Why are rice cakes considered a "diet food"?
Replies
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andrikosDE wrote: »"Why are rice cakes considered a "diet food"?"
A more precise question is:"Why "were rice cakes considered a "diet food"?"
There answer is: They are low fat and were an "ideal" snack during the low fat diet/fad of the '80s-'90s.
Nowadays we have different fads to worry about and that's why rice cakes are not the rage anymore.
This.
On the other hand, I love cottage cheese and celery. I used to eat lots of cottage cheese as a snack when I was getting fat. I tend to eat it with breakfast or dinner and in smaller quantities now.0 -
Because of those features-- low calorie, lack in nutrition, yet taste good, I love them. I find that they're an excellent vessel to deliver yummy, nutrition filled things to my mouth. Cottage cheese, peanut butter, regular cheese, beans, anything! They add some texture and make you feel like you're eating something even more substantial.0
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That idea is from the "low fat" era. Rice cakes have almost no fat.
This^
Back in the day low fat was the "key" to losing weight.KarenJanine wrote: »Why are rice cakes considered a "food"?
FIFY.
I am curious about these non-cardboardy, yummy rice cakes. All the ones I've ever tried are tasteless packing material.
Look for Quaker Popped - these are the smaller (much thinner) rice cakes. Sweet Chili flavor....mmmm. These are more like chips. I agree the thick round ones in the tube - blech! (it's like eating firmly packed sawdust).0 -
That idea is from the "low fat" era. Rice cakes have almost no fat.
This^
Back in the day low fat was the "key" to losing weight.KarenJanine wrote: »Why are rice cakes considered a "food"?
FIFY.
I am curious about these non-cardboardy, yummy rice cakes. All the ones I've ever tried are tasteless packing material.
Look for Quaker Popped - these are the smaller (much thinner) rice cakes. Sweet Chili flavor....mmmm. These are more like chips. I agree the thick round ones in the tube - blech! (it's like eating firmly packed sawdust).
Ugh those quaker popped are so good. I love the cheddar cheese ones so much I can't buy them or I will probably eat them all within a matter of days. Sweet chili and the apple one is pretty good too.0 -
UltimateRBF wrote: »Because they're low calorie and have the taste and texture of sadness?
This. Exactly this.0 -
I'm on team rice cake.0
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lemurcat12 wrote: »andrikosDE wrote: »"Why are rice cakes considered a "diet food"?"
A more precise question is:"Why "were rice cakes considered a "diet food"?"
There answer is: They are low fat and were an "ideal" snack during the low fat diet/fad of the '80s-'90s.
Nowadays we have different fads to worry about and that's why rice cakes are not the rage anymore.
This.
On the other hand, I love cottage cheese and celery. I used to eat lots of cottage cheese as a snack when I was getting fat. I tend to eat it with breakfast or dinner and in smaller quantities now.
I also like cottage cheese and celery. Especially with peanut butter on the celery. But celery makes my tongue numb.0 -
I like rice cakes. But I like about 7, which ends up being the same as a whole bag of popcorn...so I just have that instead.0
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I'm surprised nobody has mentioned the "rice cake cleanse"0
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KarenJanine wrote: »Why are rice cakes considered a "food"?
FIFY.
I am curious about these non-cardboardy, yummy rice cakes. All the ones I've ever tried are tasteless packing material.
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echmainfit619 wrote: »Marketing.
Yup. There was one spicy kind with like taco seasoning or something on it that was worth my while way back when, but if you eat the whole package in a day, it isn't a 'diet' food anymore! And oof the bloat!0 -
I like the quaker ones if i happen to come across them, but i don't buy them.
they are not satisfying to me. and empty calories. i like my calories to count0 -
Strawblackcat wrote: »They're not particularly filling. They're nutritionally void. They taste pretty yummy (not like typical cardboard-y diet food). They aren't that low-calorie. So why do people consider them "diet food"? If I was on a diet, I would eat pudding, or yogurt, or some eggs or something instead. Something more nutritious and filling. The only reason I eat rice cakes now is because they're really yummy as a treat with some warmed almond butter on top.
Thoughts and explanations?
Are rice cakes considered a food????
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I buy a brand that's really thin and flat and I use 'em to make sandwiches. They don't have a whole lot of nutrition to them, but neither does gluten free bread, really, and I can have 3 little sandwiches on the cakes as compared to 1 little sandwich on GF bread for roughly the same number of calories, carbs and fiber.0
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refuseresist wrote: »I just had cottage cheese, celery and rice cakes for my afternoon snack
My commiserations.
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Why are rice cakes considered a "diet food"?
the better question is why are rice cakes considered food at all?0 -
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It's just a remnant of a past time when puffing grains was discovered and the puffed grains were used in diets because they has less calories per volume than unpuffed grains. So a part of the "health cereals battles" in which things like breakfast cereals took part, rice cakes were just another contender. It helped of course that come the 80s you had all of this low fat culture and rice cakes happened to have almost no fat, so they carried on as a health food. Nowadays they are still surviving as a health food because it's trendy to avoid added sugar and gluten, and most of them have neither. They are also mostly vegan-friendly so there is that. They basically check most of the boxes of what people perceive as "healthy". Seems like some items tend to carry the "diet food" label for long. Like granola for example... it's advertised as a diet food although it's pretty high in calories just because people tend to not have a clear distinction between "healthy" and "diet".
I personally don't mind them. I don't crave them but I don't hate them. I would eat a couple if I were presented with some and mildly enjoy them.0 -
Therealobi1 wrote: »
Just add some lemon, and some cayenne pepper ...0 -
I just had two for breakfast with garlic hummus on them. It was pretty good, and Luke someone else said, seems more like a meal than just spooning up my hummus.0
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They suppress your appetite and helps control your sweet tooth. Very good for a post workout snack. They are low in calorie if you can only eat 2-3. Quick easy way to get in carbs. Those with pb on top. Yummy!!!!0
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i like rice cakes, but saltines are cheaper, and also low cal, so I use those in my things i used rice cakes for. (spreading peanut butter on, scooping up tuna salad, or serving a peice of cheese on.0
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Look for Quaker Popped - these are the smaller (much thinner) rice cakes. Sweet Chili flavor....mmmm. These are more like chips. I agree the thick round ones in the tube - blech! (it's like eating firmly packed sawdust).
Oh yeah, these are delicious. I like all the flavors I've tried, except for BBQ. The butter-popcorn is especially good, IMO.
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Yes - they were popular in the 70's with the low-fat era. I ate many back then. Eventually lost my Gall-Bladder due to the low-fat era. If I only knew then what I know now....0
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Agree with all who said that they're a diet food because they're a product of the low-fat movement in the 80s.
Most of them are awful. However, I do enjoy the Quaker Caramel ones!0 -
Strawblackcat wrote: »They're not particularly filling. They're nutritionally void.
Marketing. I'm pretty sure that's the only reason they're not stocked next to the Little Debbie snacks by now.0 -
Rice cakes rock. I just had one. Wait. No. That was an ice cream sammich.
Seriously, I ate a lot of them once-upon-a-time. When I was cutting weight for rowing I would top them with squished kidney beans and then salsa. I think they were so popular just because they were a non-bread "base"; I think that role has been taken now by the low carb tortillas.0 -
i really like rice cakes not gonna lie0
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