Almonds Make the Morning

The saying that breakfast is the most-important meal of the day remains perennially valid. Eating a healthy breakfastversus skipping itputs people on track for making better choices about food throughout the day, potentially improving satiety and increasing energy.

The Almond Board of California recently commissioned a North American consumer research project on breakfast consumption habits. The results indicate that cold cereal is the No. 1 breakfast food choice (part of 35% of all breakfasts) and is considered a healthy optionand that nuts are a key component. Survey results show 25% of respondents eat cereal with nuts, and they consider cereals with nuts tasty and healthy, having good crunch and providing lasting energy compared to cereals without nuts. Overall, the majority of respondents (51%) report they prefer breakfast products with nuts over those without nuts.

The most-common reason people gave for this preference was that products with nuts taste better. And when asked to select the nut that goes best with breakfast, 39% of respondents selected almonds (the next-closest nuts selected were walnuts and pecans, with 8% and 7% of respondents selecting them, respectively).

The commonly used almond forms in cereals are sliced, diced and ground almonds, says Guangwei Huang, principal scientist, food technology. For granola application, piece forms, such as sliced and diced, even small sizes of whole kernels, are preferable, while sliced or small diced or ground forms are good for flake-cereal applications. These forms are generally rawnot roastedprior to being mixed in formulation.

Satiety is a key component to successful breakfast products, and according to the study, consumers say almonds outperform other nuts on the attribute fills me up until lunch. One serving of almonds (28 grams) contains a good source of dietary fiber (3.5 grams), and provides 6 grams of protein and 14 grams of fat (13 grams unsaturated, 1 gram saturated)a combination that helps consumers feel more satiated, notes Karen Lapsley, Ph.D., chief scientific officer.

In a separate study, the Almond Board interviewed a nationally representative sample of women who fit a demographic it dubs appetite for life (a group aged 35 and up who are food-oriented and health-involved, comprising 21% of the adult population) to determine the ingredients theyd combine in their ideal breakfast cereal. They tapped oats, cranberries, cinnamon, brown sugar, almonds and flaxseed as the top ingredients. Almonds were the top ingredient selected, with 66% of respondents opting to include the nut.

Men who fit the appetite for life demographic (a group aged 18 and up who are food-oriented and health-involved, comprising 16% of the adult population) were also interviewed about their ideal cereal. Almonds were again the top ingredient selected, with over half of respondents including them in their ideal cereal product. In addition to almonds, ideal cereals for this group also included oats, dried blueberries, honey, flaxseed and dried yogurt. This group commonly described cereals that include almonds as more flavorful (78%) and hearty (61%) than cereals that contain nuts other than almonds or no nuts whatsoever.

Almond Board of California

1150 Ninth Street, Suite 1500

Modesto, CA 95354

Phone: 209/549-8262

Fax: 209/549-8267

E-mail: [email protected]

Website: almondboard.com