We live in a world of convenience! Next time you drive past a Macdonald’s or cue up in the ‘Drive Through’ take note of the demand for convenience. The same can be said for people paying to have their ironing done, their laundry done, their food shop delivered and so on. All these things cost, yet in return the customer is able to enjoy convenience. In the world of nutrition and healthy eating there is very little which is genuinely ‘health’ and ‘convenient’. Many restaurants and food outlets would have you believe a portion of their recipe is healthy, but it certainly isn’t the case! However, there is one ‘wonder’ food which I and a lot of other athletes base their diet around when they require convenience. RICE CAKES!
Wholegrain rice cakes are amazing because you simply rip open the packet to gain instant access a quality source of complex carbohydrates. What’s better is that you can get them in a whole variety of flavours which prevents you from getting bored. My top 3 favourite flavours are salt & vinegar, chocolate and caramel. So there you go, article over, a quality carbohydrate source with the ultimate level of convenience.
Not quite! I’m not going to finish here because although these snacks do taste great, by making a few additions you can turn them into a muscle building, fat busting meal! Kindly, I am going to share with you 4 of my ‘top secret’ rice cake recipes to enjoy. The downside is you have absolutely ZERO excuses to missing a meal again though!
Caramel Stateside! 
4 X caramel rice cakes
Spread with crunchy peanut butter
Add a small covering of strawberry jam on top of the peanut butter
This creates a wonderful ‘American style’ snack which will be sure to replenish depleted muscle glycogen levels and provide some fats to sustain the release of energy into the body.
Sweet & Savoury! 
4 X plain flavoured rice cakes
150g low fat cottage cheese
Drizzling of honey
Small amount of almond butter
This snack is a wonderful way to get a cheeky muscle friendly graze in when you’re on the road. The texture of this snack is great, with the honey fully complementing the cottage cheese.
Banana Boat! 
4 X chocolate rice cakes
Small coating of peanut butter on each rice cake
1 sliced banana
This is such a simplistic way to get quality calories into the muscles when you’re short on time and resources.
Chicken Delight!
4 X plain flavoured rice cakes
100g chargrilled read cooked chicken breast
Lightly coat chicken with honey (just enough for flavour)
Add a small amount of almond butter to the rice cakes
This is a beautiful muscle happy snack. The almond butter feeds the chicken flavour with a real creamy texture, creating that undeniably gorgeous ‘chicken sate’ like taste. The smearing of honey also gives this snack that ‘chicken Gijon’ element which is equally delightful.
Remember, some times these recipes may fall short of your protein target for the day. To ensure you are getting enough protein with these great snacks, use a high quality protein product such as Gaspari Myofusion!
I was going to make it 5 recipes but then my dribbling became uncontrollable so I am going to have to leave you now and open a pack of rice cakes! What shall I have with them? You can be sure it will be one of the above combinations!
