Fiber is a key component of a healthy diet as it is necessary for good digestion and elimination. It also helps with weight loss and lowering cholesterol. You are likely to get adequate fiber in your overall diet if you start your day with a healthy, fiber rich breakfast. Not all breakfast foods are high in fiber, so choose your breakfast meal carefully.
Fruit
Fruit is high in fiber, as well as other nutrients. The skin of most fruits contains the most fiber, so when possible do not peel. With citrus fruits like oranges and grapefruits, the best fiber is in the white pith surrounding the sections. It is best to eat a whole piece of fruit instead of drinking fruit juice so that you get the fiber. Dried fruits (prunes in particular) and berries are excellent sources of fiber and can be added to other breakfast foods such as smoothies, cereal, muffins, breads, pancakes, or they can be simply eaten alone.
Whole Grains
Whole grains come in many forms, which makes them very versatile and a good choice for breakfast. For example, muffins, bars, pancakes and breads are portable and can be made with whole grain flour. Try different whole grain flours such as quinoa, spelt, buckwheat and amaranth when baking with whole grains at home. There are many pre-made whole grain products available in the supermarket as well.
Hot cereal is another good source of fiber. Again the most popular is probably oatmeal, but you can try other hot cereals made with other grains such as rice, quinoa, barley and kamut. Some cook quickly and others take more time.
There are many whole grain fiber rich cold cereals out there as well made with such grains as bran, rice, wheat and oats. Check labels to make sure they are actually made with whole grains.
Vegetables
Vegetables are a good source of fiber and other nutrients. For breakfast, veggies can be cooked into eggs in an omelet, or baked into muffins (think zucchini bread). There are no rules, so steamed kale or a baked potato could be a perfectly acceptable and delicious high fiber breakfast.
Nuts and Seeds
Nuts and seeds provide not only fiber but healthy protein, fats and vitamins. They can be tossed into a cold or hot cereal or porridge, baked into muffins or breads or added to pancakes. They can be ground up in a food processor (or coffee grinder) and added to plain yogurt with fruit. Flax seeds are particularly delicious served this way since the body can then absorb the precious omega-3 oils. Don't forget nut butters that can be scrumptiously paired with some whole grain toast and berries or included in a smoothie for an added boost.
Smoothies
The beauty of smoothies is that there are no rules. Any assortment of fruits, vegetables, nut butters and whole grains can be thrown into a blender to get a fiber and nutrient packed breakfast in just a few seconds. For example, try an apple-celery-blueberry-spinach-lemon smoothie, or a peanut butter-banana-orange-wheat germ smoothie.
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