So how a lot fiber does whole-wheat bread comprise, precisely? Effectively, one slice packs round two grams of fiber, so a full sandwich will provide a complete of 4 grams at baseline—not dangerous.
2. Brown rice
Should you’ve been consuming brown rice as an alternative of white for years resulting from its supposed fiber advantages, we now have dangerous information. Sure, the previous packs extra of the nutrient, however that’s actually not saying a lot: A half-cup of cooked brown rice solely nets you round 1.5 grams of fiber (in comparison with lower than 0.5 grams for white rice). General, the fiber hole isn’t actually large enough to justify overriding your private style, “so when you want your white rice, go for it,” Nielsen says. Fortunately, making additions to spice up the fiber ought to come fairly simply. In any case, we not often eat rice by itself anyway, Tsui says. So sautéing your rice with high-fiber veggies like broccoli and peas for a stir-fry is only a pure combo.
If you wish to change up the grain itself, you even have choices. Quinoa—a complete grain—is a risk, at round 5 grams of fiber per one cup cooked, and is simply as versatile as rice, as these 33 recipes reveal. You can too strive kamut, an historical type of wheat that boasts 4 grams of fiber per half-cup cooked, in response to Meals Community. Lastly, there’s a rice variant: Korean multigrain rice, a dish that consists of rice stretched out by beans and grains.
3. Some breakfast cereals
To be clear, there are some varieties which are positively brimming with fiber (good day, Kellogg’s Authentic Frosted Mini-Wheats and Walmart’s Nice Worth raisin bran!), however it will be a mistake to imagine that’s true throughout the board. In reality, cereals made with rice typically comprise little or no of it, in response to the Mayo Clinic. A cup and a half of Rice Krispies, as an illustration, is available in at lower than a half a gram of fiber.
Apart from that, how do you differentiate between high-fiber and low-fiber cereals? Per Nielsen, choices which are whole-wheat-based, like Wheat Chex (round eight grams of fiber per cup), or comprise added quantities of a pure fiber referred to as psyllium, like Kellogg’s All-Bran Buds (round 13 grams of fiber per one-third of a cup), usually tend to pack a considerable quantity.
4. Cabbage
“There’s an assumption that every one greens are excessive in fiber,” Tsui says. However that’s not precisely the case. Take cabbage, for instance: One boiled cup solely packs round three grams, considerably lower than different cruciferous veggies, together with Brussels sprouts (round six grams cooked) and broccoli (round 5 grams cooked). So if fiber content material is an enormous precedence, you may need to attempt to swap in a kind of cousins as an alternative—or add it to the combination. Broccoli might complement cabbage nicely in a stir-fry or soup, for instance, in response to Tsui. “You do not want to take out the cabbage,” Tsui says—it boasts loads of different helpful vitamins, like folate and nutritional vitamins C and Ok—“however just remember to’re including in issues” to make up for its relative lack of fiber.
5. Cucumbers
Whereas we’re with regards to low-fiber greens, cucumber additionally ranks—solely round 1.5 grams per uncooked cuke. Relying on the way you’re crunching, you may make a couple of substitutions or additions to spice up the general fiber content material. Dipping a cucumber slice or stick in a bowl of ranch dressing at a cookout? Think about swapping the ranch for a higher-fiber condiment like hummus (which owes its spectacular fiber stats to the chickpea base), in response to Tsui. Tossing cucumber slices with different greens for a refreshing summer season salad? Complement with some high-fiber beans or a high-fiber complete grain like quinoa for a extra sturdy meal.
6. Tomatoes
One more instance of a veggie that’s not all that top in fiber regardless of the class’s normal status. One complete tomato additionally solely incorporates round 1.5 grams of fiber. Nonetheless, like the opposite non-fiber-rich veggies on this checklist, they’ll provide tons of different important nutritional vitamins and vitamins, together with potassium and nutritional vitamins A, C, and Ok, so that they positively deserve a spot in your plate. Simply contemplate including one other fiber supply to spice up your meal’s ranges—assume “sturdier veggies and cooked greens,” Nielsen says. Kale, spinach, and collards might all work.
7. Carrots
Like a tomato, one complete carrot incorporates lower than 1.5 grams of fiber, boiled or uncooked, so when you’re utilizing carrots as a aspect dish, you may need to contemplate one other cooked different. Like we talked about, one cup of cooked broccoli or cooked collard greens will provide round 5 grams of fiber, so both of these would make a sensible substitute. Then once more, perhaps your carrots are half of a bigger dish, like a salad. In that case, inexperienced peas (9 grams of fiber per one cup cooked) might make (and engaging!) high-fiber pairing.
8. Uncooked spinach
Two cups of uncooked spinach solely comprise round one gram of fiber, so that you’d need to eat a ton of the stuff to even strategy a midway first rate slice of your complete RDA. Fortunately, there’s a straightforward option to increase the fiber content material immediately: cooking. Whether or not your methodology of selection is boiling, sautéing, or one thing fully totally different, the spinach will invariably lose a ton of quantity through the course of (it’s 91% water, in spite of everything), making it a lot simpler to eat extra (and growing the per capita fiber content material because of this). When boiled, for instance, one cup of spinach soars from round 0.5 grams of fiber to greater than 4 grams. Should you’re going uncooked for a purpose—like with a salad—use avocado to flesh out the fiber content material. Cube up a half of 1, and also you’ll increase your fiber by practically seven grams.
9. Lettuce
Talking of salads, the traditional lettuce mattress is disappointingly low in fiber—so low, in reality, that it’s in all probability a contender for the highest spot on this checklist. One cup of uncooked lettuce solely incorporates round 0.5 grams. So fairly than specializing in the bottom of your salad as your main fiber supply—the greens—focus on dressing it up with fiber-rich add-ins like artichoke hearts and legumes as an alternative.
10. Mango
Generally, “fruit is a big fiber win,” with many sorts having extra fiber than greens, Nielsen says. As an example, raspberries pack a whopping 10 grams of fiber per cup. Nonetheless, there are exceptions to each rule, and on this one sense, mango—nicknamed the “king of fruits” for its candy, juicy flesh—doesn’t deserve the moniker. One mango half incorporates lower than two grams of fiber, across the similar quantity as a complete tomato or complete carrot. For a tropical fruit that’s a tad extra fiber-rich (9 grams per cup, to be particular), go along with guava as an alternative.
11. Watermelon
Like mango, watermelon is an instance of a fruit that doesn’t precisely pile on the fiber, in response to Nielsen. Not solely that, but it surely provides even much less per serving—fewer than one gram per cup. (That stated, consuming watermelon is a superb method to soak up extra H20 because it’s 92% water!)
Fortunately, loads of different sorts of fruit are standing on the able to fill that fiber void—with out skimping on that watermelon-like crunch both. As an example, contemplate a medium-sized apple (round 4 grams) or a medium-sized pear (round six grams), in response to Nielsen. You may even toss pears on the grill simply as you’d a watermelon slice for a summer-friendly dessert that’ll supply a particular sweet-smoky taste!
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