Formulation High Energy and Rich Iron of Granola Snackbar as a Nutritional Supplementary Feeding to Prevent Malnutrition in Pregnant Women

Abstract

Background: Providing supplementary feeding from local food is one strategy to address the nutritional problems of pregnant women in Indonesia. Improper eating habits of pregnant women are one of the causes of nutritional disorders, one of which is anemia and chronic lack of energy. The aim of this research was to develop and evaluate high-energy and rich-iron granola snackbars as a nutritional supplementary feeding to prevent malnutrition in pregnant women. Granola snackbars (formulas P1, P2, P3, and P4) were prepared using the same ratios of seaweed, moringa leaves, beetroot oats, nuts (peanuts, walnuts, and almonds), cornstarch, peanut butter, fish oil, salt, sugar, and water, in addition to chicken liver formulation and snakehead fish (P1: 0 gr, 75 gr), (P2: 10 gr, 65 gr), (P3: 20 gr, 55 gr), and (P4: 30 gr, 45 gr). Methods: The method employed a fully randomized design in a pure experimental setting. Proximate testing involved determining the snackbars' color, texture, taste, and aroma, as well as their energy, protein, fat, carbohydrate, and Fe contents. Organoleptic testing covered these aspects as well. Results: Formula P2 had the highest energy (521.01 kcal), and Formula P4 had the highest Fe value at 4.34%. The organoleptic test showed that the most preferred formulation was the formulation with a proportion of Formula P2. Conclusion: This study recommends using Formula P2 as a source of energy to prevent malnutrition in pregnant women and Formula P4, which has a high iron content, to improve the hemoglobin level in pregnant women.