New proof-of-concept research involving 10 recipes demonstrates that using herbs/spices to create flavor enhanced, healthier versions of commonly consumed foods has significant potential to lower intake of saturated fat and sodium; blind taste testing showed that for seven out of the 10 reformulated recipes, overall liking was rated as superior or at parity with the non-reformulated version.
“Foods lower in saturated fat, sodium, and added sugars (i.e., overconsumed dietary components) must have an acceptable flavor profile to promote intake,” said Penn State researcher Kristina Petersen.
“The aim of our research was to model the impact of using herbs/spices as flavor-enhancers when reducing overconsumed dietary components in commonly consumed foods and evaluate acceptance of these flavor-enhanced reformulations.”
For the study, Dr. Petersen and her colleagues used data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey to identify 10 of the most popular foods that are typically high in sodium, added sugars and saturated fat. These included meatloaf, chicken pot pie, macaroni and cheese, and brownies.
Next, they worked with culinary experts to develop three versions of these recipes.
The first contained typical amounts of saturated fat, sugar and salt used in these recipes. The second version was nutritionally improved by removing the excess saturated fat, sugar and salt. The third version had the same nutrient profile as the second version, but also contained added herbs and spices, such as garlic powder, ground mustard seed, cayenne, cumin, rosemary, thyme, cinnamon and vanilla extract.
For example, the typical macaroni and cheese recipe included salted butter, 2% milk, American cheese and salt.
For the nutritionally improved version, the researchers swapped the salted butter for unsalted butter and reduced the amount in the recipe by 75%.
They swapped the 2% milk for skim milk, replaced some of the American cheese with reduced fat cheese,…
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