Make These Simple Substitutions to Increase Your Dad's Fiber Intake

Dietary fiber is found in everything from whole grains to vegetables. It’s found in fruits and legumes, too. It helps bring extra water to the intestines, which helps prevent constipation. Fiber also benefits the heart and helps prevent some kinds of cancer.

With a diet rich in fiber, your dad’s odds of developing diabetes are lower. It can also help with weight maintenance. If he’s having a hard time getting enough fiber, these simple substitutions make it easier.

Swap Oats for Bread Crumbs

If your dad loves breaded chicken breast, instead of bread crumbs, grind some steel-cut oats using a blender or food processor. Season the ground oats with his favorite herbs and spices. Coat the chicken breast in a mixture of buttermilk and eggs and the ground oat mixture. Place the chicken breast on a baking sheet and bake until it’s at 165 degrees F.

Grate Cauliflower and Use it in Place of White Rice

White rice isn’t a healthy option. If your dad loves dishes like fried rice or cheesy rice pilaf, replace the rice with grated cauliflower. Cauliflower is high in fiber. Plus, cauliflower is a cruciform that can help prevent some forms of cancer.

Swap Beans for Meat in Some Recipes

In dishes like chili, swap the ground beef for beans. Make chili with lentils or kidney beans instead. Swap the chicken or pork in a curry for chickpeas. You can also mash many legumes and mix them with grains like barley or quinoa and create burger substitutes.

If your dad is hooked on burgers, try mashing pinto beans and mixing it with grated carrots, mushrooms, onion, low-fat cheese, and spices. The burger is going to be tasty and packed with fiber.

Skip Juice for Smoothies

Fruit juice is high in natural sugar. Nutritionists recommend limiting the amount of fruit juice you drink. If your dad can’t give up his glass of juice each day, he could switch it for a smoothie. The sugar level is the same, but he gains the fiber from the flesh of the fruits found in the smoothie.

With home care services, caregivers can cook meals for your dad. That makes it easy to focus on spending time with him on your days off. No more spending hours shopping, cooking, and cleaning for him. Let caregivers do that part and take him out, go for a walk together, or sit down and watch his favorite movies while there’s time. Call a home care agency to arrange services.