Is usalted multigrain rice cakes Keto?

The Ingredient Breakdown

To understand why this product fails the Keto test, we have to look past the marketing buzzwords like "multigrain" and "organic." The ingredient list is short, but the impact on your blood sugar is significant.

The very first ingredient is organic whole grain brown rice. This is the dealbreaker for Keto. While brown rice is a complex carbohydrate compared to white rice, it is still a grain that is dense in starch. On a Keto diet, you typically limit net carbs to 20-50 grams per day. A single serving of rice cakes can consume a massive chunk of that allowance, leaving very little room for vegetables or healthy fats.

The secondary ingredients include organic flax seeds, organic caraway seeds, and organic millet. While flax seeds are excellent sources of fiber and healthy fats (making them Keto-friendly), the addition of millet is problematic. Millet is a gluten-free grain, but it is still a carbohydrate source. The presence of these seeds adds a negligible amount of fat compared to the massive load of carbohydrates coming from the rice base.

Finally, the packaging notes that the product "may contain: soy, milk." While this is an allergy warning for cross-contamination rather than active ingredients, it is relevant for those with dietary restrictions. However, for the Keto dieter, the rice remains the primary villain.

Nutritional Value

Let's break down the nutritional profile. A standard serving of unsalted multigrain rice cakes (roughly 15-16g) typically contains around 14 grams of total carbohydrates. Even with the fiber contributed by the flax and caraway seeds, the net carb count usually lands between 11g and 12g per cake.

For a standard Keto macro split, you might aim for 20g of net carbs for the entire day. Eating just two of these rice cakes would put you at 24g of carbs before you've even added toppings. This leaves almost no margin for error for the rest of your meals.

Regarding fats and calories, these cakes are very low. They contain almost no fat, which is the opposite of what a Keto dieter is looking for. Keto is a high-fat, moderate-protein, low-carb diet. These rice cakes are high-carb, low-fat. They are essentially a starch delivery system, which is exactly what Keto aims to avoid.