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Tasty Ways to Add More Fiber to Your Diet

Tasty Ways to Add More Fiber to Your Diet

 

Eating a healthy diet rich in high fiber whole foods can help avoid some digestive health problems. Constipation, diarrhea, and hemorrhoid irritation can all be improved by eating more fiber. It also lowers cholesterol! Yet most of us don’t consume nearly enough fiber in our diets, certainly not the recommended 25-35 grams per day, and miss out on all the benefits that fiber offers. A common problem is that foods that are easily accessible and quick to put together for a meal are often very low in fiber, and high in fat, calories, and salt. The good news is that there are some easy, tasty ways to increase your fiber intake.

 

Smoothies

Who doesn’t love smoothies? When you make your own, you can customize it to suit your exact tastes. This is the perfect way to add fruits and vegetables that are high in fiber and added liquids and nutrients to your diet. Spinach and carrots are both high-fiber vegetables that can work well in smoothies. Strawberries, bananas, blueberries, and raspberries all have a healthy helping of fiber as well. Mix and match different fruits and vegetables to find your favorites for amazing custom-blend smoothies.

 

Soups and Salads

Soups and salads are a delicious way to add high fiber fruits and vegetables to your diet. For soups, add vegetables that hold up well to heat. Kale can be great in soups, and adding carrots, celery, broccoli, peas, beans, and lentils are also excellent ways to increase fiber. Salads naturally lend themselves towards being a high-fiber dish. Aside from vegetables, pieces of fruit and berries can be a tasty, fibrous addition. Add some nuts and seeds for a healthy crunch that tastes good and adds some extra fiber.

 

Snacks

Snacking may be one of the easiest places to lose out on fiber, or to sneak it in. Apple slices (with the peel on them) can be a great snack. Try dipping them in peanut butter for some extra protein. A small handful of nuts provides both protein and fiber. You might also try snacking on whole grain crackers or raw vegetables dipped in hummus or mashed avocado. Since part of what makes less fibrous snacks so appealing is how convenient they are, give yourself a hand and do some food prep ahead of time so that the healthier snacks are at least as convenient as the less healthy options.

Eating more fiber doesn’t have to be a chore. It doesn’t have to be bland or unpleasant either. In fact, smoothies, soups, salads, and snacks can be the perfect way to add more fiber to your diet without compromising taste at all. Enjoy all the benefits of consuming more fiber in addition to the other nutrients that come along with it.

 

Water

Along with adding fiber to your diet, adding liquids is essential, and water is the healthiest drink you can have. Adding too much fiber without increasing your fluid intake could spell trouble. When adding fiber to your diet, start slowly, increase your water intake and MOVE! Fiber, water, and exercise are the trifecta of promoting good digestive health and helping avoid problems like hemorrhoids.

 

Remember, eating more fiber can reduce your risk of developing hemorrhoids. If you have hemorrhoids or are concerned about developing them, check out our list of Symptoms of Hemorrhoids to learn how they can be treated, or avoided.

Mindful Eating

We all live hectic lives.  The pace of modern life, with all of its technical distractions, can sometimes take away from the joy of eating.  We gulp down our food while watching TV, texting, or tweeting, and don’t really take the time to eat our meals with mindfulness and savor our food.  Thich Nhat Hanh, a well-known Vietnamese Buddhist, teaches there is nothing more precious than the present moment, so even eating becomes an activity worthy of our undivided attention.  Eating with mindfulness will allow us to avoid ingesting all the stress of a distracted mind.  The calmness and presence gained from eating mindfully will bring each of us greater health and happiness and allow us to enjoy life more fully.

Below is an excerpt from Thich Nhat Hanh’s book, Savor:  Mindful Eating, Mindful Life

Take an apple out of your refrigerator.  Any apple will do.  Wash it.  Dry it.  Before taking a bite, pause for a moment.  Look at the apple in your palm and ask yourself:  When I eat an apple, am I really enjoying eating it?  Or, am I so pre-occupied with other thoughts that I miss the delights that the apple offers me?

If you are like most of us, you answer “yes” to the second question much more often than the first.  For most of our lives, we have eaten apple after apple without giving it a second thought.  Yet in this mindless way of eating, we have denied ourselves the many delights present in the simple act of eating an apple.  Why do that, especially when it is so easy to truly enjoy the apple?

The first thing is to give your undivided attention to eating the apple.  When you eat the apple, just concentrate on eating the apple.  Don’t think of anything else.  And most important, be still.  Don’t eat the apple while you are driving.  Don’t eat it while you are walking.  Don’t eat it while you are reading.  Just be still.  Being focused and slowing down will allow you to truly savor all the qualities the apple offers:  its sweetness, aroma, freshness, juiciness, and crispness.

Next, pick up the apple from the palm of your hand and take a moment to look at it again.  Breathe in awareness a few times to help you focus and become more in touch with how you feel about the apple.  Most of the time, we barely look at the apple we are eating.  We grab it, take a bite, chew it quickly and then swallow.  This time, take note:  What kind of apple is it?  What color is it?  How does it feel in your hand?  What does it smell like?  Going through these thoughts, you will begin to realize the apple is not simply a quick snack to quiet a grumbling stomach.  It is something more complex, something part of a greater whole.

Then, give the apple a smile and slowly,mindfully take a bite, and chew it.  Be aware of your in-breath and out-breath a few times to help you concentrate solely on eating the apple:  what it feels like in your mouth, what it tastes like, what it’s like to chew and swallow it.  There is nothing else filling your mind as you chew – no projects, no deadlines, no worries, no “to do” list, no fears, no sorrow, no anger, no past, and no future.  There is just the apple.

When you chew, know what you are chewing.  Chew slowly and completely.  Chew consciously, savoring the taste of the apple and its nourishment, immersing yourself in the process one hundred percent.  This way, you really appreciate the apple as it is.  Ans as you become fully aware of eating the apple, you also become fully aware of the present moment.  You become fully engaged in the here and now.  Living in the moment, you can really experience what the apple offers you, and you become more alive.

www.savorthebook.com

The physicians at Granite Peaks Gastroenterology are dedicated to helping you achieve your best health possible.  Each of us would welcome the opportunity to sit down with you to discuss mindful eating and other ways to support your optimal well-being.

 

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