Recipe: Clementine Rice Cakes Three Ways (Top 8 Allergen Free)

Whether you want breakfast or a snack, I think it's time to rescue rice cakes from their reputation as 1980s diet food. They're a great vehicle for all sorts of toppings, and almost anybody can eat them, because they're so allergy-friendly.

Plus, they're just the right shape and size to make artistic swirls of clementine segments, which as we all know is important in life, right? (Although I am sort of joking here, we do eat with our eyes, and I have to say, this genuinely helps me out!)

You can change this up all sorts of ways, too. Try different fruit and different spreads. This is just an idea, a jumping-off point. I also love these with bananas. If you're up for something a bit messier, try some chunks of grapefruit or oranges, but be prepared to get juice all over your face!

As for what rice cakes to use, I recommend getting the thinner ones, not the 1/2-inch thick ones that will dominate each bite. I buy the kind with some sea salt for extra flavor. But you can use whatever you can find.

There are some somewhat unusual ingredients here, I realize. You may not find them in your local grocery store. I only find some of them locally, myself. However, these spreads are found easily enough online if you can't get them locally. The brands I recommend are 88 Acres and Soom. (Soom is actually the only chocolate tahini I've ever seen commercially prepared, but let me know if you know of other brands.) I've never ordered directly from Soom, but I have had good experiences ordering directly from 88 Acres. I've purchased Soom products from both Nuts.com and Hive, and both are great places to find shelf-stable groceries in my experience. Of course, if you don't need specifically allergy-friendly spreads, feel free to use whatever nut butter strikes your fancy, too!

Clementine Rice Cakes Three Ways
Serves 1

Pumpkin Seed Butter, Clementines, and Pomegranate Arils

1 thin rice cake
About 1/2 tablespoon pumpkin seed butter
6 clementine segments (approximately 1/2 a small clementine)
About 1/2 tablespoon pomegranate arils

Dark Chocolate Sea Salt Tahini, Clementines, and Hemp Seeds

1 thin rice cake
About 1/2 tablespoon dark chocolate sea salt tahini
6 clementine segments (approximately 1/2 a small clementine)
1/4 teaspoon hemp seeds

Vanilla Sunflower Seed Butter, Clementines, and Chocolate

1 thin rice cake
About 1/2 tablespoon vanilla sunflower seed butter
6 clementine segments (approximately 1/2 a small clementine)
1/2 teaspoon mini non-dairy chocolate chips

For each version, the procedure is the same: Spread the rice cake with your seed butter of choice. Arrange clementine segments on top in a pattern like the petals of a flower. Garnish with the remaining ingredient.

Enjoy!