Celery, Cranberry and Almond Salad (with blueberry option)

Celery as a salad? No way, who would do that? Those were my thoughts when I came across this salad. I don't know about you, but for me, celery is used in soup, spread with peanut butter or added to other salads like potato salad or tuna salad and that is pretty much it. Mine usually gets limp and rotten before I throw it out.

I seriously had to tell myself it might be good, it is a vegetable and I do add it to other recipes and the other ingredients sounded good so why not make half the recipe and take the chance it will surprise me. The original was published in Bon Appetit and got good reviews so it couldn't be horrible. I adapted it to be lower in carbs by substituted dried, unsweetened cranberries that I soaked in sweetened hot water for the dried cherries the recipe called for so they'd be sweet too.

I'm so glad I tried the recipe, it was really, really good!

I also had some feta cheese in the fridge so I sprinkled some on top of a forkful and that was good too. I also tried a few blackberries and blueberries in it because it isn't always easy to find unsweetened dried cranberries. The blueberries in it were great so feel free to use them in place of the cranberries if you want. I wasn't thrilled with the flavor of blackberries in it but if you have some, you can see if you like them in it.

This is the recipe I adapted. http://pixelsandcrumbs.com/blog/2014/3/1/celery-salad-with-dried-cherries-almonds

Celery, Cranberry and Almond Salad 3.64 net carbs per serving using dried cranberries and Parmesan cheese. 1/2 cup dried unsweetened cranberries or 3/4 cup fresh blueberries 8 stalks Celery (reserve leaves) 1/2 cup raw almonds granulated sweetener or stevia, to taste 3 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice Unrefined sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste 2 oz. shaved Parmesan cheese or 1/2 cup crumbled feta 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil (high quality) Crushed red pepper flakes 1. If using unsweetened dried cranberries, place cranberries in a small bowl, cover with very hot water that you have sweetened heavily with zero carb. sweetener, let rehydrate while preparing rest of recipe, at least 10 minutes. 2. Preheat oven to 350°. Spread out almonds on a small rimmed baking sheet; toast, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 8–10 minutes or them in an ungreased medium skillet, on medium-low heat, stirring frequently for about 5-6 minutes. Let cool; coarsely chop. 3. Slice celery on the diagonal and place in a medium bowl, chopping leaves and also adding to bowl. Drain cranberries and add to bowl or add blueberries. Stir in lemon juice, almonds, and salt and pepper to taste. Add Parmesan and olive oil; toss to coat. Season with crushed red pepper flakes. Serve. Servings: 6 Nutrition Facts Serving size: 1/6 of a recipe (3.7 ounces). Nutrition information calculated from recipe ingredients. The sweetener, and "to taste" ingredients are not included in the recipe nutrition data. I used unsweetened dried cranberries and Parmesan cheese in the nutritional analysis. Amount Per Serving Calories 201.07 Total Fat 17.45g Saturated Fat 3.27g Cholesterol 6.43mg Sodium 199.76mg Potassium 256.65mg Total Carbohydrates 6.53g Fiber 2.9g Sugar 2.23g Protein 6.41g