Let’s face it: sticking to a low-carb diet isn’t easy. Even if you start the morning off strong with a fruit smoothie, by the middle of the day, the hunger pangs start kicking in. As you gaze longingly at the chips in your pantry, you do your best to avoid giving in to temptation. If only you could find a snack that tastes good and fills you up and has no carbs. News flash: That does exist.
Choosing snacks with healthy fats, protein, and better-for-you carbs, such as fruit and vegetables, can help you meet your carb goals while still delivering a lot of nutrients.
There are many tasty zero-carb snacks that you can enjoy, and these snacks also have the advantage of satisfying your hunger without adding inches to your waistline.
Here are 10 easy low-carb snacks that are both delicious and nutritious.
1. Eggs/Egg Muffins
If you’ve been carb-free eating for even a week, you’ve probably figured out that eggs are your best friend.
Honestly, the more ways you can learn to cook them to keep things interesting, the better.
Poach them over a bed of spinach and top them with cheese, hot sauce, and a spritz of lemon juice.
Scramble them and mix in some peppers and onions.
Hard-boil them and have them ready to go at a moment’s notice.
You get the idea!
Or take some time and make these awesome egg muffins from LifeMadeSweeter. Not only are they delicious, but they are also a perfect 0-carb snack.
2. Chicken and mustard lettuce roll-ups
Skip the flour tortillas and opt for lettuce as a wrap. Make it filling by using lean meat as the base. “Chicken and other meats are some of the best sources of vitamin B12, which helps make red blood cells, helping to prevent anemia,” Gariglio-Clelland explains. “Simply toss chicken breast chunks with mustard and roll them up in a romaine lettuce leaf.”
3. Dried Seaweed
“Dried seaweed is incredibly nutritious; it is low in calories and carbs, but rich in protein, fiber, magnesium, and vitamin K,” Gillespie explains. Pro tip: Dried seaweed can be eaten alone or paired with other no-carb snack items like eggs or string cheese.
4. Cheddar Cheese Crisps
Carbs per serving: 0.6 grams per ounce (28 grams) of sharp cheddar cheese.
Cheddar cheese is a versatile low-carb snack containing less than 1 gram of carbs per 1-ounce (28-gram) serving.
For a delicious crispy alternative, try homemade cheddar cheese crisps.
Cut thin slices of cheddar cheese into small, individual squares. Place the squares on a baking sheet, and bake at 300°F (150°C) for about 30 minutes, or until crisp. You can also look for packaged cheese crisps at the store.
5. Pepperoni Slices
Make sure the pepperonis you buy aren’t too processed (i.e. include extra processed sugars/carbs), but these are awesome zero-carb snacks for just having a few to tide you over until dinner or to combine with cheese and greens of your choice for something a bit more substantial.
You can also throw them in the oven for easy pepperoni chips!
6. Walnuts
to diet can be followed by vegetarians, and one vegetarian keto snack they can eat is walnuts.
They are also dairy-free, heart-healthy, and low in carbs.
Mixed with dark chocolate and other keto foods like coconut chips, you have a perfectly keto trail mix you can take to a hike, gym, or the office for a mid-day snack.
Not to mention walnuts are high in fat and moderate in protein. If you are lacking protein in your meals, they provide a convenient way to add up the protein for an additional energy boost.
As with most nuts, they bring in a decent amount of calories, so stick to one serving at a time to avoid breaking your daily calorie budget.
Otherwise, the calories from the nuts can quickly add up.
Serving size: 1/4 cup, 220 calories, 20 g fat (2.5 g saturated fat), 4 g carbs, 0 g sugar, 0 mg sodium, 2 g fiber, 4 g protein.
7. Tuna salad lettuce wraps
Carbs per serving: approximately 1 gram.
Three ounces (85 grams) of canned tuna contains no carbs and nearly 25 grams of protein.
To make tuna salad, combine a 3-ounce (85-gram) can of tuna with 1/4 cup (55 grams) of mayonnaise and 1/4 cup (25 grams) of diced celery. Season the mix with salt and pepper to taste.
For a low-carb wrap option, spoon tuna salad into a butter lettuce leaf.
8. Olives
Olives may not be an obvious choice, but it’s, in fact, an excellent keto food. It’s one fruit low in carbs and contains a dose of healthy fat.
Up to 15% of the olive content comes from fat. Within that, 74% of which is a monounsaturated fatty acid called oleic acids. It’s a healthy oil that should be a major part of any keto diet.
In every 10 olives, you can find about 3 g of fat and 1.5g of net carbs (5).
If you need to add more fat to your snack, have a few cubes of cheese with the olives.
9. Salmon Or Canned Fish
Salmon or canned fish, like tuna, is super packed with protein and can quickly leave you feeling full for hours.
Combine them with onions, a little mayonnaise, and cheese for a tuna salad of sorts.
10. Strawberry Smoothie
While smoothies made with lots of fruit, juice, and sorbet can be very high in carbs, you can make a lower-carb smoothie with the right ingredients.
For example, strawberries are a delicious lower-carb fruit, with 1/2 cup (83 grams) providing just 6 grams of carbs.
To make a low-carb strawberry smoothie, blend the following:
- 1 cup (240 ml) of unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 cup (83 grams) of fresh strawberries
- 1/4 cup (24 grams) of whey protein or another low-carb protein powder
- 1 tablespoon (15 grams) of chia seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon of vanilla extract
- a few ice cubes
