Check Your Crisper, I’m Waiting For You

I’m not a boring vegetable like you make me out to be.  Oh yeah, I’m just that long green stick with some ribs coming out of the dirt. I get so lonely in the bottom part of your refrigerator when you forget that I exist. I feel like an orphan, although you must have taken me home from the store for some reason. Why does it take forever for you to pull me out of the refrigerator and use me in your menu? Then you wonder, why I am so soft. I have those nasty looking brown spoilage spots because you left me in the crisper to die! I hear you saying to yourself “didn’t I just purchase this celery?” Yea, you did like over 3 weeks ago.

Ready For Our Sautéed Meeting Of Flavors

Do you know that I am part of the holy trinity, along with my friends, the carrots and the onions? That holy trinity used in Creole cooking, or Mirepoix in French cuisine, dates back to the 1700’s. Together, we make up an aromatic flavor base for a wide range of incredible dishes.

Don’t you think I should be more than just a holding area for some peanut or almond butter? I can add depth to your soups. I can help make your crockpot meals so amazing to smell and savor. If you cut me into tiny little pieces you can help salads have an added dimension of crunch. Also, a mess free and portable snack with my buddies the grape tomato, carrot stick and olive.

Stalking Out For Attitude Adjustment

My seeds and stalk make an average Bloody Mary an outstanding concoction.

My name is derived from the Greek word, selinon, which actually means parsley. When I start to grow in the field, I do look a bit like parsley. Actually, I’m in the same family as carrots, caraway, fennel and parsley. Of the two main types of celery grown today, my Pascal variety dominates in the U.S.

Meet My Sister, Golden

There is also another member of my family who shuns the sun called Golden celery.  They purposely cover her with dirt, so pigment produced by her skin is a golden-yellow with a milder taste.

My nutrients make me a vitamin/fiber superstar of Vitamin A and K, folate (folic acid-B vitamin), potassium and fiber.  I also have a numbers of ingredients in my makeup that might just belong in your medicine cabinet.

The first one is called 3-n-butyl phthalide, which reduces blood pressure. It has been used in ancient Chinese medicine for centuries. Humans have a category of prescription medications that are stronger than 3-n-phthalide but work in the same manner. They are called ACEI (angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors). They block an enzyme (protein) in your body that causes sodium and water retention. It also causes your blood vessels to relax, decreasing pressure on the artery walls.  When you get rid of sodium/water and relax your blood vessels, your heart doesn’t have to work so hard. In this way, your blood pressure goes down.  My stalk may lower your blood pressure.

Research has shown that I can reduce gout by lowering uric acid levels. In gout, the build up of uric acid in the blood, causes crystals to form in your joints. This results in severe pain and inflammation. The edges of these crystals are very sharp. They squeeze themselves into areas where they cause damaging inflammation. I have anti-inflammatory effects like aspirin and help relieve that inflammation.

Also, I contain two antioxidant ingredients that are called flavonoids. They protect against many types of cancer.

Oh, one more thing:

I have the ability to fight against bacteria in your intestines called Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori). You will get the strongest effects from my seeds to block this bacteria’s growth. This is one of the main reasons why patients get ulcers. They are contaminated with these bacteria that start breaking down the stomach walls.

My Wheels Should Be Olives

Worth Noting About Me:

1. Freshest during the summer months but available year-round.
2. Leaves should be pale to bright green with no black or yellow patches.
3. I should be crisp with the stalks able to easily snap off. You should not be able to tie me up like a pretzel.
4.  Most comfortable in your refrigerator crisper within a plastic bag to retain my stalk firmness.

Categories: Health

Tags: 3-n-butyl phthalide, ACEI, anti-inflammatory, blood pressure, cancer, celery, creole cooking, fiber, flavonoids, folate, french cuisine, golden celery, gout, H. pylori, helicobacter pylori, holy trinity, hypertension, mirepoix, pascal celery, potassium, ulcers, uric acid, vitamin A, vitamin K, vitamins