The indigestible portion of the food, derived from plants is what we call as fiber or dietary fiber. Most often, we have seen people talking about the vitamins and minerals and all other nutrients but fiber is something that most often skips our mind. In fact, many of us don’t even know what amount of fiber is actually going into our system and hence, some of us have no idea how important this is to us.
High fiber food are low in calories and rich in nutrients. Fiber normalizes the blood glucose levels, lowers cholesterol levels, enhances digestion, promotes bowel movements, prevent constipation, reduces the risk of colorectal cancer, breast cancer, diabetes and also helps in preventing obesity.
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31 Must have High Fiber Food in Your Child’s Diet
Given all the benefits of fiber, we will provide you with a list of foods that are a rich source of fiber and all of which should be added to your child’s diet to provide him with all the nutritional values. Read below to find more:
1. Almonds
Almonds contain magnesium and vitamin E which helps in the prevention of heart diseases. Furthermore, almonds also reduce the insulin resistance. You can have them as a mid-afternoon snack or add some chopped almonds to salad.
2. Pumpkin seeds
Pumpkin seeds are rich in magnesium and zinc and possess anti-inflammatory and anti-diabetic effects. This helps to promote sleep and mood, aid bone health and also enhances the male sexual function. Also, they help to lower the blood pressure levels, thus improving heart health.
3. Sunflower seeds
Sunflower seeds contain good amount of selenium and vitamin E which helps to lower the risk of type 2 diabetes. You can simply sprinkle the seeds on salads, cottage seeds, soups or yogurt.
4. Avocado
Apart from fiber, the fruit is rich in potassium, folate, vitamins K and B6. Avocado can be added to sandwiches or salads or your family’s daily milkshake.
5. Pomegranates
This vitamin C and K rich fruit is a lot beneficial to one’s overall health. This leads to stronger immunity, fastens the healing process and also leads to the production of collagen and elastin. In addition to this, it also promotes stronger bones. Its anti-inflammatory properties help fight against cancer.
6. Kiwis
You can add chopped kiwi to your child’s salad. They are fat free and thus leads to ideal management of weight. You can also make a kiwi jam. Simply blend kiwis, juice of apple and pineapple and apples. You can add sugar if you want.
7. Dates
Blend one and a half cup of dates and almonds until they are broken into small pieces. You can also add a teaspoon of cocoa powder and cinnamon and the juice of half and orange. This will improve your child’s memory and learning ability.
8. Popcorn
The plain air-popped variety is one of the few less detrimental snacks you can offer your child. You can also add some dry fruits and roasted seeds to the bowl of popcorn.
9. Steel-cut oats
All you have to do is add a cup of steel-cut oats to two and a half cups of water and add a pinch of salt to it. soak them overnight. The next morning, you can add extra water, some milk and cinnamon to it and put it on low medium heat till the time it gets a bit warm. Add some delicious toppings and your baby’s breakfast is ready.
10. Spelt
The fiber, magnesium and protein rich fruit can be added to veggies, soups, burgers or stews.
11. Rye flour (dark)
Phosphorous, magnesium, selenium and iron are some of the nutrients rye flour contains. The flour can be mixed with pancakes, waffles, bread or cookies.
12. Millet
This can be used as a side dish just like quinoa or rice. However, you can also add it to the vegetables or cooked meat. This wonderful source of antioxidants will also help to slow down aging.
13. Artichokes
Apart from being a high fiber food, artichokes also have other therapeutic potentials. This can be used in grain salads or grilled cheese.
14. Beetroots
Beetroots help in the prevention of chronic constipation and other gastrointestinal issues. You can the vegetable to salad the consists of strawberries, oranges, apples and cookies barley.
15. Brussels sprouts
You can roast Brussels to add taste. You can slice them and toss it with oil and salt. This is not only a high fiber food but also consists of vitamins C and K.
16. Dried coconut
Dried coconut is a great source of B-complex vitamins such as riboflavin and folate. Thus, this can be simply used to garnish salads and puddings. It is a high fiber food for your baby.
17. Split peas
These are a rich source of fiber. You can make also make hummus using cooked yellow split peas. You just have to make a puree of the peas, garlic, lemon juice, tahini, salt and smoked paprika.
18. Lentils
You can use a bunch of lentils in your baby’s soups or salads. For lunch, you can simply put lentils, cherry tomatoes, baby spinach, diced bell peppers and feta cheese together.
19. Chickpeas
Chickpeas are a rich source of iron, vitamin B6, protein and is a high fiber food, which helps in preventing cardiovascular diseases. You can add a handful of chickpeas to salad.
20. Kidney beans: a high fiber food
Kidney beans are filled with fiber and some other great nutrients. In order to seek its nutritional benefits, you can add a few of these to your baby’s vegetable salad.
21. Turnips
Turnips can be consumed with apples and carrots or even alone. You can also add it to stews or soups by cutting it into chunks. In fact, you can also cook them just like French fries.
22. Okra, a high fiber food
Okra can be added to fresh pasta sauce recipe or you can also add them to your child’s soup. Apart from this, you can get steamed okra and add these to a potato salad which will increase its nutritional value.
23. Tomatoes (sun-dried)
Chop some sun-dried tomatoes and add them to vegetable salads, scrambled eggs or pasta dishes. You can also blend 2/3 cup of sun-dried tomatoes, red wine vinegar, prepared horsedish, ¼ cup of olive oil, 2 tablespoon of water, ¼ teaspoon of black pepper and use it as a sandwich spread.
24. Broccoli
You cn either eat raw broccoli just as it is or can chop and add it to your child’s salad. This will enhance the metabolism and also strengthen the immunity.
25. Frozen peas
Frozen peas can be used in salads or in sauce for cooked fish. They contain vitamins C, K and A in addition to being a high fiber food for your baby.
26. Sweet potato
For this, you should ensure that your child eats them with the skin because half of the fiber is found there. You can either roast them or bake or even puree them. These can also be added to your protein shake.
27. Buckwheat groats
Buckwheat groats can be sprinkled over salads or oatmeal. These can also be used to bulk up soup, stew, burgers or meatloaf as these swell up several times when cooked.
28. Wheat bran
You can stir some wheat bran into cooked oatmeal or pancake batter or add this to your child’s smoothies.
29. Oranges
Most of the people consume it in the form of juice. But consuming the juice rich in pulp will add more fiber, which is the best way to consume it.
30. Kumquats
You can add chopped kumquats to your child’s salad, yogurt or even oatmeal.
31. Chia seeds
The best and the easiest way to consume the seeds is by soaking them into water. You can add 40 grams of the seeds in 1 litre of water and let it soak for 30 minutes. Strain the water and add it in your child’s breakfast cereals, pan cakes, etc.
Given the list of all the high fiber foods, till now you would have been pretty clear of the benefits of fiber. All of them are pretty economical and also easily available. As per research, women need 25 grams of fiber per day, whereas men 38 grams of fiber per day. Thus, it is always better to get your child in the habit of consuming right proportion of it since the very beginning.
Hope this article was of help for all our parents!! Please share your comments/queries/tips with us and help us create a world full of Happy and Healthy Babies!!
