Eat more fiber. How many times have you heard that? You know you are supposed to eat lots of fiber, but do you? About 95% of Americans do not eat nearly enough fiber. If you are one of them, then you are missing out on the oh so many health benefits of fiber. Today, I give my super easy ways to eat more fiber + why this is so highly important in the summer months.
Tara’s Tuesday Tips:
Easy Ways to Eat More Fiber
Eating enough fiber helps us ward off chronic illnesses such as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, obesity, colorectal + breast cancers. Adequate fiber intake also has been linked to having a healthier gut microbiome leading to longevity, decreased inflammation, and most importantly preventing constipation. So, here are my easy tips to help you eat more fiber in your everyday routine plus I added my mini-tips about summer constipation at the bottom, Happy Tuesday!
- Add fiber slowly to prevent any bloating or abdominal cramping.
- Breakfast is a perfect meal to up your fiber game! Oatmeal, berries, whole grain breads or cereals with “stone-ground” or “whole” on the ingredient list instead of “refined”.
- Swap out white/refined pastas for brown rice, quinoa, red lentil, or chickpea pasta. They are super yummy + you often can’t tell the difference!
- Experiment with brown rice, quinoa, barley, or farro instead of white rice to boost fiber content.
- Beans + legumes are loaded with fiber. Sprinkle chickpeas on top of salad, add black beans in your tacos, make homemade veggie burgers out of lentils.
- Try alternative flours such as buckwheat or stone-ground whole wheat over all-purpose flour.
- Make your snacks count in your fiber count! Try nuts, dried fruits, roasted chickpeas, carrot or celery sticks, fresh popped popcorn, or fruit.
- Don’t peel your fruit, eat the skins on apples, pears, grapes, plums, peaches, nectarines.
- Eat whole fruit instead of drinking the juice.
- Variety, variety, variety. The more diverse your plant intake is, the better chance you have at getting in enough grams of fiber every day.
- Water, water, water, water. Don’t get dehydrated! This is the number one cause of constipation!
What is Constipation?
Constipation is defined as having less than 3 bowel movements per week, straining to have a bowel movement, rock-like stool consistency or feeling of incomplete bowel emptying.
Why Do More People Get Constipated in Summer?
- Dehydration!
- Travel
- Heat
- Increase in parties, outings, picnics, “fun foods”
- Change in routines/schedules
- Excess fluid loss with sweat/exercise
How to Prevent Summer Constipation:
- Prevent dehydration
- Enjoy watery fruits including watermelon, peaches, cantaloupe, strawberries, and kiwi
- Try to keep a routine even with different schedules + travel
- Increase fluid intake with increased exercise sessions in the heat
- Keep fruit, vegetable, fiber intake up despite the increased availability of ice cream, treats, and other indulgences.
- Listen to your body, hunger + fullness cues, thirst
- Carry a reusable water bottle
- Don’t forget the electrolyte replacement
- Keep moving despite it being hot outside
Food For Thought
Talking about fiber is not sexy or fun. Makes you poop, keeps you from getting sick, guilts you into choosing the “whole grain” option over the fluffy white option. BALANCE! I’m not advising you to never eat white bread or drink juice. What I am saying is try to make the everyday foods colorful, ‘whole’, ‘real’, with as many plants as you can get on your plate! Leave the fun stuff for when your body says, “I need the fun foods today”. Listen + eat the ‘sometimes’ foods when you want them! As you look for easy ways to eat more fiber, remember, little everyday choices add up to either big problems or big solutions! You decide!!
All the best,
Tara 🤍
Tara’s Favorite Fiber-Packed Recipes:
- Steel Cut Oats
- Broccoli Sprout Pesto
- Garlic Tempeh and Broccoli
- Easy Lentil Veggie Burger
- Instant Pot Vegan Lentil Soup
- Easy Black Bean Hummus Recipe
- Instant Pot Sweet Potato Corn Chowder
- Healthy Buffalo Chickpea Salad
- Asparagus Salad with Lemon Garlic Dressing
- Quinoa Black Bean Salad with Lime Dressing
- Oil-Free Lentil Hummus Recipe
- Buckwheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
⭐Did you learn a few Easy Ways to Eat More Fiber? Leave a comment below!
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