While low carb diets attract defenders and detractors alike, there's no question that many people find creating healthy meals, low carbohydrate snacks and meals challenging. Because celery is nutrient and fiber rich while low in carbs, calories and fat, the crunchy vegetable makes a useful addition to salads, soups and casseroles. It's also a useful alternative to bread in sandwiches and can substitute for crunchy high carb foods like chips, pretzels and crackers.
Carbohydrates
According to MayoClinic.com, the average low carb diet plan restricts carbohydrates to between 50 and 150g per day. Two celery stalks, or one cup chopped celery contains only 3.5g carbohydrates, or 1.4 percent of the recommended daily value. In contrast, whole wheat bread contains 11.6g per slice, and white bread 12.6g per slice -- meaning that a sandwich's bread could add as much as 25 carbs to the meal without before you add any fillings.
Dietary Fiber
One of the dangers of a low carb diet stems from its lack of dietary fiber. Whole grains, sweet fruits and starchy vegetables are excellent sources of fiber, but people tend to avoid them because of their relatively high carb count. Celery is high in fiber but low in carbs. A serving of celery provides more than 2g, or 8 percent, of your total recommend amount of dietary fiber. The non-profit nutrition website World's Healthiest Foods rates it as a "very good" food source for fiber.
Calories, Fat and Sodium
As veterans of low-calorie and low-fat diets can attest, celery is low in both. Two stalks of celery contribute only 19.2 calories and .17g fat. However, celery's sodium level is relatively high for an unprocessed food. The same serving yields 104mg sodium. For those on a low-salt meal plan, keep your daily celery intake to two stalks, or one cup.
Additional Nutrients
WHFoods.org rates celery as an "excellent" source of vitamin C. The vegetable is rich in folate, potassium, and vitamin B6. It also contributes calcium, magnesium, iron, phosphorus and vitamins A, B1 and B2 to your diet.
Celery Uses in Low Carb Meals
To create a portable alternative to the traditional sandwich, stuff celery stalks with peanut butter, tuna fish, crab salad, egg salad or ham salad. Chopped veggies, meats and cheeses moistened with a bit of mayonnaise or low-sugar salad dressing make easy celery-stuffers. Use them instead of chips to scoop up creamy dips, and spread them with low-fat cream cheese or cheese spread to replace high carb cheese-and-cracker snacks.
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