Fantastic Fiber

If I have to eat something healthy, I want to get something out of it. Will it be tasty? Will it make my hair/skin/nails pretty? (by the way, as you will see soon, the nail thing is a lost cause they are bad. Plus I’m 35 years old, and I’m not ashamed to admit -ok yeah I am, I bite my nails. I don’t mean to, it’s a stress thing. Get off my back) Will I lose weight? And this weight loss needs to be immediate and ample. Will it make me …. Go? All these things are important to me. It’s not nearly enough that my cholesterol will be lower, and my body will thanks me when I’m 90 and blah blah blah…. Will it make me prettier? Can I fit into my skinny jeans? I know that’s a lot to ask considering I don’t think anything I wear would qualify for skinny ANYTHING. The thing is, fiber will do this. All of this. ( ok, maybe I’m over selling)
Fiber is one of my favorite things to add to my diet because it does so many wonderful things for you. I don’t have to sell you on this. You have already read what Stephanie has to say about fiber, and if you haven’t, go here and do so.

Fiber is easy to add to your diet, and can be delicious. For starters, you know those fries I’m always telling you how to make? Use a sweet potato, leave the skins on, and you’re already a step ahead of the game.

I make a broccoli salad that is really good, but to bump up the fiber a little more, I added lentils and took out the bacon. Not intentionally, I just didn’t have any to put in it. I keep it in the freezer, and if I thaw it, I cook it. If I cook it, I can’t get into any jeans and…. Well you get the idea. You can add your own bacon if you wish.

Cook some lentils. Boil them in water with a 3:1 ratio.

While that is going mix up 1tbls honey, 1tsp cider vinegar, pinch of cayenne, and a pinch of salt.
Then cut the florets off one head of broccoli,

Add that with 1/4c shredded cheese, I used Colby jack, and stir together with 1c cooked lentils. You will never miss the bacon. Especially if you put some in.

I have heard people rave about a white bean and kale soup and to be honest, it never truly appealed to me. I don’t know why, I like beans, and my love for kale is hardly a secret, so I decided to make it. I can’t believe I’ve gone this long without trying it.

Take an onion, diced, five cloves of garlic sliced, and three carrots sliced and sauté them in a tablespoon of olive oil.
Next up, add 32 ounces low sodium vegetable stock, 3cups of water, and a full head of kale that has been relieved of the big gross stems, and cut up.

Isn’t that pretty? Anyway. Then take a coffee filter and add a bay leaf, and a handful of peppercorns then tie it up and drop it in. I threw in some fennel seeds here too. I read somewhere that they do well to combat the, well, the unpleasant side effect of fiber. And it does help in my experience. We will just leave it at that.

Let this cook for a while and then add a 15 ounce can of white beans.

Serve this with a couple shavings of Parmesan, and it’s delicious.

Now, I know I tend to beat you over the head a bit with the whole eat local and in season thing, but I promise you. Go to a farmers market. Talk to the person who grew your food. A few things will happen, 1)you will think twice about wasting it. Someone worked hard to grow this thing for you, you shook their hand, you’re less likely to let it sit in your fridge and go bad. 2) you will become healthier. Not eating chemicals will do that for you. 3) your food will taste 1,000 times better. The same thing about the chemicals applies here 4) you’ll save money. That kale? $3. In a store it would have been $5-7 it would not last as long, and I would have had to throw part of it away.

Snow peas are in season right now too and they are so good you really just need to wash them and they’re good to go.

Just snap the tip off and pull the little rip cord.

Maybe that’s why I like these, they have a zipper too!
If you want to add a little extra something to these, spray a frying pan with a little cooking spray. And toss them around in a pan with a pinch of salt and a little cayenne if you like.

Like my fancy flipper work there?

Ok, now I need you to stay with me on this last one. I’ve heard of these before, but I’ve never tried them. I was chicken.

Are you ready? For a fudgey brownie?

…….made from black beans? I know. I know, it’s weird, but you know what? Not THAT weird. If you eat gluten free, you use a lot of bean flour in your baking, which is dehydrated and ground beans, right? This is not that weird, you’re just getting some of the moisture from your beans.

In a food processor mix up
a can on low sodium black beans (rinsed well)
2 eggs
3/4 cup coco powder
1/2 cup sugar
1tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
3tbls vegetable oil
You might mix up he beans first and get them smooth. Then add everything and blend until its smooth.

Throw this in an 8×8 pan sprayed with cooking spray and bake at 350 until it starts to pull away from the sides. Roughly 30 mins, but keep an eye on it.

Now is this some ooey-gooey Paula Deen type decadent dessert? No. I may work on that, but this is a chocolate brownie that tastes pretty darn good, and I don’t mind giving it to him when my little one wants “cake?” because I know he’s getting some fiber out of the deal.

Let’s all head over to 3squarenutrition.com to see what fiber does for us while we munch.