Grab and Go Breakfast Ideas

No time for breakfast? No problem.

In their rush to get to work or to school, most Americans dont have time for a long, leisurely breakfast. Thus, packaged products that can be carried from home and consumed at work, or eaten behind the wheel of the car, are in strong demand, says Tatjana Meerman, publisher of the report, On-the-Go Eating in the U.S. from Packaged Facts, Rockville, MD. As a result, frozen breakfast sandwiches have been charting healthy growthsince in addition to being ever-popular for a speedy breakfast at home, these products also can be tossed into a purse or briefcase and microwaved at work.

The vast majority of food or beverage items consumed in the morning require no preparation or cooking, and more than half of all breakfast meals are consumed in 10 minutes or less, according to The NPD Group, Port Washington, NY.

Incredible, edible convenience

The problem many consumers face when it comes to breakfast is lack of time, lack of convenience and lack of variety, says Elisa Maloberti, director of egg product marketing, American Egg Board, Park Ridge, IL. Of course, eggs are one of the original high-quality, high-protein breakfast foods and can be readily included in many packaged, prepared breakfast foods.

Egg-product suppliers eliminate the egg-preparation step by supplying precooked eggs in the form of egg patties, omelets and scrambled eggs, continues Maloberti. These fully cooked, pasteurized egg products are quick-frozen to ensure freshness. They provide consistency and portion control in the final application. The egg patties, omelets or scrambled eggs become one of the components in the assemblage of the frozen breakfast item. There is no mess or clean up because there is no egg preparation. These precooked egg products offer manufacturers flexibility in creating breakfast items.

The fried egg-white patty used in the new Jimmy Dean D-lights breakfast sandwich line from Sara Lee Food & Beverage, Downers Grove, IL, contains starch, carrageenan and phosphates to help control moisture. A quick freeze is critical to product performance, says Martha Cassens, director of product development, Jimmy Dean.

No bib needed

Formulating handheld breakfast sandwiches can be challenging because of the different ingredients used and the need to provide freeze/thaw stability and moisture control, says Maureen Akins, lead food scientist, TIC Gums, Belcamp, MD. The company offers stabilizer systems that can do everything from reducing the fat in the dough and slowing staling, to stabilizing the egg portion of the sandwich. Weve developed a number of products that add strength and flexibility to filled products, continues Akins. She cites one that increases the flexibility of tortillas and similar dough products. At the same time, it makes the dough easier to machine, reduces cracking and helps retain moisture.

The filling formulation arguably requires the most attention. Pamela Schoenster, associate principal scientist, Kraft Food Ingredients (KFI), Memphis, TN, explains: The filling is how intrigue is created, allowing the concept to become more enticing. So, whether one is creating a breakfast slider, omelet or flatbread, the filling becomes the point of differentiation. Functionality is key when developing an application filling, continues Schoenster. It must be easy to eat, with no likelihood of dripping or spilling. And, of course, the filling must taste good.

KFIs restricted-melt cheese sauce mix easily rehydrates into a finished sauce with cold water. Viscosity is controlled by the amount of water used to rehydrate the sauce, says Schoenster.

This is useful when other ingredients are included in the cheese-sauce filling. In the process of creating an enticing, upscale filling, manufacturers may use different individually quick-frozen vegetables that can give off excess moisture, says Schoenster. In this case, a manufacturer would use less water in the rehydration of the sauce mix, and the sauce will then seek excess moisture from other ingredients.

High-moisture products might not work in all handheld foods. Gilroy Foods offers controlled-moisture (CM) vegetables, which are a more-concentrated form of frozen vegetables that deliver increased flavor, color and nutrient impact compared to fresh or individually quick-frozen (IQF) vegetables, says Elizabeth Arndt, manager research and development, ConAgra Food Ingredients, Omaha, NE. The on-trend flavors provided by fire-roasted grilled CM vegetables are especially complementary to the savory flavor profiles that are often used in savory breakfast foods.

The National Pork Board, Des Moines, IA, promotes the versatility of pork products in breakfast foods. Precooked meats provide breakfast-sandwich designers with many advantages, but not without a few challenges. Such meats are sometimes susceptible to warmed-over flavors (WOF) characterized by terms like old, rancid, stale and cardboard. These off-flavors are produced by auto-oxidation.

The rate of auto-oxidation is increased in the presence of pro-oxidants such as salt, metal ions, heat, ultraviolet light and low pH. Thus, many precooked meat manufacturers remove or reduce these variables. Numerous ingredients also help precooked meats avoid WOF: liquid smoke, which not only exhibits antimicrobial properties, but functions as an antioxidant; alkaline phosphates, metal ion chelators, keep iron bound to myoglobin to prevent or slow auto-oxidation; rosemary extract, which inhibits lipid oxidation; dried plum purée, which also retards lipid oxidation; and select USDA-regulated food additives, such as BHT, BHA and n-propyl gallate.

Going global

So, whats the next biscuit sandwich? It might be the bao. 

Bao is Chinese for bun, and presents the perfect handheld breakfast food medium for foodservice operators or prepared-food formulators, says Christopher Stepan, corporate chef, Vegetable Juices, Inc., Bedford Park, IL. It is leavened dough, made with baking soda and yeast, and very popular in Asian cuisine as a breakfast food. It is traditionally served stuffed with meat or other filling for a complete meal.

Stepan notes that bao freeze well and are easy to prepare. Vegetable Juices purées, such as ginger, lemongrass or galangal (pink ginger or Thai ginger), complement the bao, according to Stepan. These natural purées transfer from cold to hot without losing any of their qualities, he says.

The fact that these are whole productsreal foodsenables a formulator to rely on hitting all the top notes without worrying about any cooked flavor that a dried powder or flake would add to a finished product.

Fruitful options

Some consumers prefer a sweeter start to their day. Blueberries are a natural with breakfast options, from blueberry bagels and pancakes, to blueberry granola and blueberry breakfast bars, says Deborah Payne, spokesperson for the U.S. Highbush Blueberry Council, Thomas J. Payne Market Development, San Mateo, CA.

Blueberry products allow formulators many options. For example, high-tech blueberry powders and other products work well in rice cakes and bar cookies; blueberry fillings are easy to incorporate in toaster pastries and filled doughnuts, says Payne. Dried blueberries work well in bread mixes and other dried products, providing variety, texture and flavor. She recommends using unthawed, frozen IQF blueberries for less breakage. And, to prevent blue batters in pancakes, muffins or scones, blueberries can be coated with flour or starch to soak up excess juices, she says.

Payne, who also represents the California Raisin Marketing Board, says: Raisins have always been associated with breakfast Grab-and-go portables like tortillas and flatbreads are growing favorites in this country, thanks to booming Hispanic and Indian populations. Both cultures use raisins in foods for all dayparts, especially breakfast foods, such as rollitos de jamon con pasas, vegetable pakoras with raisin-tamarind chutney, which are also known as bhajias, and filled golden pockets of potato and raisins, or samosas.

Hitting the bar for breakfast

With bar-type products, it can be challenging to maintain texture and stability while trying to keep the product wholesome, nutritious and natural, says Kate Jacobsen, senior application specialist, fruit prep and confection, Danisco USA, New Century, KS. She notes that low-ester conventional pectin is easy to use and label-friendly. It holds the fruit filling together and helps create a chewable, soft texture. Further, fruit tends to boil out and make a mess in baked products, she says. Pectin can create bake stability in fruit products, allowing them to be added prior to baking, while still maintaining a desirable texture when eaten at cooler temperatures, she adds.

Xanthan gum and modified food starch can also add functionality to a filling, notes Michelle Schwenk, food scientist, Tate & Lyle, Decatur, IL. Together, these two hydrocolloids help produce a very firm gel that is designed to be co-extruded in cereal bar dough, she says. Crystalline fructose, high-fructose corn syrup and Splenda sucralose work together to create a balanced sweetness. Crystalline fructose also helps lower water activity (aw) to a level where glycerin is not needed, she notes. The finished filling has 0.70 aw and demonstrates excellent bake stability.

The fruit filling in bars and toaster pastrytype products can also be the delivery vehicle for additional vitamins, antioxidants and fiber and antioxidants, adds Jacobsen.

Fiber in the morning

Consumers like the idea of fiber in their morning foods, says Doris Dougherty, senior food scientist, Tate & Lyle.

The company has developed a high-solids filling that is cold-processed and provides a good source via soluble corn fiber. This very low-water-holding resistant starch also functions as a sugar replacer, says Dougherty. It keeps calories down and fiber content up. It can be used to make an excellent source of fiber tortilla, white or whole-grain. The resistant starch also adds fiber to the grain-based component of extruded breakfast foods.

ConAgra Mills markets a high-fiber white-wheat flour thats milled to an ultrafine particle size using patent-pending technology, says Arndt, and works well as a base flour for tortillas, pizza-style crusts and artisan-style and pan breads. For stealth nutrition, she suggests replacing 25% to 30% of regular flour with white whole-wheat flour in baked products, such as tortillas, to provide at least 8 grams of whole grain in a 55-gram tortilla.

Arndt also suggests a 100% whole-grain-flour blend of amaranth, quinoa, millet, sorghum and teff for a variety of grab-and-go baked breakfast applications.

Arndt notes that high-fiber barley is an even more-concentrated source of whole-grain nutrition. Sustagrain is a natural barley that is whole grain in all formsflakes, flour, steel-cut and whole kernel, she says; 8 grams of the barley delivers 2.4 grams of dietary fiber and more than 0.75 grams of soluble fiber. It helps products meet the criteria for an FDA-approved heart-health claim specific for beta-glucan soluble fiber from barley, and it has half the starch content compared to other whole grains, she adds.

With multi-component packaged breakfast foods, particularly those sold fresh, it is important to take steps to keep items from getting soggy and from flavors and colors melding together.

Danisco has developed a barrier system containing emulsifiers and beeswax that reduces and slows down moisture migration in multi-component breakfast foods, says Jacobsen. The barrier product can be sprayed on the surface between the layers that need to be separated. The nearly water-tight, nearly invisible barrier is flexible and keeps water from migrating between layers throughout a standard shelf life.

Donna Berry, president of Chicago-based Dairy & Food Communications, Inc., a network of professionals in business-to-business technical and trade communications, has been writing about product development and marketing for 13 years. Prior to that, she worked for Kraft Foods in the natural-cheese division. She has a B.S. in Food Science from the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign. She can be reached at [email protected].