Snacks with No Carbs for School, Office, Travel, and Home
Written by Mariia Roza
Mariia Roza is a weight loss and fitness writer at Unimeal. She is an expert in nutrition, wellness, longevity, and sports.
Fact checked by Ievgeniia Dobrynina
Ievgeniia Dobrynina is the Head of Nutrition and a fact checker at Unimeal.
Medically reviewed by Dr. Olena Avdiievska, MD, RDN
Dr. Olena Avdiievska is a nutritional and medical expert at Unimeal. She is an MD and RDN in Dietology and nutrition and a university professor with 76 scientific publications.
If you like your snacks, there is no need to cut them off, even if you’re trying to lose weight. Just make wiser food choices. Have these nutritious low-carb snacks to satisfy your hunger and hit your macros.
Have you noticed that you become even hungrier very fast after snacking with a donut or an apple? One of the reasons is that naked carbs can spike your insulin response, leading to even stronger hunger urges in a matter of 30 to 60 minutes. To satisfy your hunger, opt for healthy low-carb snacks. As they’re rich in protein and fats, they will keep you satiated for longer, so you can keep on doing your everyday stuff until lunch or dinner.
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Top-10 best low carb snacks for keto
Today there are tons of various keto-friendly snacks on the shelves, but in most cases, especially when we’re talking about “keto sweets,” the number of ingredients there is immense! If you’re someone who wants to know for sure what their food is made of, sometimes it’s better to make your snacks by yourself.
Here are top-10 low-carb, high-fat snacks that will suit a keto diet, from the easiest to grab to some snacks that will need some of your time to prepare.
Nuts
Any nuts will do for keto, but pecan, macadamia, and Brazil nuts contain more fat and are considered more keto-friendly.
For example, five Brazil nuts are about 25 grams. This portion has:
- 164 calories: 85% fat, 8% protein, and 7% carbs.
As two-thirds of carbohydrates are fiber, net carbs in Brazil nuts are even lower.
Cheese
Choose hard cheeses like cheddar or parmesan to get the best macros ratio for your keto diet. For example, 30 grams of cheddar cheese is about:
- 125 calories: 75% fat, 24% protein, and less than 1% carbohydrates.
Peanut butter balls
Take a tablespoon of crunchy peanut butter with no added sugar, make a small ball of it, and roll it in sesame seeds. One ball is:
- 123 calories: 72% fat, 15% protein, and 13% carbs.
And again, almost one-third of carbs calories will be from fiber, so the amount of net carbs you get is actually lower.
Cheddar chips
Grate 30 grams of cheddar cheese, add seasonings to taste, and put small portions of this mix into the preheated pan. Cheeses high in fat melt quickly and dry even faster when the pan is cold. Let your cheese pancakes cool down and take them off the pan. The calories and macros are the same as in one portion of cheddar cheese:
- 125 calories: 75% fat, 24% protein, and less than 1% carbohydrates.
Olives with cheese
Olives are almost 90% fat. Ten small olives will add only 45 calories to your food diary. To make a satisfying snack, prepare some canapes: put an olive, a cherry tomato, and a small mozzarella cheese on a stick. Five canapes are about:
- 100 calories: 62% fat, 21% protein, and 17% carbs.
Salami wraps
Take 50 grams of soft salami, 50 grams of Philadelphia cream cheese (or any other high-fat cream cheese of your choice), and some pickles. Put some cheese onto the salami slices, cover it with sliced pickles and wrap salami. Fix your wraps with a stick if they don’t hold well. This amount of ingredients will give five wraps, which are:
300 calories in total: 83% fat, 12% protein, and only 5% carbs.
Guacamole
Avocados are very trendy now, and this popularity is partially due to their macros ratio. Half an avocado is about:
- 160 calories: 76% fat, 5% protein, and 20% carbs.
It might seem that avocado is not a good fit for low-carb diets as almost 20% of its calories come from carbs. However, two-thirds of carbs actually come from fiber, so net carbs are pretty low.
The naked avocado is not entirely satisfying as a snack, so we recommend you to make a dip with all your favorite seasonings, some lemon juice, jalapeno, and olive oil. Have some low-carb vegetables like cucumbers or some cheddar chips on the side.
Salmon wraps
This one might take some time to cook, but the result is worth your efforts. Take two strings of light-salted or smoked salmon, one medium egg, and a quarter of an avocado. Blend egg well until it’s homogeneous. Add your favorite seasonings. Put some cooking oil into the preheated pan and make a thin pancake from an egg mix. Put two strings of salmon onto the pancake, add sliced avocado and make a wrap. You will receive a large wrap that will satiate you for long as it contains:
- 266 calories: 70% fat, 23% protein, and 7% carbs.
(Most of the carbs come from avocado, which is rich in fiber, so in the end, you don’t get that many net carbs).
Bacon wraps
Wrap your bacon around asparagus and bake it. You’ve probably seen this recipe before on Instagram, and it is there not only because it looks great. It tastes amazing as well! One wrap will add about:
- 170 calories: 70% fat, 27% protein, and 3% carbs.
Cookies with coconut flour
You will need one egg, 40 grams of high-fat butter, 90 grams of coconut flour, and some sweeteners or spices (like vanilla or cinnamon) to taste. Mix an egg with sweeteners and spices, blend it well until the size of a mixture is doubled. Add room-temperature butter, mix it well, and then add coconut flour. Mix the dough until it’s homogeneous and make small balls of it. Put them into the pre-heated oven at 180 C for 15 to 20 minutes until the cookies are light brown.
This amount of ingredients will be enough for about ten cookies. The whole batch is about:
- 670 calories, 63% fat, 26% protein, and 11% carbs.
Summing up: Fats are very satiating and might keep you full for long. However, as they’re calorie-dense (one gram of fat contains 9 calories), you should mind your portions, as, even when it comes to the ketogenic diet, weight loss is always the result of calorie deficit.
Top-10 high-protein low-carb snacks
Protein is often underrated among people who try to lose weight. This macronutrient is not only very satiating, but it also allows you to build muscle if you’re working out. What’s more, protein has a higher thermal effect of food, which means that your body needs more energy to digest protein than is required for carbs or fats. Aren’t these arguments enough to have a high-protein snack instead of some sugary chocolate bar? Here are some great options you should consider.
Hard-boiled eggs
That is one of the most holistic, easy to cook, and satiating foods mother Earth has provided. One large hard-boiled egg is about:
- 88 calories,
- 7.5 grams of protein,
- 6 grams of fat, and
- less than 0.5 grams of carbs.
It will perfectly suit both those who use the keto diet and those who want to increase the amount of protein they consume.
Low-fat cheese
When you buy low-fat cheese, always have a look at the nutrition facts. The thing is, some manufacturers can increase the amount of sugars, starches, and other carbs to make food taste better. As a good example, there are Babybell high-protein small-sized cheeses. One portion is 20 grams and contains:
- 42 calories,
- 5 grams of protein,
- 2.4 grams of fat,
- zero carbs.
Dry chicken jerky
There are different brands of dry meat, and you should pay attention to the nutrition facts, as in some cases, they might contain a lot of unnecessary additives and carbs. An average 50-gram pack of dry chicken jerky will have about:
- 90 calories,
- 17 grams of protein,
- less than 2 grams of fat, and
- 2 grams of carbs.
What’s specifically good about this snack is that it doesn’t have a strong smell and doesn’t take a lot of space in your purse.
Turkey hot-dogs
And again, the composition of sausages may vary from brand to brand, so pay attention to the nutrition facts. Use simple low-calorie mustard, put your sausage in an iceberg lettuce salad, and you will get a high-protein hot dog of:
- 160 calories,
- 20 grams of protein,
- 8 grams of fat, and
- less than 2 grams of carbs.
Greek yogurt
Low-fat Greek yogurt can only partially be called a high-protein, low-carb snack. The thing is, an average portion of 8 ounces, even though quite low in calories, will be richer in carbs than in protein. With a portion of Greek yogurt, you will get:
- 120 calories,
- 8 grams of protein,
- almost 13 grams of carbs, and
- about 5 grams of fat.
What’s more, Greek yogurt is quite bland on its own, so the chances are you will want to add some berries or granola to it, which will increase the amount of carbs even more. (Which is not bad! We’re not against carbs in any case! But as this list is strictly about protein snacks, we have to mention it).
Canned tuna
Canned tuna (with no added oil) is a perfect source of protein. A small can of 75 grams will contain only:
- 90 calories,
- 20 grams of protein,
- zero carbs, and
- less than 1 gram of fat.
This might look like a perfect choice to hit your macros, but let’s be honest, the canned tuna alone is quite bland, and some people even call it “cat food.”
Fortunately, canned tuna is an excellent ingredient for multiple quick and tasty meals. For example, you can mix it with spices, boiled egg, and bell peppers and get a perfect high-protein salad that will still be very low in carbs but much more satisfying than tuna alone.
Cottage cheese with yogurt
Many people don’t like cottage cheese, but we believe it’s because they simply don’t know how to serve it properly. Instead of trying to stuff yourself with the tasteless white mass, make a good snack of it! Mix five ounces of fat-free cottage cheese with two ounces of greek yogurt and some berries you like. You will get a perfect high-protein, low-carb snack! This dessert is about:
- 160 calories,
- 26 grams of protein,
- 12 grams of carbs, and
- 1.5 grams of fat.
By the way, you can make this dessert taste even better if you have some spare time. Blend this mixture until it's homogeneous, add some skim milk with agar-agar and sweetener, blend again, pour it into cupcake forms, put them into the fridge, and in 2-3 hours, you will get amazing jello-like cupcakes!
Cheesecakes with cottage cheese
Another way you can make cottage cheese a part of your diet is by making cheesecakes! Mix five ounces of fat-free cottage cheese with one ounce of coconut flour, your favorite sweetener, and one egg. Pour the mixture into cupcake forms and put them into the preheated oven (about 150-170 C) for 15-20 minutes until the cupcakes are light-brown. This amount of ingredients will be enough for six cupcakes. The whole batch is about:
- 270 calories,
- 41 grams of protein,
- 8 grams of fat, and
- 8 grams of carbs.
You can eat them as they are or put some greek yogurt and berries on the side.
Tofurky
There are not many high-protein, low-carb snacks for vegans. Tofurky is the most popular one. You should try them out even if you’re an omnivore just to make your diet more diverse. One serving has about:
- 110 calories,
- 14 grams of protein,
- 4 grams of fat, and
- 6 grams of carbs.
Protein bars
The problem with protein bars is that in most cases, they’re not so low in carbs. That’s why we’ve put it at the end of the list. Another reason why they shouldn’t be your first choice as a snack is because, along with whey protein, they frequently have a massive number of other components, like preservatives, taste-intensifiers, and flavorings. Just check the labels carefully before you buy protein bars. The chances are, you might get an average chocolate bar with some whey protein added to it.
Summing up: Protein is one of the weight-loss-friendliest macronutrients. The thing is, it has the highest thermic effect of food, which means, your body needs more energy to digest one gram of protein than it would spend on carbs or fats. Most personal trainers recommend increasing your diet with lean protein sources and fiber to lose weight with fewer hunger urges.
Unimeal does not diagnose or suggest treatments. Any description of the diet, training plan or supplement should be discussed with your current physician or nutritionist. This article does not address specific conditions and is simply meant to provide general information on healthcare topics. Following any advice is at your own initiative and does not impose any responsibility on the blog authors for your health and safety.
