Mishima Brown Rice Crackers

2016 Update: Unfortunately, this product is no longer available. And that's a real shame because it was such a tasty treat.

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For years and years my husband and I have loved eating Japanese rice cracker snacks. Crispy, crunchy, and tasty – covered with a soy sauce or chili glaze. We also loved wasabi coated dried peas. But lately, we really haven’t been able to enjoy these tasty treats because of their high sodium content. Not until now…

A few months ago I found myself in the Asian foods section of my local grocery store. I honestly can’t remember what I was searching for at the time, but I happened to notice a new product: Brown Rice Crackers! They were on the same shelf as all the other Asian snack crackers. I thought, “Hmmm. Brown rice. Might be healthier than the regular crackers. Better take a closer look.” So I did. There were three varieties available, but the “Brown Rice – Mix – Light Seasoning” package just about floored me.

As you know, most Asian rice cracker snacks are usually high in sodium, but not this one. The bag holds 2.5 servings of 10 mg sodium/serving. Yes, that’s right! 10 mg sodium per serving. I immediately grabbed four bags and headed for the checkout lane. Since then, these delightful crackers have been part of our repertoire of treats.

Only 10 mg sodium per serving!

My husband and I split a bag, so we end up with 15 mg sodium each and approximately 144 calories each. The bag contains various sizes and shapes of crackers with these flavors: wasabi, black pepper, sesame, curry, and plain. Lots of spicy flavor. The plain crackers are half moons and have no flavored coating. They do have a nice crunch and toasted rice flavor. Since there are so many of them, they're probably what brings down the total sodium content.

My favorite is the rectangular black sesame cracker

I've been buying these snack crackers at my local grocery store. Eventually they ran out of this variety although the other two Mishima varieties are still available. Well, I wasn’t about to wait until the store restocked this item, so I went searching online. Luckily, I found that Amazon sells a 12-pack case, and I ordered one. They're not cheap, so we don't have them every day. But they're great for every once in a while. And they're a rice cracker snack that fits into a low sodium diet. One less thing to feel deprived about.