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Now I know what you are thinking, rice cakes are so bland! I had never eaten a rice cake until about a month ago for that exact reason, but when I came across them in the grocery store aisle I thought I would give them a try, and boy am I glad I did!
I had been trying to think of some healthier snack options, and was craving nutella at the time (something I buy only once in awhile because otherwise I eat the whole jar, ha!) and thought that rice cakes might be a sweet + salty combo that might just be pretty good. So I bought the rice cakes & nutella, put them together, and fell in love!
I mentioned to a friend how much I was loving rice cakes (of all things!) and how surprised I was. She asked me to share what toppings I put on them, as they are a food she wants to like, but just doesn't! I felt the same way, so I compiled this post to go through all of the topping combinations I have been using & loving.
Rice cakes are kind of my new obsession, and quite frankly I love them! Plus they are pretty dang healthy, and I like them so much I have started to crave them, so I decided to come up with a few options, so I could switch up rice cake combos. After quite a bit of trial-and-error, I have come up with 3 combinations I really like, and keep coming back to. I will discuss each below, and if you are interested in trying this simple, yet delicious food out for yourself, you will have a few options to start with!
First things first, these are the rice cakes I buy, and they will be used for all of the "recipes." I just bought them at CashWise, and you can probably find them at any grocery store. If you can't find them, no need to worry, just buy a different kind!
The 3 ways I make my rice cakes include:
Sweet: Nutella
Savory: Cream Cheese & Pepper Jelly
Sustaining: Avocado (plus sauce/seasoning!)
I encourage you to give all three of these combinations a try, and if you do, let me know how you like them!
Sweet:
The first topping is the simplest: nutella. This is my favorite choice when I really want something sweet but don't want to eat like 12 chocolates or a bunch of candy. I get that nutella is probably not healthy, but if it is on a rice cake I feel like it can't be that awful for you! Plus we all deserve a treat, and balance is so important, so just because this may not be the "healthiest" option doesn't mean you can't eat it! It is delicious.
I slap on a layer of nutella and it makes a great morning / afternoon snack between meals, but my favorite is to save them for dessert after supper! The saltiness of the rice cakes mixed with the creamy sweetness of the nutella is an amazing pairing. If you are not a big fan of rice cakes, you could put the nutella on crackers as well and you may get the same sweet & salty combo effect this combination has. Honestly, this has become one of my favorite snacks, and it is great for satisfying a sweet tooth!
Savory:
Now this may look strange to some of you, but I promise you, this is the best one on the list! You put plain cream cheese on, and then top it with hot pepper jelly. It was a strange combination, and honestly, I didn't even know they made pepper jelly, but as soon as I made it, I couldn't stop eating it!
It is so tasty, and is easily my personal favorite from the list. The cream cheese mellows out the hot pepper jelly, and the two pair for a savory and satisfying combination. You can find pepper jelly at many grocery stores, right next to the fruit jellies. This would also be good on crackers, and that is going to be the next approach I take to incorporating this unexpectedly delicious duo into more of my snacks!
Sustaining:
I don't know about you guys, but I am a huge fan of avocado toast. Like such a big fan!
However, the toast if you let it sit for tool long always gets so soggy. If you want good avocado toast, you have to eat it immediately and by your last few bites I feel like the toast is kind of falling apart. Not with rice cakes however!
I make my rice cakes just like I make my avocado toast, with avocado mashed up on top, and then I top it with EITHER Everything But The Bagel seasoning OR hot sauce. I only did both toppings on the same rice cake for the purposes of this picture; they are not meant to be mixed! For the picture I separated them on the same rice cake to be half and half, but I do not recommend actually doing that when you make it! Both combos are so good!
It just depends what you are in the mood for, but man, I love this combination. It keeps me full for a longer period of time, and is full of healthy fats and tasty goodness! Try swapping a rice cake for your toast if you are a fellow avocado toast lover, and let me know how you like it!
I hope by now you have mustered up the courage to do the dang thing and try rice cakes! They are like a blank canvas, waiting for your tasty culinary creation to grace them, ha! But really, I do love these things and find them so delicious and versatile.
If you try any of these, let me know what you think!
you are blessed. you are gifted. you are loved and appreciated, just as you are.
mindfully, molli
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