Many ready-to-eat cereals available in the supermarket today are high in fiber and can be used to convert ordinary breakfast into fiber-rich meals.
Here are five suggestions from the POST Center for Nutrition & Health that make good nutrition sense and taste delicious:1. Combine 1/2 cup chopped fresh fruits with 1/4 cup whole wheat and bran cereal, any variety; top with 1/2 cup low-fat yogurt.
2. In a standard pancake recipe made with 1 cup flour, substitute 1/4 cup of the flour with 1/4 cup crunchy nutlike cereal nuggets.
3. Prepare French toast using 2 egg whites, 1/4 cup orange juice and 1 teaspoon sugar. Quickly dip 4 slices of day-old whole wheat bread into mixture; gently coat with 1/2 cup crushed natural bran flakes. Cook in a small amount of margarine in a non-stick skillet.
4. Mash a ripe banana; spread on whole wheat English muffin or bagel halves; sprinkle with crunchy nutlike cereal nuggets with raisins.
5. In your basic 2-cup muffin recipe, substitute 1 cup finely crushed natural bran flakes with raisins for an equal amount of flour. Pour batter in greased muffin cups and sprinkle with additional cereal. Bake as usual.
Katy Raneri, a registered dietitian with the POST center, says that eating a bowl of high-fiber cereal with a medium-sized banana and a sprinkling of raisins provides about one-third of daily fiber needs.