Baby Carrot Quick Bites #1: Fiber & Flax

I’m going to launch a new feature, which for now I’m calling “Baby Carrot Quick Bites.” (Does this title work or is it too dorky? Let me know what you think…) These will be short posts with quick tips on healthful living in today’s modern world. Like baby carrots, these posts will be small, easy to digest, and good for health. 😉 I hope you enjoy!

Everyone probably knows that fiber is good for our health. It’s actually kind of mind-blowing just HOW important it is for health! I won’t go into long detail about that right now (I’ll nerd out on it in a longer post later sometime!) Suffice to say, fiber is crucial not JUST for digestion, but also for endocrine, immune, cardiovascular, emotional health, and more.

Getting enough fiber can be difficult in today’s world, though. It’s mostly found in fresh foods that aren’t shelf-stable, and thus not convenient. We tend to mill it out of our grains and de-emphasize it in our menus. Plus, we humans just kind of like soft foods that are easy to eat. (No judgment! It’s human nature!)

The ideal daily intake of fiber is 30 grams. That’s a lot of salads! That kind of effort is too much for most busy folks! Here’s one way I add more fiber into my diet, easily and cheaply: flax seeds.

I hope you have an ALDI store near you. They sell these bags of milled flax seeds for just a few dollars. Very cheap!

I keep this on my table next to the salt & pepper, along with a spoon in the bag. Then I sprinkle it on almost everything I eat. It has almost no taste, so it doesn’t alter the flavor of whatever dish I’m eating. It’s soft, so it doesn’t make things so crunchy that it ruins the texture. Voilà, instant fiber boost!

Try it! You will notice a difference in your body!