With this you kick off sweet in a nice way
Are you watching carbohydrates because you want to use less of them? Then you usually make a big step by choosing the snacks low in carbohydrates. Because snacks such as biscuits, chocolate, sweets, pastries and fruit are full of sugar and fast carbohydrates. Check out our tasty low-carb alternatives.
1. Snack vegetables
You can eat raw (small types of) vegetables, such as cherry tomatoes, radishes, (snack) cucumbers, slices of radish and strips of bell pepper without any restrictions. Make sure you always have a stock at home. Tip: put raw vegetables on the counter when you start cooking. You can safely enjoy that.
2. Vegetable chips
Made from vegetables, so low in carbohydrates. More and more vegetable chips are available ready-made, but check the packaging to see if it really only contains vegetables. A bag of vegetable chips can be quite salty. You can also make vegetable chips yourself. For example, these tasty beet chips. Spoiler: Sweet potato chips are not low carb.
3. Nuts
A handful of nuts is super healthy and contains few carbohydrates! It is full of protein, healthy fats, fiber and vitamins. Of all the nuts, Brazil nuts and pecans contain the least carbohydrates. Cashew nuts the most. All nuts provide a lot of calories. But a handful a day can’t hurt. Tip: be careful with nuts. They contain a coating of sugar and therefore a lot of carbohydrates.
4. Seeds
Like nuts, seeds mainly provide healthy fats, protein and fiber. And they are also full of vitamins and minerals. So good snack. Think sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and pine nuts. Don’t you like eating them like that? Then make it into a spicy nibble: roast 2 handfuls of sunflower seeds and/or pumpkin seeds in a dry frying pan for about 2 minutes, until they start to color slightly. Sprinkle with some chili powder, turn off the heat under the pan and deglaze the kernels with 2 tablespoons of soy sauce (be careful, it can splash!). Stir well so that all the seeds are covered with the soy sauce. Good to know: they get a bit sticky. Therefore, eat them within 1 hour.
5. Slice of whole wheat crispbread
Whole-wheat crispbread contains nothing but whole-wheat flour and water. At least, if you have a pure strain. Such a crispbread with soft goat cheese or a slice of smoked salmon is a low-carbohydrate snack that can really satisfy a strong appetite. Check the packaging: there are also types that have sugar in the ingredients list.
6. Bowl of cottage cheese, Greek or Turkish yogurt (10%)
Full-fat cottage cheese, Greek and Turkish yogurt are packed with proteins and hardly any carbohydrates. Due to the somewhat higher fat content, it also provides a feeling of fullness for a long time. And the proteins in dairy satisfy your appetite in a good way. A really useful snack with few carbohydrates. Eat it with a little red fruit or mix it with red fruit to make a shake. Smart: choose pure products and not those to which fruit, sugar or sweeteners have already been added.
7. Red fruits
Fruit contains fruit sugars and therefore provides quite a lot of carbohydrates. If you want to eat low-carb, choose red fruits such as fresh cranberries, redcurrants, blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries. These types contain the least carbohydrates of all fruits. Enjoy a small bowl as a snack. By the way, lemon and passion fruit are also low in carbohydrates. Handy: keep some red fruit in the freezer. These types of fruit are not affordable all year round.
8. Egg
A boiled egg is a perfect snack. It is packed with good nutrients such as proteins, vitamins and minerals and contains no carbohydrates. Make a stuffed egg out of it. Boil eggs hard. Halve the eggs and remove the yolks. Mix that with a little mayonnaise and some fresh herbs. Fill the half eggs again. Tip: you can also use a boiled egg as a topping for the crispbread.
9. Olives
Tasty savory snack: olives. Both black and green ones contain few carbohydrates, but the green ones take the cake: only 0.5 grams of carbohydrates per 100 grams. It doesn’t matter whether you take them with herbs, garlic or mixed with sun-dried tomatoes. Good to know: olives naturally contain a lot of salt.
10. Avocado
An avocado is a separate type of fruit: the only fruit that contains a lot of fat. Healthy fat that is. The carbohydrate content is very low. Avocado can be sliced on a slice of crispbread, eat it as it is in slices/cubes or mash an avocado with garlic, salt and pepper into a guacamole. Delicious as a dip for raw vegetables. Note: the beautiful green flesh quickly discolours to an unappetising brown. Sprinkle with lemon juice and prepare just before using.
Low carbohydrate = not sweet = getting used to
If you eat low-carb, that almost automatically means much less sweet food. Many people have a sweet tooth. That need for sweets can almost become an addiction. If you eat something sweet, a lot of sugar enters your blood, a sugar peak occurs. The hormone insulin quickly removes that sugar from the blood, causing a sharp drop again. Our body can (if you do not have diabetes) absorb these sugar fluctuations well. But some people are sensitive to those rapid changes in blood sugar levels. When the sugar in the blood drops, even if it is still at a healthy level, they feel bad and want to eat something sweet again quickly. This way they ‘candy’ all day long. By avoiding sweet foods you prevent sugar peaks. Your body has to get used to that. Count on at least two weeks to ‘kick off’ your sweet cravings. But you get a lot in return: more energy, fewer dips and perhaps a lower weight.
