Some people find crackers and crispbreads easier to tolerate than bread following weight loss surgery.

Like most foods, there are some fabulous choices, but also some options that are not particularly nutritious.

No matter which cracker or crispbread option you select, be mindful of your portions, as they can be very easy to over eat.

In general we recommend the wholegrain or wholemeal varieties, however if you would like more specific guidelines, take a look at the nutrition information panel and try to select a cracker that fits the following criteria:

• Protein: greater than 6g per 100g

• Fibre: greater than 6g per 100g

• Total fat: less than 10g per 100g

• Sodium: less than 400mg per 100g

Examples of crackers and crispbreads in Australian supermarkets that fit these criteria are as follows:

• Arnott’s Vita-Weat (slightly higher than our selection criteria for sodium)

• Real Foods Corn Thins Sesame

• Real Foods Corn Thins Multigrain

• Real Foods Corn Thins Soy & Linseed

• Real Foods Wholegrain Thins Ancient Grains

• Ryvita Multigrain

• Ryvita Original

• Woolworths Thin Corn Cake with Brown Rice (slightly lower in fibre than our selection criteria)

This is not an exhaustive list, so check your favourite against the criteria we have listed above and see if it fits.

Once you have found a suitable cracker that you enjoy, let’s look at your portion. It can be useful to think of your serve of crackers in terms of slices of bread. A slice of bread provides approximately 15g of carbohydrate. Check the nutrition information panel for the number of crackers that would provide roughly 15g of carbohydrate to help keep track of your serves. For example, the following amount of crackers contains around 15g of carbohydrate, the equivalent to a slice of bread:

• 6 small squares Salada or Premium crackers (preferably wholemeal/grain)

• 2 sandwich size or 4 small Vita-Weat

• 3 Ryvita

The above criteria is taken from our Weight Loss Surgery Shopping Companion. The best value way to get a copy of our Shopping Companion is in our Book Bundle. The Book Bundle has a recommended retail of $110 if purchased separately, but in the bundle you get all six books for $85, saving $25! You can find out more about it here.