It has come to my attention that the daily adult requirement for fiber is 25 to 30 grams, and I don’t get anywhere near that amount. I have decided to change that, so I’m looking for ways to add fiber to my diet.
I started by changing my breakfast from eggs to Grape Nuts cereal; I may change to oatmeal for an extra fiber boost. Second, I made some bean and rice burritos to eat for lunch. Now I’m looking for dinner recipes that are high in fiber. Does anyone have anything? I like just about anything, but my husband is rather picky - he doesn’t like spicy food, so most things with cayenne, chili powder or curry are out.
No specific recipes, but a tip: switch to whole grain things rather than those that are refined. Brown rice rather than white/jasmine/instant. Whole grain pastas, crackers and breads. It’s a little thing, but it’ll help.
I looked it up, and Bran Buds have 5 grams of fiber per serving, the same as Grape Nuts. Not bad, but I still want to make sure we’re getting the other 20 grams from somewhere.
Eat more fruit, esp. things with the skins on, like apples and pears, and lots of berries. It’s not a very onerous task, because they taste so good, and they have lots of fiber.
Do you like legumes? Split peas, lentils, black beans, all high in fiber, along with peas and lima beans. I’m also a big fan of almonds, sunflower seeds, and other nuts, which have a decent amount.
I was surprised to find this out, but artichokes are really high in fiber, and they are one of my favorite vegetables.
Snack-wise, some nice air popped popcorn is good on fiber.
I like golden flax meal. I make simple microwave bowl muffins for my breakfast almost every morning and sometimes at night for a sweet snack. That’s four grams per muffin right there, but you can sprinkle it in other foods too. You want to spread out the consumption I imagine.
I think it’s four or five grams per 2 tablespoon serving and if you make sure you get golden flax there’s really not much of a taste to it.
Start reading your labels. They’re all required to tell you how big a serving is, and what percentage of your daily need it fills. Fruits and veggies often have serious fiber, and you can look it all up on the internet. Some things, such as brown rice and oatmeal, are not as fibrous as you might think. One serving of Fiber One® cereal has 51% of the fiber you need in a day. You’d think Honey Nut Cheerios®, with all that whole-grain goodness, would be jam-packed with fiber. A serving has 2g, for 8% of your Recommended Daily Allowance of fiber.
If you ever have to eat your words, the paper they’re written on is close to completely made of fiber.
If you have health insurance, ask them for advice on healthy eating. Anthem, for example, has a massive crew of nurses and dietitians just aching to help you. They know that your foolish eating will eventually cost them money. It’s cheaper to keep you healthy than to fix you when you get sick. Call the number on the back of your card, and they’ll steer you to the person with all the answers.
I appreciate all the advice on what foods have fiber, but what I really need is main dish recipes (we don’t each much sweet stuff). Non-spicy bean recipes, recipes that sneak in oats, broccoli casseroles, and so on. Most of the meals I make are high in protein and fat, with just a little bit of vegetables on the side. I’d like to change that to something higher in fiber, but not just a plate full of peas. With all the accomplished chefs on this board, I thought this would be the place to go to get started.
You’ll notice that your supermarket may be carrying more options in canned beans, such as garbanzos (chick peas), white beans, “Spanish” broad beans, etc. Get a few cans of your choice.
Now, make up an olive-oil based vinaigrette. You don’t have to get fancy; red wine vinegar and olive oil, with a proportion of 1 part vinegar to 3 parts of olive oil is good. Add salt and pepper to taste, and maybe a bit of minced garlic and a shake of Italian herbs. Chop a little celery and some sweet red onion, put it in a big bowl and pour the vinaigrette over it. Drain a can or two of beans of your choice and toss them into the bowl. If you like, add some chopped parsley and a few black olives. Toss all together and adjust the seasoning. Voila, high-fiber bean salad, and you can infinitely vary the recipe with whatever vegies you like. I like to add canned tuna to this recipe to make a full meal. It’s great as a pack-along lunch and it’s also very good left over the next day.
Next recipe: get a smoked pork shank (not a hamhock - those are too greasy and fatty), and stew it for 3 hours in a big pot full of water and beans of your choice. Pintos are good, as are pink beans or white beans. Stir now and then, but don’t add salt. A half hour before it’s done, you might want to add chopped carrots, celery and cabbage. This stuff is serious yum, and is stellar left over the next day.
A can of black beans
A jar of salsa, whatever spiciness you like
Brown rice (I make a big batch and keep in in the fridge)
Chopped lettuce or spinach
Shredded cheese
Whole wheat or corn tortillas
Drain the beans and rinse them. If you want to get fancy, you can saute some chopped onion and garlic in olive oil, then toss in the beans and heat through, with the salsa if you want. If you are lazy, skip that. Microwave the beans. Put the cheese on the tortilla, microwave until melted. Put the beans, salsa (spoon it out, using the chunks more than the liquid, otherwise your burrito will drip all over), lettuce/spinach, and rice on the tortilla, and roll it up. Takes like 15 minutes and has a decent amount of fiber.
Lentil soup is also really easy. Here is a good, basic recipe. If you’re vegetarian you can use vegetable broth instead of chicken. Use whole wheat pasta for more fiber.
If I may make a suggestion, it can be a good idea to gradually increase your amount of fiber. My first tries at a vegetarian diet were abandoned because I went straight for a high-fiber diet with lots of beans, raw vegetables and whole grains, and suffered epic gas and diarrhea as a result. It may not be like that for everyone, I’m just saying don’t abandon the idea if you start bloating. Just give your stomach time to get used to all the work you’re suddenly giving it.
Having said that, here’s a nummy recipe for filled eggplant.
Take an eggplant and split it in half along its length. Dig it out, like a canoe, so that you have about a quarter of an inch of eggplant meat left around the sides. Take the stuff you dug out, chop into tiny bits, and sautee together with whatever vegetables you have handy (finely chopped onions, leeks, mushrooms, peppers, zucchini, fennel for example are all great). Put the sauteed veggies back into the eggplant boats, put a slice of brie or feta cheese on top and let sit in the oven for about 200 degrees Celsius (390 F?) until the cheese is melted.
These recipes look good, there are a lot of possibilities here. I don’t know if I’ve ever had either lentils or eggplant - if I have, I don’t remember - so I’m going to have to try those recipes and see. The bean salad one looks like it will work well for lunch.
I found a recipefor beans and orzo online that might be good, too, but I don’t really like the idea of the mixed vegetable in it. I might try leaving that out and adding some parmesan or fontina cheese and have some vegetables on the side. Does that sound like it would work?
I imagine if you had the beans and also substituted whole grain pasta, you’d get quite a fiber blast. The recipe as is already has 6.7g of fiber per serving.
Cooking Light in general is a great source for stuff like this. Here is the result from just searching for the work ‘fiber’ on their sight. Articles on fiber intake, types, recipes, etc. Lots to read.
Another way (especially if you want to hide fiber in your existing diet) is to check out FiberSure. Tasteless (though I think it does add a little sweetness) and super fine ground so you can’t ‘feel it’ when it’s mixed into things.
I totally agree with this. I have had a subscription to Cooking Light for about three years and I have no plans to get rid of it. They make healthy cooking much easier and you don’t have to use substitutes (for example, certain recipes include butter, bacon, etc., but in smaller amounts so you get the flavor but not all the calories and saturated fat).
As for actual recipes that pack a lot of fiber, stir fry is a great way to do it - you can do a beef stir fry with peppers and broccoli and make a sauce of ginger, garlic, soy, toasted sesame oil and a little pepper and serve the whole thing over brown rice with a side of edamame (soy beans) and fruit for dessert.
Three-bean chili is good, too, with black beans, white beans and kidney beans in addition to or in place of the meat.
Another alternative is to simply replace whatever starch you usually eat with your meals with a vegetable side. So, instead of having a roast with potatoes and green beans, try a roast with grilled or roasted vegetables and green beans.
Roasted veggies are also ridiculously easy to make - just cut up two red, yellow or orange bell peppers (or any combination thereof), one onion and one eggplant, crush four or five cloves or garlic, drizze with olive oil and broil for 10 minutes, stirring once, broil again, stir again, until they just start to soften. You put use them on anything - salads, sandwiches, in soups - and they’re good on their own.
One rule of thumb I have is to always include at least one fruit and one vegetable with every meal I eat or cook. So, if I’m making roast chicken, it’s usually served over a salad (or alongside one) with seasonal fruit.
One other thing: I like that you’re talking about “adding fiber” instead of taking things away. Probably the one thing that helped me the most when I was changing my dietary habits was thinking that I got to add things (vegetables and fruits) instead of taking them away. Gradually, adding the good stuff edged out the less-good stuff, but I didn’t feel deprived.
I saw Barbara’s cereal at the market, and since I like her other things I thought I’d try something with a little fiber. What I bought has 8 g/serve, with a serving being half of a cup (30 g). My little snack baggies hold two portions, so that’s what I munch on on my way to work. I’m getting 16 g just out of breakfast.
What would happen to your recipes if you simply left out the chili powder or peppers?
I got some fabulous dried beans from Rancho Gordoa while back, and loved them so much that Mr. Horseshoe had the good sense to get me another box of mixed varieties for my birthday.
Yes, that’s right. Beans. For my birthday. That’s how good they are! (Very fresh - I can decide *that afternoon *that I want beans for dinner. No soaking the night before, no boiling for hours’n’hours.) So if you both like beans, you might try poking around their site for some dinner inspiration.
Luckily for your husband, I’ve found that the best beans are both simple and non-spicy. Even the regular dried beans at the supermarket are really delicious cooked with nothing more than some onion, garlic, and a bay leaf. I top them with some avocado if I have it, cilantro, and some more onion (minced raw, for crunch).
Do y’all grill a lot of meat? (You said you eat protein-heavy.) If you do, start playing around with grilling vegetables alongside. You can skewer whole (peeled) boiling or pearl onions, 1" slices of zucchini, mushrooms, etc. and give them some nice charred lines and smoky flavor while you’re flipping the burgers or poking the chicken. Corn on the cob grills up well, too.
The advice from others about adding fiber slowly to your diet comes from a place of hard-earned wisdom.
You know those “weekend warriors” who decide they’re going to get in shape and lose ten pounds in a week, so they go out and absolutely *kill *themselves trying to run several miles all at once, and then they’re too sore/injured to exercise again for months?
Don’t be like that, with the fiber. If you suddenly decide to go all-out and add tons of fiber to every meal all in one day, you will most likely regret the consequences and drop your new resolution.
