Favorite high protein / low carb / low fat foods?

January 15, 2016 7:45 AM

This cheese was one of my favorite snacks to help me lose weight during my last push. What high protein/low carb/low fat foods do you love?

I found that high protein cheese above gave me the flexibility to snack without adding on extra lbs. I know fat in foods isn't necessarily the bad guy it's been made out to be so I'm simply looking for high protein/low carb/low fat foods you've found that are enjoyable. No need to name meats - I'm familiar with lean meats so I'm looking for snacks and sides that meet this criteria.

posted by glaucon to Food & Drink (16 answers total)

Fat-free Greek yogurt and low-fat cottage cheese are pretty good, though not very flavorful on their own. But they go well with raw vegetables, or with fruits depending on how low you want to keep your carbs. I like to have cottage cheese on a green salad with cherry tomatoes, or with apple slices.
posted by neushoorn at 7:53 AM on January 15, 2016 [2 favorites]

tofu jerky

edamame

quorn cutlets (unbreaded) with or without marinara sauce

veggie burger patties with no bun
posted by amtho at 7:55 AM on January 15, 2016

Be wary of fat-free and low fat things, for they are often just carbs.

Nuts of all kinds are good -- almonds, cashews, walnuts, etc.
posted by Cool Papa Bell at 7:59 AM on January 15, 2016 [3 favorites]

Lentils/dal FTW.

A simple, quick recipe that has become a staple for me: soak lentils ahead of time, discard soaking water, caramelize some onions in a little olive oil (with spices if you like), add the lentils with some water and a pinch of salt. Throw in some kale and/or carrots too if you like, simmer till done.
posted by splitpeasoup at 8:09 AM on January 15, 2016 [5 favorites]

im also dieting and although i dont avoid fats at all really, im finding as ive adjusted my diet and activity levels that sometimes i need more protein than i am getting. when i feel like my macros are out of whack and im short on protein i will sometimes just have a shake. i use this unflavored unsweetened whey and mix it with 8 oz of califia unsweetened coconut almond milk. its not a side but it fills the nutrient requirements.

Also hard boiled eggs, always easy and even if you buy quality eggs they arent expensive - i will sometimes ditch one or more yolks depending on my other fat intake.
posted by Exceptional_Hubris at 8:29 AM on January 15, 2016 [1 favorite]

Best answer: You can make that Knorr spinach dip using Fage yogurt for the dairy portion. It's a tub of Fage, Knorr veggie soup mix, chopped up water chestnuts, and frozen chopped spinach that's been thawed and squeezed out very well. I add in a tiny bit of fat free sour cream just to thin it out a little bit and give it a better mouth feel. It's almost entirely protein. My kids will polish off a whole batch of it if I don't claim it for myself.

It makes a really good dip for veggies, etc., or a really nice spread to put on a piece of turkey and one of those little low carb tortillas.

I also do eggs, and those little individual mozzarella snacks. They're much cheaper at Costco than anywhere else.
posted by dancinglamb at 8:32 AM on January 15, 2016 [11 favorites]

Smoked salmon.
posted by axismundi at 8:46 AM on January 15, 2016

Labneh, which is what you get when you take yogurt and strain it until it has the consistency of cream cheese. I just dump yogurt in a cloth-lined sieve, fold the cloth over the top surface, and rest a small mixing bowl filled with water on top to press out the whey.
posted by contraption at 8:56 AM on January 15, 2016 [1 favorite]

I like the little babybel light cheese circles. Costco or Sam's is way cheaper than the regular grocery stores. Edamame beans are also a filling snack--you can just run hot water from the sink over them in a strainer to "cook" them if they are shelled and frozen.

For a sweet snack, you can make microwave muffins from stevia, egg whites, cocoa powder, and either pumpkin or yogurt. Here's a recipe I use (but add almond extract and cinnamon for a change): http://keeprecipes.com/recipe/howtocook/moist-low-calorie-microwave-protein-fudge-muffins-smoothiegirleatstoo
posted by shortyJBot at 9:22 AM on January 15, 2016 [1 favorite]

My current favorite and it's showing up at Starbucks is Moon Cheese!
posted by bitdamaged at 9:32 AM on January 15, 2016 [2 favorites]

(Just a note of caution; unless it's magical fat free cheese, like the one the OP linked to, then cheese is very rarely 'low fat' - the two kinds of cheese snack mentioned here so far are 15% and 41% fat respectively, both giving you 3-5g fat per serving)
posted by AFII at 9:50 AM on January 15, 2016

Grape tomatoes with a spoonful of hummus is my favourite cold hi pro/low carb/low cal snack. If I'm wanting something warm, it's green beans and sesame seeds quickly sauteed with a smidge of sesame oil.
posted by mal de coucou at 10:31 AM on January 15, 2016 [2 favorites]

I'm currently dieting (have lost 45 lbs. so far). Protein things I enjoy include Trader Joe's Light Organic String Cheese (the organic tastes better to me than their nonorganic kind), Trader Joe's Edamame hummus (eaten with sliced cucumbers or carrots), Smari brand Icelandic style yogurt, Siggi's brand Icelandic style skyr/yogurt, hard boiled eggs, Tanka brand buffalo meat with cranberries bars, Elli brand quark (lemon flavor), and Cava brand Tzatziki (eaten with cucumber slices or carrots).
posted by gudrun at 11:34 AM on January 15, 2016 [1 favorite]

I made (a somewhat bastardised-with-what-I-had-available) these mushroom jerky things and they were so tasty, plus I used the marinade for tofu later on and ditto.
posted by Gin and Broadband at 7:17 AM on January 16, 2016

Best answer: You can make ranch dressing with low fat greek yogurt. You have a few different options:

-Hidden Valley packets, which are widely available & full of sugar & MSG
-Fancier ranch dressing mix from Spice House or Penzey's
-buttermilk powder with fresh or dried green onion, chives, shallot, pepper etc. hardest but if you're super concerned with ingredients you can pretty much make it out of whatever you want
posted by Juliet Banana at 1:11 AM on January 17, 2016

Best answer: Coming back to add B'more Organic Skyr Smoothies.
posted by gudrun at 6:10 PM on January 21, 2016