Day 247: Celery & Apple Salad ♥

One of my very favorite salads on all of A Veggie Venture, a wintry mix of celery leaves, apples and a seductive lemon vinaigrette. Easy for a Weeknight Supper But Special Enough for Company. Low Carb. Weight Watchers Friendly. Easily converted to not just vegan, Vegan Done Real. Naturally Gluten Free. Easy adaptation to Whole30 Friendly.

WAY BACK IN 2005: Some times the simple is sublime. Celery and apples, such every-day ingredients. Mustard and honey and lemon juice, such pantry staples. The combination really works! It's got crunch. It's got freshness. It's got flavor. It's made its way to the table twice in a week. The first plate came sans walnuts and sans photo, the second plate with and with. Either way, this seasonal salad is a definite keeper and is especially appropriate for late fall and winter.

TIP: Watch for stalks of celery with lots of leaves. Mostly the packers/grocers cut off the leafy ends but some bags have more than others. The leaves are very tasty but if you can't find any, just use salad greens underneath.

2007: I love honey crisp apples but a variety with more tartness (like the recommended and less expensive Granny Smith) is especially good in this salad. Plus, there's something about a "green on green" salad that's especially attractive. I added a few dried sour cherries to the top: not half so good as toasted walnuts. All this said, this is one of my very favorite easy salads so I'm always on the lookout for celery with a good proportion of leaves still intact.

2010: "What are you looking for?" asked a fellow shopper in the grocery store, seeing me pull back the plastic from one stalk of celery after another. "I love the leaves," I told her with a smile. The leaves are slightly sharp and bitter, if you can't find a stalk with lots of leaves, supplement with other lettuce greens.

AND TO THIS DAY: This simple celery leaf, celery and apple salad is one of my favorite seasonal salads, I make it over and over, especially late in the year.

COMPLIMENTS!
"It was yummy." ~ Randi
"Oh yes, it's a great tasting salad. I'm not much of a celery friend, but this one tastes good." ~ Didi

RECIPE for CELERY & APPLE SALAD

Hands-on time: 10 minutes
Time to table: 10 minutes
Serves 4

VINAIGRETTE
Juice of a lemon (about 2 tablespoons)
1 tablespoon good mustard (reduced from 2 tablespoons)
1 teaspoon honey (reduced from 2 1/2 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon olive oil (reduced from 1/3 cup)
Salt & pepper to taste (important, don't skip)

SALAD
Celery leaves, chopped (or other salad greens)
2 ribs of celery, sliced thin on the diagonal
1 Granny Smith or another tart apple, cored and chopped
2 tablespoons toasted walnuts or almonds (reduced from 3/4 cup)

VINAIGRETTE Whisk together the dressing ingredients in a small bowl.

SALAD Arrange celery leaves or salad greens on four small plates. Add the celery and apple. Drizzle with the dressing. Top with toasted nuts.

ALANNA'S TIPS & KITCHEN NOTES
For a vegan vinaigrette, use the plant-based agave instead of honey. For a Whole30-friendly salad, omit a sweetener entirely.
Celery leaves are slightly bitter, so your celery stalk doesn't have any/many and you're supplementing with another lettuce, go for something that's also slightly bitter. Maybe endive? See Vegetables 101: What Are Bitter Greens? for more ideas!

TODAY'S VEGETABLE RECIPE INSPIRATION Adapted from Gourmet, November 2005

NUTRITION INFORMATION
This recipe has been "Alanna-sized" with reductions in fat. LOOK at the calorie difference! And if you were served an apple and celery salad, wouldn't you feel as if you were eating virtuously, that it would contain hardly any calories??? But LOOK what the full-oil dressing does! And I'll tell you – it just is not needed, the dressing was absolutely delicious made with only a tablespoon of oil.

MY RECIPE, ABOVE Per Serving: 89Calories; 6g Tot Fat; 1g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 60mg Sodium; 10g Carb; 2g Fiber; 7g Sugar; 1g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS Old Points 2 & PointsPlus 2 & SmartPoints 4 & Freestyle 2

FOR AN EYE-OPENING COMPARISON, THE INSPIRING RECIPE (NOT MY "ALANNA-SIZED" SALAD) Per Serving: 273 Calories; 26g Tot Fat; 3g Sat Fat; 0mg Cholesterol; 119mg Sodium; 12g Carb; 2g Fiber; 7g Sugar; 2g Protein. WEIGHT WATCHERS WW Old Points x, WW PointsPlus x, WW SmartPoints x, WW Freestyle x

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QUICK! QUICK! MORE RECIPES WITH THESE INGREDIENTS

celery apples

MORE FAVORITE CELERY SALAD RECIPES

~ Celery Salad with Dates & Walnuts ~
~ Celery & Chickpea Salad ~
~ Watermelon & Celery Salad with Honey-Lime Vinaigrette ~
~ more celery recipes ~
from A Veggie Venture

SEASONAL EATING: THIS SAME WEEK ACROSS THE YEARS

Swagman Stew Warm Pepper Salad Celery & Apple Salad Spinach & Artichoke Gratin Sliced Brussels Sprouts Creamless Creamed Corn Lemony Creamy Brussels Sprouts & Celery Celebrate St. Louis Carrot & Daikon Refrigerator Pickle St Louis Food Gifts "Wonderful" Glazed Turnips & Carrots Red & Green Warm Spinach Salad Potato Latkes Buckwheat with Mushrooms & Carrots Fast Pan-Roasted Brussels Sprouts Simple Dandelion Salad Party Rye with Tomato & Cucumber Easy Make-Ahead Endive & Apple Salad Spinach Pinwheels with Pears & Dried Cranberries Christmas Cauliflower

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