Bulking Up

Well, bulking up can mean a couple of things.  I was referring to fiber.  Turns out, fiber is not just for old people.  Having enough fiber in your diet can lower your risk of heart disease and diabetes.  It assists in weight loss in that it keeps you feeling full longer because your body can't digest it (the whole thing is weird, I know, but there are a lot of smart people out there who study these things and know what they are talking about).  Here's the kicker,  women should shoot for over 20 grams per day and men should shoot for over 30.  Pay attention for a couple of days and I'll bet you're not quite meeting those goals.  The reason I bring this up is because Nelsy found this fabulous fibrous chard mix at the grocery store and I thought I should tell you about it. 

As far as I'm concerned the more variety in the veggie department the better.  It seems that myself and other members of this household have a strong aversion to kale (unless blended into a smoothie of course) so we welcome an alternative to the usual spinach. 

Just look how pretty it is.  I think I might add this to the garden this year and eat it more often.

It's not quite as pretty once its cooked (steamed with a little garlic and vegetable or chicken broth).  We had it along side pan seared haddock and salmon and rice.  Phoebe was not convinced that this is as good as spinach but hey, you can't win them all.  I had seconds if you must know.

Don't like it? Throw it in a smoothie! Talk about your fiber.  This is what I had with my coffee this morning.  You can see the bits of apple skins (more fiber).  I said it before and I'll say it again~ these taste WAY better than they look. I did a little looking around and found that two of my favorite foods have a ton of fiber.  Black beans have 15g per cup, and avocados have 10g (that's for the whole fruit but eating a half of an avocado on a salad is pretty easy to do).  Others to keep in mind are apples and pears (with skins), lentils, artichoke hearts and broccoli.  Of course there are many others but these came up as high on the bulk list.  So lets all eat some fiber and then I'll share my less heart healthy recipe for chicken with mustard marscapone marsala sauce.