Meal Plan Monday: Get More Fiber!

This semester I am taking a nutrition class and I am currently working on an assignment about dietary fiber. I have to come up with a full day's meal plan that will meet my Adequate Intake recommendation for fiber. Just in case you're wondering, it's 25 grams per day for women and 38 grams per day for men.

Luckily for you all, I'm a total overachiever and I came up with multiple options and even included a calorie count to share with you. The menu is designed so that choosing any 3 meals (even all breakfasts) will provide you with at least 27 g of fiber and keep your intake under 1,500 Calories. For most adults, that leaves room for snacks and/or dessert. Men: you'll need to eat additional servings to make it up to 38 g of fiber the fruits will help you get there with the least amount of calories. (Please note: calories and fiber content can vary by brand, and even vary depending on which website you use to analyze the recipe, so use these as a general guide instead of a hard fast rule)

Breakfast (all contain 9 g of fiber or more):

• 1/2 C grape-nuts cereal, 1 small banana, and 1/2 C skim milk -350 Cal and 9.6g fiber
• 3 100% whole wheat pancakes* (4-5in diameter), 1 tsp butter per pancake, and 1 C halved strawberries -480 Cal and 9g fiber
• 1 C baked oatmeal, 1/2 grapefruit -496 Cal and 10.6 g fiber

*Follow the recipe using all whole wheat flour instead of both whole and all-purpose.

Lunch (all contain 10 or more grams of fiber):

• Black Bean Quesadilla (1/4C black beans, 1 whole wheat tortilla, 1 T salsa) and medium apple -275 Cal and 10.9 g fiber
• 2 Spinach and Black Bean Taquitos, 2 T salsa -472 Cal and 12.2 g fiber
• 1 egg salad sandwich (2 pieces 100% whole wheat bread*, fresh egg salad made with 2 eggs, 1/2 T miracle whip, and seasoning), 10 baby carrots -390 Cal and 10 g fiber

Dinner (all contain over 11 grams of fiber):

• 1 1/4 C Sweet Potato Chili, 1 serving jiffy corn muffins -472 Cal 12 g fiber
• 2 oz 100% whole wheat spaghetti, 1/2 C Prego brand Roasted garlic and herb pasta sauce, 4 1/2oz meatballs, spinach salad (1 C spinach, 2 T grated carrot, 5 cherry tomatoes, 1 T fat free raspberry vinaigrette) -488 Cal 11.37 g fiber
• Salad with everything except dressing (4 C spring mix, 1/4 C chopped sweet red pepper, 1 medium slice onion, 1/4 C sliced carrot, 1/2 C sliced cucumber, 1/4 whole avocado, 8 cherry tomatoes, 1/4 C chopped raw broccoli, 2 T craisins) and 1 100% whole wheat breadstick (made from my pizza dough -look for the breadstick instructions at the bottom of the page) -410 Calories 12.438 g Fiber 

Have you thought about your fiber intake recently?
this post is linked to orgjunkie.com