Formulation of Breakfast Cereal from Blends of Millet, Soybean, and Carrot Flour and Its Nutritional Evaluation

Breakfast cereals offer a convenient, nutrient-dense meal option, yet most products available in the Nigerian market are imported and expensive, excluding low-income households. Indigenous raw materials including millet, soybean, and carrot offer nutritionally complementary profiles that can be combined into affordable, locally produced breakfast alternatives. This study formulated breakfast cereals from blends of millet, soybean, and carrot flour at three ratios (70:20:10, 65:25:10, and 60:30:10) and conducted nutritional evaluation. Millet was obtained from Jigawa State, soybean from Plateau State, and carrot from Jos Vegetable Market. Each ingredient was processed into flour using standardised dehydration and milling procedures. Proximate analysis, beta-carotene content, vitamin C, iron, calcium, and sensory evaluation were performed on all formulations. Results indicated that the 60:30:10 blend yielded the highest crude protein (19.4 percent) and iron content (6.8 mg per 100g), while all formulations showed meaningful beta-carotene levels attributable to carrot inclusion. Energy values ranged from 362 to 381 kcal per 100g, within recommended breakfast energy targets. Sensory evaluation with sixty panellists showed the 65:25:10 blend achieved the highest overall acceptability scores. The study recommends the 65:25:10 formulation as a nutritionally adequate and sensory-acceptable breakfast cereal prototype for development by small and medium enterprises in northern Nigeria. Keywords: breakfast cereal, millet, soybean, carrot flour, formulation.