Switching to a high-fiber diet has numerous positive health effects. The average American diet is low in fiber, according to the MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. Instead of the average of about 10 grams of fiber Americans eat each day, adults should eat about 20 to 35 grams. Following a high-fiber diet menu can help increase your fiber intake.

High-Fiber Menu

Many healthy foods are high in fiber. If you eat three meals and two snacks daily, each meal should have between seven and 10 grams of fiber each, while snacks should have about two to three grams each. To use these menu plans, choose one meal from breakfast, lunch, and dinner and two snacks each day.

If you need help downloading the printable menu, check out these helpful tips.

Breakfast

Choose one of the following five high-fiber breakfasts each morning to get your day off to a healthy start.

	Foods	Fiber (g)	Calories	Fat	Carbohydrate	Protein
Breakfast 1	1/4 cup steel cut oats (add water) 1 cup plain Greek yogurt (non-fat) 1/2 cup fresh blueberries Coffee or tea	10 g	323	3 g	46 g	28 g
Breakfast 2	2 egg veggie scramble made with: Non-fat cooking spray 2 eggs 2 cups raw spinach 1/2 green pepper 6 sliced shiitake mushrooms 8 cherry tomatoes Coffee or tea	7 g	208	10 g	22 g	12 g
Breakfast 3	Strawberry flax smoothie made with: 1 cup frozen strawberries 2 tablespoons flaxseeds 1 cup almond milk or nonfat milk Coffee or tea	10 g	329	2.7 g	37 g	12 g
Breakfast 4	Nutty granola made with: 1/2 cup plain granola 1/2 ounce almonds 1/2 ounce pecans 1/2 apple, chopped 1/2 cup nonfat milk or almond milk Coffee or tea	9 g	420	9.5 g	58 g	10 g
Breakfast 5	2 eggs, scrambled 1 slice bacon 2 slices toast made from Ezekiel 4:9 bread 2 tablespoons reduced sugar strawberry preserves 1/2 grapefruit Coffee or tea	9 g	440	12 g	41 g	34 g

Lunch

Choose one of the following five lunches each day.

	Food	Fiber	Calories	Fat	Carbohydrates	Protein
Lunch 1	Turkey avocado sandwich made with: 2 slices Ezekiel 4:9 bread 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard 3 ounces deli turkey 1/2 tomato, sliced 1/2 avocado, sliced 1 orange	18 g	485	15 g	61 g	19 g
Lunch 2	1 steamed artichoke - leaves and heart 2 tablespoons low-fat ranch dressing 2 hard boiled eggs 1 apple	13 g	402	14 g	52 g	17 g
Lunch 3	Hummus and veggie pita made with: 1/2 whole wheat pita 4 tablespoons prepared hummus 1/2 red pepper, sliced 2 leaves kale, chopped 5 cherry tomatoes, halved 1 banana	10 g	345	20 g	64 g	11 g
Lunch 4	Taco salad made with: 2 cups romaine lettuce 3 ounces lean ground beef with taco seasoning 2 tablespoons salsa 1/2 avocado, sliced 1/4 cup kidney beans 2 scallions, sliced 2 tablespoons low-fat ranch dressing	14.5 g	448	24 g	31 g	33 g
Lunch 5	Stuffed baked potato made with: 1 whole potato (skin and flesh) 2 ounces broccoli, steamed 1 ounce cheddar cheese 2 tablespoons low-fat ranch dressing 2 slices bacon, crumbled 1 pear	8	460	17 g	61 g	17 g

Dinner

Choose one of the following high-fiber dinners each day.

	Food	Fiber	Calories	Fat	Carbohydrates	Protein
Dinner 1	Salad made with: 1 cup romaine lettuce 1 cup spinach 2 carrots, sliced 10 cherry tomatoes, halved Low-fat salad dressing 3 ounces grilled ribeye steak, trimmed 1/2 cup brown rice 6 spears of steamed asparagus	11 g	428 g	15 g	42 g	34 g
Dinner 2	Burrito made with: 1 whole wheat tortilla 1 ounce cheddar cheese 1/2 cup mashed black beans 2 tablespoons guacamole 2 tablespoons salsa 1/2 cup corn sauteed with 1/2 chopped red pepper	12.5 g	488	17 g	73 g	22 g
Dinner 3	Quinoa salad made with: 1/2 cup cooked quinoa 1/2 chopped green pepper 1/2 chopped yellow pepper 1/2 chopped green pepper 3 scallions 2 stalks chopped celery 3 ounces grilled chicken breast 1 cup steamed broccoli	10 g	338	5 g	42 g	35 g
Dinner 4	Cesar salad made with: 2 cups romaine lettuce 2 tablespoons parmesan cheese 2 tablespoons low-fat Cesar dressing Spaghetti with meat sauce made with: 1 cup whole wheat spaghetti 1 cup tomato sauce 3 ounces cooked Italian sausage	13 g	521	17.5 g	61 g	27 g
Dinner 5	3 ounces grilled salmon 1 cup wild rice 1 cup cooked green beans Caperese salad made with: 1 ounce fresh mozzarella 1 whole tomato, sliced 1/4 cup basil, chopped 1 tablespoon pine nuts	9.5 g	490	16 g	48 g	40 g

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Snacks

Choose one or two of the following high-fiber snacks daily.

	Foods	Fiber	Calories	Fat	Carbohydrates	Protein
Snack 1	2 tablespoons almond butter 2 stalks celery 1 mini box raisins	4 g	254	19 g	24 g	8 g
Snack 2	2 ounces almonds	7 g	326	28 g	12 g	12 g
Snack 3	10 baby carrots 4 tablespoons prepared hummus	5 g	160	10 g	16 g	5 g
Snack 4	7 reduced fat Triscuit crackers 1/2 avocado, sliced	11 g	260	15.5 g	31 g	6 g
Snack 5	Medium apple, sliced 1 tablespoon peanut butter	6.5 g	210	8 g	34 g	4 g
Snack 6	2 tablespoons chopped walnuts 1 cup blueberries 1/2 cup nonfat plain Greek yogurt	5 g	276	10 g	29 g	21 g
Snack 7	2 fat-free Fig Newtons	2 g	200	0 g	23 g	1 g
Snack 8	1/2 cup canned chili with beans	6 g	145	7 g	15 g	7 g
Snack 9	1 baked sweet potato	4 g	104	0 g	24 g	2.5 g
Snack 10	1 ounce sunflower seeds	3 g	165	14 g	6.8 g	5.5 g

Incorporating Fiber

While there are health benefits to eating fiber, if you incorporate large amounts too quickly, you are likely to experience gastrointestinal distress. The best way to prevent this is by slowly adding more fiber to your diet until you are eating the recommended amount. By adding fiber to your diet this way, you'll be on the road to better health.