37 high fiber smoothies – dietitian approved

Low FODMAP Recipes

By Kirsten Jackson

A high-fiber smoothie can be a great way to boost your fiber intake.

A ‘smoothie’ is a thick textured drink that is made of crushed ingredients such as; fruit, nuts, and vegetables sometimes with milk, water or yoghurt.

It is typically cold in temperature and can be perfect for a warm day.

There are varying types of smoothies such as fruit-based ones, and ones that include nuts, or oats.

Some smoothies you can make yourself from pre-bought mixtures, or buy pre-mixed for you. For more information continue to read.

Increasing your fiber intake can help optimize digestion including improving gut microbiota and bulking of stools.

This post will give you 37 high fiber and *tasty* recipes for you to try.

High fiber smoothies- Fruit-based recipes:

Fruits are one of the main ingredients in a smoothie and they are also one of the best ways to get the fiber that will vary your gut microbiota.

This is important as it means that your body will have different types of bacteria in your gut to digest a variety of different food types effectively.

Top tip: including the skins on fruits (such as apples) is a fantastic way to increase the fiber content of smoothies.

High fiber smoothie – recipes using nuts, beans or seeds

Using nuts, beans or seeds within your smoothie recipes will help your stool bulk up. When using nuts/ beans/ seeds and fruits it can optimize gut function.

This is because eating different ingredients has a different influence on your gut therefore, mixing nuts, beans or seeds with fruit can ensure that you are gaining all the benefits – such as varying your gut microbiota and aiding the movement of stools.

High fiber smoothies – 2 oat-based recipes

Including oats within a smoothie also aids in bulking up stools. They also can provide a different unique texture to your smoothies.

Some other benefits of oats include the variety of minerals and vitamins they contain such as; manganese, vitamin B1 and iron to name a few.

As well as this, oats are seen to lower LDL cholesterol levels (10).

High fiber smoothies – 5 shop-bought suggestions

If you would perfect to have shop-bought smoothies there are some fantastic suggestions below to make your life a little more convenient:

Ready-to-go frozen high-fiber smoothie mixes

If you would like to try your hand at making your own smoothies a smoothie mix can be a way to make it easier and have the ingredients pre-prepared for you, check out these smoothie mixes below:

Foods to add to your smoothie to boost the fiber content (9)

If you would like to try and make your own smoothies below are some ingredients that you can add to increase the fiber quantity.

Some of the ingredients are commonly found in smoothies:

Food	Fiber per 100g	Size of serving	Fiber per serving
Edamame beans	5g	½ cup	9g
Strawberries	2g	1 cup	3g
Raspberries	7g	1 cup	8g
Apples	3g	1 medium apple	5g
Almonds	12g	1 cup	13g
Pears	3g	1 medium pear	6g
Carrots	3g	3 medium carrots	5g
*Chia seeds	34g	1 teaspoon	3g

*You can add 2 tablespoons of chia seeds to Low FODMAP smoothies to increase the fiber content

Benefits of fiber

Reduce the risk of heart disease and cardiovascular diseases (11):
- Fiber is linked to improving abdominal adiposity, insulin sensitivity, appetite regulation, diversity and viability of gut microbiota which have a cascade improvement in reducing the risk of heart disease and cardiovascular disease.

Improve abdominal adiposity (11):
- Fiber can regulate appetite by interacting with the dopamine signaling mechanism in our brains. Dopamine signals to the brain that you like it and to have more which can lead to overeating (12).

Reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes (11):
- There is a strong link between fiber and the reduction of insulin sensitivity as it can improve the glycemic index of carbohydrate-rich foods.

Alter and improve gut microbiome (8):
- Some fibers act as prebiotics and feed the live microorganisms in our gut. This leads to healthier levels and larger varieties of microbes.

Improve depression (11):
- It is not known how however there is an association between a more balanced diet and improvements in mental health

Bulk up stools (8):
- Fiber works with fluid to form soft bulky stools which helps prevent constipation. To ensure that you don’t get constipated when increasing fiber ensure you are also increasing fluids.

Improve chronic inflammation (11):
- Improving the gut microbiota variety has a butterfly effect on inflammation and bloating as it is these gut microbes that leads to excess gas being produced if there is not a vast variety.

The combination of all the fiber types maximize and enhances the digestive process and optimize the gut microbiota (8)

Read about 11 ways to treat IBS naturally which includes more specific advice about fiber. The recommended daily amount of fiber is 30g per day to promote overall health benefits (6)

Summary

Including more fiber in your diet will aid the diversity of your gut microbiome and aid in bulking up stools. 30g of fiber is the recommended daily amount.

There are so many great high fiber smoothies suggestions above including; frozen smoothie mixes, shop-bought smoothies, smoothie bowls and recipes to make your own.

Including chia seeds in any smoothie variation is a great way to increase the fiber content easily.

By Maiya Bahra Student Dietitian, reviewed by Kirsten Jackson, Consultant Dietitian BSc Hons, RD, PG Cert

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