It is very difficult for the average person to get the recommended 20 to 25 gm of fiber per day. Eggs, bacon, and white bread toast — about 0.8 gm of fiber. One whole cup of cornflakes — 0.5 gm of fiber. Macaroni and cheese for lunch — 0.8 gm of fiber. Insoluble fiber is good for your intestines and soluble fiber is good for your cholesterol. In addition to whole grains, broccoli, carrots, peas, beans and lentils, a morning smoothie can go a long way to help you reach the daily dose of fiber. Listed below are the variety of ingredients I use regularly, blended for breakfast. The relative proportions of each ingredient can be tailored to meet your specific nutritional needs.

Nonfat yogurt, plain or vanilla
A high fiber cereal (Read the labels. Some provide up to 14 gm of fiber in a 1/2 cup)
A combination of bananas, peaches, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, and melons, etc. (Freezing some when you bring them home from the market makes the smoothies more like a milk shake.)
One scoop of protein powder
A fruit juice of choice, soy milk or rice milk

Blend it. This is an excellent low-fat breakfast with potential for an individualized level of carbohydrates.
On your way to 10,000 steps per day, you can count each minute of washing windows over the Labor Day weekend as the equivalent of 75 steps. Pedometers are available in the pharmacy and the health education library.

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