Food, Recipe and Activity of the Week - March 9, 2008
This week's features include:
Food - Celery
Recipe - Lentil pilaf
Activity - Basketball
History
It is not known who discovered celery but is has been around for almost 3,000 years. The oldest record of the word celery is in a 9th-century poem written in France or Italy, speaking of its medicinal uses. In the 16th century people in Italy and northern Europe began growing celery in gardens but it was still only used for medicinal purposes.
The use of celery for food was first recorded in France in 1623. Yet for about 100 years it was only used to flavor foods. In France and Italy, by the 17th century, the stalks and leaves were occasionally eaten with an oil dressing.
In the late 17th and early 18th centuries, improvements of the wild type were first seen in Italy, France, and England, one being eliminating the too-strong flavor of the wild type.
It is not known what colonists brought the celery plant to America, or when, but four cultivated varieties were listed here in 1806.
Celery Facts
Celery is available year-round with little seasonal variation in supply. Celery can be bought in bunches with the leaves attached or trimmed. When selecting celery to purchase choose stalks with fresh leaves and firm crisp stalks of medium length and thickness. Do not purchase celery with brown or black discolorations on either the stalks or leaves. Light green stalks tend to taste best. Dark green stalks have more nutrients but tend to be stringy. Use a vegetable peeler to trim the strings.
At home wrap celery in plastic and use within two weeks. Keep the celery away from the coldest parts of the refrigerator-the back and side walls-with its high water content it freezes easily. Wash under cold water and trim the ends of the stalks before using. Cooked celery may be refrigerated for up to 5 days. One medium bunch of celery yields 4-6 servings.
Because of its high water content, celery has very few calories: an 8-inch rib contains just 6 calories. Yet it provides a good amount of potassium and Vitamin C, and some insoluble fiber.
Nutritional Information (per 1 cup chopped): 20 calories, 1 g protein, 4 g carbohydrate, 2 g dietary fiber, 0.2 g fat, 0 g cholesterol, 104 mg sodium, 344 mg, potassium, 8 mg Vitamin C
Makes 8 servings
Ingredients:
- Nonstick cooking spray
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 1 cup chopped celery
- 1 cup chopped green bell pepper
- 1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
- 1 cup water
- 1-1/2 cup uncooked lentils
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 16 oz can low sodium chicken broth
- 2/3 cup uncooked brown rice
Instructions:
- Coat a large saucepan with cooking spray.
- Place over medium heat and add onion, celery, bell pepper, and mushrooms, sautéing until tender.
- Add water, lentils, garlic powder, and chicken broth and bring to a boil.
- Cover and reduce heat. Let simmer for 20 minutes.
- Add rice; simmer until rice is done and lentils are tender.
Nutrition Information: 205 calories, 1 grams total fat, 37 grams carbohydrate, 13 gram protein, 13 grams fiber, 35 milligrams sodium, 0 milligrams cholesterol.
Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website. For more recipes and access to the recipe’s full nutritional profile, visit www.cdc.gov.
Basketball is a great sport that can increase your endurance and muscle strength while enhancing hand and eye coordination. Plus it is a great calorie burner, burning approximately 575 calories per hour for a 150 lb. person!
One of the most fun games to play with your family is “pig basketball.” If you are not familiar with this game, all it involves is two or more people taking turns shooting baskets. The object of the game is to avoid spelling the word “PIG.” Letters are added to your name only when you miss a basket that your opponent just made from the same spot on the court.
It starts off by one person picking out a point to shoot from on the court. If he or she makes it, the next person has to shoot from that same point. If the second person misses, they get a “P,” and the ball is handed back to the first person who can shoot from a new point. However, if the first person misses, they do not get any letters because letters can only be added to your name when you miss a basket that your opponent previously made. If the first person misses, the second person does not have to shoot from the same spot either. They can pick out a new spot on the court, and the game continues until someone spells “PIG.” If you want the game to last longer, pick out animal names with more letters like horse or elephant!