Gastric Sleeve Guide To Crispbreads and Crackers!

Polly has a lot of choice when it comes to crispbread and crackers these days (sorry – I couldn’t resist…). After a sleeve, lots of people feel that they can’t eat crispbreads or crackers as they’re carbohydrates or they’re slider foods, but it’s not always true. You just need to know which are the best and what to put on them to make the most of them.

For this ‘Guide to’ I looked at the nutrition information of different crackers and crispbreads and I threw in a few rice cakes for comparison – all up there were 50 products! This wasn’t an exhaustive list at all either, so to make life easier for you, in this post I’ll walk you through the criteria for how to choose for yourself as well as my top product picks if you don’t want to think and know you are making a good choice.

Before you go any further…

Crackers and crispbreads can be slider foods, especially if you don’t put anything nutritious on them. Slider foods are those that you can eat a lot without really feeling satisfied. There are definitely some crackers and crispbreads that fall into this slider category (I’ll get to that in a minute) as they just dissolve into thin air and don’t fill you up for long. However, the more grainy options can make a great snack or lunch base as they tend to have more protein and fibre and take longer to chew!

Make the most of every mouthful

Instead of eating them plain, make the humble crispbread or cracker a vessel for something nutritious. Try combinations like these amazing suggestions from Healthy Food Guide: peanut butter and apple; feta, beetroot dip and cucumber; garlic hummus and capsicum; or cream cheese, strawberries and honey. And just remember, a snack should be about half the size of a main meal, so adjust your portions accordingly. A snack would be approximately 2 regular vitaweats, one Ryvita, or 4-6 crackers for example.

So, what look for?

Let’s get to it, shall we?! When choosing a cracker or crispbread, follow the recommendations below for kilojoules (calories), protein, saturated fat, fibre and sodium.

Energy	Less than 1418kJ (100kcal) per serve
Protein	More than 2g per serve
Saturated Fat	Less than 1.5g per 100g
Fibre	More than 3g per serve
Sodium	Less than 120mg per 100g (or less than 400mg per 100g is moderate)*

*Products like crispbread and crackers are notoriously high in sodium (salt) so it’s really difficult to find some with less than 120mg/100g. Instead, look for less than 400mg/100g

The best options?

There is a reason the good old Ryvitas and Vita-Weats have been dietitian favourites for so long. Ryvitas and Vita-Weats featured well in my analysis with the most criteria met overall. Surprisingly, Sunrice and Pureharvest Rice Cakes did well too. I’m not usually a fan of rice cakes as they digest very but these at least are a great option for those who don’t tolerate wheat. Finally, Carman’s Super Seed Crackers rounded out the top picks – a little high in saturated fat compared to the others, but also high in protein and fibre, and not too high in sodium.

Not so hot?

The only two products that didn’t meet any of the criteria I set were Arnotts Jatz (sorry Aussie cheese plate…) and Sunbites Snack Crackers with Quinoa which I was hoping would come out a bit better as they sounded good.

Products that only met one criterion included Cruskits (these are those that melt in your mouth I was talking about above), Premium, Natural Cracker Co, Saos and most rice crackers.

Interested to see where your favourite sits? Download the Excel document below for the full analysis.

 

The bottom line?

As with bread, go for the grainy. Swap out Cruskits for Ryvitas or Vitaweats and make sure you top them with delicious and nutritious combinations so you make every mouthful count!