Simple Celery Prep for Sandwich

This is not a hack so much as a show-and-tell for some food preparation. I’ve found most of the young caregivers we had had over the years for my adult son who is disabled have no idea what I mean. His favorite sandwich is made with tuna salad. If I tell someone to add a stalk of celery cut into very thin slices they have little idea of what I mean. Some have never prepared celery for anyone.

I start with taking 1 stalk of celery and cut off the bunch stalk end and the top part with tiny branching stems and leaves. Then wash stalk. Celery is usually dirty once it’s in the grocery. Slices are thin, small crescent shapes pieces cut across the ribs. When at the lower part of stalk, cut the wide sections in half vertically the hold them together as you continue slim cuts. Otherwise wide crescents are a little too chunky to use this way. The first photo shows these steps. You can see how thin I ask the slices to be cut. (Yes I know I can use more of the scraps in my own cooking but I don’t ask caregivers to worry about this ) Second photo shows they are added to a bowl with sweet pickle relish, tuna and mayonnaise. Third photo shows finished tuna salad ready for sandwiches.

So, why am I asking for this method? Son with disabilities needs soft food he can easily eat. The very thin celery works for a little crunch and color because he can’t hold a sandwich together with large slices of lettuce in it when one sandwich layer slides the top part off. The soft tuna fish salad (or egg or chicken or ham) are really easy to eat and inexpensive. We can make 4-5 sandwiches at a time, cut in halves, and wrap each half sandwich separately to keep in the refrigerator to pull out as needed. I’ll post to a caregiver group for this same hack/tip/suggestion. Many people who have disabilities may have swallowing issues as well as dexterity challenges.