The Truth About Rice Cakes

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The Truth About Rice Cakes

Elle Penner, MPH, RD
by Elle Penner, MPH, RD
January 11, 2022
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The Truth About Rice Cakes

During the low-fat, high carbohydrate craze of the late 1980’s and 1990’s, rice cakes quickly became one of the ultimate diet foods. So we bought them in bulk thinking that, if we swapped our cookies and crackers for 70 calorie rice cakes, we’d lose weight and look great.

They may be low in calories, about 35 a pop, but when eaten alone they can actually sabotage weight loss. If you look at the Nutrition Facts Label on a package of rice cakes, you’ll see a whole lot of nothing. No fat, no fiber, minimal vitamins and minerals, and maybe 1 gram of protein–all important nutrients that nourish your body, improve satiety and actually keep your mind off of snacking.

The truth about rice cakes is this. They are little more than refined carbohydrates (which are quickly digested and converted into sugar) that have been sprinkled with salt, and possibly sprayed with some artificial flavoring. Their glycemic index, an indicator of how a food affects blood sugar, ranks pretty high at 82 compared to pure sugar which tops out at 100. Instead of taking your mind off of food, snacking on rice cakes on an empty stomach can induce a spike in blood sugar that might just leave you feeling sluggish and craving, you got it, more rice cakes.

Instead of reaching for those rice cakes the next time hunger strikes, try choosing a nourishing snack with healthy fats, protein and fiber. Here are five quick and easy ideas:

  • A whole grain wrap with peanut butter and sliced banana
  • Greek yogurt sprinkled with granola and berries
  • Hummus with veggies and a serving of pita chips for dipping
  • A 1-ounce (28g) serving of almonds and a small piece of fruit
  • 100% whole grain toast with topped with a sliced hard boiled egg, avocado and a sprinkle of salt & pepper

And if you can’t entirely let go of rice cakes, fear not. Buy the plain variety and flavor them yourself with something nourishing, like a tablespoon of almond butter and fresh peach slices.

Originally published April 2014

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About the Author

Elle Penner, MPH, RD
Elle Penner, MPH, RD

Elle is a nutrition and wellness writer, recipe developer, blogger and nutrition consultant whose favorite things include her camera, carbs and quality time with her toddler. For more from this busy mama, check out Elle’s lifestyle blog or connect with her on Instagram, Pinterest and Facebook.

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129 responses to “The Truth About Rice Cakes”

  1. Avatar Rebecca says:
    April 11, 2014 at 8:14 am

    Lol great to see the writers for this site demonizing foods and telling me which foods are “good” and “bad”.

    Reply
  2. Avatar Tomes says:
    April 11, 2014 at 8:18 am

    Who the hell still eats rice cakes?!!

    Reply
    • Avatar Melinda Fritz says:
      April 11, 2014 at 8:23 am

      lots of people

      Reply
      • Avatar joannaphipps says:
        April 11, 2014 at 12:02 pm

        I do, or did, eat them however, I found that as I was watching TV at night I would go through an entire tube of the Quaker ones. I cannot afford to be doing this because it messes up my calorie count for the day. I have found that unbuttered popcorn is a much better tv snack for me.
        I nearly died when I saw the results of a McDonalds wrap. Were it not for the walking I did around Walmart last night I would have been sunk. I guess it didn’t help that I was at taco bell for lunch and killed nearly 1400 calories.

        Reply
        • Avatar guest says:
          April 13, 2014 at 7:50 am

          I could go through an entire thing of anything sitting in front of the television. Something that’s helped me a lot is focusing on the food you’re eating and making sure to thoroughly chew your bites. It helps take away some of the mindless eating, which I had a huge problem with. Off topic, but I thought I’d say something anywho.

          Reply
    • Avatar Rhonda 'Sarcione' Refaat says:
      April 11, 2014 at 8:50 am

      I eat the small ones. Quaker popped, they are very good and I like them. I also am gluten free and it is a nice snack.

      Reply
    • Avatar April L. Josey says:
      April 11, 2014 at 1:50 pm

      I do with peanut butter right before a workout if I need some quick pick me up

      Reply
    • Avatar Debra Barnes says:
      April 11, 2014 at 3:32 pm

      Lots of people do!I just bought some a couple days ago. The store was all out of the cheddar flavored, and a lot of the other flavors was down. So someone must be buying them!

      Reply
      • Avatar Tomes says:
        April 11, 2014 at 11:49 pm

        I tried the cheddar flavor a while back, but since I tried to eat the whole bag, I knew they weren’t for me. 🙂

        Reply
    • Avatar Chrisski says:
      April 11, 2014 at 3:49 pm

      I do and i certainly dont find them bad like this article says! The article suggests peanut butter??? If anything is fattening its that alonside bananas which help store fat and should be eaten if excercising. But its all subjective!!

      Reply
      • Avatar Jacqueline Fisher says:
        April 12, 2014 at 5:13 am

        Bananas = potassium = good for you. Peanut butter = good fats = good for you. I think you confuse things that are good for you. Next you will be saying egg yolks are bad.

        Reply
        • Avatar Al_K says:
          April 12, 2014 at 9:41 am

          The authors point is about weight loss, though — not about addressing specific nutritional deficiencies. One banana = 105 calories of sugar = bad for you. Peanut butter = 180 calories per serving = bad for you. If your goal is weight loss, substituting 70 calories of rice cakes with a 350 calorie peanut butter banana wrap is just plain dumb.

          Reply
          • Avatar Diane says:
            April 12, 2014 at 4:23 pm

            I’m a fan of rice cakes, however the author’s point about weight loss stands in that when you eat foods like this without much nutritional content you are 1) wasting calories and increasing risk of throwing off your nutritional balance and harming your body’s workings and 2) it is an unsatisfying snack that can lead to the feeling of hungry and dissatisfaction that ends up leading to people messing up their diets.

          • Avatar Al_K says:
            April 13, 2014 at 12:30 pm

            I don’t know what foods “without much nutritional content” are, how rice cakes fit that category in a way that the peanut butter banana wrap doesn’t, or how they “throw off your body’s workings” in a way that the PBBW doesn’t. I also don’t know what it means to “waste” calories. Some quantitative evidence explaining those claims would be helpful.

            FWIW, a quick browse through the MFP food database tells me that the PBBW the author suggests has 511 calories (I used a Mission whole grain wrap, one serving of Jif peanut butter and one medium banana, in case you want to try this experiment yourself.) Meanwhile, a whole bag of Quaker rice cakes has 490 calories. So even if we accept the argument that eating two rice cakes is going to cause a blood sugar spike that will make you want to eat more, you’d have to eat THE WHOLE FREAKING BAG AND THEN SOME before you hit the amount of calories in the PBBW being suggested as an alternative. Now, I’ve had PBBW’s and I’ve had rice cakes, and you simply cannot tell me with a straight face that the former is more filling and satisfying than a whole bag of the latter.

          • Avatar Cora Scott says:
            April 14, 2014 at 5:51 am

            The whole point of what she is saying is we should always eat fat and protein with empty carbs. This slows down the digestion process and lowers the chance of having blood sugar spikes……….All the while, all you are concerned with is calorie content. SMH

          • Avatar Al_K says:
            April 14, 2014 at 3:10 pm

            Yes, because satiety isn’t only, or even mostly about blood glucose. For the third time: Regardless of their macronutrient breakdown, a PBBW is not as fulfilling as a even half a bag of rice cakes, but it has twice as many calories, which is THE ONLY THING THAT MATTERS when it comes to weight loss. Telling people to eat a PBBW instead of two rice cakes because the rice cakes might make you want to eat more is stupid because you’d have to eat over SEVEN TIMES as many rice cakes to get to the same caloric load as the PBBW.

        • Avatar Chrisski says:
          April 12, 2014 at 12:16 pm

          Read ny post i never said bananas were bad for you! But they do store fat hence why best eat before during or after excerise

          Reply
          • Avatar Jacqueline Fisher says:
            April 12, 2014 at 2:16 pm

            Although bananas are fat-free, the sugar content is high, accounting for
            76 calories, or roughly 69 percent of the overall energy content of a
            medium banana. Natural sugars, like other carbohydrates, are broken down
            into glucose. Once your immediate energy needs have been met, your body
            stores excess glucose as glycogen in your liver and skeletal muscles.
            Stored glycogen can later be used to meet energy demands. If your
            capacity for storing glycogen is exceeded, the remainder gets stored as
            fat. However, excess calories in general from any food source lead to
            increased fat storage. Despite the sugar content, bananas provide a
            better option than cookies or other processed foods when you need to
            satisfy a craving for sweets since they also provide nutrients and fiber
            that play a role in a healthy diet.

        • Avatar Chrisski says:
          April 12, 2014 at 12:18 pm

          While ur at it maybe try fasting apparently thats good for you! NOT!

          Reply
          • Avatar Jacqueline Fisher says:
            April 12, 2014 at 12:44 pm

            Lol @ fasting not being good for you. Meant to graze all day are we? I think you have some research to look into.

        • Avatar Alyssa says:
          April 13, 2014 at 8:47 pm

          Diet coke is low cal so it must be good for me! *sarcasm*

          Reply
        • Avatar Bieber before hos says:
          September 17, 2015 at 5:48 am

          Potassiums actually not that good for you, Magnesium is the most preferred but hardest to absorb so the body uses potassium in place of it. Peanut butter is loaded with mold spores and carcinogenic. Egg yolks are simply the healthiest thing you can enjoy eating, a dozen hardboiled eggs a day would be great.

          Reply
    • Avatar VanCity says:
      April 12, 2014 at 9:07 am

      If people are eating these things for nutritional reasons they are stupid. Rice cakes are either a vessel for something else you’re eating (Peanut Butter etc.) or they are a snack food (for me, replacing potato chips) I ate a bag of the mini dill pickle ones last night and I’m not losing any sleep over that decision.

      Reply
    • Avatar RedBearded T says:
      June 18, 2016 at 8:44 am

      Two years later and I’m still snacking on rice cakes lol. But only because I think they are delicious.

      Reply
    • Avatar Lord Zombie says:
      June 17, 2017 at 12:55 am

      I do lol

      Reply
  3. Avatar fisherdh13 says:
    April 11, 2014 at 8:19 am

    I disagree with your conclusions that all rice cakes are bad. Mine contain two things: brown rice and minimal salt. Everyone should review the content of a snack they consume. Don’t knock something that works for many if used correctly.

    Reply
    • Avatar ana says:
      April 11, 2014 at 8:26 am

      so you are thin and healthy?

      Reply
      • Avatar Mel says:
        April 11, 2014 at 8:40 am

        I also eat plain rice cakes (with peanut butter) that are just brown rice and minimal or no salt. And I’m thin and healthy. Any snack/meal with only 1 macro-nutrient is not a good choice, but that doesn’t mean that rice cakes can’t be part of a healthy and filling snack. I’m with you fisherdh13 🙂

        Reply
        • Avatar ana says:
          April 11, 2014 at 9:12 am

          You probably dont do many bad choices when it comes to your eating habits. It can be better than a lot of things, it certainly is. but it is not the super food some people seem to think it is. A high IG food with only one nutrient is bad for everyone, but is not the worse thing in the world. Nor do they say it is. At the end of the day its your choice to eat or not, they are just informing you, be grateful for that.

          Reply
      • Avatar Rusty612 says:
        April 11, 2014 at 8:44 am

        I love brown rice cakes with a little vegan cream cheese or raw almond butter. They don’t drag me down like bread does and aren’t filled with salt and fat like crackers and chips. Moderation, people… and really. This is not news!

        Reply
      • Avatar Jeff Mace says:
        April 11, 2014 at 2:16 pm

        I am, and i eat rice cakes in place of other snacks all the time, and as part of my strategy this helped reduce my weight and cholesterol. Why do you ask?

        Reply
      • Avatar davpul says:
        April 12, 2014 at 10:48 am

        are thin and healthy synonymous?

        Reply
  4. Avatar Jolno says:
    April 11, 2014 at 8:20 am

    Sure, the other stuff sounds way tastier and more nutritious, but it’s all a hell of a lot more caloric than 35! I’d say almost all the other foods listed are 200+ calories.

    Reply
    • Avatar Darcy says:
      April 11, 2014 at 8:24 am

      Not all calories are created equal. 🙂

      Reply
      • Avatar Personal Trainer says:
        April 11, 2014 at 8:28 am

        Jolno! THANK YOU! you know your stuff, all the suggested alternatives have at least 300 calories each! lol people think they can eat almonds and peanut butter and still lose weight lol

        Reply
        • Avatar Nicole says:
          April 11, 2014 at 8:36 am

          I’ve lost 65 pounds using most of those snack alternatives. And almonds and peanut butter are some of my staples.

          Reply
          • Avatar Personal Trainer says:
            April 11, 2014 at 8:41 am

            I am sure that you started at a very high weight, and once you reach lower weights you’re going to have to drop these or you’ll stop losing weight

          • Avatar Cass says:
            April 11, 2014 at 9:38 am

            That is not true, I am not very heavy just a little overweight and by monitoring my caloric intake and working in more exercise I have been able to lose weight all while eating peanut butter as a staple for my breakfast. It contains good fats and protein and can keep me full much longer than if I just had plain toast. Also, I have taken nutrition classes in college for my medical degree and never once did they say that peanut butter or almonds are bad.

          • Avatar Clobby says:
            April 12, 2014 at 12:09 am

            So you got your training qualification online, right? I don’t think they put them in cereal boxes any more.

        • Avatar Suebee says:
          April 11, 2014 at 8:40 am

          I spread mine with Laughing Cow cheese wedge which is 35 calories!

          Reply
        • Avatar Andrew says:
          April 11, 2014 at 8:58 am

          PT I hope that’s not what you preach to your clients . Yes a calorie is a calorie if all youu do is look at the night where it says calories, but I hope you don’t believe that a banana and 8oz of soda are equivalent even number though they’re both approx 110 calories. Soda has no nutritional value so no not all calories are equal in that sense and yes you can lose weight eating almonds and peanut butter both of which contain healthy fats, it’s called exercise.

          Reply
          • Avatar Melissa says:
            April 11, 2014 at 9:55 am

            If you’re talking about nutrition, then yes there is a difference. Caloric value for weight loss? Then, nope, no difference between 100 calories from soda or 100 calories from a banana. Pure and simple, weight loss is calorie in vs calorie out. If you want to work on nutrition, then yes it matters.

      • Avatar Personal Trainer says:
        April 11, 2014 at 8:28 am

        All calories are created equal, if you don’t believe that you’ll always struggle in your weight loss

        Reply
      • Avatar jenniferldevison@yahoo.ca says:
        April 11, 2014 at 8:42 am

        i think that yes they are not created equal, but some calories will not keep yo
        u full as long, therefor you will eat more, when the snacks listed abouve can keep me full for 4-5 hours. Rice cake….ya, I’ll be starving 20 min later

        Reply
      • Avatar Steve Hochman says:
        July 30, 2017 at 1:59 pm

        Wrong. A calorie is a calorie.

        Reply
  5. Avatar Sally says:
    April 11, 2014 at 8:22 am

    Great article. More light needs to be shed on these so called “diet foods” which are nothing more than artificial and processed crap. No wonder obesity is an epidemic with people eating stuff like this to lose weight.

    Reply
    • Avatar Karen says:
      April 11, 2014 at 8:41 am

      Obesity has a plethora of reasons why it is rampant now. We live in an obesogenic environment: highly sweet/fat/salty food is readily available and humans have evolved to crave it. It takes a great deal of effort to lose weight, and demonizing foods is not the way to support that. I lost 50lbs and I did it by cutting calories. Rice cakes were an integral part of that as it allowed me a low cal snack instead of something like chips. Rice cakes are made similar to the way popcorn is made. Hardly “artificial” as a food. No, I didn’t make it in my kitchen, but it isn’t some sort of “frankenfood”. Now that I’m looking to build muscle, my protein intake is up and my carb intake is down, so they’re out. I make 90% of my own food in my own kitchen, but I do allow myself the occasional indulgence. Particularly in the form of foods that I can’t make myself (I’ll never master making a samosa). I’m currently down 90lbs, and it is entirely by monitoring my caloric intake, eating ANY food I want, as long as it fits my plan. I wouldn’t, on a dare even, eat a lot of “natural” foods as I can’t stand the taste, but I do love rice cakes.

      Reply
  6. Avatar Reva Dawne Melvin-Casimir says:
    April 11, 2014 at 8:24 am

    wow, I knew they were cardboard

    Reply
  7. Avatar Personal trainer says:
    April 11, 2014 at 8:26 am

    The article was all good until I reached the last section about the suggestion alternatives! trust me you don’t want to have these as diets, each of these has more than 300 calories!

    Reply
    • Avatar Jennifer says:
      April 11, 2014 at 8:44 am

      all in moderation… the point of it is that these alternatives contain more calories, but that they actually fill you up. For mindless snacking rice cakes are better because they are lower in calories, but if you’re looking for a snack that is going to fill you up (and cause you to eat less) than those alternatives are the way to go.

      Reply
  8. Avatar PurplePauline says:
    April 11, 2014 at 8:28 am

    They fill my desire to snack without using too many calories. All the other ideas have far too many calories.

    Reply
  9. Avatar Karen says:
    April 11, 2014 at 8:32 am

    I actually love rice cakes. I don’t consider them to be a “diet” food as such, just a tasty snack. Then again, we ate a lot of puffed wheat cereal as kids too. It was a cheap way to fill a bowl for 6 kids. Mom bought it in 5gal bags. lol As far as it not being “healthy”: all things in moderation. Better a couple of those than potato chips, IMO. Definitely not going to replace cookies. However, as someone who is currently doing weight training, I need lots of protein so the carbs have been reduced in my current food plan. So unless I smear one with peanut butter, I probably won’t be having any for the next while.

    Reply
  10. Avatar oksanagreene says:
    April 11, 2014 at 8:40 am

    the alternatives suggested are not entirely great either. maybe try cutting grains as a whole, not replacing one for another.

    Reply
  11. Avatar Marla64 says:
    April 11, 2014 at 8:41 am

    I think they’re a great alternative to bread when I want peanut butter and jelly–

    Reply
  12. Avatar Katrina Rose says:
    April 11, 2014 at 8:50 am

    Rice cakes scare me….

    Reply
  13. Avatar Natalie says:
    April 11, 2014 at 8:51 am

    sorry, but I freaking love caramel rice cakes– they are a snack food, not what you should be trying to fill up on. I have them because they satisfy my wants for something crunchy, which in turn makes me feel fuller than if I’d had just a bowl of soup or something, and when I have a craving for something sweet. I don’t eat them expecting them to satisfy my stomach the way an apple or a chunk of chicken would, it serves another purpose in my diet.

    Reply
  14. Avatar Carl says:
    April 11, 2014 at 8:52 am

    Why do you even eat this rubbish. 200g of protein, 3000 calories a day and get in the gym and lift. If youre not doing that, then you’re wasting your time.

    Reply
  15. Avatar Steve says:
    April 11, 2014 at 9:04 am

    This article is silly. If one were to replace cookies/cakes/doritos or even fluffy white bread with rice cakes and use it as foil for healthy things you’d be making a good choice. If you chew on these all day long, not so much. Few foods are bad in totality. If you use this as a surface to put tuna on, way to go. Also, the alternatives given in the article can be quite caloric. I read the word “peanut butter” and I think calorie dense. A wrap made with conventional tortilla, peanut butter and a banana would be at least 340 calories and could easily be more. I can put a whole can of tuna on a rice cake, get a ton more protein with far fewer calories even if I use some light mayo. To be fair, I don’t make room for rice cakes in my diet but I don’t see why I couldn’t. Let’s not demonize foods.

    Reply
    • Avatar Chrisski says:
      April 11, 2014 at 3:50 pm

      Hear hear!

      Reply
    • Avatar Crystal says:
      April 12, 2014 at 11:29 am

      I think maybe they mean this article for people who would buy bags of rice cakes and stuff themselves with this, and fool themselves thinking “Hey, I could be eating something with more calories.”, and feel like they are making smart choices. I do like rice cakes with pink salmon salad though. So yummy and gives a nice crunch!

      Reply
      • Avatar guestin' says:
        April 13, 2014 at 7:48 am

        Of course you can’t eat an entire package of rice cakes and call it healthy, but doesn’t everybody know that? Too much of anything is bad, but I agree with Steve that we shouldn’t be demonizing foods. Really, saying you can’t eat any certain food is crap because you can do everything in moderation.

        Reply
      • Avatar Erika says:
        April 15, 2014 at 3:11 am

        But that’s the problem in the nutrition world today. An article might be intended toward a certain audience, but a ton of people it was not “intended” for end up reading it and the a certain food becomes demonized for many.

        Reply
    • Avatar Patricia Powers-Williamson says:
      April 13, 2014 at 10:38 am

      I couldn’t agree more! Well put! i only buy the brown rice organic non-gmo ones with no sodium and as you said, I use them as a surface for tuna fish, organic peanut butter in moderation etc. These have lower calories than sub sandwich on white bread.

      Reply
      • Avatar ZoeK says:
        September 9, 2014 at 11:16 am

        yes i don’t put tuna on mine but a tiny like half a teaspoon amount of peanut butter and fruit or without anything on top this is for when i have a bad food craving that i am trying hard to break myself of. i buy the same brand as you do and it has been a good help or me on my journey BACK to clean eating. as sweets are my weakness so i had to find a compromise for myself that indulges that and also keeps me on the right track.

        Reply
    • Avatar Nicole says:
      April 13, 2014 at 4:40 pm

      I think you might have missed the point that rice cakes, even in moderation, can cause a spike in blood sugar that leads to more cravings. Sure they are low cal, but they are essentially empty calories that can end up making you feel more hungry then when you started. I don’t think she was implying that over-eating rice cakes can add up calorie wise. That point is obvious.

      Reply
      • Avatar Steve says:
        April 14, 2014 at 7:21 am

        I caught that, but it’s misleading. Glycemic index doesn’t work like that. Carb haters imply that people’s blood sugar jumps all over the place, but healthy people don’t have that reaction. Healthy people regulate blood sugar very well and it moves relatively little. Carb haters apply the behavior of diabetic metabolism to healthy people. Not so. However, even if one is mindful of glycemic index, as I often am, it’s not just the number you see for a given food. If one eats a fast carb with other foods like fats and proteins, as one often would with a rice cake, the glycemic index is moderated. So bottom line is that this could have been more helpful if it were more rounded, instead the article reads “rice cakes=bad”. That’s just silly. Mind you I don’t eat these but I’m not going to tell a reasonable person not to if it works for them.

        Reply
    • Avatar Pick A Name says:
      December 10, 2015 at 11:40 pm

      You are way behind the science on this. Weight gain is ONLY caused BY eating more CARBS than you can burn off! Weight gain and how much energy and sense of well being you feel is directly related to maintaining a stable amount of blood sugar; carbs that digest too fast causes spikes, followed by crashes in blood sugar, further followed by cravings for more carbs.

      Calories from protein and good fats do not cause weight gain (and if not excessively consumed can cause you to loose weight by kicking your body into fat burning mode). The science is overwhelming on this: Forget about calories; start learning about good and poor carb choices, balancing your meals and with choices that contain lots of nutrition, eat lots of whole fresh foods and adequate amounts of fiber, and find your personal amount of carbs to eat based upon how active you are per day.

      Reply
    • Avatar Graffic Tee says:
      October 11, 2016 at 2:10 pm

      Wow couldn’t be more wrong!
      We are not made for refined carbs and as they hit the blood quickly out comes the insulin and puts that sugar in fat cells.

      Reply
  16. Avatar Clobby says:
    April 11, 2014 at 9:07 am

    These comments are great. I didn’t realise rice cakes could get people so fired up!

    Reply
  17. Avatar ana says:
    April 11, 2014 at 9:13 am

    It can be better than a lot of things, it certainly is. but it is not the super food some people seem to think it is. A high IG food with only one nutrient is bad for everyone, but is not the worse thing in the world. Nor do they say it is. At the end of the day its your choice to eat or not, they are just informing you, be grateful for that.

    Reply
    • Avatar Jeff Mace says:
      April 11, 2014 at 2:21 pm

      You keep saying this “super food” line. I’ve never…not once..encountered anyone who assigned this value to rice cakes. Not ever.

      Reply
  18. Avatar Guest says:
    April 11, 2014 at 9:27 am

    when

    Reply
  19. Avatar Judith Martin says:
    April 11, 2014 at 9:30 am

    But when faced with a high carb option like whole wheat bread it still is a good alternative when you count calories. Whole wheat bread spikes my blood sugars too. Whole wheat bread makes me hungry. Love a crunch that isn’t deep fried or salt laden. I try to get brown rice unsalted and I think it is healthier than say a chocolate chip one. 🙂

    Reply
  20. Avatar Melina1 says:
    April 11, 2014 at 9:59 am

    I do like the caramel flavoured ones but for sure they don’t fill you up at all!

    Reply
  21. Avatar Joep says:
    April 11, 2014 at 10:20 am

    IIFYM

    Reply
  22. Avatar sunshinelively says:
    April 11, 2014 at 10:38 am

    i never liked rice cakes they’re tasteless and unsubstantial, kinda like white bread – made for mindless grazing

    Reply
  23. Avatar Bill says:
    April 11, 2014 at 10:48 am

    “A whole grain wrap with peanut butter and sliced banana”

    And where the hell is the protein in THAT meal? And don’t try to say peanut butter because that is negligible at best. All that I see here are carbs, carbs and some fat.

    Reply
  24. Avatar devans00 says:
    April 11, 2014 at 11:26 am

    I converted to the popped corn cakes variety before quitting all together. I couldn’t stand those itchy crumbs that always worked their way into my bra.

    Nutrition was second in my mind.

    Reply
  25. Avatar Derek says:
    April 11, 2014 at 11:27 am

    I like to spread a serving of crunchy peanut butter onto a rice cake. Makes a delicious combo that is nourishing and filling.

    Reply
  26. Avatar Robert A'Beuy says:
    April 11, 2014 at 3:11 pm

    I have a chocolate one every day with some peanut butter and a cup of coffee for my afternoon snack which enables me to focus on what I’m doing until I can get dinner made. Like everything else when it comes to healthy eating is balance. BTW, I’ve lost 53 pounds last year without a lot of hard work. Just watching my intake.

    Reply
    • Avatar Steve Hochman says:
      July 30, 2017 at 1:53 pm

      Congratulations on your fantastic weight reduction. Keep up the good eating habits. Yes I love the chocolate ones as well. I’ve found that Smuckers makes 3 different NO SUGAR ADDED jams that have just about zero bad stuff …only a little taste. Too many of the people on this site tend to eat a whole bag of cakes. If they would just cut back to 1 , as you have done, they are healthy. Adding bananas or eating them whole does not make any sense as there are less fatting sources of potassium. BTW…spelling does not count.

      Reply
  27. Avatar Jennifer says:
    April 11, 2014 at 3:50 pm

    I kinda laugh at this because #1 now I’m hungry for rice cakes even though I haven’t eaten them in years, and #2 why don’t we just replace a rice cake with peanut butter and banana in a whole grain wrap? Because a rice cake is 35 calories and peanut butter and banana in a wrap are 200 or more…..

    Reply
  28. Avatar ProgressiveMind says:
    April 11, 2014 at 4:39 pm

    Thank goodness we’ve finally gotten around to solving problems from the ’80’s. Next up: The 90’s.

    Reply
  29. Avatar Adriel Helms says:
    April 11, 2014 at 6:47 pm

    I eat a couple of the small ones in the morning just so I can take my vitamins…. guess I’ll have to figure out something else low calorie

    Reply
  30. Avatar Wide Awake One says:
    April 11, 2014 at 11:54 pm

    Look, a “registered dietician” that doesn’t read real research and still thinks GI is something to worry about for anyone other than a sedentary diabetic! What’s new.

    Reply
  31. Avatar Barbara says:
    April 12, 2014 at 12:02 am

    These things are not a food. They are the bastard offspring of styrofoam and cardboard.

    Reply
  32. Avatar fatdoob says:
    April 12, 2014 at 4:23 am

    It worries me that a dietitian wants to demonise a food. Even if it is a refined carb. It provides energy that the body needs. if people eat them as a part of a balanced diet what the problem. You’re doing what always seems to happen instead of promoting balance you’re promoting this is all bad mantra that so many fad diets seem to cling to an no I don’t eat rice cakes as they’re tasteless but if people like them and top them with tasty salad (as i’ve seen people do) it can all help

    Reply
  33. Avatar Matthew Jackson says:
    April 12, 2014 at 8:41 am

    So funny for people to knock this article…it’s not bad info just because u still want to eat them…the main point is these have NO nutrients…and a VERY HIGH glacec load. If you don’t understand what that means that isn’t the authors fault. As a personal trainer and nutritionist this is one of the worst food choices you can make for weight loss.. arguing it doesn’t change the facts..this will slow your metabolism down to halt. And at the same time provide you nothing u need for all this calories and carbs…so ull be just as hungry as soon as your body figures out u just ate air.

    Reply
  34. Avatar MrsBigMack says:
    April 12, 2014 at 10:02 am

    As a runner who needs 100g carbs in the couple hours before I run and another 100g carbs after, I eat rice cakes. But then I drink fruit juice too. Keeping fat lower helps me stay in the right calorie range while getting all the carbs I need to fuel my running, and keeping fiber low before a run is just a good idea. Sweeping generalizations about diet on a fitness site is silly. There should be some context provided as to when high-glycemic carbs are appropriate and when they’re not. This is not just a site for sedentary folks wanting to lose weight.

    Reply
  35. Avatar Ellie says:
    April 12, 2014 at 10:03 am

    is this a late april fool?

    Reply
  36. Avatar Melissa Arenson says:
    April 12, 2014 at 11:50 am

    I can see the claim that rice cakes are not healthy. But as a snack they are an excellent decision if you were just looking for something sweet. I often eat judt one serving as dessert and it saves me reaching for a cupcake or cookie instead.

    Reply
  37. Avatar Trae Palmer says:
    April 12, 2014 at 12:22 pm

    I sometimes like to snack on rice cakes immediately after a workout (I get cravings for salty foods after exercising). Lundberg makes lightly-salted rice cakes made from brown and wild rice that are pretty tasty.

    Reply
  38. Avatar Matt Williams says:
    April 12, 2014 at 8:34 pm

    “If
    you look at the Nutrition Facts Label on a package of rice cakes,
    you’ll see a whole lot of nothing. No fat, no fiber, minimal vitamins
    and minerals, and maybe 1 gram of protein”

    Rubbish. The reason there might seem to be “whole lot of nothing” in the nutrition breakdown is that rice cakes are typically very light in weight, so a serving of 1-3 cakes obviously won’t give you much of any particular macro-nutrient. But per 100g, brown rice cakes have about 4g of fiber (similar to apples) and 8g of protein (similar to cooked lentils).

    So the proportion of satiating macros they providing is fine – not amazing, but perfectly respectable for a snack food (if you like that kind of thing). It’d be nice if the authors of these articles would be willing to at least look up the foods they’re talking about using the MFP database before telling us what (not) to eat.

    Reply
  39. Avatar Miss Used says:
    April 13, 2014 at 8:48 pm

    Now all I can think about is how good a rice cake with tuna and mayo would be…

    Reply
  40. Avatar Wade says:
    April 14, 2014 at 9:23 am

    It cracks me up when I hear people think that fruit is bad for you because it contains sugar. It’s appropriate that processed sugar is demonized, but not for the reasons that most believe. Processed sugar is a food stripped of all other nutrients found in the source from which it originated.
    Whole foods that contain sugar are extremely good for you, full of phytonutrients and fiber. If you really want to give your weight loss a turbo boost, try eating all the fruits and vegetables you care to eat for a week, and cut out everything else. Oh, and you will feel fantastic!
    That’s the 80/10/10 diet in a nutshell. Low fat, high carbohydrate.

    Reply
  41. Avatar tiffany says:
    April 14, 2014 at 3:21 pm

    Soooooo, it’s bad to eat a rice cake on an empty stomach? Ok, well if you are over weight from making poor food choices such as snacking on cookies and or chips, I guarentee a rice cake in place of those ridiculously unhealthy foods IS NOT going to do you worse. If I ate a brownie on an empty stomach what would ahppen to my blood sugar?

    Reply
  42. Avatar Bree says:
    April 14, 2014 at 11:37 pm

    So that explains why I just ate five rice cakes in a row.
    No, really haha check out my log if you don’t believe me. I just got on here to log them and saw this article. I gotta kick my Quaker Chocolate Crunch Rice Cake addiction..

    Reply
  43. Avatar Frances Ann Ware-Mag says:
    April 24, 2014 at 4:11 pm

    if your GLUTEN FREE you can NOT eat the whole grain wrap, the toast, or the pita chips rice crackers or rice cakes are it..

    Reply
  44. Avatar mewp12 says:
    April 26, 2014 at 11:47 am

    Rice cakes are nasty. Most food crazy are ….. well crazy.

    Reply
  45. Avatar HYNK says:
    April 27, 2014 at 10:51 pm

    Writes weight loss article. Tells people to eat higher calorie foods to lose weight.

    Reply
  46. Avatar fd-f0difddfd says:
    August 23, 2014 at 8:32 pm

    They aren’t so bad. Some people in my family are allergic to gluten and while I’m not I find I feel a lot better if I lay off all wheat (enriched or not).

    They aren’t tasty enough plain to be addictive like a bag of chips but they make a decent base to throw some sardines and hot peppers on.

    Unhealthy if abused but more than likely cbetter than most bread. The ingredients are 1-3 things on all the ones I see for plain. Compared to most breads which is 2-3 paragraphs of not so natural sounding things and its prob gmo too.

    If you try them and don’t like them you can use them to ship discs/cd’s perfectly if you tie a good knot with an uncooked bacon strip. You’d certainly get some follow up from the buyer too. (prob trying to score some pot)

    Reply
  47. Avatar Linda Lovelush says:
    September 1, 2014 at 3:46 pm

    I’m really REALLY tired of these articles that demonize low-cal foods, simply because they’re not packed with tons of nutrients.

    Reply
  48. Avatar Unclewigging says:
    December 4, 2014 at 8:12 pm

    How is it that brown rice cakes where the only ingredients are brown rice and salt are high in GI. If you web search you will see it ranked extremely high and extremely low GI. Low makes sense to me since brown rice is low in the GI scale.

    Wish we could get to the bottom of this.

    Reply
  49. Avatar Merlin says:
    April 17, 2015 at 7:40 am

    Beware of Popcorn. I hear people talking about popcorn on here. I read where many gastro surgeons report that popcorn is like razorblades on your Ileocecal valve (the one between your Large and Small Instestine). I love it but won’t eat it anymore. I think it contributed to my SIBO, which I finally conquered using 2 rounds of SIBO cleanses and diet changes, and maintenance with digestive enzymes WELL BEFORE my meals. If you take them early, they eat the bacteria instead of your food. If you notice that you have a reaction to yogurt or probiotics, you likely have too much bacteria, and in the wrong place (like up in your small instestine where it does not belong). Your Ileocecal valve helps keep the bacteria down in your Large intestine. Too much of ANY bacteria can cause trouble. Anyway, I am no rambling.

    Reply
  50. Avatar 1tie.net says:
    June 18, 2015 at 3:57 pm

    I’m pretty sure this article is non sense. Many many worse foods out there.

    Reply
  51. Avatar Vanessa says:
    July 21, 2015 at 6:27 am

    Um, the rice cakes I buy are literally just Organic Brown Rice and some Sea Salt; I’m still struggling to understand why that’s bad? Help?

    Reply
  52. Avatar Siera Alpha says:
    November 14, 2015 at 10:52 am

    “Silly” is a fantastic word to describe this Article!! I am sorry, but this is just nonsense… Replacing cookies with rice-cakes is an excellent choice… Also if any of you do any sort of physical training or sport, salted rice cakes are one of the best foods you can consume during and after training or a game… There is an excellent book that goes into the science of metabolism, called “Why we get fat, and what to do about it.” If people read this, there would far less confusion and for more success in controlling bodyfat. Remember, a calorie is not a calorie…. 100 calories of Agave syrup or HFCS is far more metabolically destructive than 100 calories of rice cakes. The idea that reducing calories will cause a decrease in bodyfat is absurd and is not well supported, even though it is preached and promoted as incorruptible law and dogma. Doing the same thing over and over, yet expecting different results is the definition of insanity. I eat roughly 4000-5000 calories a day and train 3x per week for about 45 minutes per session, not much cardio outside some sprinting up hills. If subscribing to the calorie theory, I should be severely obese… I have a BF is 8% and I weigh 210 at 6’3″. I say this only to demonstrate the nonsense on which the “calorie reduction” theory is based.

    Reply
  53. Avatar Kris Bohr says:
    November 7, 2016 at 4:52 pm

    My idea! Dannon Light & Fit Strawbery and Banana Greek Yogurt on top of 2 Quaker Chocolate Rice Cakes. Very yummy and filling for me!

    Reply
  54. Avatar Will S. says:
    April 28, 2017 at 5:27 pm

    I wish I didn’t Google “are rice cakes good for you” lol

    I’ve replaced biscuits and deserts with chocolate rice cakes about a month ago thinking they were healthy and honestly I rarely strayed into snacking anything else and I still lost 1.5kg (small – yes, but I’m focusing on the long term…). I usually eat them in portions of three cakes with my tea and another portion at night with a banana and apple after I have my dinner. I also sometimes have them for breakfast with my coffee.

    There’s an old saying – “you eat with your eyes first” – this applies here because it would’ve taken 10 milk chocolate digestives and 2 doughnuts to meet the physical parameters of a portion of rice cakes. Those biscuits and doughnuts have atleast 2x the calories of a portion of rice cakes. I guess visually and psychologically – they satisfy your cravings…

    Of course – your suggestions are better options in terms of health benefits – but they seem “hard” to do and most likely cost more than a whole pack of rice cakes. Most amateurs (people who finally started caring about their health) would give up if they had go through all that effort to prepare food like that everyday and lot of us at work simply don’t have facilities to properly store and prepare the ingredients – it’s why we have a packet of cookies and muffins instead. In scenarios like this – rice cakes are the perfect alternative.

    Anyway, I can’t believe I’m soo passionate about them lol <3

    Reply
    • Avatar EozS says:
      March 13, 2018 at 1:30 pm

      Haha, me too!

      I’ve been calorie counting and I really needed something to get me from one meal to another without busting my limit, and I was getting tired of lettuce and vinegar. Most of the “good” snack foods are 200+ calories. “Eat a few almonds, you’ll feel satisfied!” yeah okay, get back to me when I can eat 50 almonds in one sitting.

      Enter the rice cake! Just had one with most of a cucumber, 2 tbsp of cottage cheese and spring mix… about 100 calories for plate full of food.

      Now, just one hour to go until dinner…

      Reply
  55. Avatar Jered Cady says:
    June 2, 2017 at 5:01 pm

    All of you missed the entire point of the article. It is focused on the issue of carbs, especially refined carbs, not calories.

    Reply
    • Avatar Linda Lovelush says:
      July 31, 2017 at 5:26 am

      I’m also tired of carbohydrates being demonized. Yeah, okay, they’re “bad carbs”, meaning they’re refined or nutrient-deficient. And, yes, there are healthier snacks out there. But there are also much worse.

      Reply
  56. Avatar Adam says:
    September 16, 2018 at 5:42 am

    That list of alternatives are absolutely crammed with carbohydrate and fat. Fine for a meal but not as a snack.

    Reply
  57. Avatar Jim says:
    March 26, 2019 at 7:20 pm

    The author may be right, but rice cakes are great for a preworkout meal. I have 2 rice cakes and a banana and I’m good for at least a 2 hour workout. If I don’t have the rice cakes and banana, I tend to take extra long breaks and meander around. This preworkout meal gives me a ton of energy that last throughout the workout and incidentally makes me more focused. FYI

    Reply
  58. Avatar Bruce Groh says:
    May 15, 2019 at 1:35 pm

    I have been training for 29 years. Eating is strict. I discovered rice cakes. Which would be best to have without the additives? Using almond butter or peanut butter. Thanks Bruce

    Reply

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