Low carb snack ideas

February 23, 2020 7:00 PM

Caveat: no nuts

Would love to hear your suggestions!! I've been trying to eat low carb for a few months now. I love to snack but eating the same yoghurt and protein bar is driving me crazy!!

Sidenote: would love to hear your stories of doing low carb and whether it worked out for you. So far I've been enjoying it.

posted by existentialwhale to Health & Fitness (21 answers total)

I like jicama with lime juice, salt, and chili powder.
posted by belau at 7:07 PM on February 23, 2020 [4 favorites]

Pickles. You do need to check that they're not sweetened (inorite? But grocery store pickles can be all kinds of whack.) but they're crunchy, strongly flavoured and should bring 2-3g of carbohydrate to the table for a large dill.
posted by mce at 7:10 PM on February 23, 2020 [3 favorites]

Pork rinds
posted by Sassyfras at 7:33 PM on February 23, 2020 [7 favorites]

There's a whole wide world of meat snacks.
As long as you don't have to watch your salts, they're perfect. Plus I like that it gives me treat solidarity with my dog.
posted by phunniemee at 7:34 PM on February 23, 2020 [10 favorites]

Cucumber slices with vinegar

Hummus, if that's low enough carb for you

Dehydrated zuchinni slices with salt, garlic and vinegar (you can bake in a low oven if you dont have a dehydrator).

Kale chips
posted by ananci at 7:35 PM on February 23, 2020 [2 favorites]

Coconut manna, straight out of the jar. It’s inélégant but delicious.
posted by andreapandrea at 7:49 PM on February 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

Eggs, pickled or hard-boiled.
posted by Beardman at 8:08 PM on February 23, 2020 [7 favorites]

Crudite and fatty dips? E.g., celery, carrots, bell peppers, green beans. Ranch-flavored sour cream, or mayonnaise, or olive oil.

Or skip the veggies entirely and just drink heavy cream, or eat a pat of butter, or sip some oil.

Avocado?
posted by meaty shoe puppet at 8:17 PM on February 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

Salami. String Cheese. Boiled eggs. Jerky. Spinach from the bag. Cauliflower and spinach dip. Sardines.

I stuck with keto for about 2 months and I dipped because i was so so bored. It did drop some weight but it wasn't worth turning down things i enjoyed for its high maintenance needs.
posted by fluttering hellfire at 8:34 PM on February 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

Low carb tortillas open up a lot of options. Don't munch them all day though, they still have carbs.
posted by MillMan at 8:57 PM on February 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

String cheese and eggs, or low carb veggies like cucumbers.
posted by slidell at 10:42 PM on February 23, 2020 [1 favorite]

Olives, artichoke hearts, mushrooms, shrimp, cheese, deli meat
posted by Pastor of Muppets at 11:09 PM on February 23, 2020

You said no nuts, but what about seeds? Sunflower, pumpkin, plain or roasted... If you enjoy snacks that require some activity you can get them with the shells, which means cracking them as you go.
posted by trig at 12:50 AM on February 24, 2020 [2 favorites]

Spoon --> peanut butter --> drizzle of real maple syrup. (I don't know if peanut butter counts as nuts. Probably, but this is a PSA for anyone who has never tried this.)
posted by nosila at 8:37 AM on February 24, 2020 [1 favorite]

Deviled eggs. You can get really creative with add-ins for the filling. Or just plain boiled eggs are simple to make ahead and keep in the fridge.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:57 AM on February 24, 2020 [2 favorites]

Cottage cheese can be varied by adding simple toppings like black pepper, hot sauce, toasted sesame/pumpkin/sunflower/etc. seeds, shredded seaweed (check that it's not sweetened).
posted by Lexica at 10:50 AM on February 24, 2020 [1 favorite]

My go-tos are boiled eggs, egg muffins (savory, or a sweet version with cream cheese, a few berries or SF Lily's chocolate chips, and allulose or monkfruit sweetener), salami and pepperoni, cheese (I try not to buy string cheese, and when I'm being efficient I'll get some nice sharp cheddar and pre-slice it), cottage cheese, meatballs (I bulk freeze raw many pounds of meatballs at a time to throw in the air fryer, and occasionally I'll just cook a dozen to keep in the fridge for grab-and-go, or they're especially delicious freshly-cooked if you have an air fryer or good convection toaster oven). I will occasionally make broccoli slaw or salad that I can grab a scoop of, and I also like to add a few leaves of romaine or iceberg (or whatever you like to keep on hand, lettuce-wise) to that or with my cheese-salami snack plate.

I'm trying to drink 4oz of water with electrolyte additive first every time I get snacky, as well. Half a cup of water is easily downed in no time, especially with a straw, and I am one of those people who will graze because I'm thirsty or salt-cravey but don't realize it.

My husband likes an occasional tub of 2Good yogurt (2g net). I've never been a huge yogurt fan and don't find this stuff especially compelling, but it's a real relief for him.
posted by Lyn Never at 11:30 AM on February 24, 2020

If you're into baking, there are some recipes for sugar free "flourless" cookies. I know i found one that is basically a meringue cookie that uses 2 different kind of artificial sweeteners. I've been experimenting changing up the recipe to use an artificial sweetener that also has fiber to give more of a satiated feeling.

Also a chocolate cookie with protein and fiber, OMG I don't know if something could have more win.

I apologize for not including a link, but the one I like, I printed on paper a while ago and its in my food pantry by the baking supplies. But as I recall, there were just a ton of these kinds of recipes out there.
posted by [insert clever name here] at 3:33 PM on February 24, 2020

My favorite low-carb snack is a bowl of nice tart cherry tomatoes, a few garlic-stuffed olives, and some cheese. Heck, that's often my lunch on days when I'm just loafing around the house. I could eat those olives by the jarful...
posted by sarcasticah at 4:25 PM on February 24, 2020 [1 favorite]

My favorite mix-in for cottage cheese is a splash of Newman's Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette.
posted by The Underpants Monster at 9:08 PM on February 24, 2020

I hope this is still on-point for you, but I do low-ish carb combined with intermittent fasting. My daily eating window is noon to 8pm. And, I can allow a few more carbs, like from these Power Crunch bars, throwing blueberries and granola into my yogurt, mandarins, or a piece of whole grain toast with scrambled eggs and kale. And, it's working for me, if "working" means losing weight. I probably eat 120 or fewer grams of carbs per day.

When I tried keto, I used to make dolmas (from the Practical Paleo cookbook) that replaced the rice with cauliflower and added lamb and a few other things. I left out carby things like raisins. It was incredibly delicious. It's basically this recipe. Keto was just too hard for me to sustain long term.
posted by pdxhiker at 8:52 PM on February 25, 2020