High Fiber Diet

[Cheyanne]

Had my 'camera up the butt' test the other day :eek: and the doctor highly recommended that I go on a high fiber diet and start taking Metamucil. :truce:
Anyone here use Metamucil? What are your experiences with it?

Also - I am looking for any recipes that anyone would have that is considered high in fiber. :fish: recipes, etc.

Thoughts, recommendations, suggestions, advice?

[Lilith]

Weight Watchers is a high fiber diet plan now. I used to take fiber but it gave me indigestion so bad and made my stomach feel bloated. I know some products can be added to food. Weight Watcher's yogurt actually has fiber added to it.

I eat Nature's Own Double Fiber bread. Low calorie and high in fiber.

[Lilith]

Pumpkin is high fiber.

Chocolate Cake mix (just the mix) & can of puree pumpkin

mix and bake per box instructions in a bundt pan.

[Cheyanne]

Cobalt said he has seen that bread... he has to watch his cholesterol and I imagine after his test this Monday , he will need to go on a high fiber diet as well. Although he doesn't need to lose weight, I do.

I will look into Weight Watchers and see what that is all about. I think this is going to be all about habits for me. It is too easy for me, working the way I do, to utilize the quick "western diet" plan (as it is called) and not eat as healthy as I should. I love all veggies and fruits, whole grain stuff, beans and legumes, but the quick and easy (with lots of carbs) is what I seem to fall back on.

I love pumpkin.. Cobalt doesn't - more for me then.. lol

As far as fish - what is the difference between the farm raised salmon and the wild (other than price)? I was told today by a coworker today that the wild is better and the farm raised as far as the omega3.

[maddy]

As a bread alternative, flat-out bread (wraps) are very high in fiber. I found them at Super Target (www.flatoutbread.com). I think they are actually tasty and not dry like some "good for you wraps". Fiber One granola bars are also really high in fiber, and I think they taste good. Also, Kashi brand products tend to be high in fiber but I don't find most of their stuff to be tasty. Also, a number of the instant oatmeals are going "healthy" - I like the Weight Control kind and have it every morning, I add in ground flax seed which I know has healthy oils in it, but I think is a good fiber source too if my memory serves me correctly.

Apples are also higher in fiber as far as fruits go.

I'm trying to think of other things I remember from when I was faithful to WW.

[Cheyanne]

I have spent most of the evening cruising the net for information. I found this site (Mayo Clinic) that has TONS of information. http://mayoclinic.com/health/high-fiber-recipes/RE00099 (that is the recipe area)

The other areas are very educational.. And yes, Maddy - flaxseed is an excellent source. The lower portion of this page http://mayoclinic.com/health/whole-grains/NU00204 has lots of links to different areas re: High Fiber.

Since Cobalt has high cholesterol (inherited) and would like to control it through diet as much as possible, I have found through reading that his diet and mine won't be so different other than I will watch the calories more. It also won't hurt our 13 year old to follow this as well. The sooner she eats healthy the better.. :)

I imagine that we will need to buy stock in toilet paper... rofl!

[maddy]

I just thought of one more thing - since whole wheat pasta scares me, I use the Barilla Plus pasta. I noticed that Super Target is now carrying their own brand of this and another one of the pasta brands is making a similar product (I forget which one, now.) I actually prefer it to regular pasta now. Maybe someday whole wheat won't be so scary to me.

There was a bread I really liked, that I found in the north east, but don't see in the south. Maybe you can get it in your area - it's country kitchen brand. They have a really good light wheat bread and a couple other lights that are higher fiber and lower calorie.

Also on Lilith's chocolate/pumkin cake. I found I liked it better if you add some water as well and an egg white. It thinned the mix down a little and made it more like the cake texture I preferred. You can also use other cake flavors. I really liked carrot cake as well. And even yellow cake was good - but the color will be more on the orange side than yellow.

[WildIrish]

Kaschi makes cereal that has so much fiber you can't even hold the box without feeling like you have to poop.

[Pita]

^^^^^^^Sheesh! :rolleyes2


I average about 40 to 50 grams of fiber a day and am a huge believer in it's weight loss effects and helping you feel full longer.

I take the Wal-Mart equivalent to Metamucil once a day. It's really not bad once you get use to it. Make sure to have a big glass of water right afterwards and get in lots of water throughout the day. You don't wasn't fiber sitting around clogging things up. (Right WI ;) )

I love Natures Own double fiber bread, 5 grams of fiber per slice
Missions low carb wheat tortillas have 21 grams of fiber. I use them for wraps with stir-fries which give you even more fiber. :)
I do agree that Kashi is a terrific product! I eat the Go Lean cereal with Silk soy milk that has added fiber in that every morning.
And eating lots of high fiber foods like broccoli, apples, beans, etc will give you what you want.

I would be careful to go slowly at first. Fiber takes getting used to if you haven't been used to having lots of it.

[WildIrish]

^^^^^^^Sheesh! :rolleyes2



What? What'd I say? :p

[Cheyanne]

Wow Tess, that is a lot of fiber! I have decided to slowly build up my intake.... I am not always close to - if I need to - ...

We are grocery shopping this weekend and I am armed with a pretty good list. On one of the sites I found there was a place for educators to request free samples... I have a free case (not sure how much to a case) of Fiber One coming in about 4 weeks.

We are also going to pick up some soy milk. I have heard it wasn't so bad especially the vanilla flavor.

This won't be so bad - if we only have healthy stuff in the house to eat it will be easier to change habits.. :D

[maddy]

A great treat that seems so much worse than it really is ... fiber one haystacks. Take one regular sized bag of chocolate chips and melt in the microwave. Mix in one sleeve of fiber one and then drop on a cookie sheet with a teaspoon. Put in the refrigerator or freezer to firm the chocolate.

Fiber one has two sleeves in each box.

The haystacks are like a nice little dessert - just stick to one, maybe two at a time.

I really liked the swirls chocolate chips - either carmel or peanut butter.

[Lilith]

I have a recipe somewhere for FiberOne brownies too. I will hunt it for you.

[Pita]

I tried the Fiber One bars, but they no like me!! :(

Those haystacks sound yummy!

[gekkogecko]

Termites eat wood...would a diet of termites be therefore, high in fiber?

Hm, gotta go poll the aardvarks.

[Cheyanne]

LOL ^^^^

I thought bugs were protein?

Those haystacks sound good. I like to add peanut butter to my haystacks.

I have been looking at fiber intake and weight loss diets... most sound pretty good. From what I understand, the food doesn't stay with you long enough to cause any issues.. rofl!

[scotzoidman]

You might want to look for "Colon Blow" cereal once advertised on SNL ;)

[Cheyanne]

LOL @ Scotz... no kidding.

Well, it was an interesting trip to the grocery store. No wonder so many Americans are having issues! Just to eat healthy is expensive! We did find the cereal (twig & non twig variety), fiber one bars, and some hot cereal that would be good to start our day. Whole wheat pasta, heart healthy sauces and breads/pitas & wraps. Beans (I am so glad we all like beans), vanilla soy milk and various nuts, fruits, veggies (that we don't have in the garden),etc. Our daughter kept looking at the cart with a horrified look and quickly grabbed some Doritos, nibs ice cream and some other junk... rofl!

We were looking for barley (which we found), and flax seed, but couldn't find that where we shop. Will have to locate that elsewhere.

All in all, it was pretty interesting to read lables and look at the fiber content to see what we were actually eating without trying to be healthy. Sodium content, fats and preservatives are shocking to see in foods that we would eat regularly.

[Lilith]

Beef and barley soup or split pea with barley are excellent fall dinners.

[maddy]

Cheyenne - the flax seed I use is also on this website www.bobsredmill.com. At my store the flax seed is stocked in the baking aisle generally near the sacks of flour and sugar. The company also makes hot cereal which is in the cereal aisle. I really like the steel cut oats as well, and have a pretty good recipe for those as well. I generally make those in the winter.

Anyway, the site has a store locator so you might be able to use it to find one in your area.

I was amazed at how many products they have on their website, I might have to see what their shipping charge is and order a few.

[Cheyanne]

I love beef and barley soup with lots of potatoes.. yum. It is starting to cool off here - we had a hard freeze last night and the garden is dead :(

Thanks Maddy! That was a very interesting and educational site. There are lots of high fiber food items that we found. I was really wanting to find the flax seed so I could ground it and add it to food that I already make - meatloaf, spaghetti sauce, tacos, etc.

[IM1469]

Try Strems oatmeal. They have saome geatt varieties and have the right mix of soluable and insoluable fiber to help you plus it goes a long way to reduce cholestorol levels and lose weight. I was able to elimate having to take Zocor for cholestorol, that saved me $140.00 a month.

[LixyChick]

Long time ago...before Crohn's was diagnosed...the docs had Mr. Lixy on a high fiber diet. Turns out that is the worst thing one can do with Crohn's, but I digress.

He was taking Metamucil faithfully and after a while it was painful because of the mega gas it gave him. Citricel (sp?) turned out to be the better choice although he shouldn't have been taking either one. Citricel didn't produce the gas and bloating that Metamucil did/does. They've even made it better lately.

As for fiber...Look for whole grains. Anything less than whole and the fiber content is compromised.

Legumes (beans) are a great source of fiber and protein in one fell swoop.

Almonds are high fiber.

As scotz suggested...raw twine isn't all that tasty but Colon Blow is full of raw twine and quarry rock...(roflmfao@scotz!).

Fruit is a good source of fiber...but watch the sugar content. Fruit with edible skin is best as the most fiber lies in the skins. DON'T peel um!

The new, whole grain pasta is good if you eat a lot of pasta.

There is a fiber additive on the market (sorry...can't remember the name) that you sprinkle on/in any food while cooking. It has no taste or texture and so it can go into any recipe without notice.

Good luck you guys! And be aware...it's quite a gas when you up your fiber. I mean that literally!

*hugs*

[LixyChick]

I forgot to mention soy nuts. Not really a nut but a great snack instead of peanuts (for example). They are crunchy and full of fiber. They come in different flavors but I just get the plain ones without salt.

I turned a girl at work onto them and she and her husband loved them. She even reported that her night hot flashes have all but disappeared. BONUS!

[Oldfart]

Sweet and sour cardboard.

[Cheyanne]

I forgot about soy nuts Lixy. Cobalt loves them.

Well, so far so good. I haven't taken any of the metamucil stuff yet. I am afraid of getting gassy.. :( I am going to look at that citricul stuff. Maybe that will be better. Made chili spaghetti with the whole wheat pasta - it was pretty good - I was surprised. I really couldn't' tell the difference.

I can tell everyone that those FiberOne bars are really good, and they work well too.. lol. I ate one for my breakfast with some tea and wasn't at all hungry when lunch rolled around.

Daughter is really liking the vanilla soy milk too. Which is good as she hates regular milk and won't drink it. Now, if they start making whole wheat Doritos she would be in heaven.. :D