Smoothies
Smoothies are a great way to increase your fiber intake. Read this post about fiber-rich smoothies to get several recipes.
Many store-bought smoothies are high in calories and sugar. Smoothies are best made by yourself so that you can control what you put in them.
Ingredients high in fiber and low in calories for your smoothies:
| Ingredient | The fiber content in 100 grams | Calories in 100 grams |
|---|---|---|
| Carrot | 2,5 g | 33 |
| Kale | 6,7 g | 38 |
| Broccoli | 3,5 g | 35 |
| Spinach | 1,9 g | 18 |
| Raspberries | 3,7 g | 48 |
| Blueberries | 3,3 g | 65 |
| Kiwi | 2,7 g | 52 |
| Orange | 2,1 g | 46 |
Two of my favorite high fiber ingredients for smoothies are chia- and flax seeds. Both have around 50 calories in one tablespoon. Already one tablespoon gives you 3,4 grams of fiber from chia seeds and 2,6 grams from flax.
These low-calorie, high-fiber smoothies make a great snack. I usually have a smoothie at work and drink it 2-3 hours after my breakfast.
Choose a low-calorie liquid for your smoothie. Water and almond milk are low in calories. Avoid regular milk, yogurt, coconut milk, and plant milk with added oil.
When making your smoothies, always pair the greens with something sweet like mango, pineapple, banana, apple, pear, or berries. I usually put around 50 grams of green veggies and 100-200 grams of fruit or berries.
Favorite taste combinations.
- Orange and carrot with a touch of ginger
- Spinach, kiwi and avocado/banana. Avocado is high in fat but this works as a meal replacer.
- Kale, blueberries and banana
- Broccoli, banana, pineapple
Oatmeal strawberry cupcake smoothie
Oatmeal is high in soluble fiber. The type of soluble fiber in oatmeal is beta-glucan. This smoothie tastes good; it has 219 calories and over 8 grams of fiber. This amount is over 30 % of your daily fiber need.
This smoothie is also high in vitamin C; you get a decent amount of iron, potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, zinc, thiamin, and niacin.
To make this strawberry oatmeal smoothie, you need:
- ¼ cup oatmeal, 25 grams
- 100 grams frozen strawberries (can be fresh also)
- 1 tablespoon chia seeds
- ½ cup soy milk
- 1 cup water
- ½ teaspoon cinnammon
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
Blend the ingredients in a high-speed blender.
Psyllium smoothie
Psyllium is also one type of soluble fiber; it dissolves in water and gets a gel-like consistency. Psyllium is great for constipation. Psyllium is also known as ispaghula. The product Metamucil is psyllium husk.
For a psyllium berry smoothie you need:
- 100 grams frozen berries, (blueberries, strawberries and/or raspberries.)
- 1 tablespoon psyllium husk
- ½ cup water
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 kale leave, remove the stem
Make a smooth drink in a high-speed blender. Add in some extra sweetening if you need, like ½ banana or one tablespoon of stevia powder.
Fresh berry juice
Mixing frozen berries with water in a blender is a great low-calorie high-fiber drink. I enjoy this on a warm summer day. It is also a nice cooling drink after the sauna.
Berry juice:
- 1 cup berries
- 1 cup water
Mix in a high-speed blender. Add-in if you want to some stevia or some drops of vanilla bean extract.
Since you make this fresh juice in a blender it preserves all the fiber. This amount only contains around 50 calories and 3-4 grams of fiber. You also get vitamins.
Frozen strawberry margarita mocktail
This is a great alcohol-free fiber-rich drink for you when trying to lose weight.
This is what you need for two drinks:
- 2 cups frozen strawberries
- 2 cups sparkling water
- 1 lime fruit, take a slice as decoration and squeeze the juice in the blender. Lemon juice works also
- 2 tablespoon eriythritol or stevia sweetener.
One drink has only 65 calories and 2,3 grams of fiber. You get 70% of your daily vitamin C.
Chia seed drink
One low-calorie drink that postpones your hunger is a chia seed drink. Some people do not like the consistency of chia seeds. If you are one of those, then this is not for you.
Chia seeds get a gel-like consistency in water. The soluble fiber and makes great for your tummy. If you don´t like the gelly texture, start with a smaller seed amount, 1-2 teaspoons.
Some people, though, do not tolerate chia, so test them out in a small quantity.
I love to make this drink with me for work. It takes down the worst hunger before lunch. Fiber gives a sensation of fullness and makes you eat a bit less.
Lemon chia seed fiber drink
- 1 cup water
- 1 tablespoon of chia seeds
- ½ sqeezed fresh lemon
- 2 teaspoon maple syrup
Combine the ingredients in a bottle and give it a shake. Let it cool down in the fridge and shake before drinking.
Instead of lemon, you can use lime. For a sweeter taste, use fresh orange.
Chia ice tea
You make this drink by cooling down some brewed tea in the fridge. Add one tablespoon of chia to your tea. My favorite "teas" are rooibos; they do not contain any black tea leaves.
One favorite is the Twinigs cold-infused tea bags. They do not have any sugar and taste absolutely delicious. I drink these instead of juice. Making the chia water with these cold-infused teas is a great drink.
Chia tea can be enjoyed as warm also.
These chia drinks can help you with constipation; they have a good amount of calcium and omega-3 fatty acid. Lemon gives you vitamin C and antioxidants.