For a low-fat starchy part of a school-holiday lunch, start with plain or lightly salted rice cakes and check the current pack: the NHS defines low fat as 3g of fat or less per 100g. A flavoured cake can also meet that threshold, but its sugars and salt need separate checks. Bedfordshire Community Health Services’ packed-lunch guidance includes protein food, dairy, fruit and vegetables alongside a starchy food, rather than treating rice cakes as the whole lunch.
Rice cakes can provide a crunchy starchy item. If they are the starting point for lunch, plan the other foods too: Bedfordshire Community Health Services’ packed-lunch guidance includes protein food, dairy, fruit and vegetables alongside a starchy food.
Plain, lightly salted and flavoured cakes have different nutrition figures. Check total sugars and salt on the exact pack rather than relying on words such as “lightly salted” or on the fat figure alone.
A gluten-free label does not answer every allergen question. Kallo Organic Lightly Salted Wholegrain Rice Cakes are listed with a may-contain statement for milk, sesame and soya; check the current pack and any policy at a school, club or childcare setting where the lunch will be eaten.
Compare nutrition figures per 100g to put different cake sizes on the same basis, then look at the figures for the number of cakes you intend to serve.
| Priority | What to check | Your needs |
|---|---|---|
| Total fat | The NHS low-fat threshold for foods is 3g of fat or less per 100g. Compare that figure first, then check fat per cake and how many cakes make up the portion. | I want a low-fat starchy item for lunch, but a calorie figure alone will not tell me how its sugars or salt compare. |
| Total sugars | Read total sugars per 100g as well as per cake, particularly for sweet flavours. Ocado lists 19g of sugars per 100g and 2.4g per 13g serving for Snack a Jacks Caramel Jumbo Rice Cakes. | If I choose a pre-flavoured cake, I want to know its sugars figure rather than assuming that low fat also means low sugars. |
| Salt | Compare salt per 100g, then the amount in the portion served. The NHS low-salt threshold is 0.3g or less per 100g; Marks & Spencer lists 0.33g per 100g for its Lightly Salted Rice Cakes. | A little savoury flavour may be useful, but I still want to compare the salt figure with a plain cake or another flavour. |
| The rest of lunch | Decide what will accompany the rice cakes. Bedfordshire Community Health Services’ packed-lunch guidance includes protein food, dairy, fruit and vegetables as well as a starchy food. | When rice cakes provide the starchy part, I need to plan the other lunch foods rather than packing only the cakes. |
| Allergens and setting | Read the current pack’s ingredients and may-contain statement for the exact variety. Check any school, club or childcare allergen policy if the food will be taken there. | For an allergy-related choice, I need the statement for this particular cake, not an assumption about rice cakes as a category. |
Ocado lists 1.7g fat and 19g total sugars per 100g for Snack a Jacks Caramel Jumbo Rice Cakes. Its low fat figure does not describe its sugars figure.
Compare fat and total sugars per 100g, then check the amount in the portion you plan to serve.
Rice cakes can take the starchy-food place in a lunch, but Bedfordshire Community Health Services’ packed-lunch guidance includes other food groups too.
Plan fruit, vegetables, protein food and dairy or an alternative alongside the cakes, using a suitable topping if that works for the meal.
Marks & Spencer lists 0.33g salt per 100g for its Lightly Salted Rice Cakes, while Ocado lists 1.3g per 100g for Snack a Jacks Salt & Vinegar Jumbo Rice Cakes. The NHS low-salt threshold is 0.3g or less per 100g.
Use the nutrition table to compare salt per 100g, then account for the number of cakes being served.
Product-specific statements matter: the retailer information for Kallo Organic Lightly Salted Wholegrain Rice Cakes says they may contain milk, sesame and soya.
Check the exact pack before serving or packing it, and follow any allergen policy at the setting where the lunch will be eaten.
These examples show why the variety and its nutrition table matter more than a brand name on its own.
Plain rice cakes offer a neutral base when you want to choose the other lunch flavours yourself.
Its Organic Lightly Salted Wholegrain Rice Cakes provide a lightly salted option for a lunch base.
Its Lightly Salted Rice Cakes are another wholegrain option to compare by the nutrition table.
Its flavoured jumbo cakes offer sweet and savoury alternatives to a plain lunch base.
Tesco’s rice-cake range includes its own-label lightly salted cakes and Kallo varieties.
These options cover a lightly salted rice-cake base and several flavoured cakes for the school-holiday lunch decision. Check the exact pack’s nutrition and allergen information before choosing between them.
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This lightly salted variety can provide a rice-cake base alongside other lunch foods. Sainsbury's lists 0.2g fat per cake for Kallo Organic Lightly Salted Wholegrain Rice Cakes and says they may contain milk, sesame and soya; check the current pack for allergen decisions.
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This pre-flavoured rice-and-corn cake is an alternative when a plain base is not wanted. Compare fat and total sugars per 100g on the current pack, and check its milk, sesame and soya allergen information where relevant.
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Apple and cinnamon make this a flavoured jumbo cake rather than a neutral base for toppings. Compare its fat, total sugars and salt figures on the pack, and check the milk, sesame and soya allergen statements if they matter for the lunch.
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This savoury-flavoured cake is a different choice from a plain topping base. Check its fat, total sugars and salt figures on the current pack; its product information identifies gluten-containing cereals, so do not treat it as a gluten-free option.
The NHS figure of 3g of fat or less per 100g describes low-fat food; it does not, by itself, define a “reduced fat” comparison. For rice cakes, read the fat per 100g on the products you are considering, then check the amount in the portion you will serve.
Rice cakes can provide its starchy component, but not all the components in Bedfordshire Community Health Services’ packed-lunch guidance. That guidance also includes protein food, dairy, fruit and vegetables, with water or milk to drink; it is lunch-planning guidance, not a legal rule for meals at home.
Check total sugars as well as fat. Ocado lists 1.7g fat and 19g sugars per 100g for Snack a Jacks Caramel Jumbo Rice Cakes, plus 2.4g sugars per 13g serving. Use per-100g figures when comparing them with another product, then consider the portion and the rest of lunch.
Compare salt per 100g on the nutrition tables before looking at the portion served. The NHS defines low salt as 0.3g or less per 100g; Marks & Spencer lists 0.33g per 100g for its Lightly Salted Rice Cakes, while Ocado lists 1.3g per 100g for Snack a Jacks Salt & Vinegar Jumbo Rice Cakes.
No: a gluten-free label does not replace checks for other allergens. The retailer information for Kallo Organic Lightly Salted Wholegrain Rice Cakes says they may contain milk, sesame and soya. Read the current pack for the exact variety and follow any applicable school, club or childcare allergen policy.