The variety of food products available for specific consumers, such as diabetics, constantly needs to be improved. It is particularly important to provide them with products of high nutritional quality. When designing and producing such products, it is also worth paying attention to their environmental aspects. At the agricultural production stage, approximately 15% of raw materials are never used immediately after harvesting. The use of such vegetables, which are not suitable for direct consumption according to commercial requirements, is therefore of ecological importance and fits within the zero waste trend.

This study aimed to develop vegetable ball recipes that included an additive with health-promoting importance for diabetics and analyze them. The raw materials used were vegetables supplied directly from a farm, which were of an off-range nature: carrots, broccoli, parsley, cauliflower, red beet, and other minced vegetables in frozen form. Powdered white mulberry leaf extract (100 mg, 200 mg, or 350 mg DNJ) was used as a biologically valuable component for diabetics. Fifteen variants were produced, which were bound together with potato starch (5% additive) and frozen (-23°C). These methanolic extracts (after sonification) were characterized by nutritional value, color, polyphenol content, and antiradical activity.

The vegetable balls provided energy in the range of 20-30 kcal/ 100 g and a fiber content of approximately 7%. Their polyphenol content was measured using the Folin reagent, oscillated at 1.111 - 3.236 mg GAL/ g d.m.; the scavenging activity of ABTS^·+, at a level 11.920 - 45.168 mM Tx/ g d.m.; and scavenging activity against DPPH·, at the level 2.182 - 3.791 mM Tx/g d.m., depending on the formulation. To summarize, this study showed that the proposed usage of off-range vegetables in the formulation of vegetable balls is justified, providing an interesting new product for discerning consumers.