Nutrient Dense Ready to Prepare Meetha cheela for Elderly People at Risk of Malnutrition

Abstract

Elderly people suffer from a number of physical, psychological, and social changes which makes them vulnerable to malnutrition. These changes present the need to develop nutrient dense products which can be easily prepared by them. The present study was planned with the objective to prepare such a product. The ingredients for the ready to prepare (RTP) sweet cheela mix were subjected to various processing techniques to increase nutrient availability and digestibility. A combination of wheat, green gram whole, and finger millet (ragi) was used in different proportions (15%, 30%, 45%, and 60%) in the first stage of value addition. Value addition was carried out in the most acceptable variation from Stage 1, using processed mango, nuts, and oilseeds in different proportions (10%, 20%, and 30%). The RTP meetha cheela mix of the most acceptable variation was selected through sensory evaluation and then subjected to biochemical analysis and shelf life assessment. The results revealed MCF3 (30%) to be the most acceptable variation after Stage 2 value addition, which contained flours of malted finger millet, wheat, green gram along with dried ripe mango, almonds, raisins, sunflower seeds, and sesame seeds. The prepared mix had statistically significant higher amount of fat, fiber, ash, carbohydrate, energy, Vitamin C, β carotene, Vitamin E, calcium, potassium, and total antioxidant activity. Low moisture levels and vacuum packaging provided the product a good shelf life till 3 months.