Fabulous Fiber

Fiber, Legumes, Recipes, Soup, Weight Loss

At the iDiet, we are big fans of fiber. In fact, eating fiber — high fiber cereals, intact grains, and legumes — can give you the edge you need to lose weight without feeling hungry. There’s a wide variety of fiber available and we encourage you to experiment. Our iDiet menus contain one or two servings of high-fiber foods every day and for most people, those two servings work well to suppress their hunger.

High fiber cereal

But as any successful iDieter will tell you, high fiber breakfast cereal should be kept in your pantry at all times. If you’ve followed the iDiet menus and had your meals and snacks and still feel hungry, you can turn to the fiber cereal and eat as much as it takes to feel satisfied. See this post for a list of our favorite high fiber cereals.

Legumes for fiber

Some of our favorite iDiet recipes include beans — pinto, black, cannellini or garbanzo beans (chickpeas). Beans are a convenient food if you buy them pre-cooked in cans. And remember — today’s leftover beans can make tomorrow’s soup or salad more interesting!

High fiber bread

If you thought bread would be off-limits on the iDiet, think again! The right bread will help slow your digestion and encourage weight loss. Commercial high-fiber, low-carbohydrate breads are useful but are sometimes hard to find in the grocery store. That’s why Dr. Roberts came up with her delicious “I” Diet Soda Bread (recipe). It has a dense, course texture and contains no yeast, so you just mix the ingredients, bake and slice when it’s cool. It’s yummy toasted and spread with crunchy peanut butter or low-fat cream cheese.

Restaurant advice

One of the reasons the iDiet recommends avoiding restaurant meals is that most restaurant food doesn’t have enough fiber. If you really have to eat out, you should eat some fiber cereal before you go and when you get home. That way, you can avoid overeating at the restaurant and get back on track when you get home. Remember to drink while you’re eating iDiet meals. Water, tea or other low-calorie liquids allow the high-fiber foods to become more soluble and more easily digested. Dr. Roberts has created high-fiber recipes for all types of foods — main dishes, salads, soups, even desserts.

Here is a favorite iDiet soup that you might like to try: