Monthly Archives: August 2015

Fiber: 10 Great Sources (Part 2)

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Fiber: 10 Great Sources (Part 2)

Last month I posted about the benefits of kids eating a high fiber diet.  I followed this up with the first half of a top 10 list of foods high in fiber, inspired by a list published this month in Today’s Dietician. Here are the next 5 in alphabetical order, with plenty of cooking and prep ideas on how to get your kids to eat them.

Dates

Worried you won’t get fiber into your kids no matter how you push the veggies?  Don’t worry any more! Dates, those super sweet chewy fruits of the date palm, are also really high in fiber!  Just ONE medjool date contains 6% of the daily amount of fiber you need.  Of course, dates are really high in sugar, but the naturally occurring fruit sugars in dates have a low glycemic index, which means they won’t make kids’ blood sugar spike.  Dates contain a wealth of beneficial antioxidants, including phenolic acids and carotenoids, as well as vitamin B6, magnesium, potassium, manganese, and copper!*  This means that eating dates is not only a great sweet alternative to candy, but they can also help protect the stomach, liver, and nerves, stimulate the immune system, and protect against cancer and inflammation!**

Getting kids to eat dates is as easy as pie, literally.  Add them to any traditionally sweet recipe, such as muffins, oatmeal, or oatmeal cookies.  Chop them up and add them to salads or even some cooked dishes.  Of course you can always send them to school with kids as a sweet snack!  And guess what? You can use dates to make healthy alternatives to traditionally unhealthy sweet treats, like my favorite – gluten free brownies!

Lentils (and Beans)

Most people are aware of beans as a good source of fiber, but little lentils pack a huge fiber punch, too.  With over 15 grams of fiber in one cup of boiled lentils, one serving will give your kids almost all the fiber they need for the day!  Regularly eating lentils and/or beans lowers pretty much all of the symptoms and risk factors associated with type 2 diabetes.***  Lentils are also incredibly high in protein, with 18 grams per cup. They also contain abundant healthful phytochemicals, iron, thiamin, phosphorus, manganese, potassium, and copper.

Lentil stew is a delicious way to get kids to eat the little guys.  But there is no need to stop there – my favorite way to eat lentils is in a cold salad for lunch, with chopped tomatoes, scallions, and perhaps a bit of feta cheese.  They are also a great addition to an Asian noodle or rice bowl.

Potatoes

Surprised to see potatoes on a list of healthy foods?  Potatoes are often demonized as being starchy and having low nutritional value, but the hype is misleading.  Potatoes, like other vegetables, contain a wealth of healthy nutrients – including fiber!  One large russet potato (eaten with the skin) provides 6.9 grams of fiber, making it (along with beans) one of the most inexpensive sources of dietary fiber.  Russet potatoes are also very high in vitamin C and potassium, a very good source of vitamin B6, manganese, magnesium, and niacin, and a good source of folate, thiamin, pantothenic acid, iron, copper, and phosphorus.  Didn’t know your everyday potato contained so many benefits, did you?!  And if you want even more, choose a yellow or purple potato variety to take advantage of the antioxidants they contain that reduce inflammation and DNA damage!****

Try to get your kids to eat potatoes with the skin on, as that is where most of the fiber is.  I bake potatoes with spices and seasoning on the outside, making the skin the tastiest part of the potato.  You can also make lots of dishes using potatoes with the skin on, such as potato and leek or cauliflower and potato soups; potato kugel; potato latkes; home fries; or even mashed potatoes or skordalia.  Try using purple or blue potato varieties if that will get your kids interested!  Potatoes are so versatile the possibilities are endless and their bland flavor makes it possible to sneak them into all sorts of dishes.  Finally, if all else fails, slice whole potatoes into strips and turn them into French fries – make them crispy in the oven by soaking them first in ice water and you won’t need to deep fry!

Quinoa

Quinoa has gotten a lot of press as a superfood in the past few years and it is well deserved!  One cup of cooked quinoa contains 5.2 grams of fiber, which is more than brown rice!  It is also a good source of protein because although it doesn’t have the most protein out of all whole grains, the proteins it contains come in the right amounts of each amino acid, making it a complete protein.  It is also gluten free, and boasts of many nutrients, including magnesium, phosphorus, and manganese.

Rinse quinoa, then cook it as you would rice (although it cooks much faster than rice).  I often substitute quinoa for rice in dishes.  It can also be used in stews.  It also makes a good cold salad that can be sent to school for lunch.  Try pairing quinoa in salad with mango, feta cheese, and some veggies for a salty-sweet salad that will appeal to picky taste buds.

Raspberries

I always think of berries as a decadent treat.  My kids love any kind of berry as a treat or snack and of all the berries, raspberries are really high in fiber.  One cup of raspberries contains 8 grams of fiber!  That’s twice the amount in blueberries or strawberries!  They are also high in vitamin C, manganese, and vitamin K.  They are also full of antioxidants and can help reduce risk of cancer and cardiovascular disease.*****

Raspberries on their own make a great snack for school or as dessert with lunch.  My kids love them in their cereal or on top of yogurt.  Mix them into desserts, oatmeal, or parfaits.  Or drizzle a tiny bit of dark chocolate on top of them for a healthy, decadent dessert.  Hopefully these treats will be an easy sell for your kids!

Conclusion

I hope you have found this guide to high fiber foods informative and helpful!  With so many ideas for high fiber foods and so many ways to prepare them, surely you can find something that will appeal to even the most picky kids.

Sources:

*Tang ZX, Shi LE, Aleid SM. Date fruit: chemical composition, nutritional and medicinal values, products. J Sci Food Agric. 2013;93(10):2351-2361.

**Vayalil PK. Date fruits (Phoenix dactylifera Linn): an emerging medicinal food. Crit Rev Food Sci Nutr. 2012;52(3):249-271.

***Jenkins DJA, Kendall CWC, Augustin LSA, et al. Effect of legumes as part of a low glycemic index diet on glycemic control and cardiovascular risk factors in type 2 diabetes mellitus: a randomized controlled trial. Arch Intern Med. 2012;172(21):1653-1660.

****Kaspar KL, Park JS, Brown CR, Mathison BD, Navarre DA, Chew BP. Pigmented potato consumption alters oxidative stress and inflammatory damage in men. J Nutr. 2011;141(1):108-111.

*****Kosmala M, Zdunczyk Z, Juskiewicz J, et al. Chemical composition of defatted strawberry and raspberry seeds and the effect of these dietary ingredients on polyphenol metabolites, intestinal function, and selected serum parameters in rats. J Agric Food Chem. 2015;63(11):2989-2996.

Fiber: 10 Great Sources (Part 1)

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Fiber: 10 Great Sources (Part 1)

Last month I posted about the benefits of kids eating a high fiber diet.  This month the magazine Today’s Dietician came out with a list of their top ten foods high in fiber.  This list is great because it’s chosen by dietitians for dietitians.  It’s not just a list of foods that are highest in fiber – it’s a list of high fiber foods that are also overall really nutritious.  Here are the first 5 in alphabetical order, with 5 more to come soon.

Almonds

Did you know that of all the nuts in the USDA database, almonds are the highest in fiber?  (Incidentally, this is also why homemade almond milk needs to be strained.)  Just one 23 nut snack provides 3 grams of fiber.   But not only are almonds the nuts highest in fiber, they are also the nuts with the highest calcium and Vitamin E.

Almonds also have the benefit of reducing heart disease.  They lower bad LDL cholesterol while maintaining levels of good HDL cholesterol.*  If your children are overweight and you are looking to help them lose some weight, including almonds in their diet may also help them lose weight faster.**  And if your kids have diabetes or a pre-diabetic condition, eating almonds in a meal that otherwise causes blood sugar to spike can help moderate blood glucose levels so they don’t rise so much or so quickly.***

My kids eat a lot of almonds.  They have some great snack cups that I fill with almonds for a snack when we go out.  I also often keep a small bag of raw almonds on the counter – when my kids come begging for a snack while I’m preparing dinner, a few almonds keep them happy but don’t fill them up so much that they can’t eat their meal.  I also mix chopped or slivered almonds into a lot of the foods I prepare.  I add them to muffins and cakes, muesli and cereal, plus yogurt and salads.  Finally, I always keep an abundance of almond meal on hand that I can mix into cakes, cookies, and muffins.  You can even make entire recipes that substitute almonds for flour for a gluten free, high fiber treat!

Artichokes

Fresh artichokes can be a bit of a pain to prepare, but if you do they are worth it.  Just one medium sized artichoke has 10.3 grams of fiber, making it one of the highest fiber vegetables out there.  In addition to fiber, artichokes also boast high levels of Vitamin C, magnesium, and – especially good for pregnant mums – folate.  Artichokes were also the highest ranked vegetable for antioxidants in a 2006 study and were in the top 10 out of the more than 1100 foods examined.****

When I make fresh artichokes, I like to steam or boil them and then make a hollandaise sauce.  Kids can have fun pulling off the leaves, dipping them, and then sucking the meat off each leaf.  (Of course they may need some assistance when they get to the choke, depending on their age and familiarity.)  Personally, I find fresh artichokes can sometimes be a bit high maintenance, so you can cut corners by buying canned or jarred artichoke hearts.  Add them to all sorts of dishes, like quiches and salads, for a big fiber boost.

Avocados

When I first learned that avocados are a good source of fiber, I was really surprised.  After all, they are so smooth and creamy!  1 cup of sliced avocado contains 10 grams of fiber.  Avocados are really a superfood, as they contain lots of Vitamins C, E, K, and B6, in addition to folate, potassium, magnesium, beta-carotene, and lutein!

Avocados are also really high in healthy fats.  Over 65% of the fat in avocados are monounsaturated fats, which are good for heart health, with over 10% of their fat polyunsaturated.  Avocados are rivaled only by olives for their heart-healthy fat content.  But another benefit of this type of fat is that it helps the body dissolve and integrate fat soluble vitamins like A, D, E, and K, as well as helping the body absorbing phytochemicals.

Avocados are one of the first foods I feed my babies.  With their neutral flavor and smooth texture when mashed, they go over well as one of a baby’s first foods.  They especially love a 50-50 mix of avocado and banana we call “avonana.”  Older kids will enjoy avocados mashed and used as spread on sandwiches in place of butter or mayonnaise.  Of course avocados are amazing sliced into salads.  You can add them to any green salad, but my favorite is diced avocado, halved cherry tomatoes, and sliced hearts of palm dressed with olive oil and lime.  Avocados are also great blended into a dressing for almost any salad you want to have a creamy dressing.  You can also cook avocados.  Cut an avocado in half  or quarters, brush with grapeseed oil and season and stick them on the grill.  If that’s too grown-up for your pint sized crew, they may have more fun with an avocado cut in half and the hole in the middle filled with something – try salsa or an egg.

Cloud Ear Fungus

I don’t like eating fungus myself, but mushrooms and their ilk are so nutritious I definitely feed them to my family.  My kids and husband just love mushrooms.  For a fungus fiber boost, try giving your kids cloud ear fungus.  A one cup serving contains 3/4 of the fiber your older kids need for the whole day!  Not only that, but they are also good sources of manganese, selenium, and riboflavin.  Animal trials of cloud ear fungus also show that it is better than aspirin for preventing atherosclerosis and heart disease by reducing plaque buildup.*****

Never heard of cloud ear fungus and don’t know how to make it kid friendly?  It is common in Asian cooking, so look for it in Asian supermarkets.  Add it to Asian dishes – try adding it to soups (we love egg drop and miso soups) or stir fries.  It has a crunchy texture and absorbs the flavors of the foods it’s cooked with, which makes it a versatile addition to other foods.  Experiment with adding it to less traditional dishes like pastas with sauce or various soups.

Collard Greens

As a Southern gal, I’m very familiar with collard greens, but many people today have not heard from them.  Not only are they a nutritious powerhouse like kale, but they contain 3 times as much fiber as kale!  They also have 3 times as much calcium as kale and double the amount of protein, iron, and riboflavin.  In fact, one cup of boiled and chopped collard greens contain 30% of the recommended daily value for fiber.  They also have 3 times the daily recommended value of vitamin A.   Furthermore, collard greens, like kale, bind to bile acids, which reduces risk of heart disease and cancer, which is particularly potent when they are steamed.******  They also contain amazing antioxidants called phenolic compounds, which further protect against cancer and heart disease, as well as the phytochemical sulforaphane, which may reduce the risk of stomach, breast, and skin cancers.*******

To prepare collard greens, first wash them well and remove the tough inner stems.  Then, slice, chop, or chiffonade the leaves.  There are as many ways to prepare collard greens as you can imagine!  Traditional southern collard greens are sauteed with onion, then simmered slowly in stock, before being served with hot sauce.  Try adding them to any soups or stews (unlike more wimpy leaves like spinach, they won’t fall apart into a gunky mess).  If you are simply sautéing them, try blanching or steaming them first to soften up the tough leaves – then add them to any stir fry, sauté them with other veggies, or just serve them on their own as a side dish.  You can even make collard greens into a salad!  Like kale, the leaves are tough and need to marinate first, so dress your salad in advance with olive oil, salt, and any other dressing you’d like, then leave it overnight in the fridge to cure.

I hope you enjoy learning about these fantastic fiber-full foods!  The wide variety of high-fiber foods and the huge range of preparation methods should make it easier to get your kids to have some!  If you want to recall some of the benefits of fiber in a kid’s diet, just click here!

*Berryman CE, West SG, Fleming JA, Bordi PL, Kris-Etherton PM. Effects of daily almond consumption on cardiometabolic risk and abdominal adiposity in healthy adults with elevated LDL-cholesterol: a randomized controlled trial. J Am Heart Assoc. 2015;4(1)e000993.

**Abazarfard Z, Salehi M, Keshavarzi S. The effect of almonds on anthropometric measurements and lipid profile in overweight and obese females in a weight reduction program: a randomized controlled clinical trial. J Res Med Sci. 2014;19(5):457-464.

***Josse AR, Kendall CW, Augustin LS, Ellis PR, Jenkins DJ. Almonds and postprandial glycemia—a dose-response study. Metabolism. 2007;56(3):400-404.

****Halvorsen BL, Carlsen MH, Phillips KM, et al. Content of redox-active compounds (ie, antioxidants) in foods consumed in the United States. Am J Clin Nutr. 2006;84(1):95-135.

*****Fan YM, Xu MY, Wang LY, et al. The effect of edible black tree fungus (Auricuaria auricula) on experimental atherosclerosis in rabbits. Chin Med J (Engl). 1989;102(2):100-105.

******Kahlon TS, Chiu MC, Chapman MH. Steam cooking significantly improves in vitro bile acid binding of collard greens, kale, mustard greens, broccoli, green bell pepper, and cabbage. Nutr Res. 2008;28(6):351-357.

*******Cartea ME, Francisco M, Soengas P, Velasco P. Phenolic compounds in Brassica vegetables. Molecules. 2011;16(1):251-280.

Nutrients Found in Fruits & Vegetables (You May Never Have Heard of!)

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Nutrients Found in Fruits & Vegetables (You May Never Have Heard of!)

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Fruits and vegetables are an essential source of vitamins and minerals.  Today, much ado is made about individual vitamins and minerals.  But there are many more beneficial nutrients in fruits and vegetables than just the Vitamin C and Vitamin A we hear about a lot in the media. Here are some of the beneficial nutrients your kids get in the fruits and vegetables they eat that you might never have heard of.

Flavanoids

IMG_2365Flavanoids are what give fruits and vegetables the vibrant colors in their skins.  There are many types of flavanoids, some of which are covered in more detail below.  Different flavanoids have been shown to confer different benefits, but flavanoids in general are powerful antioxidants that can help improve help by reducing inflammation and even stopping the growth of cancer cells.

Bioflavanoids

Bioflavanoids are found in citrus fruits and they have the benefit of extending the value of vitamin C in the body.  This is a main reason why eating fresh fruits and vegetables is so beneficial – just taking a supplement with a single vitamin or mineral misses out on benefits like bioflavanoids.  Bioflavanoids lower cholesterol levels.  They also support joint collagen in cases of arthritis.

Quercetin

Quercetin is an important antioxidant that is especially good at reducing LDL cholesterol oxidation.  It also helps the body cope with allergens as well as lung and breathing problems.  Quercetin is found in apples, onions, and citrus fruits.

Beta-Glucan

Beta-glucan supports the body’s white blood cells, which stabilizes and balances the immune system.  It is found in mushrooms.

Anthocyanins

Midnight black grapes

Anthocyanins are the most common flavanoid antioxidant, 9 times more common than any other flavanoid.  They are most commonly found in fruits with really strong colors, such as berries, red grapes, red cabbage, eggplants, and blood oranges.  Anthocyanins reduce risk of cardiovascular disease, fight cancer cells, and can even improve cognitive function.

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG)

Epigallocatechin gallate (EGCG) is used in many dietary supplements because of its immunity-boosting properties and its promotion of T-cell production.  It is also abundantly found in tea.  It also reduces the risk of colon and breast cancer.

Ellagic Acid

Berries in Jean Talon Montreal Market

Ellagic acid is an antioxidant and is also anti-carcinogenic, particularly in the gastrointestinal tract.  It also reduces cancer growth because it inhibits cell production of ATP.  Ellagic acid is found in walnuts, pomegranates, raspberries, and strawberries.

Beta-Carotene

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Beta-carotene is the most well-known of the carotenoids and one you have probably heard of.  Most people have heard that the beta-carotenes found in orange foods like carrots are good for eyesight.  This is because it is converted into Vitamin A in the liver.  But did you know it also decreases the amount of cholesterol in the liver?

Proanthocyanidins

Rose hips

One of my favorite supplements is grape seed extract, which contains antioxidants that can cross the blood-brain barrier to help heal the cells in your brain.  Proanthocyanidins, which used to be known as “condensed tannins,” are a flavanoid antioxidant found most potently in grape seeds and pine bark, but also appearing in apples, berries, barley, sorghum, rose hips, and rhubarb.  In addition to their powerful antioxidant properties, they also extend the life span of Vitamin C by 400% as well as increasing the amount of Vitamin E found in blood vessels.

Lycopene

Before making this soup, I toss all the tomatoes I need to use up in a big tub of water and wash them as I go.

Lycopenes have recently gained some fame for their ability to decrease the risk of prostate cancer.   They also help protect against heart disease.  Lycopenes are found most commonly in tomatoes, which has given ketchup and pasta sauce manufacturers cause to celebrate good sales as well as good health.  (Of course, fresh, raw vegetables are the best source of these nutrients!)

Flavones

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Flavones are another kind of flavanoid, responsible for the yellow coloring in foods like capsicum (bell pepper), yellow summer squash, and apricots.  They are incredibly powerful and have been shown to have the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of other flavanoids, as well as fighting allergies and cancers.  They also have neuroprotective properties, helping to keep brains functioning even better.  They also counteract stress-related diseases and can reduce the complications of diabetes.

Isoflavones

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Isoflavones may have helped get soy a bit of a bad reputation because of their tendency to mock estrogen.  However, isoflavones can help protect against hormone-related conditions in both men and women, including breast cancer and prostate cancer.  They also help increase bone density, reduce cholesterol, and reduce the risk of heart disease.

Lutein

 

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Lutein is another nutrient that’s really good for you.  Lutein, which is found in blueberries and squashes, is important for healthy eyesight (and therefore very important for pregnant mums and growing kids to consume).  Not only that, but it’s also good for your heart, as it helps to prevent coronary artery disease.

Conclusion

This is by no means an exhaustive list of nutrients.  However, these are some nutrients you may never have heard of.  The benefits of eating a broad variety of plant and vegetable foods cannot be understated.  These secretive little nutrients should give you even more motivation to get your kids to eat their veggies!