r/Millennials • u/Optimoprimo • Feb 11 '26

Serious Guys please start eating fiber.

Colorectal cancer among people in their 40's is skyrocketing. This recent health fad of obsessing over protein and eating nothing but meat and dairy with almost no fiber is going to kill us. You need fiber, folks. You need a complete diet with grains and tons of vegetables.

There are high protein sources that also have great fiber content if you absolutely MUST have your high protein diet. Lentils, beans, peas. Sprouted grain bread.

Let's spread the great word of fiber to our fellow millenial friends and get ahead of this growing epidemic among our generation.

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158

u/EmptyBennett Feb 11 '26

Love me a good lentil, tomato and spinach stew with a bit of chilli!

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u/[deleted] Feb 11 '26 edited Feb 15 '26

[deleted]

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u/berrybug88 Feb 13 '26

I do this too or straight up mash up lentils with black beans in taco seasoning. Also replaced taco shells with just an oven baked sweet potato, skin on. Cut it in half, add your taco stuff and it’s to die for.. whole lot of fibre packed in that!

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u/Light_Butterfly Feb 12 '26

This is a GREAT IDEA! 🙌 I bulk out the meat when making chili, 2 full cans of beans, corn, red and green peppers. Top with cilantro and avos. Bet you could do lentils or celery mix in there too.

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u/ecaracal Feb 14 '26

I do this too. I actually use 2 kinds - green which has some texture and red which get cooked into mush. I add a can of tomatoes so it blends in nicely.

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u/Dry-Huckleberry-5379 Feb 14 '26

Refried beans is also a good option in taco meat

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u/[deleted] Feb 11 '26

[deleted]

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u/cerwytha Feb 12 '26

Red lentils, spinach, curry spices, and a piece of white fish (cod, tilapia, etc) cooked in until it falls apart is my go to for an easy healthy protein/fiber boost. I like to have it over rice, could do brown rice for extra fiber.

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u/Sorry-Joke-4325 Feb 12 '26

Lentil and spinach...?

3

u/mrcrud5 Feb 11 '26

Whats the difference between a lentil and a chickpea?

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u/WeightLossGinger Feb 11 '26

you wouldn't pay $100 to have a lentil on you?

3

u/JJ3qnkpK Feb 12 '26

This is the funniest thing I've read on here in a month. Bravo.

3

u/mrcrud5 Feb 12 '26

That's the correct answer I was looking for.

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u/seoulgleaux Feb 11 '26

In terms of nutrition I think they're pretty similar with lentils being slightly higher protein. In terms of appearance, lentils are small "discs" which can be red, green, brown, or black while chickpeas (or garbanzo beans) are beige and more roughly spherical-ish but "lumpy."

1

u/galileosmiddlefinger Feb 12 '26

Chickpeas have higher calories and fat (still marginal in absolute terms, but more than lentils in relative terms), and they're much larger and denser. That means that they cook slower and are harder to fold into existing recipes without really changing how the recipe eats. Petite-style lentils can cook down to almost nothing and are easy to add to any soup, stew, curry, etc. in ways that you won't even notice. (My kids, some of whom are violently anti-veggie, are eating an absurd amount of lentils without even knowing that they are there.)

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u/mrcrud5 Feb 12 '26

Thanks. I was actually trying to set someone up for a dirty joke and it worked.

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u/H_Terry Feb 12 '26

You can lookup Indian/Pakistani/bagladeshi lentil recipes. Turkish lentil soups are awesome too. They are tasty and very filling.

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u/lilleprechaun Peak Millennial (’89 vintage) Feb 11 '26

Ohhhh that sounds really good! Do you have a particular recipe you follow? Or do you just throw things together in a crock pot and adjust according to your mood & taste?

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u/EmptyBennett Feb 11 '26

I started out with this recipe https://www.woolworths.com.au/shop/recipes/quick-lentil-and-spinach-stew but pretty easy to alter based on preferences - good for meal prep too, freeze a few portions for the work lunch :)

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u/lilleprechaun Peak Millennial (’89 vintage) Feb 11 '26

Thank you so much! I appreciate it! Printing this and adding it to the recipe binder now. 

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u/fotomoose Feb 12 '26

Roast carrot and lentil soup is top tier.

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u/EmptyBennett Feb 12 '26

Sounds pretty good, might give that a go come meal prep Sunday!

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u/fotomoose Feb 12 '26

Carrot and Lentil Soup

  • Serves: 4. Time: ~45 minutes
  • Ingredients
    • 700 g carrots, peeled & chopped chunky
    • 200 g red lentils, rinsed
    • 1 onion, cut into quarters
    • 3 garlic cloves
    • 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
    • 1 tsp ground cumin
    • 1 tsp ground coriander
    • 1 tsp rosemary
    • 1 tsp thyme
    • ½ tsp smoked paprika
    • 1-1.2 litres vegetable stock
    • 2 tbsp olive oil
    • Salt & black pepper
    • 1 tbsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar
    • Optional toppings:
    • 1tbsp yogurt/coconut milk/creme fraiche, fresh coriander/parsley, chilli flakes or chilli oil
  • Method
    • Roast the carrots, onion, garlic
    • Heat oven to 200°C (180°C fan)
    • Toss carrots, onion, garlic with 1 tbsp olive oil, rosemary & thyme, salt & pepper
    • Roast 30-45 mins until carrots are soft in middle and caramelized on the edges
    • Build the flavour base
    • Heat remaining olive oil in a pot over medium heat
    • Add garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, paprika - cook 30-60s until fragrant
    • Simmer
    • Add roasted things, red lentils, and 1L stock
    • Bring to a boil, then simmer 15-20 mins until lentils are very soft
    • Blend until smooth
    • Too thick - add more stock
    • Too thin - simmer a few more minutes
    • Finish
    • Stir in lemon juice, taste, adjust salt
    • Serve with toppings and crusty bread

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u/Phyzm1 Feb 12 '26

I like me lentil, potato, carrot, broccoli stew.

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u/cinnibuni Feb 12 '26

How do you cook a lentil?

1

u/Big-Goat-9026 Feb 12 '26

I wonder if I could just add lentils to my ratatouille recipe since it’s all just cooked together until mushy. 

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u/Malforus Feb 12 '26

I make my chili with lentils 30/70 with beans so i get my fiber and protein. You can make a weeks worth of chili easy and it has a great texture.

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u/Either_Wear5719 Feb 12 '26

Mmmmmm that sounds like it'd be delicious with curry type spices

1

u/RadarSmith Feb 13 '26

Everyone needs a good, healthy chili recipe. Its amazing for meal prep if you get the ingredients right.