12 Easy Ways to Put More Fiber in Your Diet

Dietary fiber is found mainly in plant foods such as fruits, vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds, beans, peas and other legumes. Putting more fiber in your diet promotes healthy bowel activity. It may also help protect against certain diseases like diabetes, heart disease and cancer, according to the May Clinic. Recent research has shown that fiber may play a role in weight loss, as well. High-fiber foods make you feel full and tend to leave less room for those unhealthy snack food choices. High-fiber foods also tend to be less energy dense, so they have fewer calories for the same amount of food volume, which promotes weight loss. 

More: 8 high-fiber snacks with less than 150 Calories

Your body breaks down and absorbs fats, carbohydrates and proteins.Fiber isn't digested or absorbed by your body, but passes through your stomach, small intestine and colon, and out of your body relatively intact. 

Learn The Difference between Soluble and Insoluble Fiber 
 Fiber is classified as either soluble or insoluble. Soluble fiber dissolves in water to form a gel-like substance, which slows digestion. Soluble fiber can be found in oat bran, barley, nuts, seeds, beans, lentils, peas, as well as fruits and vegetables such as apples, citrus fruits and carrots. 

More: Fuel up with High-Fiber Foods at Breakfast. 

Insoluble fiber promotes the movement of material through your digestive system and increases stool bulk. Foods rich in insoluble fiber are wheat bran, vegetables and whole grains. Many of the plant-based foods contain both soluble and insoluble fiber, but the amount of each type varies depending on the source of food. That's why it's important to eat a variety of high-fiber food. 

Know How Much You Need

The institute of Medicine suggests men 50 years of age and younger should consume 28 grams of fiber a day. Woman in that age range should eat 25 grams of fiber per day. Men older than 51 years of age should consume 30 grams. Women older than 51 should eat 21 grams. Currently, the average American consumes approximately 15 grams of fiber a day, which is well below what is recommended. 

More: The Truth About Calories, Fat and Fiber

Understand Labeling

The more natural fiber sources you choose the better. When reading a food label you should know that? dietary fiber? is the non-digestible plant carbohydrate and lignin. ? Added fiber? is the fiber added to food during processing. ? Total fiber? is the total amount of dietary fiber plus the added fiber. Acording to The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, adding purified dietary fiber to foods is less likely to benefit Americans than changing diets to include more whole foods that are naturally rich in fiber. 

More: 8 Food additives and ingredients You Should Avoid

Easy Ways to Eat More Fiber

Start by aiming to have fruits and vegetables at every meal. Choose whole-grain cereals, breads and crackers with the first ingredient being  ?whole wheat? or ?whole grain.? Try new grains such as buckwheat, amaranth, millet, sorghum and teff. and, don't forget about brown rice, wild rice, barley, whole-wheat pasta, bulgur and quinoa. 

More: 10-Minute Dinner: Quinoa Mac, Greens and Cheese

Here are some easy way to add more fiber to your diet: 

• Load up sandwiches with vegetables.
• Add shredded carrots, zucchini or broccoli to your pasta sauce.
• Sprinkle Flaxseed in cereal or yogurt. 
• Add strawberries or blueberries to your high-fiber, whole-grain cereal. 
• Eat high-fiber snacks like cut up veggies and hummus or fruit and a handful of almonds. 
• Snack on yogurt with fresh raspberries and 1/4 cup of high-fiber, whole-grain cereal. 
• Substitute potato chips for carrots sticks or snap peas. 

written by Michelle Ulrich. "Active.com"

Crispy Salmon in Vegetable Broth

Two of nature's finest creations/ Omega-3-rich salmon and Jamie Oliver, aka The Naked Chef.

INGREDIENTS 
Aioli (Makes 1 cup)
1 small egg yolk (use a pasteurized egg)
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 clove garlic, peeled and smashed into a paste
1/2 teaspoon salt
Lemon juice

Salmon 
3 cups fat-free chicken (or vegetable) broth
8 bulbs baby fennel and leafy tops
4 salmon fillets (about 5 oz each)
2 tablespoon and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup diced parsnips
1 handful each fresh basil and mint, chopped

PREPARATION 
For aioli
Whisk egg and mustard in a bowl. Blend in oils. Add garlic, salt, and lemon juice to taste. Season with pepper.

For Salmon
Bring broth to boil in a large pan; add fennel and cook 4 minutes. Pat salmon with 1/4 tsp oil per side, season with salt and pepper to taste and place skin side down in a frying pan. Cook on medium heat 4 minutes. Flip and cook until fish turns light pink. Remove from heat. Add parsnips to broth and cook 2 mins. Spoon vegetables and broth into 4 bowls; place 1 fillet in each bowl and top with basil, mint, and 1 1/2 tsp aioli sauce.

The Skinny 
444 calories per serving, 18 g fat (2.5 g saturated), 38 g carbs, 15 g fiber, 37 g protein.

From: SELF magazine 

Fight Fat with These!

Citrus Fruits: Make one of your five daily servings of fruits and vegetables an orange or grapefruit to help you manage your weight. Murray Huff, director at Robarts Research institute at the University of Western Ontario in Canada, found that naringenin, a flavonoid in citrus fruits, causes the liver to burn excess fat instead of hanging on to it. The molecule also helped improve triglyceride and cholesterol levels, reduce the risk of insulin resistance and stabilize glucose metabolism (risk factors for type 2 diabetes and heart disease). 

Vinegar: The vinegar in your pantry isn't merely handy when it comes to shaking up your favorite dressing for salads or quick-pickling produce for sandwiches- it may help you break down fat and reduce it's accumulation in the body, thanks to acetic acid, an organic chemical compound that gives vinegar its potent taste and scent. in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry study, animals given the acid along with high-fat diet developed up to 10 percent less body fat then those that consumed the fatty fare alone. Of course, upping your intake of vinegar just so you can eat more fatty foods is not our recommended course of action. 

"Orange Crush" This fountain of youth fruit may make you look and feel younger.

Don't judge an orange by its name. gorgeous not gory, there's more to a blood orange than its ruby-hued flesh. Celebrated for its subtly sweet yet tart taste (think orange meets raspberry's , the flashy fruit, which is believed to hail from Sicily, isn't hurting for health benefits." Blood oranges are rich in anthocyanins, pigments also found in berries and cherries," says Lisa Drayer, MA, RD, author of The Beauty Diet ( McGraw-Hill, 2008). The anthocyanins, considered to be powerful antioxidants, provide the luscious dark hue. According to the journal Current Molecular Medicine, " Epidemiological investigations have indicated that moderate consumption of anthocyanin products... is associated with a lower risk of cardiovascular disease and improvement of visual functions." Additionally, observes Drayer, blood oranges are also rich in vitamin C, " an antioxidant that promotes smooth, supple skin and protects against wrinkles." And, with only 70 calories and three grams of fiber per orange, the fat-free, cholesterol-free, sodium-free fruit is bloody good for you. 

Blood Orange Breakfast Parfait

this vitamin C breakfast or brunch parfait is a great way to kick off your day. 

Ingredients: 

• 1 cup nofat Greek-style yogurt
• 1 tsp blood orange zest
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp flaxseeds, ground
• 1 blood orange, peeled and sliced, divided 
• 1 tsp unsweetened dried cranberries, divided
• 1 tbsp unsalted raw pistachio pieces, divided 

Instructions: 

One: Combine yogurt, zest, vanilla and flaxseeds in a bowl and mix. 

Two: Spoon half of yogurt mixture into a parfait glass or tall drinking glass. Then layer half of orange slices, 1/2 tbsp cranberries and 1/2 tbsp pistachios. 

Three: Top with remaining yogurt mixture and finish off with remaining orange slices, 1/2 tbsp cranberries and 1/2 tbsp pistachios. 

Nutrients per parfait: Calories: 280, Total Fat: 5g, Sat.Fat: 0.5g, Carbs: 34g, Fiber: 5g, Sugars: 27g, Protein: 23g, Sodium: 85 mg, Cholesterol: 0 mg

  

By: Allison Young, "Clean Eating"

What Your Diet Can Do For Your Skin

Clear up common skin complaints from the inside out. 

Shirk Sugar to axe acne: 
 Eat: Omega-3-rich fish (Salmon and sardines), colorful fruits and vegetables.
Avoid: Insulin-spiking sweets and processed white-flour foods. "Elevated insulin affects the sebaceous (oil) glads in ways that can contribute to acne," says Valori Treloar, MD, dermatologist and co-author of the Clear Skin Diet (Cumberland House, 2007). This is particularly so with women because the insulin spike may elevate the relatively low level of testosterone in women's bodies, which has been shown to affect oil glands.

Eat more gluten-free foods and improve psoriasis symtoms: 
Eat: Fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, lean meats and fish.
Avoid: Gluten, A Swedish dermatologist discovered that avoiding the grain protein for three months improved symptom in some patients.

Cut down sugar and cut out wrinkles: 
Eat: Veggies, legumes and olive oil.
Avoid: " To Minimize wrinkles, limit your added sugar to 10 percent of your total daily calories," says Lisa Drayer, MA, RD, author of The Beauty Diet (McGraw-Hill, 2008). Better still, eliminate sugar - period.

Skip spicy foods to reduce rosacea: 
Eat: Omega-3-rich seafood can calm rosacea related inflammation.
Avoid: If you suffer from rosacea, say adios to hot peppers and horseradish.

Try fish oil for eczema relief: 
Eat: Inflammation-reducing omega-3 fatty acids found in fatty (salmon, sardines and fish oil supplements) may help reduce the severity of eczema symptoms.
Avoid: "Steer clear of processed foods to minimize trans fat intake, which can lead to inflammation," Treloar says. Inflammation produces skin redness, and without inflammation eczema is normally not present.


You can read more from: Clean Eating.

Beat Anxiety with Berries

 According to a recent study in the journal Pharmacological Research, berry phytonutrients turn off enzymes that fuel depression and anxiety. Because out-of-season fresh berries can be expensive and poor quality this time of year, award winning chef Vitaly Paley of Paley's place restaurant in Portland, Oregon, switches to top-notch frozen berries. still packed with phytonutrients, vitamins and fiber, these chilly treats are easy to select and use: 

SKATE THE BAG: High-quality berries are individually quick-frozen and should feel loose and separate in the bag. 

NO NEED TO THAW: "Add frozen berries to pies, doughs and batters straight from the freezer". 

TRANSFORM TOPPINGS: Replace sugary syrups and sauces with a naturally sweet berry coulis. Simply warm berries in a saucepan and add a dash of lemon juice and raw organic honey. 

INFUSE IT: Jazz up salads, marinades and vegetables with berry-infused vinegar. boil three parts thawed berries with two parts vinegar, cool and refrigerate. 

by: Vitaly Paley, from: Clean Eating 

Healthy 4th of July Dessert

Red, White and Blue American flag cake, we made this flag cake recipe healthy, with less saturated fat and calories than the traditional versions, by replacing some butter in the yellow sheet cake with oil. Plus, for the cream cheese frosting, we used reduced-fat cream cheese and low-fat Greek yogurt instead of full-fat cream cheese and butter. And for decoration we used fresh blueberries, strawberries and raspberries.

INGREDIENTS CAKE:

1 1/4  cups granulated sugar

1/3 cup canola oil

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature 

4 large eggs,

2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour

1 cup cake flour

1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon salt 

1 cup buttermilk 

zest and juice from 1 lemon 

2 teaspoon almond extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

FROSTING & DECORATION:

12 ounce reduced-fat cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup confectioner sugar plus 2 tablespoons, divided 

3 tablespoons low-fat plain Greek yogurt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 1/2 cups raspberries 

2 cups strawberries, sliced

PREPARATION:

1. To prepare cake: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line the bottom of a 9-by-13- inch baking pan with parchment. 

2. Beat granulated sugar, oil butter in a large mixing bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed until well combined. Beat in eggs, one at a time, until just incorporated. 

3. Whisk whole-wheat flour, cake flour, backing powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. combine buttermilk, lemon zest, lemon juice, 2 teaspoons vanilla and almond extract in a measuring cup. With the mixer on low speed, add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl alternately with the buttermilk mixture, beating just until incorporated after each addition, scraping down the side as necessary. Spread the batter in the prepared pan. 

4. Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, 28 to 34 mins. Let cool in the pan for 15 mins. Turn out onto a rack and let cool completely, about 1 hour. 

5. To prepare frosting: Beat cream cheese, 1/2 cup confectioners sugar, yogurt and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla in mixing bowl until smooth. 

6. To decorate: Invert the cake onto a platter. Spread the frosting over the top and sides. Mark 3 horizontal lines for the white "stripes" and a rectangle in the upper left hand corner for the "blue rectangle." Gently pat berries with a paper towel to dry. Make 3 "stripes" of raspberries on the marked lines. Place half of the blueberries in the "blue rectangle," leaving space between each berry. Sift the remaining 2 tablespoons confectioners sugar over the raspberries and blue berries to make them the white "stripes" and "Star." Fill the rest of the "blue rectangle" with the remaining blueberries. place strawberries between the rows of raspberries as the red "stripes." 

Vist: http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/eatingwell_flag_cake.html to learn how to make the healthy flag cake and other healthy desserts.