5 ways to increase your family’s fiber intake

When your kids run at the sight of broccoli and your spouse is a meat-and-potatoes kind of guy, getting enough fiber in your family’s diet might feel like a laughable goal. But meeting everyone’s daily fiber needs isn’t out of the question; there are creative ways to sneak more fiber into your family’s daily snacks, meals and beverages. 

Fiber is a necessary part of a nutritious diet and supports healthy digestion. It may help the body stay regular, which means your family may experience fewer tummy troubles. It may even help support weight management by keeping you full for longer, which means less snacking and overindulging during meal times. 

The recommended daily amount of fiber is 38 grams for men and 25 grams for women. Children’s fiber needs vary depending on their age. Here is a breakdown of age and daily fiber recommendations for kids and teens:

• 1 to 3 years – 19 grams
• 4 to 8 years – 25 grams 
• 9 to 13 years – 26 to 31 grams
• 14 to 19 years – 26 to 39 grams

Meeting these daily fiber amounts with a family full of picky eaters, diverse diets and busy schedules might be tricky, but certainly not impossible! Here are our favorite tips and tricks for sneaking more fiber into your family’s meals.

1. Make Sunfiber a daily routine. Keep a container of Sunfiber handy and make it a habit to add a scoop to your everyday recipes. It’s colorless, odorless and dissolves easily into foods and drinks without altering the taste or texture. Each scoop delivers 6 grams of insoluble prebiotic fiber.  Sunfiber blends well into muffin mix, casseroles, cookie dough, mac and cheese, and more. It dissolves completely in water or other beverages such as tea, coffee and juice. Sunfiber is a simple way to make everyday meals rich in fiber without anyone noticing a difference.
2. Encourage the family to eat more fruit. High-fiber raspberries, blackberries and blueberries go great on top cereal, pudding or yogurt. Make on-the-go fruit smoothies in the morning, and serve a sweet dessert after dinner made with frozen bananas, chocolate and peanut butter.
3. Keep high-fiber snacks handy. Replace chips, crackers and pretzels with popcorn, nuts and seeds. Two cups of popcorn contain two grams of fiber, four times the amount of fiber in some crackers. Almonds, pecans and walnuts are high in fiber and make an appealing snack when served with chocolate or dried fruit. Set out a small bowl of pumpkin or sunflower seeds or pair your family’s favorite dip with a plate of veggies instead of chips.
4. Up the fiber in soups and sauces. Beans and lentils have tons of fiber, but they may not be family favorites. Instead of serving them as a side dish, puree the cooked legumes with a small amount of chicken or vegetable stock, then add them to chili or macaroni and cheese.  If you’re cautious about beans and lentils because they can cause stomach discomfort such as gas or bloating, you can add a scoop of Sunfiber to your soups or sauces instead. It’s gentle on your gut and won’t cause uncomfortable side effects.
5. Choose high-fiber flour for baking. When your muffin recipe calls for flour, replace white flour with oat flour, almond flour, brown rice flour, coconut flour or chickpea flour. Some of these options contain more than five times the amount of fiber than white flour.

Many foods rich in soluble fiber can take time to prepare and may not be kid friendly. Sunfiber is safe for the whole family, and offers the benefits of fiber, without the additional gas, bloating and loose stools associated with other supplements. Adding it to foods your family already loves is an easy way to boost everyone’s daily fiber intake.