Cracker Confusion

In your SHAPE Program Guidebook, we list a few brands of crackers that you can include in Phases I and II of the SHAPE Program. Because product availability varies from region to region and brands can change their ingredients list at any time, we will update this article accordingly to help you choose the best-approved crackers.

You can learn more about how to read labels here, but we realize there can be confusion regarding crackers since they technically contain non-approved ingredients like rice flour and vegetable oil. So, why do we approve the use of crackers in Phase I? Because when the variables of the SHAPE Program were initially tested, there tended to be greater success when some moderate carbohydrate and small amounts of fat were included. The crackers are optional, and some find they do better without them, but for many, metabolic balance is achieved and maintained by following this protocol.

With regards to crackers, here are some things to look for when shopping and reading labels:

Other Cracker Guidelines:

• Stick to plain flavors unless otherwise indicated in your Program Guidebook or listed below.
• Read the labels on every package you buy. Brands can change their recipes without changing their packaging. (This is especially true for packaged broths.)
• Blue Diamond Nut Thins seem to work for the greatest number of people, so crackers with a similar ingredient list and nutrition profile will likely also work well. If you have a nut allergy, Sesmark and Edward & Sons make similar crackers without nuts.

If you are using an older guidebook (7^th Edition or earlier, titled “The Complete Patient Guidebook”), we recommend purchasing a new copy. The 8^th Edition Program Guidebook (released April 2020 and reprinted in October 2021) contains an updated list of crackers and approved foods.

Thank you for your diligence and desire to learn how to best help your body heal. Learning to read labels and recognize inflammatory ingredients is crucial to your long-term success.

At this time, the following list of crackers from these well-known brands have approved ingredients. There may be other brands that also work, but always read the labels carefully for anything in the non-approved list.

Back to Nature Gluten Free

These flavors are approved:

• Multi-Seed Rice Thin Crackers
• Sea Salt & Cracked Black Pepper Rice Thin Crackers
• Sesame Seed Rice Thins Crackers

These flavors contain sugar or other non-approved ingredients:

• White Cheddar Flavored Rice Thin Crackers

Blue Diamond Nut Thins

These flavors are approved:

• Artisan Flax Seed
• Artisan Multi-Seed
• Original (Almond)
• Hint of Sea Salt (Almond)
• Pecan

These flavors contain sugar or other non-approved ingredients:

• Artisan Sesame Seed
• Cheddar Cheese
• Country Ranch
• Honey Cinnamon
• Pepper Jack Cheese
• Smokehouse
• Sriracha

Edward & Sons Brown Rice Snaps

These flavors are approved:

• Onion Garlic
• Tamari Seaweed
• Tamari Sesame
• Toasted Onion
• Unsalted Plain
• Unsalted Sesame
• Vegetable

These flavors contain sugar or other non-approved ingredients:

• Black Sesame
• Cheddar
• Exotic Rice Toast (all flavors)

Flackers

These flavors are approved:

• Black Sesame Seed & Black Pepper
• Everything
• Garden Vegetable
• Hemp Seed & Hatch Green Chile
• Rosemary
• Savory
• Sea Salt
• Simply Salted
• Tomato & Basil

These flavors contain sugar or other non-approved ingredients:

• Cinnamon & Currants

Good & Gather (Target-only brand)

These flavors are approved:

• Gluten Free Multigrain Rice Crackers

These flavors contain sugar or other non-approved ingredients:

• Everything Crackers
• Sea Salt Pita Crackers

Good Thins

These flavors are approved:

• Simply Salt (“Made With Rice”)

These flavors contain sugar or other non-approved ingredients:

• Barbecue
• Garden Veggie
• Jalapeño & Lime
• Parmesan & Garlic
• Sea Salt (“Made With Corn”)
• Sea Salt & Pepper
• Three Cheese

Hu Grain-Free Crackers

These flavors are approved:

• Everything
• Pizza
• Sea Salt

Mary’s Gone Crackers

These flavors are approved:

• Black Pepper
• Herb
• Jalapeño
• Original
• *Super Seed Basil & Garlic (8 per day)
• *Super Seed Classic (8 per day)
• *Super Seed Everything (8 per day)
• *Super Seed Seaweed & Black Sesame (8 per day)

These flavors contain sugar or other non-approved ingredients:

• Real Thin Crackers (all flavors)

*Because the Super Seed varieties are quite a bit larger, a daily serving size is 8 crackers.

Sesmark

These flavors are approved:

• Ancient Grains Sea Salt
• Mini Rice Crackers Sesame Garlic (32 crackers per day)
• Rice Thins Brown Rice
• Rice Thins Sesame
• Savory Rice Thins Brown Rice
• Savory Rice Thins Original
• Savory Rice Thins Toasted Onion and Garlic

These flavors contain sugar or other non-approved ingredients:

• Ancient Grains Garden Kale
• Ancient Grains Jalapeño Cheddar
• Ancient Grains Parmesan Herb
• Mini Rice Crackers Black Bean Salsa
• Mini Rice Crackers Chili Lime
• Mini Rice Crackers Simply Salted
• Rice Thins Cheddar
• Rice Thins Teriyaki
• Savory Rice Thins Cracked Wheat and Sesame
• Savory Rice Thins Teriyaki
• Sesame Thins Cheddar
• Sesame Thins Garlic
• Sesame Thins Original

Simple Mills

These flavors are approved:

• Almond Flour Cracked Black Pepper
• Almond Flour Fine Ground Sea Salt
• Almond Flour Rosemary & Sea Salt
• Almond Flour Sun-Dried Tomato & Basil
• *Seed Flour Everything (8 per day)
• *Seed Flour Garlic & Herb (8 per day)
• *Seed Flour Original (8 per day)

These flavors contain sugar or other non-approved ingredients:

• Almond Flour Farmhouse Cheddar
• Veggie Pita (all flavors)

*Because the Seed Flour varieties are quite a bit larger, a daily serving size is 8 crackers.