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I have this recipe:

  • 2 celery sticks
  • 1 cucumber (large)
  • 2 large handfuls of spinach leaves
  • 1 large handful of lettuce (dark)
  • 1/2 freshly squeezed lemon

But I don't like the "aroma" of celery. So what can I use in place of the celery sticks? The replacement should have similar nutritional values to celery.

The best replacement I have come up with is 2 tomatoes.

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11  
Celery has nutrition? I thought it was just crunchy water, like lettuce. – Joe Aug 30 '11 at 17:22
1  
Any green veg is going to be a fair replacement. If you are after maximum nutritional intake and not fashion, you need to chew them, not drink them. Saliva and chewing are major parts of digestive process – TFD Aug 30 '11 at 22:06
@Joe: Dang you for beating me to that comment! – BobMcGee Aug 31 '11 at 6:46
1  
I suspect that celery is included in this recipe as a flavouring rather than for it's nutritional value. Simply remove or reduce the celery and increase the other items. – Rincewind42 Aug 31 '11 at 10:45
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@mfg : those calculations typically include the energy required to chew ... if this is a drink, it's likely gone through a blender, so wouldn't hold true. – Joe Sep 1 '11 at 23:25
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1 Answer

up vote 5 down vote accepted

Iceberg Lettuce, as it is also very low in vitamins and minerals like celery and has a good crunch. According to the USDA's "MyPlate", 1 cup of iceberg is 1/2 serving vegetables, and 1 stalk of celery is 1/2 serving vegetables, so to get equivalent nutritional value for 2 stalks would take 2 cups shredded.

You could add more vitamins and minerals by replacing the celery with something more nutrient dense.

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1  
They indeed have very similar (lack of) nutrition: iceberg lettuce and celery on nutritiondata.self.com. (Choose 100 grams from the drop-down for easier comparison.) – Jefromi♦ Aug 30 '11 at 21:42

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