High fiber breakfast: 5 smart tips for a nutrient-dense start in the day

Last Updated on October 8, 2020

It is no secret that a high fiber breakfast can help your body to work smoothly throughout the day. But also if efficient weight control is your goal, then starting your day with plenty of fibrous foods can’t be praised enough.

One thing is evident, to ensure that we stay full for a long time after a balanced breakfast or brunch, the dietary fiber content of the meal must be high.

As a result, the blood sugar level rises only slowly, little insulin is released and the drop in blood sugar level after digestion is mild and gentle. In this blog post, I’ll share 5 smart tips and recipes with you for a great start in the day.

To better understand the importance of breakfast as a crucial source of fiber, let’s first take a look into our gut.

Why good fiber foods are important for your digestive system

Dietary fiber is extremely important for the microbiome, which is composed of beneficial bacteria in the intestines. This microbiome contains trillions of useful bacteria, that form an individual ecosystem for each human being. These microbes can not only break down indigestible food components but they eliminate also by-products and toxic waste from the metabolism. (1)

The body’s own microbiome releases vital vitamins and fatty acids from the dietary fiber. This contributes to boosting the body’s immune system and forms a protective barrier against harmful bacteria and fungi. 

Why complex carbohydrates are especially important in the morning

Most dietary fibers belong to the group of carbohydrates. Because the stock for this nutrient is emptied during the night, the carbohydrates for breakfast are particularly important.

Empty carbohydrate storage leads to a rapid release of insulin, and thus to cravings. Fast carbohydrates are also quickly burned and make you feel hungry again in no time. The better choice is to opt for high fiber foods with complex carbohydrates I’m presenting you in the following.

1. Breakfast with oats

Whether warm or cold, with sliced fruits, nuts or seeds – an oatmeal breakfast is very versatile and above all very quick to prepare. If you don’t have much time in the morning, you can soak the oatmeal the day before or pre-cook the porridge and store it in the fridge.

And that’s not all (you’ll notice, I’m a real fan!). Besides fiber and iron in oatmeal, it’s also high in protein which will keep you satiated for a long time. 

Especially the use of berries together with oat flakes increases the amount of natural roughage food in this special morning meal. Have I convinced you? Then I have four delicious oatmeal breakfast recipes for you. Enjoy!

• Healthy homemade granola recipe
• Homemade muesli with apples and almonds+ oatmeal ideas from my readers
• Clean eating blueberry muesli
• Clean eating peanut butter oatmeal

2. Breakfast smoothies

If you are not a morning person then a smart idea is to drink just a smoothie in the morning. This could be as easy as to mix several types of fruits together. My favorite fruits in this context are berries, which I have always at hand in my freezer. You can maximize the roughage content with the addition of oats, chia seeds or flax seeds.

Smoothie pros, who love to experiment can even add fiber-rich vegetables and greens. Such a breakfast smoothie supplies besides complex carbohydrates and dietary fibers, also proteins, calcium, and magnesium. The result is a high fiber breakfast for weight loss.

Click here for my nutrient loaded breakfast smoothie, which consists of 7 whole foods.

3. Breakfast with whole grain bread and plant-based spreads

With 1-2 slices of whole grain bread topped with clean spread ,you ensure a simple and great start in the day. If you can’t buy 100 % whole grain bread in your region, consider baking your own loaf. Click through to my 3-minute dough recipe, consisting among others of whole wheat meal, oats and flax seeds: Whole wheat bread recipe

I recommend topping your bread with a nut butter like peanut or almond butter. Consider also other plant-based spreads with seeds, legumes, vegetables, herbs, spices or fruits. Click here to get some inspirations for clean eating spreads. On the photo above you see a slice of homemade whole wheat bread with our beloved watercress sunflower seed spread. For the sweet tooth, I highly recommend my roughage rich chia seeds jam.

4. Morning meal with eggs 

Fact is that animal-based foods don’t contain any fiber per serving. The same is, of course, true for eggs. So it is no coincidence that I share mostly plant-based breakfast ideas with you. If you love eggs and miss them on my breakfast list you might want to combine them with fibrous green beans or black beans.

That way you can easily create a filling, nutrient-dense, protein and fiber breakfast. The addition of whole grain bread or whole wheat toast will further increase your consumption of dietary roughage.

Click here for the recipe: scrambled eggs with green beans

5. Healthy on the go breakfast just with high fiber fruits

I’m aware that this minimalist type of morning meal is not for everybody. Starting your day just with bulk-forming fruits is great if you have little time or a lazy colon. It works best if you know that you’ll get that day a wholesome and filling lunch and dinner. It’s also perfect for you if you think you can’t eat anything in the morning.

Green pears or kiwis and 1 liter of fruit tea used to be my best breakfast on the go for many years when I was working in the corporate world. The fiber in pears or kiwis kept my bowels moving and consuming fruits in the morning was quick and convenient. This was important in a time when I spent many hours sitting in my car, commuting to the company I was working for.

Maximize your intake of the best fiber foods!

Although pears and kiwis are fruits with roughage, you can maximize your fiber intake by spooning passion fruits for breakfast. They contain three times as much of insoluble and soluble fiber than pears or kiwis do.

Or how about a cup of raspberries or blueberries with a bit of Greek yogurt? With 6.5 grams per 100 grams of raspberries, the grams of fiber is more than twice as high as in pears or kiwis. The desirable substance in blueberries with 2.4 grams per 100 grams is maybe less impressive and yet every little help. (See chart below) Don’t forget that blueberries contain significantly more flavonoids than raspberries. These are plant-based pigments that act as antioxidants.

Worth to mention in this context are also dried fruits like figs, apricots and prunes which make a great, naturally sweet addition to any muesli instead of using e.g. maple syrup. Click through to learn more about my Top 26 high fiber fruits.

Do you know chia pudding?

Creating a healthy filling breakfast for busy mornings was never easier. With breakfast ideas number 1-4 you can start even a challenging day, the satiation lasts long and the microbiome also gets the necessary nutrients for its proper function.

Here comes my last tip for an amazing, fiber-rich start in the day. Chia seeds are known as superfoods with lots of soluble and insoluble fiber. In that context, I highly recommend to check out my carefully selected 30 mouth-watering chia seed pudding recipes for busy mornings or even as a nutrient-dense breakfast option.

Wishing you an amazing start of the day, full of energy, joy, and pleasure:)