Time released nutritional product and method of manufacture

Abstract

A time released nutritional food product and method of making it in is provided in which the product includes a plurality of grain or seed based constituents having plural digestion rates. In a preferred embodiment the product can be prepared by cooking the constituent parts together as a mixture at a substantially single length of cooking time. For example, the product while palatable, can be cooked by adding water, boiling for a given amount of time and eaten. In an embodiment the constituent parts include processed and unprocessed grains, at least one of which forms a gelatinous coating on the others when cooked. Optionally the food product can be dehydrated or freeze-dried and packaged. Likewise it optionally can be pre-cooked and then packaged.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION [0001] This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10 / 457,089, filed Jun. 5, 2003, entitled, “Time Released Nutritional Product And Method Of Manufacture”, which is incorporated herein by reference.FIELD OF THE INVENTION [0002] The present invention relates to a time released nutritional product containing components that are digested at different rates providing nutritional value over relatively short, medium and long periods of time. In particular, the present invention relates to a cooked food product containing components that are cooked over a substantially single time period, and when eaten nutritional intake over varying periods of time and to a method of manufacturing the corresponding uncooked food product. BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION [0003] Various types of ready-to-eat and cooked cereal products are known. For example, various processed cereal products are known. Such cereal products frequently are ...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0012] The present invention alleviates to a great extent the disadvantages of known cereal and grain or seed products by providing a time released nutritional product and method of making it in which the product includes a plurality of grain or seed based constituents having plural digestion rates. In a preferred embodiment the product can be prepared by cooking the constituent parts together as a mixture at a substantially single length of cooking time. For example, the product while palatable, can be cooked by adding water, boiling for a given amount of time and eaten.

[0014] In one example, the food product is made of oats processed by a combination of three different ways: rolled (a flake product of selected rolling distances), steel cut (slices of whole grains of selected slice sizes), bumped groats and groats (de-hulled whole grain oats). Percentages of each of the three different processed oat products are combined. Rolled oats are digested relatively quickly providing relatively quick energy and nutrition delivery, steel cut oats are digested at a relatively slower rate, over a medium length of time, bumped groats and groats are digested a still longer period of time thus providing extended nutrition and energy delivery. Whole grains can be used as well.

[0017] Besides cereal mixtures, other forms of time released food products and carbohydrate delivery systems are provided in accordance with the present invention. For example, prep-prepared hot breakfast cereals, food additives to other foods, cookies and energy / nutrition bars can be prepared in accordance with the invention. Examples of pre-preparation of cereals or other foods in accordance with the invention include pre-cooking or otherwise preparing the cereal (and / or other constituents) such as by pre-steam cooking and then packaging the components. This can achieve a preparation time reduction, such as in one example, reducing the cooking time to two to six minutes. In another example, the food product is prepared and then stored for consumption at a later time, such as by being freeze dried or otherwise dehydrated after cooking. In this way, the food product can be packaged or otherwise stored in the dehydrated form for consumption at a later time in which it can be rapidly re-hydrated for consumption by adding fluid and optionally heating. Advantageously, for grain based embodiments of the food product, the particle size is relatively large such as compared to instant grain cereals, so it is possible to freeze dry (or dehydrate) the food product and subsequently reconstitute it and maintain particle integrity, and a relatively low glycemic index. In some embodiments, the food composition of the present invention can be used to provide a time released or otherwise regulated delivery of nutritional elements for uses as a diabetes treatment, for uses in dieting and in treatment of obesity.

Problems solved by technology

Some ready-to-eat and cooked cereal products have a disadvantage in that the product is digested over a relatively short period of time.

With such a product one tends to get hungry relatively quickly after eating.

Various known ready-to-eat and cooked cereal products suffer this disadvantage.

However, this product suffers a number of disadvantages, including that preparation requires several different cooking steps under different preparation conditions, such as preparing different components in separate batches.

One disadvantage of a cooked or liquid cereal product including groats, bumped oats, or cut oats is that a relatively long cooking time is required in order to soften the groats sufficiently to be swallowed with ease.

Without sufficient softening, the groat or steel cut oat can remain relatively hard and undesirable for human consumption.

However, the above-discussed products suffer a disadvantage in that they typically cannot make use of whole unprocessed grains, which are viewed as not susceptible of inclusion in a commercial product, without at least some processing.

It is understood that the high and frequent pervasive consumption of high glycemic index foods in common modern diets can result in various health problems, such as obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Furthermore, high-glycemic index diets result in high levels of insulin, which increase hunger and favor fat deposition.

Low satiety occurring with high-glycemic index foods translates into significantly increased food and calorie consumption leading to weight gain in many people.

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