellent low-calorie food to snack on.

Ingredients:

  • 7 ribs of celery (including leaves) chopped
  • 1 onion chopped
  • 4-5 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 medium potato cubed
  • 4 cups vegetable broth (no or low sodium)
  • 1 1/2 cups unsweetened almond milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon thyme
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
  • 2 bay leaves

Celery, onion, garlic, potato, vegetable broth, almond milk, thyme, black pepper, bay leaves

Directions:

  1. Sauté the celery and onions in 1/4 cup water until translucent (about 5 minutes)
  2. Add the garlic and stir for 1-2 minutes until fragrant
  3. Add the vegetable broth, potatoes, thyme, black pepper and bay leaves. Bring to a boil. Turn the heat down and gently simmer until the potatoes are tender (about 15 minutes).
  4. Sir in the almond milk and simmer for another 5 minutes.
  5. Remove the bay leaves then blend well using an immersion or high speed blender.
  6. Serve piping hot and garnish with homemade Ezekiel bread croutons, sautéed onions, celery leaves or hemp seeds.
If you would like a more vibrant green soup you can add 4- 5 baby spinach leaves. I did not do this with this batch of soup.
With the pretty green color it could be served as a festive holiday soup and how special it would look in red Fiesta-ware bowls! The dinnerware in this picture belonged to my grandmother and dates back to the early 1900’s.

Cashew Cranberry Cucumber Salad with Balsamic Date Vinaigrette

Cashew Cranberry Cucumber Salad

Well today was a balmy 60 degrees in NE Ohio and upper 70’s predicted for the weekend. I’m starting to get excited about lighter more warm weather types of foods. I never really thought about a cucumber salad until my daughter-in-law made one recently using gourmet cucumbers. Boy was it delicious!

I’ve seen English seedless cucumbers in the grocery store. You know – the long thin ones wrapped in plastic. So I decided to try them for the first time. I, of course, had to ask someone why they are wrapped in plastic. The knowledgeable Heinen’s produce guy told me it’s to protect them from getting bruised seeing that the skin is so thin and fragile. It is not necessary to peel an English cucumber for this reason which means added nutrients and anti-oxidants.

Having had regular cucumbers and now the seedless variety I would definitely say seedless is the way to go for an all cucumber salad. Regular cucumbers are less expensive but have a tough waxy skin, large seeds which can be difficult to eat and not a whole lot of flavor. I think they are a nice addition to a leafy salad but not an exclusively cucumber salad. English cucumbers are more expensive but have edible skin, no seeds to deal with and a sweet flavor.

Because cucumbers are low in calories (about 45 calories in one cucumber) they are an excellent choice if you are trying to manage your weight. They are composed of 95% water so are great little hydration stations too. They also are high in soluble fiber. As soluble fiber dissolves it produces a gel that binds with cholesterol and sugar. For this reason this type of fiber helps to improve cholesterol and blood sugar levels.

A cucumber is a vegetable right? Wrong. Don’t feel bad if you are like me and thought is was. Apparently anything that contains the seeds of the plant is a fruit. So cucumbers, tomatoes and avocados are technically all fruits.

Ingredients / Directions

  • English cucumber washed and unpeeled. Use a potato peeler to make long ribbon slices.
  • Dried, unsweetened cranberries
  • Cashews
  • Dried edamame (immature soybeans)

Note: You are the author of your cucumber salad. Use whatever additions you want or have on hand at home. I think other good add-ins are thinly sliced red onions, radish, cherry tomatoes, fresh dill or cilantro.

Balsamic Date Vinaigrette: 1/3 cup balsamic vinegar, 1 tbsp. date syrup and 1 tbsp. water

Balsamic Date Vinaigrette Salad Dressing. I mean honestly you can’t get any easier then this! You can make a larger batch and keep refrigerated for up to 2 weeks. Need extra tang? Add dijon mustard and black pepper – although personally I think less is more.
See the source image
Look at these beauties!