It's a law of nature almost akin to gravity itself: food that tastes good is usually bad for us. But new research shows that a simple preparation trick can dramatically slash fat, sodium and added sugars while making foods like brownies and meatloaf taste just as good.
Working out of Penn State, a team of researchers looking for ways to combat cardiovascular disease investigated whether there was a way to lower the saturated fat, sodium, and sugar levels of 10 popular foods while keeping them equally appealing to consumers.
"Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death globally, and limiting saturated fat and sodium intake are key recommendations for reducing the risk of developing this disease," said Kristina Petersen, associate professor of nutritional sciences at Penn State. "Yet, we know that one of the key barriers to reducing intake of these ingredients is the flavor of the food. If you want people to eat healthy food, it has to taste good."
So they created three different preparations of meatloaf; chicken pot pie; macaroni and cheese; brownies; chicken in cream sauce; chili; apple pie; pasta with meat sauce; taco meat; and pizza.
The first preparation was made from an original recipe (designated OG) with all the yummy fat, salt, and sugar that would go into a traditional dish. The second preparation was a healthier version of the dish that sought to eliminate as much of the harmful ingredients as possible while retaining as much of the overall mouthfeel of the original preparation as possible. This was designated as the nutritionally improved recipe (NI).
Finally, the third version of each dish took the second version and boosted it with the addition of herbs and spices such as paprika, cayenne, rosemary and others. These dishes were designated flavor enhanced and nutritionally improved (FENI). The recipes were fed to a study group ranging from 85 to 107 consumers.
For example, for the chicken with cream sauce dish, the original recipe used 107 grams of salted butter (½ cup), 22 grams of salt (1.2 tbs), and 931 grams of whole milk (about 4 cups). The NI recipe used 71 grams of vegetable oil (⅓ cup), 488 grams of skim milk (about 2 cups), 488 grams of nonfat evaporated milk (about 2 cups), and 9 grams of salt (1.5 tsp). The FENI version took the NI preparation and added onion powder, garlic powder, mustard seed, black pepper, parsley, and dill weed.
Pleased palates
The recipe was a hit, with study participants actually saying they liked the FENI version of the dish more than the original. The same held true of the healthier brownies which cut sugar and salt and added only vanilla extract to the OG recipe. Five of the other FENI dishes scored about equal to the OG recipes – apple pie, pasta with meat sauce, taco meat, chili, and meatloaf – showing that healthier preparations were equal appealing to diners as long as the deficits in fat, salt, and sugar were made up for with flavor-enhancing herbs and spice.
Only the FENI versions of the pizza, mac and cheese, and chicken pot pie fell short of the OG recipes in the participants' estimations.
It's important to note that the research was funded by the McCormick Science Institute which is linked to the McCormick spice company, so some would say the findings should be taken with a grain of salt (see what we did there?). But the research paper has been accepted for publication in the peer-reviewed Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and the Penn State researchers feel confident the results could offer a way forward toward developing healthier versions of favorite foods that are as satisfying as the originals.
"We demonstrated a meaningful reduction in over-consumed nutrients is possible with modification of these 10 recipes, and these changes are acceptable to consumers," said Petersen. "This suggests that more research should be done to look at how to implement this more broadly, how to educate people to make these kinds of changes. Importantly, these findings could be applied to the food supply because most foods that people consume are purchased in a prepared form. I think that would have a profound impact on people’s health."
Source: Penn State
