Rice cakes can be part of your healthy weight loss plan because most rice cakes contain the whole rice grain, making it a whole grain food choice. Unlike white rice, which has the bran and healthy nutrients removed, a rice cake retains the nutrients in the germ, bran and endosperm of the rice. While including rice cakes in your diet can help you limit your calorie intake, also consume other healthy foods every day.
History and Types
Rice cakes date back to ancient times, according to David Feldman's book "Do Elephants Jump." Manufacturers use both heat and pressure to explode the brown rice grain. As the rice pops, the grains bind together without the manufacturer adding any fats or oils. The original rice cakes available in grocery stores were often plain or lightly flavored. Today, you can find a variety of flavors such as chocolate, caramel, buttered popcorn or salt and vinegar. All the rice cakes contain almost no fat, and are low in calories, which helps you keep your calorie consumption at a weight loss level.
Calories and Nutrients
Rice cakes made from brown rice weigh only 9 g, and have just 35 calories per cake. Eating two rice cakes as a snack gives you only 70 calories, leaving you room in your diet for fruits, vegetables, olive oil, seafood or meat, dairy and other grains. Unlike other processed snack foods such as crackers or chips, rice cakes contain just 29 mg of sodium, which is just 2 percent of the maximum recommendation. Rice cakes have less than 1 g of protein, a trace of fat and less than 1 g of fiber. Because the rice cakes only contain puffed rice, there are little nutrients in the cakes. A single cake has a small amount of potassium, some B vitamins, magnesium and 2 mcg of folate.
Cautions
Rice cakes have a high glycemic index. The glycemix index of a food is based on the rate the carbohydrates in the food increase your blood glucose levels, according to Jane Higdon of the Linus Pauling Institute. One rice cake has 7.3 g of carbohydrates, and if you eat three cakes as a snack, you will consume over 21 g of carbohydrates. The Institute indicates that foods with a high GI index may contribute to diabetes, cardiovascular disease and gallbladder disorders. Additionally, a study published in the July 2002 issue of the "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition" found that dieters who consumed foods lower on the glycemic index had greater weight loss success.
Healthy Uses
Adding healthy, nutritious foods to your rice cakes moves the cake from just a crispy snack to a nutritious snack. Spread 1 tbsp. of almond or cashew butter on a rice cake to add protein and beneficial fats. Spoon a thin layer of spicy salsa to a plain rice cake, and top with chopped peppers and onions as a way to eat more vegetables. If you like fried croutons on your salads, crunch up a rice cake and sprinkle it on your salad to save calories.
References
- Quaker: Frequently Asked Questions: Rice Snacks
- "Do Elephants Jump?"; David Feldman; 2010
- USDA Nutrient Data Laboratory: Rice Cakes
- American Heart Association; Sodium (Salt or Sodium Chloride); February 2011
- Oregon State University: Linus Pauling Institute; Glycemic Index and Glycemic Load; Jane Higdon, et al.; December 2005
- "American Journal of Clinical Nutrition"; Glycemic Index and Obesity; Janette C. Brand-Miller, et al.; July 2002
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