Development of healthy snacks: Effect of protein ingredients on nutritional, physical, and bioactive properties

Background: Snacks are highly appreciated by consumers of all ages; however, most commercial products are high in calories and low in nutritional value. This has generated interest in developing more nutritious and functional snacks by combining ingredients rich in protein and bioactive compounds with technologies such as germination and extrusion. Objective: The main goal of this study was to develop nutritionally enhanced and functional extruded snacks from germinated Andean grains and freeze-dried Cavia porcellus meat (FCPM). Methods: Three formulations were studied with rice flour (20%), germinated quinoa flour (48% to 44%), germinated amaranth flour (30%), and FCPM (2% to 6%). The formulations with 16% moisture were processed in a twin-screw extruder at 150 °C and 300 rpm. The extruded snacks were characterized by their protein content, total phenolic content (TPC), apparent density (DA), expansion index (EI), water absorption index (WAI), and water solubility index (WSI). Results: The results showed that the addition of FCPM significantly increased (p < 0.05) the protein content (from 10.93 to 15.93 g/100g), DA (0.11 to 0.28 g/cm³), and decreased the EI (2.97 to 2.29) and WAI (5.47 to 3.91 g/g) compared to the control sample. Likewise, the TPC of extruded snacks (115.93 to 136.54 mg GAE/100g) was 4.5 times higher than the control. Conclusions: These findings underscored the potential of incorporating plant- and animal-based products to develop more nutritious, functional extruded snacks that help address food and nutritional insecurity.