3 Green Foods to Keep Your Digestive System Running

If your system isn't working well, you just don't feel right. You're bloated and uncomfortable. Eating well with a high fiber diet is the best way to keep your system running like a smooth machine. Laxatives can be unpredictable and they also come with tons of packaging that is just going to end up in the landfill. Here are my green picks for high fiber, green foods that will keep your system in check:

1. Legumes
   Talk about roughage, legumes are a fiber super food. I recommend , they provide you with really clean burning fuel. Lentils have about 5 grams of fiber for just a ½ cup. Make sure that you choose the greenest lentils that you can find. That means making sure that they're organic or grown without the use of chemicals and pesticides. I like to get my lentils from the bins at my natural foods store to reduce the packaging. Buying a lot at once from the bins and saving them will help you to reduce packaging as well.


2. Seasonal Fruit
   Fruit is nature's miracle food. But to get the greenest bang for your buck you need to choose fruits by season. If you buy berries when they're not available in your area, then those berries have to travel a huge distance. According to The Center for Urban Education about Sustainable Agriculture (CUESA), it is estimated that the average American meal travels about 1,500 miles to get from farm to plate. This long-distance, large-scale transportation of food consumes large quantities of fossil fuels. It is estimated that we currently put almost 10 kcal of fossil fuel energy into our food system for every 1 kcal of energy we get as food. That's a lot of fuel wasted just to eat berries that have lost tons of their flavor anyway.
   
   • Fall and Winter Fruits
     Apples are the perfect fall fruit to munch on in order to get things moving. When you eat them, leave the skins on. The skin is a major source of the fiber. A medium-sized apple has about 3.5 grams of fiber. In the winter, try pears, they have about 5 grams of fiber.
   
   
   • Spring and Summer Fruits
     With spring and summer comes berry season. The berry with one of the highest fiber contents is the blackberry with 5 grams of fiber per ½ cup. They are in season from May to August in my native state of South Carolina.


3. Seasonal Vegetables
   Again, remember to get your veggies when they are in season. In terms of fiber and availability, here are your best bets:
   
   • Fall and Winter Vegetables
     Spinach is available in the spring and autumn and it's one of the most versatile fiber foods out there. Spinach is a leafy green. Curly spinach requires cooking. Flat-leaf spinach is sweeter and more tender, so it can be used for cooking or salads. Baby spinach is very tender and is ideal for salads. Spinach has about 3.5 grams of fiber per ½ cup. Sweet potatoes are another great choice. They're available in the fall and winter. In addition to the commonly seen orange, they come in yellow, white, or even purple flesh. Sweet potatoes have about 4 grams of fiber per serving.
   
   
   • Spring and Summer Vegetables
     Broccoli is available in the spring, summer, and autumn. I love broccoli and it has about 4 grams of fiber per ½ cup.

Related Posts:
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Salivating over sustainable eats? Learn how to make your own with help from Emeril Lagasse in Planet Green TV's organic cooking show, Emeril Green.

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