Starting Strong Mondays – Get more fibre in your day!

So – how are things going in my weight-loss world? Well, after a craptastic month (I call it like I see it people!), where I managed to gain 2.4 pounds, I decided to put my head down and focus on eating clean and pushing myself so that I can reach the target that I’ve set for myself. There are only 8 weeks now until September 2nd….can I do it? (The answer you are looking for is, “OF COURSE YOU CAN!”). It was hard to start again and push through and there were definitely temptations along the way. One of the keys I’ve learned is moderation – I can eat all of the foods I love but in small doses!

I also remembered why fibre is such an important part of my diet and I integrated it back in with a vengeance!

This week’s result? I lost 2.6 pounds so I’m back on the right track!

Then, earlier this week, I got an email from Kellogg’s (as I was lucky enough to be invited to become a Kellogger a few monthes ago), talking about ways in which you can incorporate All-Bran cereal into your meals to increase your fibre intake.

It is funny how timely emails can sometimes be!

About a year ago, I realized that I wasn’t getting enough fibre in my diet. Without grossing you out with the details, it was obvious that I needed to add more to my diet. The easier way, I figured, was to add a high-fibre cereal as my breakfast or lunch option each day (I’m one of those people who would happily eat breakfast for lunch every day!).

Sounds easy, doesn’t it? My major stumbling block was two-fold. Sometimes I’d find a cereal that I really liked which screamed “high fibre!” on the front of the package, only to realize that it was advertising something that wasn’t true – while it did have fibre in it, the amount wasn’t that much compared to what is recommended for daily intake (I’d see 6%, 12% or 20% – which is great if I want to eat bowls and bowls AND bowls of cereal each day!).

When I found cereal that truly was high fibre, I often hated the tasted! I took to calling this type of cereal “twigs” because I felt like I was eating something woody and grainy. YUCK!

Then, as fate would have it, my sister gave me a sample of All-Bran Buds. It was like the heavens opened up and angels were singing to me – okay….that is a total and utter lie – there were no angels singing BUT this cereal actually tasted really good! AND, if I ate 2/3 of a cup (which only has 160 calories) every morning, I was getting 88% of my daily fibre at the start of my day (yep….you read that correctly…EIGHTY-EIGHT PERCENT!).

I know you might be thinking, “Does she REALLY like All-Bran Buds that much?” Well, check out the photo below – these are in my kitchen cupboard right now!

I told you I love All-Bran Buds!

So if you want more fibre in your diet (that actually tastes great!), I’d suggest you try All-Bran Buds. They cost more (I wish they didn’t – I’m hoping they’ll come out with All-Bran Buds coupons!) but they are well worth it!

I can’t wait to try this recipe from the All-Bran site!

Blueberry Peach Crumble

Ingredients
250 ml or 1 cup All-Bran Buds cereal
75 ml or 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
125 ml or 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
45 ml or 3 tbsp soft margarine, melted
15 ml or 1 tbsp cornstarch
5 ml or 1 tsp grated lemon rind
2 ml or 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 pkg (300 g) frozen blueberries, thawed
1 can (796 ml/ 28 oz.) sliced peaches, drained

Directions
1. In food processor, process cereal, flour, 50 ml (1/4 cup) of the brown sugar and margarine just until moistened and crumbly. Set aside for topping.
2. In small bowl, mix remaining sugar, cornstarch, lemon rind and cinnamon. Stir into berries. Spread mixture evenly in 2 L (8-cup) shallow baking dish. Top with sliced peaches. Sprinkle evenly with reserved topping.
3. Bake at 180°C (350°F) 30 minutes or until topping is browned and fruit is bubbly. Serve warm.

YIELD: 6 servings
PER SERVING: 230 Calories, 3.0 g Protein, 47.9 g Carbohydrate, 6.4 g Fat, 9.0 g Dietary Fibre