- boost vector
- sunflower seeds
- almonds
- hazelnuts
- some kind of nut spread - hazelnut, peanut, almond, etc. look for high omega-3s, low sugar, etc.
the vector is probably the most nutritious, but it comes with a lot of calories. i may want to increase the amount, anyways, which would undo the reasons behind decreasing it. the sunflower seeds are probably the most cost effective, but it comes with a high omega-6 and i'm not sure if i'm allergic to it or not. the almonds & hazelnuts don't really have an upside besides making the math work. and, the nut spread would be the tastiest option - if i can find a healthy enough product that i want to commit to it.
so, let's work these ideas out.
option 1: boost vector
i'm deciding i need at least 15% more e in the fruit bowl. so, i'd want to triple the amount of vector cereal to get to that, which would increase the amount to 45 grams and put it on par with the all bran in terms of quantity. that would substantively increase the amounts of vitamin a (+9%), vitamin b5 (+14%), vitamin b7 (+42%), vitamin b9 (+30%) and vitamin b15 (+9%), as well. however, the omega-6 increase would not be enough to meet the new requirement of 50%. the cost increase would be $0.28, and the calorie increase would be 120.
option 2: sunflower seeds
15% is 2.25 mg. 35.17x = 2.25 <---> x = 2.25/35.17= 0.06397497867. so, 7 grams of sunflower seeds should be sufficient. a big teaspoon would be about 8 g. if i use data for dry kernels, that would contribute 2.8136 mg of vitamin e (+18.5%), 0% vitamin a, 1.5% vitamin b5, 18.25% vitamin b7, 4.5% vitamin b9 & .5% b15 increase. omega-6s would increase by 1.84 g, which would put the total around 49.5%. the calorie increase would be 46.72, while the cost would be $8.05/kg, which works out to 8.05*.008 = $0.0644.
the sunflower seeds dominate the nuts on e, so they're the preferable option if i can handle them, and i've done some shopping on spreads and come to the conclusion that they're just going to mix the nuts with flax or chia - and i'm just as well off doing it myself, and will save a lot of money if i do. so, we're down to two options.
the initial reason i brought in the sunflower seeds for the pasta bowl was actually to boost the b5, but i'm stepping away from that. the b5 data for sunflower seeds at the usda has dramatically different numbers for cooked and raw sunflower seeds in a way that doesn't make much sense to me; b5 degrades in heat, so the b5 numbers for roasted sunflower seeds should be less than the b5 numbers for dried sunflower seeds, and yet are upwards of 5-8x higher. when you go to the usda site instead of the self site, the usda doesn't show it's work in how it got to the higher numbers for roasted seeds, but does indicate that it's lower numbers for dried seeds are based on direct measurement (albeit only two measurements...). so, i'm left to speculate that the numbers for the higher measurement are potentially screwy. what that means is that the justification for sunflower seeds in the pasta bowl is now shifted to e, and i may decide i don't like the fatty acid ratio. but, that just means it's more important to boost both the and the b6 in the fruit bowl, if the pasta bowl ends up being the weak link.
further, the reason i cut the vector was that i want to keep the number of calories under 1000, and the new requirements mean i actually want them to be between 1000-1200. the acceptable cost of the item also increased to $6.00.
i'm going to consequently opt for a combination of the two options, i think. if i boost the vector by 150%, i'll get several more of the vitamins that should now have higher footprints, a few more calories and minimal increases in omega-6s. then, if i add a teaspoon of sunflower seeds, i should get up over the requirements for e, over the requirements for omega-6 and even get a nice shot of b7.
and, as i do so, i'm going to increase the amount for the fat solubles from 30% to 40%.
so, there's a big, total update coming. and, hopefully it's the last one.