ENHANCING FLAVOR: UTILIZING HERBS AND SPICES TO PROMOTE FRUIT AND VEGETABLE CONSUMPTION AMONG CHILDREN
Open Access
- Author:
- Wight, Andrea Lynne
- Graduate Program:
- Hotel, Restaurant, and Institutional Management
- Degree:
- Master of Science
- Document Type:
- Master Thesis
- Date of Defense:
- None
- Committee Members:
- Peter Lawrence Bordi Jr., Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor
Peter Lawrence Bordi Jr., Thesis Advisor/Co-Advisor - Keywords:
- herbs and spices
child fruit and vegetable consumption
dips - Abstract:
- Despite the overwhelming benefits of adequate fruit and vegetable consumption, few children are meeting the USDA dietary guidelines for these food groups. Research has demonstrated that only 30% of children are meeting the USDA dietary recommendations for fruits and 36% are meeting the USDA dietary recommendations for vegetables. For many children, close to half of all fruit consumption is driven from fruit juices and 23% of total vegetable consumption constituted of french fries. With the rate of obesity having tripled from 1980 to 2002, and increases in other diet related diseases, the importance of increasing healthy eating behaviors in children is becoming a necessity. This study evaluated the possibility of using fruit and vegetable dips enhanced with herbs and spices as a vehicle to increase fruit and vegetable consumption. A series of fruit and vegetable dips were developed, including plain and herb and spice enhanced versions. Objective of the dip development process was to develop a dip that was high in flavor and low in calories, fat, and sugar. Food preference testing was conducted on 34 preschool children between the ages of 3-5. Level of acceptance and change in consumption of the vegetables were measured. Results demonstrated that the addition of a spiced dip increased the acceptance of disliked vegetables, specifically vegetables previously rated as disliked (p<.001). The impact of a spice dip on consumption level was tested among 27 preschool aged children from the same population. Results concluded that the addition of a spice dip increased consumption of disliked vegetables (p=.001).