Low-carb diets conjure up visions of meals centered around eggs, chicken, steak and cheese. When you are avoiding grains, cereals, pasta, bread, most fruits and many vegetables on a low-carb diet, your food options may seem limited. With a little creativity, you can enjoy many different types of food while limiting your carb intake to 50 to 150 g per day. If you are following a low-carb diet, be sure to clear it with your health practitioner first.
Shrimp Kabobs
Thread shrimp, which has 0 g of carbohydrates, on wooden skewers with chunks of red and green peppers and onions, and grill. If you use half of a medium onion and one whole pepper, this entrée contains 12 g of carbohydrates.
Ricotta Mousse
For 12 g of carbohydrates, whip together 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese with a package of no-calorie sweetener, such as sucralose or aspartame, and ¼ tsp. of vanilla extract. Use almond- or coconut-flavored extracts for flavor variety.
Cottage Cheese Pancakes
Stir together a whole egg, a tablespoon of flour and ¼ cup of cottage cheese to create a pancake batter with about 8 g of carbs. Serve the cooked pancakes with low-carb syrup, or thaw frozen blueberries in the microwave and sweeten with artificial sweetener for a topping.
Pepperoni Chips
Microwave slices of pepperoni until crisp to create a low-carb chip. Three and a half ounces of pepperoni has about 3 g of carbohydrates -- but check labels to make sure the brand you buy does not contain a lot of high-carb fillers.
Stuffed Vegetables
Stuff cherry tomatoes, cucumber boats or snow peas with a mixture of cream cheese and fresh herbs or goat cheese blended with pesto. This snack has less than 10 g of carbs.
Tomato Salad
Mix slices of tomato with low-fat mozzarella, fresh basil, red wine vinegar and olive oil. This salad provides about 5 g of carbs.
Crispy Chicken
Dip raw chicken tenders in beaten egg and crushed pork rinds, and then bake in a 400-degree oven for about 20 minutes or until fully cooked. The end result is a low-carb, crispy chicken main course. Pork rinds are just fried pork skin, which has only trace amounts of carbohydrates.
Deviled Eggs
You may tire of plain hard-boiled eggs while on a low-carb diet. Create deviled versions by removing the yolk and mixing it with a small amount of mayonnaise, cayenne pepper, mustard and paprika. Refill the egg whites and refrigerate for a quick lunch or midday snack.
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