We’ve all been there, and frankly I even gave up on the dance last year resulting in throwing out all of my pre-preg skinny jeans (It took me 2 years of staring at them in my closet and secretly trying to shimmy them on), but that’s a story for another day.
This post isn’t about pregnancy or jeans, but it IS about something women need, which is more fiber. Lots and lots of fabulous fiber!
Here’s the skinny on fiber:
Fiber is your lifelong BFF. It the secret ninja that keeps you fitting into your fave clothes, keeps disease & discomfort at bay, & lowers your risk of breast cancer! It also stabilizes blood sugar (high fiber diets can even begin to reverse diabetes 2), it gets you on an awesome daily poop schedule, AND just all around helps extend your life.
Do you want to increase your lifespan, speed up your metabolism, and prevent disease + cancer from ever taking hold?
SO. DO. I.
Did you know that the average American eats only 8-10 grams of fiber a day?! 😳 The minimum we want to consume for a healthy body is 25g daily. And if you’re a Dr. Fuhrman fan like me, and truly want to heal your body and stay at a healthy body weight forever, you’ll aim for 50g.
I try to find ways to amp up the fiber in everything I eat. Literally, everything. I even pack my coffee full of fiber (yes, it’s amazing, you have to try it).
So how much fiber do you get daily?
If you’re looking for easy ways to sneak more fiber into your diet, scroll below and save these ideas!
👉🏼 If you have always felt like fiber makes you bloated, here are a few hacks to get the fiber you desire, but SKIP the bloat.
- Increase fiber content slowly – if you’re super prone to bloating, increase your fiber intake by 10 grams a week until you achieve 25+ grams or more. (whatever range you are going for). So that could mean simply adding a bowl of raspberries to your breakfast for 7 days, and then the following week add a new, high-fiber food.
- Also – chew, chew, chew SLOWLY to give your body time to catch up with your mouth. A great way to do this is to put your fork down in between bites. When you eat too fast, your tummy can swell up like a massive melon because your stomach acids are trying to break down all the foods / fiber at once, and it’s too much to handle at once. Be gentle on your body by chewing slowly, k?
BREAKFAST OPTIONS:
- Smart Bran Cereal – This cereal has 17g of fiber per 3/4 cup!! AND it tastes good! It’s the only cereal I eat, and is great for kids too. I drink this with a little Milkadamia nut milk, and some sliced bananas or strawberries. You can even add ¼ cup to smoothies for a kick of fiber – if your kid doesn’t like it, sneak in a tablespoon into their reg cereal.
- Raspberries GALORE! – Raspberries are the highest fiber fruit. They have 8g of fiber per cup. If raspberries annoy you b/c they get moldy quick, go for frozen ones and add to oatmeal, or (my fave) add frozen raspberries to your smoothie. Try a couple of my fave smoothies w/raspberries HERE & HERE.
- Inulin – this is powdered artichoke root, and it’s pure prebiotic fiber that is tasteless and dissolves in liquids. It is a miracle powder. Add this into anything and everything! Coffee or hot tea included. Also read my post here all about fabulous inulin. If you are prone to bloating or you don’t typically eat a lot of fiber, start with only 1 tsp a day.
- Chia Pudding – 1 ounce of chia seeds have 10 g of fiber. Yes, girl. You can find TONS of recipes on Pinterest. Experiment with different toppings (berries, nuts, superfoods) until you find your favorite flavors and combos. OR easy peasy, toss chia seeds in every single smoothie you make from here on out.
- Sukrin Fiber Syrup – pour it on top healthy pancakes, or use it to sweeten plain almond milk yogurt. It is made from erythritol, which is an alternative sweetener that is non-toxic, noncaloric, calorie-free and super similar to cane sugar, and doesn’t affect blood sugar or erode your teeth!
SNACKS:
- Swap potato chips for kale chips (same satisfying crunch, a fraction of the calories), and kale chips don’t promote cancer, yay!
- PRUNES aka prune candy we call around here – you can add them as sweetener in smoothies or just snack on them
- Hummus instead of cream dips
- Fresh fruit – 1 mango has 5g fiber, and 1 apple (w/skin on) has 4g fiber.
- Roasted bean snacks
- Scroll through below for fiber snacks:
LUNCH & DINNER:
- Switch to bean pastas – Red Lentil & Mung Bean Pasta (swap from white pasta) OR 100% whole wheat has more fiber than regular white pasta. I am currently obsessed with Banza.
- Black bean burritos with fiber rich tortillas / romaine lettuce – 1 Cup of black beans has 15g fiber!
- Brown rice or quinoa with roasted broccoli or asparagus
- 1 medium Artichoke for appetizer or din has 10g of fiber! Pair with a cashew cream aioli for dipping. Super chic & yum.
- Lentils, Lentils, Lentils!!! 1 Cup of these has 16g of fiber. They’re so good and easy to create delish dishes from. Try Asian Lentil Wraps (we make them every week in our house) or Chickpea Lentil Dahl (and you could pour over riced cauliflower to up the nutrient content.
Convenience is key when it comes to creating and maintaining healthy habits. I hope this guide helps, and I would ❤️ to know if you have some awesome fiber-filled snacks or easy meal ideas that we need to know about. If so, drop them (and links to whatever) in the comments.
Xo, Ashley.