The keto diet, which goes heavy on fats and low on carbs, has become wildly popular in recent months. Here are a few keto-friendly snacks.
A high-profile diet
The keto diet, which goes heavy on fats and low on carbs, has become wildly popular in recent months. Celebrities like basketball star LeBron James, reality TV star Kim Kardashian, actress and health mogul Gwyneth Paltrow and former football star Tim Tebow have all reportedly followed a ketogenic diet or aspects of it. The premise behind the diet is that when you eat high-fat foods in the absence of excess carbs, it forces your body into fat-burning metabolic mode, says Bethany M. Doerfler, a clinical research dietitian in the division of gastroenterology and hepatology at Northwestern Medicine in Chicago. The keto diet is similar in some ways to other low-carb diets, but more extreme — about 20 net carbs a day or less, depending on the version.
Pair healthy fats with low-carb produce.
Historically, the keto diet has been rich in animal fats, “which causes concern over unnecessary saturated fats,” Doerfler says. “When trying to create ketogenic snacks, a guiding principle is to pair healthy fats with low-carb produce. Everyone needs grab-and-go snacks, but the emphasis should be on eating real food at snack time versus snack foods at snack time. You will eat higher-quality foods with less preservatives and less carbs.” Here are eight keto snacks that provide plenty of protein and are low in carbs.
Avocado egg salad
Smash avocado slices together with canola-based mayo (the variety made with eggs) and serve on lettuce wraps or atop flax crackers. “This snack is ideal because it is rich in fat but contains many heart-healthy fats and very little carbs,” Doerfler says. “Adding a flax cracker allows you to add more fiber without carbs. Eggs get a bad [nutritional] reputation undeservingly. I’m in favor of including eggs in a diet rather than other animal fat.”
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Snack balls
Raw dates, almond flour, ground or crushed almonds and chocolate chips are the ingredients for a sweet tasting snack that will give you a boost of energy, says Rachel Weingarten, who writes the Evolved Foodie blog and is based in Brooklyn. These snack balls are tasty and easy to make, Weingarten says. Soak four to 10 raw dates in hot water for 10 minutes, and save the remaining liquid. Pour the dates with a teaspoon or so of the reserved liquid into a food processor bowl, and process the concoction for maximum smoothness. Add the almond flour or crushed almonds until the sticky substance is doughy, then place the mixture in a bowl and add chocolate chips until they’re evenly distributed. Roll out 1-inch balls of the mixture (you can wear silicon gloves if sticky food bothers you), place the round snacks on wax paper and refrigerate about 20 minutes before serving. “The protein in the nuts balances out natural fruit sugars, so your blood sugar won’t spike,” Weingarten says. “It also has all the good stuff — nutrients, fiber, vitamins — so you get the sweetness while also eating something that is good for you, as long as you don’t overdo it.”
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Scrambled eggs and veggies
Mixing some low-carb and fiber-rich veggies like spinach or asparagus into eggs while scrambling them provides your body with important vitamins, antioxidants and minerals, says Pamela Nisevich Bede, a sports dietitian with Abbott’s EAS Sports Nutrition. She’s based in Dayton, Ohio. “Scrambling eggs with some low-carb and fiber-rich veggies provides your body with much-needed vitamins, antioxidants and minerals,” she says.
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Lettuce topped with marinated tuna, cheese and nuts
Here’s another keto-friendly salad you can feel good about, Nisevich Bede says: Take some lettuce and top it with vinaigrette, high-fat walnuts, cheese and fish (marinated or canned in oil). “These heart-healthy choices offer the perfect blend of protein and fat and, because the vegetables offer fiber, this offsets the carbs so no worries there,” she says. The snack is easy to make quickly and offers a variety of textures and tastes.
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Avocado on whole grain
One of the nice things about the keto diet is it provides lots of ways to eat avocados, which besides being rich and tasty have lots of healthy monounsaturated fat, says Brittney Bearden, a sports nutrition manager at Texas Health Dallas. Bearden isn’t the biggest fan of the diet, but says some keto-friendly snacks can be tasty and healthy. “Whole grains contain the whole grain — the germ, bran and endosperm. Since it contains the whole grain, it contains more vitamins, minerals and fiber. Topping whole-grain toast with avocado provides potassium, healthy fats and additional fiber.”
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Cottage cheese with avocado
For another tasty keto snack featuring avocado, sprinkle a helping of cottage cheese with salt and pepper, Nisevich Bede says. “Toss in some avocado for a creamy snack that’s rich in slow-digesting casein protein and loaded with electrolytes like potassium and sodium,” she says. This snack is tasty, nutritious and will leave you feeling satisfied until your next meal.
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Smoked salmon open-faced mini-sandwiches
For a healthy variation on the classic smoked salmon on a bagel, place a piece of the tasty fish on a slice of seedless English cucumber, says Maxine Smith, a registered dietitian at the Cleveland Clinic. Smear a heaping teaspoon of whipped cream cheese on the salmon, and top it with a spring of dill. Salmon is a great source of omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for the brain and the heart, Smith says. “The crunch of the cucumber compliments the array of textures and is just another example of how low-carb veggies can replace high carb/starch-laden foods such as crackers, bread or bagels,” she says. “The mixture could also be rolled in lettuce and secured with a toothpick and couple large capers for a variation on a theme.”
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Fruit with almond butter or peanut butter
Fruit paired with a healthy fat like almond butter or peanut butter makes for a filling, nutritious snack and will help keep you from being tempted to overeat, Bearden says. “The fiber contained in the apple and the healthy fat in the nut butter will help keep you feeling full until your next meal,” she says. To change the flavor of this snack, rotate through different apple varieties and nut butters (almond, peanut and cashew), Bearden advises. If you have nut allergies, go with sunflower seed butter.
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