Low Carb Snacks: Five Easy to Prepare Choices

Many people trying to lose or maintain a healthy weight work snacks into their food plans. A mid-morning and mid-afternoon snack will help you stave off in-between meal hunger pangs and stabilize your blood sugar, so you might not have to hit the coffee or soda at 3 p.m. to get though the rest of your day. The trick is to choose healthy snacks that will support your lifestyle.

I picked five low carb alternatives that involve no cooking and can be put together in a couple of minutes. Some people, who know little about low carb eating, assume fruits and vegetables are off limits. The examples listed below might surprise them. Four of the five snacks also have a fair amount of protein as well.

1. Dry Roasted Almonds: An excellent choice for low carb dieters and a healthy food choice in general. I have trained my palate so that I enjoy the salt-free variety, but almonds come in many low carb-friendly flavors, such as smokehouse, salt & vinegar, and barbeque flavored to name only a few.

A snack doesn't get much easier to prepare than nuts. Weigh out a serving, toss them in a container, and go. They travel well too. Brazil nuts, peanuts, and macadamia nuts are three more good choices, which have the added benefit of each tasting quite a bit different so your taste buds won't get bored.

Calories 340, Protein 12 grams, Net Carbs 4 grams (two ounce serving)

2. Celery & Peanut Butter: These make a good snack combination. The peanut butter supplies protein and keeps you full while celery has a nice crunch. I use Smart Balance brand peanut butter, which is a little more expensive than the regular brands, but has less sugar and thus shaves off a couple of carbs. I have also tried peanut butter from the health food store but no one else in my household was willing to stir it up when the oils rose to the top of the jar.

I use three ounces of celery. This comes to about two good-sized sticks and is perfect for spreading two tablespoons of peanut butter, which is how I calculated my serving size.

Calories 205, Protein 7.6 grams, Net Carbs 7.5 grams (one serving)

3. Blackberries: We have been hearing for years that various types of berries are extremely nutritious, being high in antioxidants and might even reduce one's risk for certain types of cancers. What many people don't realize is that some berries are suitable for low carb dieters.

Blackberries can be tart, so feel free to sprinkle them with a little low carbohydrate sweetener of your choice if you wish. Personally, my sweet tooth has diminished over the years to where I enjoy them plain.

Strawberries, raspberries and blueberries are three more good choices. I particularly like to mix my blackberries with raspberries, which are slightly sweeter and help counter some of the tartness of the blackberries. My husband likes to add a dollop of a sugar-free whipped cream to make this more of an evening dessert than a snack.

Calories 48, Protein 1.6 grams, Net Carbs 5.6 grams (four ounce serving)

4. Tortilla With Salmon Cream Cheese: The key here is to make sure you are eating a product designed for carbohydrate controlled food plans. This means high fiber to negate some of the total carbohydrates. Mission makes a "Carb Balance" white flour tortilla that has only six net carbs, and actually tastes like a real tortilla. You can also use a suitable multi-grain or whole wheat tortilla if you prefer. Just remember that "whole wheat" and other similar buzzwords do not necessarily equate to low carb. Read the back of the package before you buy.

I picked salmon cream cheese because I like the rich, fishy flavor, which brings back fond memories of a delicatessen I used to frequent as a teenager. You could just as easily choose another flavor or use plain cream cheese. I sometimes add a small amount of thinly-sliced celery, a smidgen of avocado, or a little green onion as a garnish.

My serving is based on one medium-sized Mission white flour "Carb Balance" tortilla and two tablespoons of salmon cream cheese.

Calories 190, Protein 7 grams, Net Carbs: 7 grams (one serving)

5. Peaches & Cottage Cheese: Like berries, peaches are high in antioxidants and various nutrients, and again like berries most people do not think of peaches when they consider the subject of low carbohydrate diets. A caution: stick to fresh peaches and avoid the canned ones. I looked at the labels of various types - light syrup, heavy syrup, etc. - and found that fresh peaches have a lot less carbs than even the most carb-friendly canned varieties.

Use a 4% or 2% milk fat cottage cheese. Do not go for the fat free variety. I did and ended up hungry again an hour later. Any food choice that leaves you hungry will not support weight loss or maintenance over the long term. Furthermore, regular cottage cheese usually has a carb or two less than the fat free variety.

My serving size was calculated from one medium peach (about 3.5 ounces including the pit) and a half cup of 4% milk fat cottage cheese. I sometimes sprinkle a half tablespoon of oat bran or wheat germ over this snack, which adds about one half or one full carbohydrate respectively.

Calories 150, Protein 14, Net Carbs 11.2 (one serving)

One last point: peaches, celery and the berries I listed are often high in pesticides. I did a quick search on Google and found that these foods more often than not were listed as good choices to buy organic. (This assumes that the "organic" label assures the consumer of a certain lack of contaminants, which I think is far from certain.) I shop mostly at a regular supermarket or farmer's market and generally look for the best prices, but when it comes to these items I will sometimes cross my fingers and buy organic if the price difference isn't too great. Organic or not, I wash all my raw fruits and vegetables before I eat them and recommend you do as well.