There is emerging need to increase intake of fibre in our diets.
Did you know that you should consume 30g fibre daily? I am wondering how many of us, actually meet those recommendations …
Is it enough? Might be not.
Believe me or not, but average adult eats only 18g fibre per day. That is almost half less that we should!
Food industry does not make it easier for us. Food manufactures maybe add some additional labeling, like ‘rich in fibre’ or ‘fibre source’, on cereals boxes, breads and even snacks.
How many times, we have been told to swap white rolls for brown or wholegrain version… white rice for brown rice … wheat pasta for whole grain one … .
It seems, no matter how much of ‘rich in fibre’ product we are eating, we still struggle with increasing fiber intake to the recommended amounts.
Why is that? The reasons are different. Maybe because we tend to eat processed and ready meal products, which lost their fibre upon massive processing? Maybe because we prefer to choose pre-packaged snacks instead whole fruits and vegetables?
Finding the lost fibre
The food sources rich in fibre are mostly fruits, such as berries, pears, melon and oranges; also vegetables and pulses; and of course whole grains, such as wholegrain breakfast cereals, whole wheat pasta, wholegrain bread and oats, barley and rye. Nuts and seeds are a good source too. It is worth to remember, that they can enrich your diet in healthy fats as well.
Some ideas for rich in fiber foods (100g portion):
*Daily Value (DV) of fiber intake is calculated as 25g (100%).
- Bran Cereal, such as bran cereals, or Fiber One Cereals (185% DV) or All-bran (117%),
- Seeds, such as Chia seeds (138% DV) and Flaxseeds (109% DV),
- Oatmeal (89% DV),
- Rye Crispbread (66% DV),
- Popcorn (54% DV),
- Goji berries (52% DV),
- Buckwheat (40% DV),
- Nuts, such as: Almonds (50% DV), Pistachio nuts (41% DV), Hazelnuts (39% DV), Pecans (38% DV), Walnuts (27% DV),
- Beans, such as Red Kidney beans (37% DV), Pinto beans (36% DV), Fava beans (30% DV), Mungo beans (26% DV),
- Lentils (32% DV),
- Whole wheat bread (30% DV),
- Avocados (27% DV),
- Raspberries (26% DV),
- Green peas (22% DV).
Also adding some dried herbs and spices, such as marjoram, sage, oregano or rosemary will boost fiber content in your meal. I will focus your attention on WHOLE grains.
What are they? That’s all grains rich in complex carbohydrates, like starches. You might say, ‘I had rice for lunch and potatoes for dinner – I am getting enough fibre’. Not necessary. If you compare fibre content in the one serving of white rice with let’s say one serving of brown rice you will find the difference.
Let’s have a look at rice.
White rice (100g) is 151 kcal, 34g of carbs, 0.9g of fiber and 3.2g of protein. It has tiny amount of iron (2% DV) and magnesium (1% DV).
Now, brown rice (100g) is maybe more calories, 406 kcal; and carbs, 86g; but it has much better nutritional value. In comparison to white rice, it has also more fiber (6.5g) and protein as well (8.7g). Brown rice is excellent source of iron (264% DV), and vitamin B6 (50% DV); and other minerals, such as magnesium (7% DV) and calcium (6% DV). The same with potatoes – of course they are source of fibre, but you can get more from other foods, without increasing caloric density of meal.
Some comparisons to think about (per portion):
White pasta (267 kcal and 2.3g of fiber) vs Whole grain pasta (286 kcal and 6.5g of fiber);
Potato Chips (154 kcal and 1.2g of fiber) vs Plain popcorn (120 kcal and 4g of fiber);
Fruit and Nut Granola (215 kcal and 3.4g of fiber) vs oatmeal (159 kcal and 4g of fiber);
Rice (194 kcal and 1.4g of fiber) vs Quinoa (313 kcal and 5.95g of fiber);
Plain bagel (270 kcal and 2.3g of fiber) vs Whole grain bread (138 kcal and 4g of fiber);
Corn flakes (101 kcal and <1g of fiber) vs Bran cereals (190 kcal and 6.5g of fiber).
The choice is yours!
Get more from your bakery favorites
We all love bakery goods. Who doesn’t like slice of warm toast in the morning to start of the day or fruity muffin with afternoon tea? No matter what if you prefer bread or rolls, muffins or cupcakes, you can top up your favorite bakes with healthful fibre from soybean and chickpeas! Surprised? Let me tell you how.
No matter what if you prefer bread or rolls, muffins or cupcakes, you can top up your favorite bakes with healthful fibre from soybean and chickpeas! Soybean and chickpea belong to group of legumes, which are rich in protein and fibre. Interestingly, their husk contains up to 40% of dietary fiber, in the form of celluloses, hemicelluloses, and pectins. Those fibers are combined with plant-delivered molecules, such as phenolic acids and flavonoids. Together, they impact on physiological processes in your body, for instance those fibres have been shown to efficiently regulate blood glucose levels, as well as lipid metabolism and cholesterol levels. They might even increase bioavailability of some minerals, like calcium and magnesium (Ötles, 2014; Ozgoz, 2014).
The 'slimming' bread
Bearing in mind, how often and how much of bakery goods we are eating, we could use them as ‘vehicle’ to enrich our diet in fiber as well. How to do that? Make bread with soybean and chickpea fiber, and being more precise, for this purpose you can use soybean and chickpea flours.
What is the effect of swapping some ordinary, wheat for soybean and chickpeas? At least promising.
Recent research on using soybean and chickpea flours, as fiber source in our diet, have shown positive effects in terms of consumer heath and bread quality as well.
Researchers from Universidad Autónoma de Nuevo León from Mexico, used dietary fiber extracted from soybean and chickpea husks to make white bread. They used different combinations of baking flours varying in the soybean/chickpea fiber concentrations in the bread; from +0.15%, 0.3%, 1.5%, to max. 2% of fiber. They also used a ‘control bread’, which has no soybean nor chickpea fiber. Once the baking has been completed, researchers evaluated fiber addition and its contribution to bread storage for 4 days. What was the outcome? Bread fortified with either chickpea or soybean fibre was preserved better, and was softer for longer period of time, than ‘control bread’. Also, fibre rich bread maintains good texture for longer, thus fiber retains water, and prevents dryness, which is common for ordinary bread products (Elleuch et al., 2011). Addition of dietary fiber improved nutritional value of the bread. Using chickpeas or soybean flour increased soluble and insoluble fiber, what resulted in total fibre increase for 45% for bread with soybean fiber and 39% for bread made with chickpeas flour. Both breads had also higher calcium and phenolics content (Niño-Medina et al., 2019). Therefore, eating bread rich in fibre was suggested to bring additional health benefits, such as reducing levels of blood cholesterol and regulating the blood glucose levels (Tosh and Yada, 2010).
Experiment with mango
Similarly, to soybeans and chickpeas, mango can be used as good dietary source of fiber. It’s potential was used in preparation of bread and other bakery goods, such as bread and biscuits. Dietary fibres obtained from mango fruit have significant amounts of soluble fibre, such as pectins and gums, which help to remove excess of acid in the stomach, and also provide a favorable environment for intestinal flora. Interestingly, fruit dietary fibre has better nutritional quality, than the fibre found in cereals. Fruit fibre contains bioactive compounds, like flavonoids and carotenoids, and exhibit better water- and fat-holding capacities with lower energy value, when compared with wholegrains. Therefore, using mango fibre for baking, brings new trend for diet-friendly foods. Those products have not only higher fibre content, but also lower glycemic indices, when compared with their traditional equivalents (Vergara-Valencia et al., 2007).
You can bake with mango
Having in mind all benefits of baking with soybeans, chickpeas and mango fiber, why wouldn’t you try it? In order to motivate you, I found some tasty recipes to try out!
Baking with mango:
Mango Coconut Cake. Full recipe you can find here.
Mango and Gorgonzola Empanadas. Full recipe you can find here.
Mango spiced oatmeal cookies. Full recipe you can find here.
Making bread with soybeans and chickpeas:
Soybean flour bread. Full recipe you can find here.
Chickpea flour bread. Full recipe you can find here.
Some sweet bakes:
Cinnamon Almond Soy Mini Muffins. Full recipe you can find here.
Cherry Chocolate Breakfast Cookies. Full recipe you can find here.
Chickpea brownies. Full recipe you can find here.
Savoury bakes:
Soybean Pizza crust. Full recipe you can find here.
Soy flour tortillas. Full recipe you can find here.
Chickpea French fries. Full recipe you can find here.
Chickpea falafel pitas. Full recipe you can find here.
Chickpea Injera. Full recipe you can find here.
If you hungry for more, try out:
Cooking recipes. For more inspiration try out: https://www.yummly.com
Niño-Medina G, Muy-Rangel D, de la Garza AL, Rubio-Carrasco W, Pérez-Meza B, Araujo-Chapa AP, Gutiérrez-Álvarez KA Urías- Orona V. Dietary Fiber from Chickpea (Cicer arietinum) and Soybean (Glycine max) Husk Byproducts as Baking Additives: Functional and Nutritional Properties. Molecules 2019, 24, 991.
Tosh SM, Yada S. Dietary fibres in pulses seed and fractions: Characterization, functional attributes, and applications. Food Res. Int. 2010, 43, 450–460.
Ötles S, Ozgoz S. Health effects of dietary fiber. Acta Sci. Pol. Technol. Aliment. 2014, 13, 191–202.
Elleuch M, Bedigian D, Roiseux O, Besbes S, Blecker C, Attia H. Dietary fibre and fibre-rich by-products of food processing: Characterisation, technological functionality and commercial applications: A review. Food Chem. 2011, 124, 411–421.
Vergara-Valencia N, Granados-Pérez E, Agama-Acevedo E, Tovar J, Ruales J, Bello-Pérez LA. Fibre concentrate from mango fruit: Characterization, associated antioxidant capacity and application as a bakery product ingredient. LWT-Food Sci. Technol. 2007, 40, 722–729.
Fiber. Nutrient Ranking Tool. MyFoodData. Ranking available here.
Some ideas how to enrich fibre content of your favourite meals: Fibre up your life. British Nutrition Foundation. Iconographic available here.
How to Eat 37 Grams of Fiber in a Day. WebMD. Chart available here.
Dietary Fibre. British Nutrition Foundation. Material available here.
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