THE BENEFITS OF A HIGH FIBER DIET IN ELDERLY PEOPLE 1

Abstract

Background

Zucchini is a versatile vegetable packed with many nutrients, such as fiber, and is low

calorie. It can be used in a variety of dishes from dinner plates to desserts. One medium sized

zucchini can pack as much as 2 grams of fiber and only contains 33 calories (Keefe, 2015). As

people grow older, they need for fiber intake increases, but many do not get the recommended

amount needed, which can cause problems for their health. This experiment incorporates

zucchini in replace of much of the flour that is usually used in making brownies to make a

delectable dessert that would still provide some fiber intake geared towards elderly people.

Objective

This experiment was to test if zucchini was an acceptable substitute for flour in a dessert.

Design

Independent variable: All purpose flour, Dependent Variable: texture, density, and flavor

of the zucchini brownie. Zucchini was used as a substitute for about 75% of the flour in the

original brownie recipe. While testing how much zucchini could replace the flour, it was noted

that not all flour could be eliminated. Without flour the brownie would not bake and set, but

would remain in a liquid, unbaked state. Each brownie had 3 different samples labeled with

numbers chosen at random to identify them. The control brownie was assigned sample #560,

100% flour. The 50%/50% brownie was assigned sample #284 with 50% flour/ 50% zucchini

and 75%/ 25% brownie was assigned sample #980 with 75% zucchini/ 25% flour. As part of the

having subjective testing 6 people were invited to taste the brownies without prior knowledge of

the substituted ingredient. Test tasters were asked to fill out a survey following the tasting to rate