Fiber – Quick and Easy Tips to Add More To
Posted on | December 6, 2009 | No Comments
Fiber – Quick and Easy Tips to Add More To Your Diet
Fiber is one of the most significant nutrients in our diet today. With so many health benefits attributed to it, such as lowering blood cholesterol levels, enabling glucose to enter our bloodstream more slowly, and portion us feel more full and satisfied, is it any wonder that fiber is so laudable? Women should aim for about 25 grams of fiber each day and men should get about 35 grams daily.
How can you get more fiber in your diet? It’s easy! Follow these simple suggestions but start slowly. Too much at once can make bloating, cramping, and gas! If this happens, back off and start adding a little more each day until you reach the recommended amount.
Fiber absorbs many times its own weight in liquid. It’s essential to drink plenty of water. Shoot for at least 6-8 glasses each day. This excess bulk formed by fiber and liquid helps to keep your digestive system vigorous.
Easy tips for adding fiber to your diet:
* Start with a high-fiber cereal for eat. Top it with fresh fruit for an added boost.
* Add crushed bran cereal to recipes such as meatloaf, muffins, casseroles, or salads.
* Eat fruit at every fodder. Eat the skin although likely and don’t substitute fruit juices.
* Be creative with your fruit consumption. Smoothies are an superior way to get in more fruit servings. Make salsas out of fruit and use with fish or chicken.
* Make snacks count! Eat dried fruit, raw vegetables, and low-fat popcorn.
* Choose whole-grain breads. If you don’t like the taste, work up to them by changing from white to one of the new “whole-wheat white” breads first, or eat a sandwich with one slice of white and one slice of whole-grain.
* Eat a salad every night with dinner. Add a variety of raw, fresh vegetables and fruit to keep them interesting. Top your salad with 2 teaspoons of olive oil and lemon juice or vinegar.
* Try eating salads in creative ways. Put a handful of salad on a piece of fish before you bake it. Add salad to the top of white pizza. Include a handful of salad in a whole-wheat wrap with raw or saut?ed vegetables.
* Eat the skin of the potato. Cut down on calories by squeezing the juice of a fresh lemon on your potato.
* Speaking of potatoes, start making sweet potatoes a regular part of your diet. If you’re not a fan, ease into it with sweet potato fries. Cut into small wedges, shake in a plastic bag with 2 teaspoons of olive or canola oil, spread on a cookie sheet, and sprinkle with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Bake on a Pam-covered cookie sheet for 20-30 minutes at 400, depending on the size of your wedges.
* Try eating some vegetables that are out of your “comfort zone.” Many of the vegetables that you didn’t like as children may be delightful now. Try brussel sprouts or chard. Just pick up a new one each week at the grocery store. They’ll tell you how to cook it, or go online for cooking tips.
* Add cold, whole-grained products to yogurt or soup.
* Use whole-grained flour or soy flour instead of refined white flour.
* Eat whole-grained pasta instead of white pasta. If you haven’t tasted it in awhile, it’s come a long way. It is truly delicious!
* Go nuts, but watch those calories! Take about 10-shelled pistachio nuts and crush them in a small baggie sooner than adding them to salad.
* Pre-bag almonds and other nuts into portion-controlled baggies for high-protein, high-fiber snacks.
Follow these facile tips and you’ll content your every day fiber requirements in no time!
Tags: blood cholesterol levels > bran cereal > day > Diet > Eat > Fiber > Fruit > fruit consumption > fruit juices > high fiber cereal > potato > raw vegetables > salad > whole grain breads









