This year, I have enjoyed volunteering as a peer health educator for FuelU, one of the four subsections of the Healthy U Crew. This volunteer position has taught me a lot about healthy nutrition and the challenges that come with maintaining a healthy diet. For us university students, remembering to fulfill our daily nutritional requirements can be quite difficult — even daunting. With this in mind, I thought I’d share five quick, easy tips for “sneaking” more fibre and protein into your diet.
1. Add Chia Seeds to your Yoghurt or Cereal. They’re called a “superfood” for a reason! Chia seeds are an excellent and easy way to get your daily fibre — with only 2 tablespoons, you get 25% of your daily requirement.
2. Spread Peanut Butter onto some Apple Slices. Apples and peanut butter are both good sources of fibre. Not to mention, apples contain a substance called pectin, which helps to satisfy your hunger. Helpful hint: try to get natural peanut butter from the health food store, rather than the usual Kraft brand; the natural kind is richer in flavour and nutrients.
3. Add Greek Yoghurt to your Smoothie. Instead of bananas, I sometimes use yoghurt as a thickening agent in my smoothies. I particularly recommend Liberté Greek yoghurt — one 100g container has 8g of protein.
4. Have Raspberries as a Snack During your Study Break (or put them in a smoothie!). Raspberries have a number of great benefits. They are packed with antioxidants and are low in sugar. Raspberries also contain more fibre than most other fruits and vegetables.
5. Mix some Almonds in with your Salad. Almonds give you the “best of both worlds” — 1/3 of a cup of almonds contains 9g of protein and 3g of fibre (12% of your daily fibre).
To learn more about health and wellness, and to check out our upcoming events (including our #HowDoUFuel campaign), visit the Healthy UofT Facebook page at: https://www.facebook.com/HealthyUofT/?fref=ts
Image Sources:
http://www.soapqueen.com/recipes/soap-queen-cuisine-blueberry-breakfast-bowl/
http://www.shawacademy.com/blog/7-delicious-ways-to-add-fiber-to-your-diet/
http://www.webmd.com/cholesterol-management/features/fiber-groceries