Fill up on Fiber!

    Fill up on Fiber!

    By: Jacqueline Gomes, RDN, MBA

    Did you know the average American only consumes about 15g of fiber per day?!

    It is recommended that we consume 25 to 30 grams of dietary fiber each day for disease prevention and optimal well-being. In fact, some of the world’s healthiest diets, like the Mediterranean diet, TLC diet and DASH diet, all focus on increasing fiber consumption, mainly from fruits and vegetables, and replacing saturated fats with heart healthy unsaturated fats, from fish, nuts and legumes.

    Satiating fiber foods help displace our cravings and prevent over-consumption. In other words, filling up on a fruit salad is likely to

    • keep us fuller, longer
    • curb the desire for sugary snacks and
    • lower our overall calorie intake.

    High Fiber Food Choices Include…

    • A variety of fruits and vegetables
    • Beans and legumes like garbanzo beans and lentils, popcorn and wild rice too!
    • Oats, like Quaker oatmeal contains 4g of fiber for ½ cup!
    • Berries a known for also providing a good source of fiber, raspberries will give you a whooping 8g for just 1 cup!

    Berry Oat Breakfast Bars

    Berry Oat Bars

    Prep: 10 minutes
    Bake:     30 to 40 minutes

    Makes: 8 Bars

    Ingredients:

    • 2 ½ cups Quaker® old fashioned oats, divided
    • ½ cup almond milk or cow’s milk
    • 2 large banana, mashed
    • 2 tablespoons chia seeds
    • 2 eggs
    • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
    • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
    • ½ teaspoon baking powder
    • ¼ teaspoon salt
    • ½ cup blueberries
    • ½ cup raspberries

    Directions:

    1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8×8 pan with parchment paper. See tip.
    2. In a food processor add 1 cup of the oats and process until ground.
    3. In a separate bowl add milk, banana, eggs and vanilla. Whisk until well combined.
    4. Add the ground oats to another bowl, add in remaining oats, chia seeds, cinnamon, baking powder and salt. Stir to combine.
    5. Now, add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients, stir to combine well.
    6. Gently sir in the berries and then pour into your prepared pan with parchment paper.
    7. Bake for about 30 to 40 minutes. Allow to cool completely before cutting into bars.

    Nutrition Information: For 1 bar

    160 calories; 6g protein; 26g carbohydrate; 100mg sodium; 5g fiber

    Recipe by: Jacqueline Gomes, RDN, MBA