I eat a healthy diet, but one area that my diet is lacking in is fiber. I eat vegetables with every meal, but I still tend to get too few portions of vegetables. That leaves me with a bit of a problem when it comes to bowel movements. Sherry has been making me small salads to go with my dinners, but I tend to miss out on those at lunch. That has left me with a bit of a “Go” problem this week.

Don’t get me wrong: I LOVE vegetables. I really do. The problem is that in my attempts to limit the volume of food I eat, I tend to stick with more protein-heavy meals because they fill me up with less food. I think I need to concentrate more on vegetables and fiber and to try to get back to eating an apple some good source of fiber after my meals. I started doing that when I was at Ft Indiantown Gap for training last year, and it seemed to help keep me more regular.

Foods that are high in fiber include:

• Chia Seeds (34.4%)
• Almonds (12.5%)
• Dark Chocolate (10.9%)
• Artichoke (8.6%)
• Avocado (6.7%
• Raspberries (6.5%)

Foods that I eat regularly that have fiber in them, but not nearly as much as I thought, include:

• Pears (3.1%)
• Beets (2.8%)
• Carrots (2.8%)
• Brussels Sprouts (2.6%)
• Broccoli (2.6%)
• Sweet Potatoes (2.5%)
• Apples (2.4%)
• Strawberries (2%)

In making this list, I was surprised to see Apples so low on the list. I never would have guessed that Dark Chocolate would rank so much higher! As long as the Dark Chocolate is in the 70% or higher range and not sweetened with cane sugar, it is actually one of the best sources of fiber by weight. Go figure!