Watching your diet to prevent or manage diabetes, overweight or heart disease may require a strict need for low carbohydrate foods, including snacks. Harvard University School of Public Health examines the importance of low-carbohydrate diets in treating serious health conditions. Encourage kids to eat smart by offering low-carb snacks or whole fruits instead of juices or sugary munchies. There are all kinds of satisfying and yummy snack foods, with very low or reduced carbs, that don't seem like deprivation at all.
Salmon Classics
Hors d'oeuvres made with thin-sliced salmon are elegant party snacks. Your friends on low-carb diets will bless you for them. Eating Well Magazine offers a simple salmon snack with just four ingredients: sliced smoked salmon, fresh dill sprigs, whole grain party pumpernickel and creamy horseradish sauce.(reference 3) Place a daub of horseradish sauce on a slice of bread. Roll a piece of salmon and plunk it, open edge down, on the sauce. The salmon will open out a bit and stand up from the bread. Garnish with a tiny sprig of fresh dill and fill a platter with them. It might be a good idea to have reserves in the kitchen. The snacks are rich and satisfying but, if you are careful to use whole grain bread, very low in carbohydrates. Lower the carbs by skipping the bread--rolling the salmon and a dill sprig, dotted with horseradish sauce, in a fresh spinach leaf. Secure the roll up with a toothpick.
Peanut Butter Boats
Prepare easy, crunchy and healthful snacks for kids, using celery stalks. Remove the stalks from the bunch and trim the rough ends. Wash carefully to get any sand or soil off the celery, and pat them dry. Spread a pat of smooth or crunchy peanut butter in the hollow side of the celery. A plateful of these after school keeps the blood sugar levels stable until supper, and adds a little protein and healthy fat to a diet at the same time.
Hardboiled Eggs
What could be simpler? Prepare hard-boiled eggs ahead of time, leaving them in their own wrappers until you are ready to eat them. A touch of sea salt or a garlic and herb salt is a tasty touch. Dried dill is perfect to sprinkle over a hard-boiled egg. Scoop out the yolks and mash them with a scant teaspoon of mayonnaise for deviled eggs, if calories are not a big concern. A dash of paprika adds a little color and extra flavor to a satisfying low-carb snack.
Ham It Up
Cut a block of low-fat Swiss cheese into small cubes and wrap each cube in a paper-thin slice of Parma ham. The salty, spicy prosciutto from Parma, Italy is a great snack on its own, but paired with cheese, it makes a quick, filling one as well. Parma ham is a happy complement to fresh figs, but the fruit is not low-carb. Cut very narrow strips to bind the ham and cheese wraps, if you do want to add figs to the snack, so that you add as few carbs as possible without sacrificing the flavor.
Low-Carb Pizza Squares
Make a big, flat rectangle of homemade pizza and serve it cut up in squares for a low-carb treat. Use soy flour for the crust. Soy is a high-protein, low-carbohydrate legume.(reference 6) Use olive oil and fresh spices and tomatoes for a savory sauce and cook the pot of sauce down until it is thick enough not to slide off the pizza. You can get crazy with the toppings and not risk carbohydrate overload. Try slices of pepperoni, shredded low-fat mozzarella cheese, cooked sliced portobello or button mushrooms, sliced onion or peppers, or crumbled Italian sausage. The soy flour is the low-carb secret.
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