Fiber Sources
Tips on Finding Fiber Sources
Many people know that they are not eating enough fiber each day but they don’t know where to look for fiber sources. It’s especially hard if when growing up you ate a diet that was totally lacking in fiber. What you need to do is to take a look at the following categories, and find foods in each one that are high in fiber: fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, grain products, and legumes, such as beans and peas.
Most breakfasts lack an appropriate amount of fiber. Typical breakfast choices include eggs, bacon, sausage, coffee, tea, white toast w/butter, bagel or granola bar. If your goal is to have a diet high in fiber, breakfast is a very important place to start. Some changes you could make to include good fiber sources might include switching from corn flakes to a bran cereal, having whole wheat toast, or regular/quick/instant oats. Good fruit choices include an apple, orange or peach. Always eat the fruit instead of the juice as most of the fiber is eliminated in the juice processing.
There are many fiber sources for lunch. To start, if you take your own sandwich or order one from a deli, make a switch from white to whole wheat or multi-grain bread. Make sure that it says whole grain on the contents label. Have a salad and add some berries or nuts on top. Raspberries, blackberries and strawberries are all good fiber sources. Another excellent lunch choice is a salad and baked beans. Try a whole wheat soft taco shell and add turkey, tomato, lettuce, light mayo and cheese. If you are watching fats, skip the cheese or substitute a low-fat variety. Other fiber sources for lunch include an apple, banana or orange, soups with lentil or barley, or pizza with a whole wheat crust and spinach or broccoli as veggies.
When it comes to dinner, there are even more great ways to add fiber to your diet. Dinner fiber sources include meals made with whole grain spaghetti and macaroni--adding a vegetable like broccoli to whole wheat penne with your favorite spices and a feta cheese topping can make a delicious vegetarian high fiber meal. Other dinner choices can include substituting whole wheat rolls for white ones, black bean chili, sweet potato pie, or butternut squash soup. You can add whole wheat bran to hamburgers or meatballs, and eat them in whole wheat hamburger and sub rolls respectively.
Don’t forget to substitute brown or wild rice for white rice. Recipes that call for white flour can be substituted up to one half with whole wheat flour. You can snack on such high fiber choices as low-fat nut bread and muffins, apples, bananas, oranges, peaches and pears or raw vegetables. Whole wheat crackers and peanut butter or popcorn with light butter and salt are also great tasting, healthy fiber snacks. For desserts, try cookies with whole wheat flour and berries, or apple or raspberry pies. A yogurt parfait with berries and granola or cereal is both high fiber and makes a fantastic snack or dessert.