Review: Only Organic Banana & Apple Rice Cakes

Let's review- Only Organic Banana and Apple Rice Cakes

What is in it?

Puffed White Rice (59%), Puffed Brown Rice (25%), Banana Juice Concentrate (11%), Apple Juice Concentrate (5%), Mineral (Iron).

Allergens

CONTAINS: nil common allergens 

MAY CONTAIN: SOY, MILK AND SESAME

​Cost: $2.35 per packet which is 20g ($11.75 per 100g)

What we like:

• Moderate in sugar- it has 14g per 100g, so below the 15g per 100g required be consider moderate sugar. Below 5g of sugar per 100g is considered low. 
• Total Fat and saturated fat-is below the recommendations.
• Iron-it is fortified with iron and has 2.3mg per serve. Babies have very high iron needs and many families find it challenging to offer iron rich foods at every meal and snack so this might be useful for some bubs. 
• Sodium- The sodium is low with only 4mg per 100g. We are aiming for less than 400mg per 100g and even better if it is below 120mg. 
• Size- these are a good size for little people to grab and pick up compared to a large rice cake 

What we like less:

• The cost-these are expensive
• The sugar- although they just sneak in below the 15g per 100g to stay out of the "high" sugar range they are sweetened with fruit juice, which is just another form of added sugar and we want to avoid added sugar for babies.
• Individual small packages mean they are a handy snack to pack in the nappy bag but also extra packaging isn't all that environmentally friendly. 

The Take Home: 

Although they are fortified with iron and low in sodium, these rice cakes don't excite us. They have added sugar and aren't a nutrient dense snack for babies or toddlers. We would instead suggest buying corn thinks or thin rice cakes (much cheaper and no added sugar) and adding a topping to boost the nutrition like nut butter and mashed banana or ricotta cheese.

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