Fiber - friend or foe?

We all know that fiber is good for us, right?

But can too much fiber be too much of a good thing?

Sure it can! Anything can be bad for you if you have too much of it. But most people today have the opposite problem, not enough fiber.

So how much fiber should you have?

My research tells me that 40grams a day is about right. Errr, good? What's that equal in terms of, you know, food?

Here's some examples

Whole-wheat bread	1 slice	1.6 grams
Rye bread	1 slice	1.0 grams
White bread	1 slice	0.6 grams
Brown rice (cooked)	½ cup	2.4 grams
White rice (cooked)	½ cup	0.1 grams
Spaghetti (cooked)	½ cup	0.8 grams
Kidney beans (cooked)	½ cup	5.8 grams
Lima beans (cooked)	½ cup	4.9 grams
Potato (baked)	Medium	3.8 grams
Corn	½ cup	3.9 grams
Spinach	½ cup	2.0 grams
Lettuce	½ cup	0.3 grams
Strawberries	¾ cup	2.0 grams
Banana	Medium	2.0 grams
Apple (with skin)	Medium	2.6 grams
Orange	Small	1.2 grams

(from http://www.faqs.org/nutrition/Erg-Foo/Fiber.html)

So what happens if you eat too much fiber?

Your body might start missing out on nutrition. Fiber speeds up food through the digestive tract. Too fast and you don't have time to absorb important things like iron and calcium.

How will you know? Well, not to put too fine a point on it - excess gas and bloating. The painful kind.

You might also end up constipated if your diet is too full of fiber and you don't drink enough water.

But I'll talk about water another day.

Raw Foods

Raw Foods are surprisingly delicious.

They also take longer to eat!

A raw salad of carrot, beans, corn, capsicum (bell pepper), celery and sprouts is full of all the things you need, with no bad fats or sugars.

You sit there, munching away, thinking "wow, I didn't know that carrot was so sweet!" and learning that celery is crunchy, and mung bean sprouts are nutty, and sweet corn raw is just as good, if not better, then when it's cooked.

Add an apple for dessert and you have a happy tummy. It also is a much better natural detox then anything you can buy in a box!

I've also added raw unsalted nuts for a snack once a day. Unfortunately I have a faint but annoying peanut allergy (also raw peas) so I stay away from them. But raw almonds are wonderful and so are pipittas (not sure how to spell that - pumpkin seeds). When I can afford to I'm going to get some walnuts and hazelnuts to add to the collection.

Half the fridge soup

When the week is dragging on and pay day hasn't turned up yet, we start to get a bit tired of what is left in the fridge.

That's when it's time to make "half the fridge soup".

I pull out every vegetable in there and decide what is, and what isn't going to go into the soup.

Things that usually make it are...

carrots
celery
onion
garlic
sweet potato
pumpkin
tomato
beans (snap and/or dried)
peas
corn
parsnip

If I had my way cabbage, cauliflower and broccili would be added, but as they are "not allowed in the house!" I have to find alternatives, such as spinach which is tolerated as long as I hide it in other things.

I cut everything up small and throw it in the pot, only just covering it with water. Put the lid on and cook until all the vegies are soft.

Season, keeping the salt to a minimum - if you use stock instead of water it's probably seasoned enough. Remember, you can always add more, but you can't take away.

Put 3/4 of it into the blender, then add it back to the remainder.

Serve, sprinkle some shallots or thinly sliced raw beans on top.