Helpful Hints to Increase Fiber In Your Diet

Eat fruits and vegetables every day. To save money, choose fruits and vegetables in season. Use frozen and canned fruits and vegetables for stretching the time between shopping trips and for quick-to-prepare meals.

Include legumes and beans of every size, shape and color. Examples include pinto beans, black beans, red beans, split peas and lentils. Add convenient canned beans to soup, pasta and salads.

Use whole-grain products such as brown rice, oatmeal and whole-wheat flour. Look at both the Ingredient List and the Nutrition Facts panel, and choose foods that list a whole grain as the first ingredient. Whole-wheat bread provides two or more grams of dietary fiber per slice; white bread supplies only about 0.5 gram of fiber per slice. The difference adds up over time.

When a recipe calls for one cup of all-purpose white flour, substitute one-half cup of whole-wheat flour plus one-half cup of all-purpose flour.

Eat whole-grain cereals. A breakfast of whole-wheat cereal served with milk and fruit supplies about six grams of fiber.