[00:00:00] Jenn Trepeck: Welcome to Salad with a side of Fries. I'm your host, Jenn Trepeck, talking wellness and weight loss for real life. We're here to clear up the myths, misinformation, bad science and marketing to teach you how to eat and how to cheat. Are you ready? I'm having salad with a side of fries. This week we're talking about Drizzilicious.

[00:00:26] So first shout out to Caitlin on my social media team for this one. So she said, not only has she tried them, they're her latest obsession. She sent them to me to say, maybe these are a great nutrition nugget. So here we are now, per usual. I started at their website. They say it's drizzled and it's delicious.

[00:00:46] Drizzilicious. The irresistible better for you. Snack, I mean. Okay, while they have Caitlin's endorsement on the flavor, I see at the top of the website in the image, they have three packages [00:01:00] and it says many rice cakes reimagined. Now if you're a longtime listener, and you know that phrase made my antenna go up because in our nutrition nugget on rice cakes, we determined that they are the quintessential definition of empty calories.

[00:01:17] So I'm very curious if these are two now they say it has chia, quinoa, and flax, 90 calories per 21 pieces. So these must be teeny, like I'm guessing, size of a quarter, maybe a nickel, and they're featuring some holiday flavors like peppermint and gingerbread. They also have drizzled popcorn, so maybe that's a topic for another nutrition nugget.

[00:01:43] We're staying with Caitlin's choice of the rice cake. Okay. Then it says at just 90 calories per 21 pieces Drizzilicious is a smart little snack you can feel great about. Full disclosure, I'm not sold yet, right? We'll see about that. All right, then it says allergen free. Our [00:02:00] products are made in a peanut and tree nut-free facility and are all allergen free.

[00:02:05] That might be a selling point for you. Then we see certified gluten-free non GMO product, verified vegan and certified kosher. And these may make them winners for some people, for other people. It kind of just is what it is, and neither here nor there. Now since we're focusing on the rice cakes, I'm just gonna, you know, share that piece.

[00:02:25] So they say our rice cakes are really special, or our rice cakes really are special. With just 90 calories per 21 pieces, you'll be amazed you can finally eat something delicious you don't feel guilty about available in a multitude of flavors. This fan favorite is no stranger to the average snacker. Go ahead, enjoy yourself and indulge guiltlessly.

[00:02:46] So for what it's worth, they had two typos in there. If anybody from Drizzilicious is listening, just FYI take a look. Let me know if you want me to proofread it for you. Okay. So the thing is, is we're not learning anything new. Every [00:03:00] time they have the chance to tell us something, they just reiterate the same thing of 90 calories, 21 pieces.

[00:03:05] We get it. Okay. I tried to look up, you know, a little bit more about the company, where did it come from? So it sounds like the founders. Are either siblings or they both had moms who gave them rice cakes with peanut butter. I'm not totally sure either way, but essentially they were rice cake fans, so they decided to upgrade them.

[00:03:25] And then again, it continues to repeat all the same things. So let's look at the nutrition flax. Caitlyn said she loves the cinnamon flavor, so that's where I went. They describe it as mini rice cake with cinnamon swirled and glazed with white chocolatey drizzle. Now I'm noticing it's not a white chocolate drizzle, so there's probably using things to mimic that flavor versus actually just using some white chocolate.

[00:03:52] But let's see, by the way, they're now touting a hundred percent plant-based, and all that means is that there's no animal product in here, which frankly I would [00:04:00] expect for a rice cake. So, you know, here we go. Oh, yeah. Then they're saying, again, reiterating quinoa, chia, and flax. Okay. 90 calories per serving, five servings in the package.

[00:04:10] They keep telling us the 90 calories. We get it. Alright, two and a half grams of fat with one gram of saturated fat, 16 grams of carbs with zero grams of fiber, five grams of sugar of which four are added sugar, and then one gram of protein and essentially zero negligible micronutrients. So before we get to the ingredients, these nutrition facts are telling me that we once again have empty calories.

[00:04:37] Mostly carbs, only a little bit of fat. That's not enough to balance those carbs. So probably for most people this may create a blood sugar spike and drop. Now obviously you're gonna have to see, you know, how you feel, and based on what we're seeing here, even from these nutrition facts, it doesn't seem like there's much of the quinoa, chia, or flax in there, even though [00:05:00] they've been telling us all about it.

[00:05:02] Ingredients. Rice crisp, which is made of white rice, corn, tapioca starch, corn, starch, sugar, flax, whole quinoa, salt spice, chia seeds. Then the flavored coating is made of sugar, palm kernel oil, natural flavor salt, and then there's sunflower oil, sugar and cinnamon. Basically I was right. Not much of those super food like ingredients are in there.

[00:05:32] They're relatively low on that ingredient list as far as what's in that crisp. They're mimicking the white chocolate flavor versus using the ingredient. The palm kernel oil and sunflower oil are certainly not my favorite sources of fat for you. They may or may not be a deal breaker. You get to decide, and the natural flavors also, for some people, they be a deal breaker.

[00:05:56] I like that they're using sugar. I know some [00:06:00] of you're probably listening going, what? But I like, you know, oftentimes when we try not to use sugar, it ends up with 85 other ingredients, or, you know, here it's not high fructose corn syrup, it's not 25 other things trying to get to a sweet flavor. So anyway, there's not a ton of wild unpronounceable things in this list either.

[00:06:22] So I guess that's a pro and. I always say you have to look at the details of any flavor if you're gonna try it. Curiosity killed me a little bit. So I took a look at another flavor, the smores one, and it is a little different in the nutrition facts and the ingredients, but the takeaways are more or less the same.

[00:06:42] So that one has some molasses powder, so we're getting into the land of more sweeteners. The ingredients are also different, but still like your quinoa, flax, and chia are not at the top of that list. I don't know. I feel like for the way they marketed all of that, I would expect them [00:07:00] to be higher and for those ingredients to be reflected in the nutrition.

[00:07:04] Oh, and then I had to look at one more, so it was the birthday party flavor, and this one, I love it. There's carubba wax in this one, so we definitely don't need that. And frankly, just depending on the flavor, we're getting empty calories, empty carbs, even if not a ton of calories. They're coming with other things that you may not want.

[00:07:26] So with all of that said, they may serve a purpose for you. You know, they may be a better alternative to something else that you're currently having. If that's the case, I think, awesome, go with it. For me, if I were to use these. I dunno, maybe I'd use them as like a topping on something. So if you wanted to turn your Greek yogurt or cottage cheese into something else, like you could use a couple and you know, maybe break 'em up on top of that.

[00:07:54] Maybe you have a couple with some almonds or walnuts. I don't know. I personally [00:08:00] would not make them a staple of my routine. I probably. Wouldn't need a whole serving either. I don't know. I'm not sure how easy it is to stick to one. Serving 21 probably feels like a lot of pieces, but then with these kinds of ingredients, I think it could be super easy to eat the whole package.

[00:08:17] I don't know. Jared Sinclair, what do you think?

[00:08:21] Jared St. Clair: Well, I think we're on the same page. Um, yeah, there's, there's a couple of things, you know. I do a lot of looking at supplement facts panels. Yeah. For people, obviously you're doing the nutrition facts, pretty much the same idea, but there are some little tricks that can be played too.

[00:08:35] Jen. You know, it's the first ingredient on that flavor. Cinnamon. The first ingredient was the actual. Sorry, I lost it. Now again. The rice

[00:08:45] Jenn Trepeck: Crisp

[00:08:45] Jared St. Clair: pull. The rice crisp. Right. And it has like six or seven ingredients in it, right? Exactly. Yep. And so in that you have chia and flax and quinoa. But I dare say that based on the nutrition facts panel, there's a really good chance that all three of [00:09:00] those things would actually be a lot closer to the very bottom of the list if they weren't lumped in with the rice Crisp itself.

[00:09:05] A hundred percent, right? Yeah. So they come up higher on the list because they're part of the first. Group of of Exactly. They're part of the rice cake. Yeah, exactly. Exactly. And so that's not so great. And then I have a personal gripe, not against Drizly Delicious specifically, but almost every packaged food, even the ones in help food stores, let's get rid of the sunflower oil.

[00:09:26] My goodness. It's in everything. It's like hi oleic sunflower oil and organic high oleic sunflower oil. But we just talked about how much. Of these seed oils we're getting versus healthier oils that we actually need. And it's time, you know, things are starting to shift. We now have chips on the market that have tallow.

[00:09:45] Mm-hmm. Uh, we have more things being made with butter and things like that, but I think sunflower oil needs to go away a lot more than it has.

[00:09:51] Jenn Trepeck: I'm with

[00:09:52] Jared St. Clair: you.

[00:09:52] Jenn Trepeck: For everybody. Again, I think it's also a question of like this, as opposed to what,

[00:09:56] Jared St. Clair: right, right, right. There's always the, this may

[00:09:58] Jenn Trepeck: be Exactly,

[00:09:59] Jared St. Clair: yeah.

[00:09:59] [00:10:00] There's always a trade off. Right,

[00:10:01] Jenn Trepeck: right. And this may be progress, so Awesome.

[00:10:04] Jared St. Clair: Yeah, they do look good. Yeah. I mean the package is appealing.

[00:10:07] Jenn Trepeck: Right, exactly. And Caitlin says they taste delicious, so Yeah.

[00:10:11] Jared St. Clair: Yeah, they probably are. You know, if

[00:10:12] Jenn Trepeck: Caitlyn's word is enough for you. Go for it. Let us know if you tried them,

[00:10:16] Jared St. Clair: but I love your idea of putting it on like yogurt or cottage cheese or something like that.

[00:10:20] You know, protein it up. That makes sense. And give yourself a little sweet, a little indulgence. Yeah. Just a few of, yeah, yeah,

[00:10:24] Jenn Trepeck: yeah. That makes sense. Yeah. Well, and just a reminder to everybody, you know, read the label of whatever flavor or product you have in front of you so that you know, and if you're curious about their popcorn, let me know.

[00:10:35] Or if you've tried their popcorn, let me know. All right. Well, as always, everybody, I'm your host, Jenn Trepeck. Connect with me on Instagram or all social media. I'm at Jenn Trepeck. J-E-N-N-T-R-E-P-E-C-K. Website is a salad with the side of fries.com. Pick your platform, send a message. I love hearing from you, your takeaways, your ideas, your questions.

[00:10:55] It's also the easiest way to learn more about working with me as your health coach and [00:11:00] Jared Sinclair. Thank you again for being here with us this week.

[00:11:02] Jared St. Clair: Thank you. It was a real pleasure.

[00:11:04] Jenn Trepeck: Likewise and friend. If you are not already become a member of the Happy Healthy Hub, you'll go to a salad with the side of fries.com/membership.

[00:11:13] This shows your support for this podcast, this community, and of course, your health. On top of this week's episode, in full video with Behind the Scenes pieces and your 24 7, ask Me Anything, you'll get this week's recipe for chocolate cuties. Well, friends, that's it for today's episode of Salad with a Side of Fries.

[00:11:31] Congratulations for making yourself and your health a priority. Thanks so much for joining us. Be sure to click subscribe or follow on your favorite podcast platform. Share us with a friend and we'll be back next week. Always remember you deserve it and you are worth it. Happy, healthy.