Dietary fiber is found in the plants you eat, including fruits, vegetables and whole grains. It’s sometimes called bulk or roughage.
Eating enough fiber regularly can be tricky but fiber can help keep digestion regular, blood sugar levels normal, and can help you stay full.
There are a few surprising ways to sneak fiber into your daily meals:
- Add a little spinach to everything…add it to smoothies, salads, sandwiches, egg scrambles, soups, and even casserole dishes.
- Choose whole grain products…look for bread that lists whole-grain flour as the first ingredient. If whole grain is difficult, try substituting a portion of whole grain products into the regular product you prefer (for example: mix whole wheat pasta with regular pasta).
- Don’t remove the skin…try keeping the skin on your fruit and potatoes. The skin has all the fiber and is also loaded with antioxidants.
- Add beans to your salad, pasta dish or even dessert… add black beans to salads (taco salad), tacos, or soup recipes to increase fiber or to brownies (yes brownies!). Mix in chick peas instead of meat to any pasta dish.
- Use Oatmeal as a staple…oatmeal is a great substitution for bread crumbs when making meatloaf or meatballs. It can also be used to bake into cookies or muffins for an extra punch of fiber.