Fiber has a very important role in a healthy diet and in helping manage diabetes. Fiber provides a sense of fullness without the calories and satisfies your appetite without affecting blood glucose levels. And yet, many people do not get enough fiber. Experts recommend at least 25 grams of fiber per day. What's more, if you eat a food with 5 or more grams of fiber, you can subtract the fiber grams from the total grams of carbohydrate in the food. Choosing foods high in fiber will make sticking to your diabetes or weight loss plan much easier, because you'll feel more full. Add fiber in these ten, tasty ways:
1. Introduce it. Slowly adding high-fiber cereal, such as Fiber One® to your diet each day until you reach 1/2 cup allows your body time to adjust. Remember to drink extra liquids, because fiber acts like a sponge in the intestines.
2. Don't skin it. The seeds, skins and hulls found in fruits, vegetables and grains are fiber. Eat pears, apples, peaches, potatoes and other fruits and veggies with the skin. If they're too hard for you to bite into, use a knife to cut them into sections.
3. Top it. When eating salads and soups, top with high-fiber cereals, popcorn, soy nuts or wheat germ. For pancakes, waffles and toast, use fruit sauces with seeds, such as raspberries, strawberries or kiwi for topping.
4. Distribute it. Eating fiber-rich foods throughout the day will help you achieve your goal. Start by eating a banana for breakfast, a pear with lunch, baby carrotrs for a snack, green beans for dinner. Aim for at least 5 servings of fruits or vegetables a day.
5. Stuff it. Place tomato slices, shredded cabbage, sliced bell peppers and spinach leaves between slices of whole-grain bread. Whole wheat pita, whole-grain breadsticks and whole-grain crackers are also fiber-rich.
6. Combine it. Team high-fiber cereal with strawberries for breakfast, a while wheat bread sandwich with veggies for lunch and vegetable or split pea soup with whole-grain crackers for dinner.
7. Bake it. Add fiber cereals such as Fiber One, or bran to cookies, muffins and snack mixes. You can also replace half or even all of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour when making quick breads like pancakes, waffles, banana bread and muffins.
8. Snack it. Snack on fiber-rich foods such as whole-grain cereal, air-popped popcorn, raw vegetables, nuts and soy nuts, raisins or other dried fruit.
9. Add it. Stir beans and legumes into soups and stews. If you don't like one kind of bean, try another until you find one you like.
10. Try it. The Fiber One web site contains many wonderful recipes using Fiber One as an ingredient. Main and side dishes, cookies, desserts, breakfast bars and more. Two favorites in the Betty Crocker Kitchens:
Creamy Key Lime Pie
http://www.fiberone.com/Recipes/RecipeView.aspx?rid=44433&cid=406
Apple-Honey Cereal Bars
http://www.fiberone.com/Recipes/RecipeView.aspx?rid=44409&cid=405