Dietary fiber is an essential component of a healthy diet. We’d all love for our children to eat a wide variety of fiber-rich fruits, vegetables and whole grain carbohydrates. However, many kids’ diets consist of just the opposite, with foods like pasta, grilled cheese, fruit snacks and white bread being the everyday favorites. Here are 4 ways to boost fiber in foods they’re already eating.
1. Pepperidge Farm Farmhouse Whole Grain White bread
This bread looks and tastes like white bread. But it contains a whopping 4 grams of fiber PER SLICE!! That’s twice as much as many whole wheat breads!
2. Ronzoni Smart Taste Pasta
My kids adamantly rejected whole wheat pasta. I tried a few times, disguising it with creamy cheese and red sauces. No luck. But they didn’t notice the switch to Smart Taste.
This pasta provides 6 grams of fiber in about 1 cup of cooked pasta! It also contains calcium and vitamin D.
3. Mott’s Medleys Fruit Snacks
If your children love fruit snacks, then switch to Mott’s Medleys…the yellow box (not the blue box)! These contain 3 grams of fiber per package. It’s a win-win!
4. Light hot dog/hamburger buns
I don’t typically recommend light or diet foods for kids. However, there is pretty much zero nutritional benefit to white hot dog and hamburger buns. And all summer long we’re eating them. I found that supermarket brand light white and wheat buns have 2 grams of fiber per bun, which is 2 more than regular white buns have. Every little bit helps!
I often talk to parents about how to increase fiber in their little ones’ diet, mostly to relieve constipation but also to promote overall good health. Increasing the fruits and veggies coupled with these four sneaky substitutions are great ways to do just that. Check back for future posts on more sneaky ways to get your kids to eat healthy!
Doctor ♡ Mom 