FIBER SHOW & TELL

Throughout the month of September, we have been discussing fiber in BootCamp classes and writing about it in our weekly newsletter.

This week we're doing a "show & tell" in class. You can bring any food (or just the packaging) to class to show the other members. This helps us all get more ideas for healthy foods to try.

We'd like this blog entry to also be a "show & tell". Post your comments here about any high fiber products that are natural, healthy and tasty.

ELAINE'S FOOD JOURNAL: DAY 6

Early morning snack (before 5:30 am workout)
Half sandwich:
1 slice Ezekiel raisin bread - 2
1/2 T. almond butter (raw, crunchy, unsalted) - 0.75
1.2 T. Trader Joe's Organic Superfruit Spread - 0

2nd morning snack (at 7:00 am, after workout)
Other half of sandwich - 2.75
Total grams of fiber in morning snacks - 5.5

Breakfast
1/4 c. puffed Kashi cereal - 0.25
1/2 c. Heritage cereal - 3
1/4 c. mini Shredded Wheat cereal - 1.25
1/8 c. raw slivered almonds - 1.5
1 T. ground flaxseed - 2
1/8 c. raisins - 0.7
1 c. rice milk - 0
Total grams of fiber in Breakfast - 8.7


Lunch
1 can TJ's low-sodium minestrone soup - 5
(10.7 oz. - smaller than most regular 14 oz cans)
10 baby tomatoes - 2
1/4 avocado - 3.4
1/8 c. slivered almonds - 1.5
Total grams of fiber in Lunch: 11.9


Snack
2 T. eggplant hummus - 2
10 baby tomatoes - 2
6 snap peas - .5
10 baby carrots - 2
Total Snack - 6.5

I wasn't hungry enough for dinner, so I had fruit in the evening instead of a full meal.
Snack
1 cup mixed fresh fruit - 4
1/2 cup non fat Greek yogurt - 0
1/8 cup slivered almonds - 1.5
Total Snack - 5.5 grams

TOTAL FIBER FOR DAY: 38.1

ELAINE'S FOOD JOURNAL: DAY 5

Breakfast
1/4 c. puffed Kashi cereal - 0.25
1/2 c. Heritage cereal - 3
1/4 c. mini Shredded Wheat cereal - 1.25
1/8 c. raw slivered almonds - 1.5
1 T. ground flaxseed - 2
1/8 c. raisins - 0.7
1 c. rice milk - 0
Total grams of fiber in Breakfast - 8.7

Snack
Ezekiel raisin bread - 4
1 T. almond butter (raw, crunch, unsalted) - 1.5
1 T. Trader Joe's organic Superfruit spread - 0
Total grams of fiber in Snack - 5.5

Lunch
Salad
1.5 c. lettuce (red & dark green heirloom leaves) - 1
5 baby tomatoes - 1
7 black olives - 0.5
1/8 c. heart of palm - 0.5
1/4 avocado - 3.4
1/8 c. walnuts - 1
olive oil - 0
vinegar - 0
Total grams of fiber in Lunch: 7.4

Snack
plum - 0.9
apple - 4.4
Light string cheese (one stick) - 0
Total grams of fiber in snack - 5.3

Dinner
2/3 c. brown rice - 1.5
1 c. broccoli - 3
12 spears of asparagus - 2
1/4 c. zucchini - 0.3
4 oz. salmon - 0
1/8 c. slivered almonds - 1.5
10 baby tomatoes - 2
1 c. chicken breast - 0
Total grams of fiber in Lunch Dinner - 10

TOTAL GRAMS OF FIBER FOR THE DAY 36.9

ELAINE'S FOOD JOURNAL: DAY 4

Early morning snack (before 5:30 am workout)
Half sandwich:
1 slice Ezekiel raisin bread - 2
1/2 T. almond butter (raw, crunchy, unsalted) - 0.75
1.2 T. Trader Joe's Organic Superfruit Spread - 0

2nd morning snack (at 7:00 am after workout)
Other half of sandwich - 2.75
Total grams of fiber in morning snacks - 5.5

Breakfast
Fiber One Muffin (homemade by BootCamper Tina E. - thanks Tina!) - 5
1/2. c. mini shredded wheat cereal - 2.5
1.2 c. Heritage cereal - 3
1 c. mixed fresh fruit (pineapple, grapes, lots of different berries) - 4
1/8 c. raw unsalted walnut pieces - 1
1 T. whole ground flaxseed meal - 2
1 c. rice milk - 0
Total grams of fiber in Breakfast - 17.5

Lunch
Left overs from yesterday's lunch (I measured out exactly the same amount): brown rice, broccoli, stir fry veggies, slivered almonds, tomatoes, chicken breast - 11.3
+ I added 6 stalks of asparagus - 1
Total grams of fiber in Lunch = 12.3

Snack
1/2 c. mixed fruit - 2
1/4 c. non-fat plain Greek yogurt - 0
1/8 cup walnuts - 1
Total grams of fiber in Snack - 3

Dinner
3 c. lettuce - 2
1/2 c. red cabbage - 0.5
1/2 c. cucumber - 0.4
1/16 c. heart of palm - 0.25
4 black kalamata olives - 0.3
1/3 c. black beans - 4
1/4 c. red bell pepper - 0.5
1/4 avocado - 3.4
1/2 c. chicken breast - 0
Total grams of fiber in dinner - 11.35

Snack
Plum - 0.9
Total grams of fiber in Snack -0.9

TOTAL GRAMS OF FIBER FOR THE DAY 50.55

ELAINE'S FOOD JOURNAL: DAY 3

Breakfast
1/4 c. puffed Kashi cereal - 0.25
1/2 c. Heritage cereal - 3
1/4 c. mini Shredded Wheat cereal - 1.25
1/8 c. raw slivered almonds - 1.5
1 T. ground flaxseed - 2
1 c. fresh berries (blue, black, straw & raspberries) - 4
1 c. rice milk - 0
Total grams of fiber in Breakfast - 12

Snack
plum - 0.9
1/2 stick light string cheese - 0
Total grams of fiber in Snack - 0.9

Lunch
2/3 c. brown rice - 1.5
1 c. broccoli - 3
1 2/3 c. stir fry veggies - 3.3
(frozen from TJ: pea pods, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, soy beans, water chestnuts, carrots, mushrooms)
1/8 c. slivered almonds - 1.5
10 baby tomatoes - 2
1 c. chicken breast - 0
Total grams of fiber in Lunch - 11.3

Snack
5 baby tomatoes - 1
6 snap peas - .5
10 baby carrots - 2
1 T. almond butter (raw, crunchy, unsalted) - 1.5
Total grams of fiber in Snack - 5

Dinner Salad: 1.5 c. lettuce (red & dark green heirloom leaves) - 1
5 baby tomatoes - 1
7 black olives - 0.5
1/8 c. heart of palm - 0.5
1/4 avocado - 3.4
1/8 c. walnuts - 1
olive oil - 0
vinegar - 0
Total Salad: 6.4

Pizza:
"Roasted Vegetable" frozen pizza from Trader Joes. This is a cheeseless pizza that tastes good & saves you a lot of calories compared to ordering pizza, or any other frozen pizza. We add fresh tomato on top before cooking.
Pizza - 3
1/2 large tomato - 0.7
Total Pizza: 3.7

Total grams of fiber in Dinner (salad & pizza) - 10.1

Snack:
1/2 c. mixed fruit (pineapple, grapes, many berries) - 2
Total grams of fiber in Snack - 2

TOTAL FIBER FOR DAY: 41.3

Why am I so high in fiber when it's difficult for most people to reach the minimum of 25 grams? A couple reasons:

1. Almost everything I eat is high in fiber. You'll notice lots of vegetables, fruit (the berries are especially high in fiber), legumes (hummus), nuts. I eat some animal products, but it's fairly minimal compared with everything else I'm eating. Animal products have 0 fiber, so if you are a big meat eater, it may be difficult to get enough fiber unless you're very conscientious about eating your veggies as well.

2. I probably eat more calories than most BootCampers, especially those who are in "weight loss" mode. (I'm tall, I'm very active most days, and I'm in "weight maintenance" rather than "weight loss" mode. It takes about 2200 calories for me to maintain my weight.) If you're consuming only 1500 calories, you're not going to be consuming 40 grams of fiber! The recommendation is at least 14 grams per 1,000 calories. So for someone consuming 1500 calories, you should be aiming for a minimum of 21 grams of fiber.

ELAINE'S FOOD JOURNAL: DAY 2

Breakfast
1/2 c. Heritage cereal - 3
1/2 c. Kashi cereal - .5
1/2 c. shredded wheat - 2.5
1/8 c. walnuts - 1
1 T. ground flaxseed - 2
1 c. mixed fresh berries - 4
1 1/4 c. rice milk - 0
Total Breakfast - 13 grams

Snack
1 cup mixed fresh fruit - 4
1/2 cup non fat Greek yogurt - 0
1/8 cup slivered almonds - 1.5
Total Snack - 5.5 grams

Lunch - these were nibbles at a shower (I had tiny portions of each)
small green salad - .5
tiny piece of bread with cream cheese - 0
eggplant dip with cracker - 1
vegetarian paella (rice, zucchini, bell peppers, tomatoes) - 1
2 strawberries & 10 grapes - 1
Total Lunch - 3.5

Snack - back at home
2 T. eggplant hummus - 2
10 baby tomatoes - 2
6 snap peas - .5
10 baby carrots - 2
Total Snack - 6.5

Dinner - homemade salad
3 cups lettuce - 2
10 baby tomatoes - 2
1/4 avocado - 3.4
1 c. cucumber - .8
1.4 c. hearts of palm - 1
4 black olives - .3
1/2 c. black beans - 6
Total Dinner - 15.5

Snack
1 c. mixed fresh fruit - 4
1/4 c. Greek yogurt - 0
1/16 c. walnuts - .5
Total Snack - 4.5

TOTAL GRAMS OF FIBER FOR THE DAY = 48.5

I thought I would be low for the day because I knew I was getting very little fiber at the shower. So I made sure to eat veggies when I got home & then had a big salad later with black beans. Turns out I went way over, but that's ok. My system is used to a lot of fiber and I actually feel better the more fiber I have. BootCamp members, you probably won't want to go this high on your fiber unless you're used to it.

ELAINE'S FOOD JOURNAL: DAY 1

Since we're focusing on fiber this month, Elaine decided to keep her food journal for a week to track her fiber intake. We recommend that you do the same, even if just for a few days.

Here's Elaine's journal for Saturday, Sept 5. Each item is followed by the number of grams of fiber.

Breakfast
1 serving (1/4 cup) Steel Cut oatmeal -- 4
1/8 cup raisins -- 0.5
1/2 banana -- 1.5
1/8 cup raw, unsalted walnuts -- 1
1/8 cup raw unsalted sunflower seeds -- 1.5
Total fiber in breakfast: 8.5 grams

Snack
5 baby carrots - 1
5 sugar snap peas - .5
5 baby tomatoes - 1
1/2 cup kefir - 0
Total fiber in snack: 2.5 grams

Lunch
1/2 cup brown rice -- 1
1 c. broccoli -- 3
1/2 c. bell peppers - 3
1/2 cup stir fry veggies
(frozen from TJ: pea pods, bean sprouts, bamboo shoots, soybeans, water chestnuts, carrots, mushrooms) -- 1
5 baby tomatoes - 1
1/8 avocado - 1.5
1/2 c. chicken breast - 0
Total fiber in lunch: 10.5 grams

Snack
3 cups popcorn - 3
1/2 cup yogurt - 0
Total fiber in snack: 3 grams

Later snack
1/2 cup of fresh fruit (strawberries, pineapple, blackberries, blueberries, raspberries) - 1.5
1/8 cup walnuts - 1
Total fiber in snack: 2.5 grams

Total Fiber for day: 27 grams

I meant to have a salad for dinner, but I was too full after the popcorn! I will definitely eat salad tomorrow.