Low-carb AND vegetarian: what kind of snacks/ingredients do you have on hand?

[citymama]

S/o of Globetrotter's thread on intermittent fasting and weight loss:

For those of you who are eating low-carb and more intentionally, what kinds of snacks or ingredients do you always have on hand? We always have bread, cereal, crackers, rice cakes etc, for the kids, and of course I end up eating these things for breakfast or snacks. We grow our own lettuces and greens, so always have a salad with dinner, and home-made dressing. We cook every day and shop at farmers' markets, so we eat a lot of vegetables, lentils, fruit, etc - but the base is always a carb such as rice, pasta, flat bread. I buy chickpea based pasta some times but the kids hate it so we do whole wheat. How do you get around the carb dependence, especially if, like me, you are also vegetarian? Would love suggestions for grocery shopping and ingredients to stock so that we don't default to those carb heavy meals and snacks. I'm not intending to go no-carb, I love pasta too much and so does my family :) but it sure would be nice to have a few alternatives. Thanks!

[smilequeen]

I’m not vegetarian so I can only help a little. I keep a variety of nuts and Keto bars around as well as veggies and cheese for snacks. And I try hard not to snack (try to stick to intermittent fasting too) and to eat more filling meals. I sub Cauliflower rice and mashed cauliflower as well as zucchini for pasta dishes (spiralizer and sliced for lasagna).

Again, I don’t make much vegetarian but I use the Keto and low carb recipes from here and I’ve liked most of them.

https://www.dietdoctor.com/low-carb/recipes?s=&search=&st=recipe&kd_recipe_type%5B%5D=187&kd_recipe_content%5B%5D=213

[Percycat]

I like to eat smoked almonds and unsalted almonds -- I take a small handful of each an mix them. I also eat hard boiled eggs --- does your family eat eggs? I recently have enjoyed making a salad with hardboiled eggs, cucumbers, avocado, and lemon juice.

I also eat what ever I would normally put on pasta/rice on top of greens.

One of my close friends is recently pescatarian after being vegetarian for more than 20 years. She gives up carbs every lent and is currently doing keto. I will ask her for some tips.

FYI the chickpea pasta sold at costco is not low carb, although it is lower in carbs than traditional pasta.

[citymama]

I like to eat smoked almonds and unsalted almonds -- I take a small handful of each an mix them. I also eat hard boiled eggs --- does your family eat eggs? I recently have enjoyed making a salad with hardboiled eggs, cucumbers, avocado, and lemon juice.

I also eat what ever I would normally put on pasta/rice on top of greens.

One of my close friends is recently pescatarian after being vegetarian for more than 20 years. She gives up carbs every lent and is currently doing keto. I will ask her for some tips.

FYI the chickpea pasta sold at costco is not low carb, although it is lower in carbs than traditional pasta.

Thank you both for these suggestions. Almonds are my main stay (although high in fat, right?). We have backyard hens so a lot of eggs - omelettes and scrambles for dinner are a good idea. We tend to do these for weekend brunches rather than meals. I also think more "serious" salads like the kind you describe would be a good idea to form a complete meal. I want to have low-carb snacks around for the kids to build healthy habits, for our hikes and weekends, and for my DH who works late and is often spotted snacking on Goldfish or the like. :rolleyes: I really want to try making cauliflower rice!

[div_0305]

Vegetarian household here--we don't avoid carbs--just eat them in moderation, and whole grains as much as possible. With the amount of quality proteins, fats, fruits and vegetables we eat, I don't leave out carbs. I do soak my grains if making homemade and try to buy mostly sprouted and soaked prepared grain foods.

[Kestrel]

We're not vegetarian, but do like to to put grilled or roasted veg in a hollowed-out baked zucchini or acorn squash half.

[123LuckyMom]

We’re not vegetarian, and we’re not super low carb, either, but I do cut out bread, pasta, rice, etc. when I’m looking to lose weight. It definitely does the trick! For snacks, I always have a big bowl of cherry tomatoes on my kitchen counter. I snack on those while I’m cooking and pretty much every time I pass by. I also always have cut-up peppers and ready-to-slice cucumbers as well as half sour pickles, which are good when I want something crunchy and salty. Hummus or guacamole make good dips. Nuts are another good snack item— almonds, cashews, pistachios. Cheese crisps are a fave, though I prefer the store bought ones to homemade, and they’re pricy, so I don’t eat them very often. Roasted chick peas and pumpkin seeds are good, too. I do eat popcorn, which I make on the stovetop, and I use real butter to help with the carb content. I also love the Greek yogurt frozen yogurt bars for an occasional treat. I have Fudgsicles, too, on occasion. Apples with peanut butter are a favorite dessert. All fruit tastes amazing when you cut out processed sugars!

For sides with meals I make cauliflower purée which is yummy and has the consistency of mashed potatoes. I also do a lot of cauliflower rice. That’s in addition to whatever my other veggie side will be. I also do eat rice, quinoa, and pasta occasionally, though. I usually do brown rice and whole wheat pasta, but I also do regular white rice and pasta on occasion. When I’m cutting carbs, I find string beans taste great with tomatoes sauce and Parmesan. I don’t really like spaghetti squash or zucchini noodles. I prefer to pretend my string beans are penne.


Sent from my iPhone using Baby Bargains (http://r.tapatalk.com/byo?rid=87652)

[Globetrotter]

Good question!

I generally eat pretty healthy, but I got into some terrible habits in the past year, especially Attending a wedding and various family reunions, but since I started the intermittent fasting I’ve tried to change my habits and eat more intentionally.

We are lacto-ovo vegetarian too, so here are some of the things I keep on hand for snacking. One thing is for sure… We are fortunate to Have access to delicious fresh produce from the farmers market or even backyard (though we hardly have any), and that makes all the difference in the world. I have a friend who lives in New York and she’s always complaining that their tomatoes are tasteless and their arugula is just bitter, and I realize how lucky we are. The instant pot is life changing- makes it so easy to make soups, yogurt, hard boiled eggs, beans etc.

- Nuts, lots of nuts LOL I find myself eating a small handful of nuts with a date, and to me that’s like candy :) dates are high in carbs but it’s just one and I figure it’s healthier than adding a few
Chocolate chips, which is what I used to do 😬

- hard boiled eggs are great for snacking, though I usually don’t eat the yolk. Make them in advance for the week.

- The other day I felt like having a snack and I made myself miso soup and ate it with a spoon so I would feel like I’m eating something, and it filled me up! I was surprised. Good way to get extra liquids in.

- Hummus and guacamole are great dips for carrots, bell peppers, etc.

- Banana with some peanut butter or some avocado ( with penzeys sandwich sprinkle) smashed onto a very thin slice of bread.

- Fruit, like recently a small mango or strawberries from the farmers market. Yum!

- Homemade yogurt with fresh fruit and some nuts, and maybe a little granola.

- cheese squares (I don’t snack on cheese much but the kids could)

- steel cut oats with milk, a date and nuts. I make oats for the week in my IP.

Meal ideas:
- spiralized zucchini as a substitute for pasta. This is surprisingly good! I put some Parmesan cheese and mix it with whatever sauce. When it’s made right and not overcooked, I think this is as delicious as pasta, seriously LOL

- I eat a lot of egg white omelettes for meals, full of veggies and some cheese. With a thin slice of bread.

- Various salads. A favorite is spring mix with some chickpeas, bell peppers, cherry tomatoes, and avocado on top, and sometimes I add a hard-boiled egg for me, mixed with a little sun dried tomato infused olive oil. Yum!!! . I toast a little bread and make it into croutons and I add that, too.

- On pizza night, DH and I eat a sprouted whole wheat tortilla with some cheese and sauce and various toppings, While the kids eat a traditional crust. I love love love Pizza, but at home I prefer this. It Comes out really crispy and nice.

- Substitute spring mix for bread when you have veggie burgers, and taco salads instead of burritos or burrito bowls.

- Stirfries galore with tofu, and for me and DH I put a lot less of the noodles or rice so it’s heavy on the veggies/tofu

- I haven’t figured out the cauliflower rice thing yet, but I recently bought some frozen at Costco. Not sure how that will work out…

- Big bowl of sambar with a couple of Idlis in it. I found brown rice Idli batter at the Indian store, and it was delicious! I was really surprised by that.

- Soups galore. I find they are very filling and an easy meal To make in the instant pot, With a thin slice of bread or some other topping. One of my recent favorites was Swiss chard with cannelini beans and some Bell pepper and diced carrots, With loads of stir fried onions and garlic. I diced the Swiss chard stalks with the onions.. I use veggie broth and a lot of penzeys spice mixes for flavor, usually sunny Paris. I sometimes add a little barley or something to make it more filling.

- roasted Brussel sprouts, broccoli or cauliflower with spices and a little Parmesan.

I Still eat carbs but a lot less and almost always whole grain. I think it’s all about ratio. I shudder to think how I used to eat for years, like a huge bowl of whole wheat pasta with veggies. Now it’s loads of veggies with a little bit of pasta, And I cut up my cooked pasta into little pieces so it goes further :)
We buy that massive whole wheat loaf from Trader Joe’s and slice it thin as needed. I’m training the kids to eat that, too, because dh and I shouldn’t be eating too much of it, though he does.

I found the chickpea pasta to be decent, compared to alternatives, and when you add the sauce and veggies it can be pretty good and stays firm.

I add a little Parmesan to some things, like soups. It adds a lot of flavor with relatively little fat.

When I’m in the mood, I just chop up a bunch of veggies at once so they are easy to add to various things. It makes it very easy to make salads. If I need to dice it more for a recipe, I can always do that. I do that for onions and garlic, too. I really hate peeling garlic.

I also make one type of bean for the week, and we put that in everything :-) I know beans are not low-carb, but they are healthier carbs for sure and the kids eat a ton.

[citymama]

Wow Globetrotter, amazing to have this list! Something as simple as roasted chickpeas as a snack could make a difference. We always have a ton of fruit around, not usually all that many nuts bc DH is like a vaccum cleaner and will eat any snacks lying around (he works late almost every night at our kitchen table). We eat a lot of salads, miso soup is a staple (more for the kids than us, but that's a good idea). I love bean soup based meals where bread is just an optional side, but my kids are not into it. We eat a lot of beans and lentils, so if they're not low-carb, I don't think we can change that!

[fauve01]

My DH has lost a bunch of weight by tracking cals, so he's cut a lot of carbs after finding out how calorie dense they are and how NOT filling. His go to snack is Pickles! he likes the HOT spicy ones. he also has olives as a snack. HIs afternoon snack every day is a big red apple. His morning snack is often a hard boiled egg.

[Globetrotter]

I never thought of pickles.

I forgot to mention kale chips. They are really good and the kids love the Homemade ones. Seaweed is another option. This was all the rage in our elementary school LOL

[mikala]

Apologies if this was mentioned upthread but I'd also focus on healthy fats. If you think of macro ratios and reducing the carb component you'll be increasing protein and/or fats if you want to maintain similar caloric intake. Avocado, nuts, olives, olive oil, seeds, eggs, etc. As far as specific foods Trader Joe's makes a gluten free, multiseed flatbread that tastes good with avocado or cream cheese plus everything but the bagel seasoning. I adore salt and pepper pistachios and smoked almonds. Celery with nut butter is also quick and easy. I don't usually like the waste of individual packaging but the individual guacamole cups from Costco are perfect for veggies and we don't waste part of the package like we tend to with regular guac. We also eat a lot if tomato and cucumber salads with olive oil, balsamic and a bit of feta.

I'm not vegetarian but try to include some meatless meals and we've found several make again recipes here, especially when we're trying to eat up csa veggies: https://cookieandkate.com/

[citymama]

I forgot to mention kale chips. They are really good and the kids love the Homemade ones. Seaweed is another option. This was all the rage in our elementary school LOL

We looove homemade kale chips. They do not last around here!

Seaweed - I'm not a fan, my older DD eats it like it's candy. However, I believe almost all seaweed sold here comes from Korea, and much of it tests very high for cadmium, nickel and even radiation post-Fukushima.

[div_0305]

We looove homemade kale chips. They do not last around here!

Seaweed - I'm not a fan, my older DD eats it like it's candy. However, I believe almost all seaweed sold here comes from Korea, and much of it tests very high for cadmium, nickel and even radiation post-Fukushima.

Yes--DS would do the same. It's all the rage here, too, but I'm the one parent I know of who doesn't buy it for the same reasons you mentioned. I tried finding some made off the north Atlantic coast, but can't remember where my search led me. Sadly, my neighbor told me that the girls in middle school eat it for lunch--meaning that's all they eat every day. She said her daughter does the same and then comes home and eats a mountain---too embarrassed to bring real food to school.