WHY FIBRE

Because our GUTS contain a colony of bacteria that work together affecting how we function. There are trillions of microorganisms and some are beneficial and some are NOT. It makes sense that what we put into our gut directly affects how we feel mentally & physically, and the biggest predictor of good gut health, lies in how much fibre we eat.

Because FIBRE is what gut bacteria like to eat.

NO… they LOVE to eat fibre and the more they eat the healthier and more abundant they become. They overthrow the bad bacteria…it’s like the ‘Game of Thrones’ in your gut.

So what is fibre and why should we eat more ???

Nutritional advice from every reputable organisation around the world will recommend eating 25 grams a day for a woman and 30 grams of fibre a day for a man, and that’s a minimum recommended amount. To confuse us, even more, there are three types of fibre.

To keep things simple: There is insoluble fibre found in brown rice, wholemeal breads, wholegrains, high fibre cereals, nuts, seeds, legumes, and some vegetables.

Soluble fibre is found in oats, barley, lentils, nuts, seeds and some vegetables and fruits.

Resistant starch is found in legumes, lentils, oats, cooked and cooled pasta, rice and potatoes, whole grains and firm bananas.

All types of dietary fibre promote different health benefits!!!!

Plant-based ingredients are the ONLY food sources of fibre and many have multiple types of fibre in them. It stands to reason, to eat more fibre we need to eat more WHOLE (not processed) plant-based foods.

Here are some of the amazing things fibre can do for YOU.

  • Insoluble fibre promotes regular bowel movements…pooping. This is a good thing. Regular number 2s creates a happier you!!!!
  • Soluble fibre acts as a prebiotic, which means this type of fibre feeds the good gut bacteria helping them to grow and outnumber bad gut bacteria.
  • Soluble fibre is slower to digest and as a result, slows down glucose (that’s sugar) uptake into the bloodstream which helps control blood sugar levels.
  • Consider this….if you ate an apple as a whole, the sugar in the cells of that apple would not be available to the body until they were broken down.

However if you drank a glass of apple juice, even if it was just the apple and just juiced, the sugar in that apple would be available to your cells and into your bloodstream much faster!

Soluble fibre is also known to help control cholesterol levels. There are many studies to support this and if you’re interested you should delve into the research.

AND resistant starch is technically a carbohydrate not a fibre but its benefits are similar to those of fibre. As the name suggests it resists breakdown until it gets to the large intestine. As it is broken down it produces substances called ‘short-chain fatty acids’ that have prebiotic properties like soluble fibre and promote the growth of more beneficial gut bacteria, they also have numerous health benefits throughout the body.

The health benefits of high fibre ingredients don’t stop there either. High fibre ingredients include an abundance of the 13 vitamins and 16 minerals that the body needs to carry out all cellular processes happening constantly in our bodies. Many are also rich in healthy fats, are great sources of protein and all of them are nutrient-dense and as such create the feeling of being satisfied and fuller for longer.

AND oh my god this all sounds too confusing, so don’t PANIC this is why I wanted to write “The Fibre Bible” …….

Because this is difficult to do in ‘real-life’ without reading labels, adding up numbers, researching high fibre ingredients and dragging out the scales which is a huge pain in the ass…no pun intended.

The Fibre Bible will show you how to achieve this goal every day with simple recipes that taste fantastic and use the same ingredients throughout the book, so you don’t have random shit in your cupboard that you only use once!!

The recipes also provide all three types of fibre without you having to research and remember more, more and bloody more!!

The recipes have combinations of high fibre ingredients that I have already measured out into teaspoons, tablespoons or cups, so you don’t have to fart ass around with the scales….and these combinations will allow you to hit your daily fibre goal in a no-fuss, easy way.

The recipes will be packed with helpful information…. fibre per recipe and fibre per serve. They will also include the number of plant-based ingredients you have eaten in each recipe just to give you a little ‘well done me’ moment every day.

The more fruit, vegetables, nuts, grains, seeds and legumes that you can consume on a daily basis, the healthier and happier your guts will become. Variety is the key to unlocking a real and lasting feeling of vitality in your body.

But…. I get this…it is hard in ‘real-life’ with kids, work, relationships, traffic, school, university, mental health issues, day to day worries, family commitments, global pandemics, financial concerns etc etc.etc.. to be constantly trying to achieve this goal.

So I have tried to take some of the work out of the process for you.

The recipes are written in a step-by-step, non-cheffy way (not that, there is anything wrong, with chefs) that makes them easy for the home cook to understand and follow. Some recipes may seem a bit WORDY BUT THEY ARE EASY I PROMISE!!!!! The extra words are to explain steps in a recipe that are often assumed. I have not assumed, I have written lots of tips about how to do stuff and be organised in the kitchen..

These recipes have been tested and tasted by multiple cooks of all ages and experience to ensure they have great usability and although the flavour combinations may not suit everyone, I hope you will find some recipes you love to cook all the time and discover some high fibre ingredients you love to keep using every day.

The recipes also have ideas of what ‘goes with what’, ideas to swap out ingredients if you don’t have something on the ingredients list and I have also included ‘brands recommendations’ because there is nothing worse than trying something new and having it be crappy.

Lastly, I have included a blank space bubble in every recipe for you to write in your own ideas, tips and hacks that work for you, because it’s your cookbook to write in and ultimately I hope it becomes like your fave pair of jeans…..ripped, stained, worn-in, comfy, yummy and absolutely always your favourite.

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