So how much fiber does whole-wheat bread contain, exactly? Well, one slice packs around two grams of fiber, so a full sandwich will supply a total of four grams at baseline—not bad.
2. Brown rice
If you’ve been eating brown rice instead of white for years due to its supposed fiber benefits, we have bad news. Yes, the former packs more of the nutrient, but that’s really not saying much: A half-cup of cooked brown rice only nets you around 1.5 grams of fiber (compared to less than 0.5 grams for white rice). Overall, the fiber gap isn’t really big enough to justify overriding your personal taste, “so if you prefer your white rice, go for it,” Nielsen says. Thankfully, making additions to boost the fiber should come pretty easily. After all, we rarely eat rice on its own anyway, Tsui says. So sautéing your rice with high-fiber veggies like broccoli and peas for a stir-fry is just a natural combo.
If you want to switch up the grain itself, you also have options. Quinoa—a whole grain—is a possibility, at around five grams of fiber per one cup cooked, and is just as versatile as rice, as these 33 recipes demonstrate. You can also try kamut, an ancient form of wheat that boasts four grams of fiber per half-cup cooked, according to Food Network. Finally, there’s a rice variant: Korean multigrain rice, a dish that consists of rice stretched out by beans and grains.
3. Some breakfast cereals
To be clear, there are some varieties that are positively brimming with fiber (hello, Kellogg’s Original Frosted Mini-Wheats and Walmart’s Great Value raisin bran!), but it would be a mistake to assume that’s true across the board. In fact, cereals made with rice often contain very little of it, according to the Mayo Clinic. A cup and a half of Rice Krispies, for instance, comes in at less than a half a gram of fiber.
Other than that, how do you differentiate between high-fiber and low-fiber cereals? Per Nielsen, options that are whole-wheat-based, like Wheat Chex (around eight grams of fiber per cup), or contain added amounts of a natural fiber called psyllium, like Kellogg’s All-Bran Buds (around 13 grams of fiber per one-third of a cup), are more likely to pack a substantial amount.
4. Cabbage
“There’s an assumption that all vegetables are high in fiber,” Tsui says. But that’s not exactly the case. Take cabbage, for example: One boiled cup only packs around three grams, significantly less than other cruciferous veggies, including Brussels sprouts (around six grams cooked) and broccoli (around five grams cooked). So if fiber content is a big priority, you might want to try to swap in one of those cousins instead—or add it to the mix. Broccoli could complement cabbage well in a stir-fry or soup, for example, according to Tsui. “You don’t need to take out the cabbage,” Tsui says—it boasts plenty of other beneficial nutrients, like folate and vitamins C and K—“but make sure that you’re adding in things” to make up for its relative lack of fiber.
5. Cucumbers
While we’re on the subject of low-fiber vegetables, cucumber also ranks—only around 1.5 grams per raw cuke. Depending on how you’re crunching, you can make a few substitutions or additions to boost the overall fiber content. Dipping a cucumber slice or stick in a bowl of ranch dressing at a cookout? Consider swapping the ranch for a higher-fiber condiment like hummus (which owes its impressive fiber stats to the chickpea base), according to Tsui. Tossing cucumber slices with other vegetables for a refreshing summer salad? Supplement with some high-fiber beans or a high-fiber whole grain like quinoa for a more robust meal.
6. Tomatoes
Yet another example of a veggie that’s not all that high in fiber despite the category’s general reputation. One whole tomato also only contains around 1.5 grams of fiber. Still, like the other non-fiber-rich veggies on this list, they’ll supply tons of other essential vitamins and nutrients, including potassium and vitamins A, C, and K, so they definitely deserve a spot on your plate. Just consider adding another fiber source to boost your meal’s levels—think “sturdier veggies and cooked greens,” Nielsen says. Kale, spinach, and collards could all work.
7. Carrots
Like a tomato, one whole carrot contains less than 1.5 grams of fiber, boiled or raw, so if you’re using carrots as a side dish, you might want to consider another cooked alternative. Like we mentioned, one cup of cooked broccoli or cooked collard greens will supply around five grams of fiber, so either of those would make a smart substitute. Then again, maybe your carrots are part of a larger dish, like a salad. In that case, green peas (nine grams of fiber per one cup cooked) could make a good (and tasty!) high-fiber pairing.
8. Raw spinach
Two cups of raw spinach only contain around one gram of fiber, so you’d have to eat a ton of the stuff to even approach a halfway decent slice of your total RDA. Thankfully, there’s an easy way to boost the fiber content instantly: cooking. Whether your method of choice is boiling, sautéing, or something completely different, the spinach will invariably lose a ton of volume during the process (it is 91% water, after all), making it much easier to eat more (and increasing the per capita fiber content as a result). When boiled, for example, one cup of spinach soars from around 0.5 grams of fiber to more than four grams. If you’re going raw for a reason—like with a salad—use avocado to flesh out the fiber content. Dice up a half of one, and you’ll boost your fiber by nearly seven grams.
9. Lettuce
Speaking of salads, the classic lettuce bed is disappointingly low in fiber—so low, in fact, that it’s probably a contender for the top spot on this list. One cup of raw lettuce only contains around 0.5 grams. So rather than focusing on the base of your salad as your primary fiber source—the greens—concentrate on dressing it up with fiber-rich add-ins like artichoke hearts and legumes instead.
10. Mango
In general, “fruit is a huge fiber win,” with many varieties having more fiber than vegetables, Nielsen says. For instance, raspberries pack a whopping 10 grams of fiber per cup. However, there are exceptions to every rule, and in this one sense, mango—nicknamed the “king of fruits” for its sweet, juicy flesh—doesn’t deserve the moniker. One mango half contains less than two grams of fiber, around the same amount as a whole tomato or whole carrot. For a tropical fruit that’s a tad more fiber-rich (nine grams per cup, to be specific), go with guava instead.
11. Watermelon
Like mango, watermelon is an example of a fruit that doesn’t exactly pile on the fiber, according to Nielsen. Not only that, but it supplies even less per serving—fewer than one gram per cup. (That said, eating watermelon is an excellent way to take in more H20 since it’s 92% water!)
Thankfully, plenty of other types of fruit are standing at the ready to fill that fiber void—without skimping on that watermelon-like crunch either. For instance, consider a medium-sized apple (around four grams) or a medium-sized pear (around six grams), according to Nielsen. You can even toss pears on the grill just as you would a watermelon slice for a summer-friendly dessert that’ll offer a distinctive sweet-smoky flavor!
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