Rice Cakes (flavoured)

Why rice cakes (flavoured) is rated low

Flavoured rice cakes are low at about 1 cake (15g), and fructans are the group that builds as the serving grows. The ladder has all three steps on it, which makes it unusually clear: about 1 cake (15g) is low, larger portions are moderate, and much larger portions are high. That is a short distance between a comfortable snack and a high serving, and puffed cakes are light enough that the distance is easy to cross without noticing. The count on the plate, not the flavour on the packet, is what sets where you land.

What changes your risk

• Serving size, step by step The whole ladder lives in one sitting: about 1 cake (15g) is low, a larger portion is moderate, and a much larger portion is high. Knowing the middle rung is the useful part, because the level rises before it gets anywhere near the top of the sleeve.
• Counting rather than grazing These cakes weigh almost nothing and stack loosely in the pack, so the jump from the low rung to the moderate one happens quickly. Count them onto a plate and put the sleeve away rather than eating from it.
• The seasoning blend Flavoured rice cakes are rated as a class, but individual blends differ. Cheese and onion, barbecue, sour cream and chive and similar coatings are where onion powder and garlic powder show up, and those are high FODMAP ingredients in their own right. The ingredient list settles it.
• Toppings and dips Anything spread across the cakes counts toward the meal as well. Hummus, cream cheese, honey and cashew butter push the load up. Peanut butter, cheddar, egg, cucumber or plain tuna keep it simpler.
• Stacking through the meal A low serving is per serving, not per day. A serving here alongside other low servings in the same sitting raises the total FODMAP load of that meal, so spreading servings across the day is easier than clustering them.

What else works

If the count is proving hard to hold, plain rice cakes are a separate food and come in low at their own normal serve, and you can build your own flavour on them: garlic-infused oil with salt, chopped chives, a little grated cheddar or parmesan, or the green tops of spring onions. That gives you the savoury hit that the seasoned versions are sold on, without a coating whose ingredient list you have to interrogate. Plain salted potato chips and nuts such as peanuts, macadamias, pecans and walnuts fill the same crunchy snack role. What will not stand in for them is ordinary wheat crackers, rye crispbread, hummus or an onion based dip.

How to keep it low

Count out about 1 cake (15g), then close the sleeve and move it out of reach, because the moderate rung arrives sooner than the pack suggests. Read the ingredient list on any flavoured variety for onion powder, garlic powder and onion or garlic extract, all of which are common in savoury coatings and none of which are visible from the front of the packet. Buying the plain version and seasoning it yourself gives you the most control: a brush of garlic-infused oil, salt and chives takes seconds. Reseal the pack after opening, since flavoured cakes go soft quickly and soft ones tend to be eaten by the stack rather than enjoyed.

Common questions

how many flavoured rice cakes can i eat on a low fodmap diet

About 1 cake (15g) is low. Larger portions move to moderate and much larger portions to high, so the count on the plate is what decides it.

are flavoured rice cakes high fodmap

In much larger portions they are high, and in larger portions they are moderate. At about 1 cake (15g) they come in low.

can i eat flavoured rice cakes on the elimination phase

Yes, at about 1 cake (15g). Check the ingredient list first, since onion powder and garlic powder turn up in a lot of savoury coatings.

what is a good swap for flavoured rice cakes

Plain rice cakes with garlic-infused oil, salt and chopped chives give you the savoury flavour without the seasoning blend, and a little grated cheddar or parmesan works the same way.