Ants on a Log For Grown-Ups
I've never really thought much about celery and I'm guessing most people feel the same way. I don’t love it and I don’t hate it. It's just celery. It's one of those vegetables you keep around to add flavor to soups and stews as part of the mis en place. I used to buy a bag and it would last six months as I took out the few pieces I need here and there. I never really liked to snack on it, unless you slather it in peanut butter and call it Ants on a Log, but that’s for kids, isn’t it?
Nutritionally, celery has a healthy supply of vitamins, is low in calories and high in fiber. Last year, I was at one of Levana’s cooking demos where she made a salad with thinly sliced celery. It opened my eyes to using celery in ways I had never done before. I started to stock fresh celery again and add it to many salads, always thinly sliced. I introduced my kids to Ants on a Log one day, but instead of raisins we used dark chocolate chips, they loved it!
I realized all the potential these little stalks of celery had. We could put almost anything in them and why limit yourself to raisins for ants? That's when I made these four new variations of Ants on a Log. I hope this gets you thinking of other great ways to use celery. Be sure to drop us a note and let us know.
Hummus with Olives is a Mediterranean delight for kids of all ages. A perfect snack for your kids when they get home from school or as a pass around hors d’ oeuvre.
Cream Cheese and Sun Dried Tomatoes or Fire Ants on a White log was my favorite. The mixture of flavors was so good, I might start eating it for breakfast! BTW, I used a non-dairy cream cheese in this and you can’t tell the difference.
Almond Butter and Craisins – okay, this one is almost like the original but little fancier and tastes even better to me.
Guacamole and Black Beans (or any beans) – the perfect starter to any Mexican meal. If you are trying to cut back on carbs and tortilla chips, this is for you.