Easy Ways To Add More Fiber To Your Diet

SUPER excited for this post. Today Danielle Hamo is on The Skinny Confidential. I initially met Danielle through my friend Neda of Healthy With Nedi & I wanted to follow her immediately. She is beautiful, smart, has a charismatic energy ( through Instagram ), is always looking to better herself &!!! she is a Registered Dietitian & Licensed Nutritionist.

Her tips on Instagram Stories are INSANE. & I feel like she has some really unique hacks when it comes to eating. So after following her for a while & consuming her content on my own, I decided to invite her on to the blog to do a 3 part series. This is the first post & you can expect an easy to follow guide on the highest fiber veggies, fruits & other foods to get more fiber into your diet.

As a creator I think it’s really important to bring other people & experts on the blog who have authority in certain spaces because I want to showcase different walks of life & other people’s journeys besides my own. Finding people who will bring you guys VALUE is my goal & I think Danielle Hamo is one of those people.

With that, I’m very excited to introduce you guys to Danielle…

Hey TSC readers! Danielle Hamo & I am a registered dietitian (RD) & Licensed Nutritionist (LD/N) in a private practice. Right now, I live between London & New York City, & take clients from all over the world. I work with them via Facetime or Skype weekly, along with emails & texts as needed to keep them motivated & on track! I create tailored life-style plans for my clients to help them reach their goals. Goals like eating healthier, losing weight, combating digestive issues, post-pregnancy & more!

By now, you probably know that you should be getting more fiber in your diet. Yet, most of us still don’t! The average American has 15 grams per day while the recommendation is 25-30 grams per day ( I personally think 35 grams per day is a better goal ).

Fiber is the indigestible part of a carbohydrate, which means it’s only found in foods that contain carbs, so staying away from all carbs is not something I recommend. The health benefits are MAJOR.

THE HEALTH BENEFITS OF FIBER:

♡ high intake is associated with longer life span.

♡ it helps control blood sugar & therefore sugar cravings.

♡ it helps keep you regular & combats constipation.

♡ it lowers cholesterol, risk for colon & breast cancer.

♡ helps keep you full so you can eat less, naturally.

The trick with fiber is to get enough of it without going overboard with the amount of carbohydrates that we consume, which is probably what most Americans do to even get to that 15 grams per day. That means choosing high fiber carbohydrates in favor of carbohydrates that contain little or no fiber ( think whole grains over white flour or highly processed foods ). To make it easier to follow, I gathered the highest fiber foods below. Remember to choose whole, real foods as much as possible.

Finally, some fiber is soluble, which means it holds on to water in our stomach. This means you have to increase your water intake to avoid bloat & constipation when increasing your fiber intake. As a goal, you should drink 3 liters of water per day, which is around 10-12 cups. Also, pay attention to serving sizes- just because a food has fiber doesn’t necessarily mean you should have an unlimited amount of it.

Highest Fiber Veggies:

♡ 1 cup raw jicama – 6 grams fiber

Jicama is great for crudité. I mix it with baby carrots, celery, radishes, & cucumber sticks & dip in a mixture of plain Greek yogurt & ranch seasoning mix.

♡ 1 cup raw kohlrabi – 5 grams fiber

If you’ve never tried this veggie, I highly recommend it. It has a bulb-like shape & firm texture. I grew up eating it raw in a salad – peel the outside, slice into thin strips, & mix with fresh lemon juice, salt, & a little oil. Let it sit a little for better flavor.

♡ 1 artichoke – 6 grams fiber

1 medium whole artichoke has 6 grams of fiber! It is the highest fiber non-starchy vegetable. I love ordering globe artichoke as a starter in restaurants for this reason. It’s delicious & filling! And as an added bonus, the act of eating it leaf by leaf slows down your eating.

♡ ½ cup cooked asparagus – 3 grams fiber

Asparagus is a great addition to a salad. Most people don’t think of adding it to salads, but if you steam or boil it & then chill it, it can make a salad much more satisfying. It pairs well with cherry tomatoes & avocado too.

♡ 1 cup broccoli – 2.5 grams fiber

When I am lazy, I make a 20-minute dinner of oven-baked fish ( I choose cod or seabass & I simply brush it with olive oil & top it with lemon slices & bake on 450 F for 20 minutes ) with a side of broccoli. I take fresh broccoli, cut it down to florets, steam it until tender when sticking with a fork. I then quickly sauté it with a small amount of garlic & olive oil just to add flavor. And voila! Dinner is served. 

♡ ½ avocado – 6 grams fiber

Most avocado toasts have at least one avocado in them, which is more than a serving size. Instead, at home I make my own version of avocado toast by using half an avocado mashed together with hard-boiled egg whites, which will boost the protein content. You can then choose different bases for your avo toast like high fiber GG crackers, Flackers ( gluten-free flax seed crackers ), or Dave’s Killer Bread in Powerseed which will further boost the fiber content & make for a very filling breakfast or snack.

Highest Fiber Fruit:

I like to eat my fruit either at breakfast or for a snack & avoid eating it at dinner time. I also like to combine my fruit with a protein or healthy fat source for a more filling meal/snack. At breakfast, I will eat the fruit paired with Greek yogurt & high-fiber cereal from the list below. Or I will make apple or pear ‘nachos’ by topping slices with PB2 or PBfit ( peanut butter powder, available at wholefoods & is all natural ), coconut flakes, dark chocolate chips, & chia seeds.

♡ 1 cup raspberries – 8 grams fiber

♡ ¾ cup blueberries – 5 grams fiber

♡ 1 cup blackberries – 8 grams fiber

♡ 1 medium apples – 4 grams fiber

♡ 1 medium pear – 4 grams fiber

Highest Fiber Grains & Beans, & Seeds:

♡ ¼ cup dry Shiloh farms fine wheat bran – 6 grams fiber

Perfect to use in baking to boost the fiber content. You can substitute some of the flour in any recipe for this wheat bran or use it to make waffles & muffins.

♡ 1 tbsp flaxseed – 3 grams fiber

Buy flaxseed meal for better absorption by the body. Sprinkle on top of salad, yogurt, & soups.

♡ 1 tbsp chia seeds – 5 grams fiber

I love making overnight chia pudding for breakfast by mixing 2 tbsp of chia seeds with ½ cup of plant milk. Top in the am with fruit, nuts, almond butter, & shredded coconut for a yummy breakfast.

♡ ½ cup cooked Bulgur – 4 grams fiber

Bulgur is cracked wheat & is a much better alternative to brown rice. The same serving of brown rice has only 1 gram of fiber. Bulgur works great in salad recipes.

♡ ⅓ cup cooked quinoa – 2 grams fiber

Try food prepping by making quinoa ahead, according to instructions on the box. It then lasts in the fridge for up to a week & can be quickly added to salads at lunch or be a side dish at dinner.

♡ ½ cup cooked chickpeas – 6 grams fiber

I love putting chickpeas into my veggie soup. I use weight watchers zero point vegetable soup as my base recipe, & I add chickpeas & whatever veggies I have in the fridge at that time. Adding chickpeas to soups makes it a much more satisfying & filling appetizer or snack.

♡ ½ cup cooked lentils – 8 grams fiber

Lentils are perfect in a salad. If I see it on a menu at a restaurant, I love getting it as an appetizer with dressing on the side. My favorite lentils are black beluga lentils or French green lentils.

♡ ½ cup cooked black pinto beans – 7 grams fiber

Beans are not only a great source of fiber, they’re also high in protein, so it makes for a great meatless or vegetarian meal ( like for ‘Meatless Mondays’ ). I like to use them in tacos by taking either lettuce shells or high fiber tortillas & filling it with black beans, pico de gallo, Greek yogurt, guacamole, & grilled fajita veggies ( onions & peppers ). For added protein, you can also use firm tofu, pan-cooked with fajita seasoning mix.

♡ 3 cups air-popped popcorn – 3 grams fiber

Great for a snack. You can make it yourself or have some Skinny Pop in the pantry for easy snacking.

Highest Fiber Specialty Products:

These products were put on the market to make it easier for us to reach our daily fiber needs, & also keep overall carb intake low. I try to not ‘over-rely’ on these products to get my fiber, since whole, real food will always be better than processed products. However, they are useful & offer convenience. As a general rule, I will only use one to two of these per day, & not every day.

♡ Raw Rev Glo bars – 14 grams fiber

Tip: the highest fiber flavor is ‘creamy peanut butter.’

♡ 4 plain GG crackers – 16 grams fiber

Great alternative to bread. Use it to top with things like avocado, almond butter, turkey & mustard. ( More on GG crackers here ).

♡ 1 No-Cow bar – 18 grams fiber

♡ 2 scoops of protein powder – 20 grams fiber

You can use this in a smoothie or in fiber waffles.

♡ ½ cup Julian’s Bakery Pro Granola – 12 grams fiber

I top Greek yogurt or unsweetened nut milk with this granola, or snack on it straight out of the bag! ( I usually pre-portion the whole bag into ¼ or ½ cup servings into snack bags to make sure I don’t go overboard & have a visual for serving sizes. ) 

♡ ½ cup Nature’s Path Smart Bran cereal – 13 grams fiber

The high-fiber cereals make a perfect, delicious & quick breakfast. I top plain Greek yogurt ( I buy single serve yogurt & just peel off the top, I don’t even use a bowl ) with a serving of the cereal & fresh fruit. For additional sweetness drizzle with Sukrin fiber syrup or agave syrup.

♡ 6 Flackers Flaxseed crackers – 7 grams fiber

A gluten-free alternative to bread. Great with mashed avocado for a snack. I eat about 5-6 crackers at a time.

♡ 1 Maria and Ricardo’s Fiber-Rich wrap – 6 grams fiber

Perfect for taco nights ( as described under black beans ).

♡ 1 bag Smart Sweets – 28 grams fiber

I don’t really use this towards my fiber intake, but I use it as a replacement for traditional gummy bears which are just pure refined sugar. ( Hey guys, it’s Lauryn. Check out why I love Smart Sweets here & use code SKINNY for 15% off your order at smartsweets.com ).

♡ 2 tbsp Sukrin fiber syrup – 28 grams fiber

Same thing with this syrup. I don’t count it towards my fiber intake, instead I use it as replacement to maple syrup on top of fiber waffles or yogurt.

I hope you guys liked this post & that you save it as a resource for when you’re grocery shopping or thinking of fiber-filled recipes.

Lauryn again. There it is. All laid out in categories of the highest fiber vegetables, fruit & extras. All Danielle’s info is so good. I mean, she knows her shit. You guys have to follow her on Instagram. Her account is @daniellehamord ( personal is @danielle_ham ) & BEWARE. She’s a total hottie. Like, she’s gonna need to give me some post pregnancy tips asap.

x, lauryn

+ if you’re into fiber & want to learn more, check out our podcast episode with F-Factor founder Tanya Zuckerbrot.

++ you’ll love this recipe for GG pizzas.

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