Fiberrrrific!
Easy, Delicious Ways to Get More Roughage and Improve Your Health
Originally published on Medium on 29 October 2021
Does anyone use the word “roughage” anymore? I haven’t heard it in ages. But odds are, when it comes to roughage, dietary fiber, bulk — whatever you call it — you need more of it in your body. Women should consume at least 25 grams per day, and men should get at least 38 grams per day. The average American, on the other hand, eats only about 10–15 grams. Not good.
I don’t demonize food. All food, from milk to kale to chocolate, is a gift to savor. I think all people should be able to eat whatever sounds and smells and tastes and feels good to them.
But adding more fiber to your diet has undeniable benefits. It’s not just about your bathroom habits; fiber helps lower cholesterol, control blood sugar, and reduce your risk of cancer and heart disease.
I was surprised when I realized the whole wheat bread I’d been buying had so little fiber in it (1 gram per slice). I was more surprised when I learned that some of my favorite foods — raspberries, avocados, passion fruit — are very high in fiber.
But the real winners in the Fiberlympics™ are beans. Depending on the type, they have between 16 and 19 grams per (cooked) cup — double or more than the 8 grams in a serving of oatmeal. Nutrition experts like Dr. Greger recommend eating 3 servings of beans every day. That initially sounded impossible to me.
But then I got sneaky. I realized that if you purée beans, you can add them to almost anything, and they’ll be virtually undetected. In fact, they add pleasing thickness and texture. Soup: check. Casseroles: check. Stir-fried vegetables: check. Oatmeal: check. Cookie dough: check! Smoothies??? Also check!
I know: adding beans to your breakfast porridge might sound a little gagworthy, but whirl a drained-and-rinsed can’s worth up in your blender or food processor (I use my stick blender), stir a half cup of the purée per serving into the oatmeal pot, and give it a try. Here are a couple of recipes:
Fiberrrific Oatmeal
1/4 cup whole oats
1 cup water
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup white bean purée
1/4 cup chopped almonds
1 tablespoon flax seeds
1 tablespoon chia seeds
1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen) OR 1 chopped unpeeled apple
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
Bring the water to a boil. Add the salt and oats and boil for five minutes. If using apple, add it while the oatmeal cooks. Meanwhile, add the almonds, seeds, and spices to a bowl and stir well.
Once the oats are cooked, stir the bean purée and the optional berries into the pot and let it sit for a minute. Then pour the oats into the bowl and stir very well right away. (Otherwise, the chia can get a little unmanageable.)
Sweeten as desired: brown sugar, honey, maple or date syrup, or erythritol. Makes one serving.
This is a hearty breakfast. I usually eat it around 9:30, and I’m never hungry again until about 2 o’clock. And why is that? Because fibrous foods stick with you a lot longer. And the fiber content in this breakfast is impressive: 25 grams (!) if you use raspberries; 21 grams if you use an apple.
It’s also delicious. I love the different textures and flavors. I change up the fruit options, too. Blueberries, pears, tangerines…all super yummy. Note that 1/4 cup of raw oats is only half a serving, but this breakfast is so bulky that I can’t finish it all if I use 1/2 cup. But you do you.
Fiberrrific Smoothie
1 cup freshly squeezed, pulpy orange juice
1 cup kale, spinach, or other greens*
1 tablespoon flax seeds
1/2 cup white bean purée
1 cup frozen raspberries
Put the orange juice in your blender and add the greens and flax seeds. Process on high for a minute until smooth. Add the beans and berries and process again on high until smooth and pourable. Makes one serving.
I promise: this is delicious, and you cannot taste the beans. Fiber content: 15 grams of fiber! (I don’t care about calories. I don’t think you should, either.)
*Easy trick for smoothie greens: Just put the bag or clamshell container of fresh greens straight into the freezer once you get home from the store. They keep for a lot longer that way, and you can grab a crispy cupful as needed.
Other delicious fiberrrific options for meals or snacks: avocado wholegrain toast (8 grams); lentil salad (15 grams); 2 pitted medjool dates stuffed with pistachios (6 grams); hummus with carrot chips (8 grams); multigrain tortilla chips with guacamole (10 grams). I could go on, but you get the point, right? It just takes a little forethought to zhuzh up your fiber content.
Finally, the dreaded gas issue. Yes, it’s real. Beano may or may not help. (Peppermint tea and simethicone are also worth a try.) But here’s the thing. Your gut is marvelously adaptive, especially when you give it good stuff to work with (and as long as you don’t have a medical issue like IBS or Crohn’s disease).
After a couple of weeks of consistently high-fiber meals, your gas will become minimal and manageable because the good bacteria that thrive on high-fiber foods will have increased. This has been my experience, hand to heaven. (Sorry for the TMI.) Again, unless you have a medical issue, avoiding fiber is the last thing you want to do if you want to beat gas in the long run.
Here’s anecdotal proof that fiber helps your health. I started on this quest to bring my cholesterol levels down (thanks, menopause). After raising my fiber intake using the above recipes and strategies, I lowered my total cholesterol 47 points in 6 weeks. My doctor was delighted, and so was I. Your mileage may vary, of course, but if you try any of my suggestions, let me know how they work for you. Bean appétit!