Functional Breakfast Products Meet Demands of On-The-Go Lifestyles Today’s families are rushed, and rarely sit down together for breakfast, save for on an occasional weekend. Grab-and-go is the weekday norm for busy lifestyles. Convenience and portability are important attributes for a host of products ranging from yogurts, to bars, breakfast sandwiches, toaster pastries, bowls and single-serve cereals. But hurried or not, consumers still want nutritious foods and are drawn to ingredients such as protein, probiotics, fiber, vegetables and grains—as well as products with reduced sugar. Egg-cellent Protein Eggs deliver over 20 functional benefits to food formulations while retain their taste and nutritional characteristics Evidence suggests eating eggs does not increase blood cholesterol levels Eggs are available as dried, liquid or frozen and are universally recognized as clean label
Vegetarian Proteins Interest in plant proteins is trending upward, in part because consumers are seeing healthful, environmentally sustainable sources Pea protein contains 88%-90% protein and is ideal for inclusion in breakfast bars, protein-enriched hot and cold cereals, and protein-fortified baked goods Hypoallergenic pumpkin seed protein has 70%-80% protein content and is ideal for cereal applications
Probiotics Millennials are more willing to pay for the added benefits of probiotics in breakfast products Probiotics are popping up in breakfast foods such as bars, cereals, pancake and waffle mixes, nut butters, juices, oatmeal, milk, yogurt and baked goods Formulating breakfast foods with probiotics can be challenging because most strains are unable to withstand certain manufacturing processes
Fiber Psyllium, which contains up to 90% dietary fiber, is easy to use, heat and pH stable, and also can provide structure in gluten-fee products Citrus fiber provides multiple functionalities for sausage links and patties baked goods (regular and gluten-free), bars, juices and fruit prep for yogurts Chicory root fiber can be added to breakfast foods such as bars baked goods or cereals to help meet the daily value (DV) for fiber
Reducing Sugar The “added sugar” disclosure on the updated Nutrition Facts Label has many brands reformulating products Chicory root fiber manages the sugar content of products by serving as a bulking agent, flavor modular and mild sweetener In baked foods, erythritol replaces some of sugar’s bulk, and its low hygroscopicity helps improve shelf life and stability
Gaining Grains Grains such as quinoa and amaranth are pumping up the nutritional value of cereals, granolas and bars Ancient grains in flour, flaked and popped forms can be mixed with oatmeal or wheat to boost nutritional value Barley is underutilized in breakfast foods; compared to other cereal grains barley has thee to nine times the fiber content
Sources: Excerpted from the article “Breakfast’s Changing Face” that appeared in the July/August 2016 issue of Natural Products INSIDER