Fiber question

kcaffee1

For the days that are becoming more and more scarce, how on earth can I boost my fiber without kicking my carbs through the roof? I don't like pills, and I can't think of any OTC pills that would fit that description anyway, but is there something OTC that I can keep on hand for this purpose? I've had a couple of days recently when I swore I'd been good, then at the end of the day my carbs were just enough too high to cause the fasting numbers to spike.

Any suggestions?

BigGuy47

Ground flax seeds. Chia seeds.

shinitaru

I've been eating Nature's Own Double Fiber bread. One slice with every meal. gives me a lot of fiber (5g per slice) with 50 calories, 13g carbs, and 1g sugar. Admittedly, I'm not sure if that is good or not but it seems to be working okay for me

jessiekanga

I struggle a lot with keeping my protein high enough, and found that sometimes an Atkins Meal bar helps a lot. They also have a lot of fiber, which isn't why I gravitated to them, but doesn't hurt. Some taste very artificial. I love the peanut butter bars and peanut butter fudge bars. Good luck! I also use the Double Fiber Bread, it's not bad at all.

kcaffee1

Thanks for the suggestions from everyone so far.

I've pretty much made a decision to keep bread out of the picture for me, because bread and I don't agree with what my numbers should do. However, I haven't tried any of the low carb breads. Almost afraid to, but I might see if there is any here in town to try - so long as it's not TOO expensive! Unfortunately, I'm not sure the latter can be said with all fairness. About the only place to find specialty foods like that are the local whole food/ health food stores (that charge a premium it seems) unless Walmart finally jumps on the band wagon and carries anything reasonable for diabetics.

djrn144

The morningstar garden veggie burgers have fiber and protein in them along with some carbs. They are very good for a meatless alternative.

alasin1derland

Freshness - Red Bell Pepper , 1 pepper (large) 46 9 0 1 6 6
Compliments - Mini Carrots, 7 pieces (85 g) 15 4 0 1 33 2
Pepper - Sweet - Yellow, Raw, 1 large 51 2 0 1 0 5 _
Tomato - Tomato (Medium Raw), 1 med 25 5 0 1 20 3
Earth Bound Farm Organic - Baby Spinach, 6 oz (85g / about 2 cups) 40 6 0 4 130 0

I add water to these ingredients for a green smoothy. You can't taste the spinach because there is 2 peppers. It tastes like a nice fresh vegetable juice.

kcaffee1

@ djrun144 - I'll see if Walmart carries those in something under a family pack. My last encounter with veggie meat wasn't a good one, but I'm willing to give it another go.

@ barbosa1 - ::chuckles:: Why on earth would you insult those veggies by juicing them??? Add a little lettuce, and you've got an excellent salad! I've grown up around home gardens, so have never developed an aversion to veggies - not to mention if I had tried mom would have force fed me until I liked them! (the only exception being brussle sprouts, and I have dad's backing on keeping those off my plate.)

alasin1derland

lol no insult to the veggies intended. I am not losing anything because they are in a blender and not a juice machine. For me those flavors go nicely together and I don't need salad dressing. Sometimes I throw in half an avacado to make it extra smooth but that boosts the calories. I have eaten so many salads, its a nice change. (I used to enjoy tomato vegetable juices but so much sodium.)

kcaffee1

@barbosa - makes sense. I was just asking, because I see so many threads relating to "hiding" veggies in smoothies, and they don't make any sense to me. About the only way I WON'T get veggies in are through soups and V-8 style drinks. Something about the texture just creeps me out.

djshari

That actually looks pretty good... and I don't have a juicer either so it would be in the blender.

kathicooks

I see that you say you aren't interested in any kind of pills, but there are fiber capsules that are filled with ground psyllium husks. I pop a couple before breakfast and dinner with a large glass of water and they help keep things "moving along" as well as fill me up a bit so that I'm not tempted to overeat at meals and slow down a bit. I have seen them in pretty much any pharmacy and grocery store, as well as Costco and the other warehouse stores.

I agree with the poster who suggested chia seeds and flax meal.

And don't forget about broccoli, cabbage, brussels sprouts, and all the other wonderful fiber-filled green foods. I can't eat a meal that doesn't include veggies...ok, so maybe sometimes breakfast, but then I like to add chia to my yogurt.

kcaffee1

@kathicooks - Thanks for the heads up on the capsules! That's almost exactly what I was looking for. I'll have to see if I can find them now, and make sure they are not too processed. (Though, if it's just encapsulated husks, I don't see how they CAN be and still have a nice fiber count.) Since I have to go to the store tomorrow anyway, I'll see if I can find them then.

Thank you again!

jsiricos

My doctor suggested adding flavorless metamucil to Oatmeal (steel cut) - said it would stop me from taking in a lot of carbs?
I love Oatmeal, it hates me, so if this works, I can eat it again!

retiree2006

My doctor suggested adding flavorless metamucil to Oatmeal (steel cut) - said it would stop me from taking in a lot of carbs?
I love Oatmeal, it hates me, so if this works, I can eat it again!

I hope it works. I love my oatmeal but do keep it to half a serving size most times. Good luck to you!

kcaffee1

@ jsiricos - I've thought about that one, but haven't had a chance to look at the package yet. Mostly, I'm concerned with the highly refined / synthesized stuff and the way I react to it. Though, if it's flavorless, I might just go ahead and try it to see how it works.

Thanks for the suggestion!

jaygreen55

I found a product by Gnu foods called flavor and fiber bars which have 130 calories and 12 grams of fiber 8 of which are soluble. They are all natural and quite tasty, especially the fruit flavored ones. They're distributed through health food stores although I occasionally see them elsewhere. 18 grams of carbs that are not fiber

kcaffee1

@ jaygreen55 - Thanks for the idea. However, I'm looking for stand alone type fiber sources that I can add to smoothies, or a meal (like the chia seeds or capsules) for the dwindling days that I wind up at or over my preferred max carb limit. Usually, if I know I'm going to be close (a planned day of having to eat on the run per sey) I'll skip my typical morning carbs to free them up for later in the day. The problem is when I get hit at dinner with an abrupt wrench in dinner plans when I'm usually almost (or actually over) the limit. Something I can add at that point to help pull the net carbs down gets to be kind of important.