Multigrain Beetroot Crisps: A Healthy Snacking Option

Abstract

Aim: With the rise of metabolic disorders like obesity in developed countries, maintenance of healthy lifestyle has become very challenging. Food plays a very important role in this process. Consumption of healthy foods with proper portion control can help in controlling excess weight gain and can prevent metabolic disorders like obesity. Obesity is characterized by excess accumulation of fat. This further leads to complications like dyslipidemia, hypertension, diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular diseases. Increased consumption of calorie dense fatty snacks or high sugar processed foods between meals is one of the causes of obesity. Consumption of low fat high fiber snacks has shown to help in weight reduction. Therefore development of a healthy snacking option was considered. The aim of the study was to develop and standardize a healthy snack for obese as well as healthy population.
 Place and Duration of Study: Department of Clinical Nutrition and Dietetics, Dr. BMN College of Home Science, between November 2019 and February 2020.
 Methodology: A healthy snacking option in the form of Multigrain Beetroot Crisps was prepared by using a mixture of cereals and millets flours. The snack was baked instead of frying to reduce the calorific and fat content. Standardization was done by testing for sensory evaluation using 5 point hedonic scale for four weeks. Shelf life study was carried out to find stability of developed product.
 Results: Sensory evaluation studies showed the product was well accepted by the target population. On comparison with the commercially available product, Multigrain Beetroot Crisps was high in fiber, calcium and iron. Shelf life study showed, the product was stable for four weeks at room temperature when kept in an airtight container.
 Conclusion: A healthy snacking option in the form of Multigrain Beetroot Crisps was developed for obese as well as healthy population which is nutritionally better as compared to commercially available beet chips owing to its fiber, calcium and iron content which are beneficial in obesity related complications.