10 easy ways to eat more roughage

1. Switch to wholegrain cereals and breads, wholemeal pasta and brown rice.

2. Eat at least two fruit and five veg servings daily, leaving skins on when possible.

3. Aim for 10g at breakfast, one of the best fibre opportunities of the day, by eating fibre-rich cereal, wholegrain toast and fresh or dried fruit.

4. Snack on high-fibre fruit (pears, berries, apples) and dried fruit (prunes, apricots).

5. Serve vegies raw or steamed, and choose high-fibre types like corn, peas, potatoes (with skin on), sweet potatoes, broccoli, brussels sprouts and turnips.

6. Experiment by cooking with bulgur or barley and other high-fibre grains.

7. Add extra wheatgerm or bran to muffins, pancakes and cakes, or to bread crumbs when creating a crispy coating for meat.

8. Eat more legumes – try lentil soups, stews and casseroles.

9. Lunch on beans. Eat one cup of baked beans (containing 9g of fibre) with one slice of wholemeal bread (another 3g), and you’re a third of the way to your recommended daily intake.

10. Eat more salads with nuts, seeds or kidney beans added.

Fibre-rich recipes 

Buckwheat pancakes with fruit	Banana cinnamon muffins with oat bran	Nut-crusted chicken with tomatoes	Mexican beans with fruit
Bean salad with paprika vinaigrette	Tuna and cannellini bean salad	Artichoke and herb salad with white beans	Lentil-tomato soup