UPDATED POST: September 27, 2019
As a holistic nutritionist, I recommend that whole, unprocessed foods should make up the bulk of your diet. However, sometimes you need a little help from some packaged low carb foods. These foods can help you make healthier choices when you don’t have enough time to cook an entire meal from scratch, or if you have a craving that you want to satisfy in a way that won’t interfere with your health goals. Here are some of my favourite low carb packaged foods that meet those requirements. Some of these can be found in your local grocery store or health food store. Most of them can be found online as well. I will continually update this post as I find new products to love!
Snack Foods
A crunchy, all-natural and low carb snack of coconut chips, that comes in a variety of flavours including chocolate and banana, or white chocolate. This nut-free snack is something you can send to school with your kids too! Only 2 grams of net carbs per serving.
Granola bars are typically high in carbs since they are made with grains and sugar/honey/syrup. Not all KIND bars are low in carbs but the Almond, Sea Salt and Dark Chocolate variety is the lowest I’ve seen with only 9 grams of net carbs. It wouldn’t be an everyday type of snack but if you’re looking for something to carry in your bag or car that doesn’t require refrigeration and won’t melt in the heat, this would be a good choice. Other KIND bar varieties that are low in carbs: Almond Caramel & Sea Salt (9g), Almond Mint & Dark Chocolate (10g), Almond Mocha and Dark Chocolate (9g), and Maple Glazed Pecan & Sea Salt (9g).
Dry roasted almonds with salt and fresh lemon juice have a faint and pleasant lemon flavour. They’re a great snack to carry in your bag or car for emergency snacking situations 🙂 Only 1 gram of net carbs.
Pizootz Flavoured Peanuts
Flavour-infused peanuts including varieties such as Dill Pickle and Baja Taco. Made with all-natural ingredients and only 6 grams of net carbs per package.
Made from pea protein, corn, and seasoning, nothing artificial that you can’t pronounce. These are a good occasional treat when you want Doritos but don’t want to compromise your progress. Each serving of 12 chips has 6 grams net carbs. I found these at Bulk Barn or online at Well.ca.
Cheese Crisps
Just cheese… but seasoned and crispy. I found these at Whole Foods but there are other brands including Moon Cheese (you may have noticed those at Starbucks) or Whisps (at Cosco), or Air Cheese (Well.ca). You can also make these yourself by baking grated parmesan and/or asiago cheese in mini muffin tins or on a parchment-lined baking sheet, at 350 for 5-7 minutes. These are great to snack on or use as croutons in salad or on top of French Onion Soup.
Ryvita Crackers
There are various flavours of Ryvita and they all have different carb contents. The Red Quinoa & Sesame, and the Flaxseed & Nigella Seed flavours have 7 grams of net carbs per serving of 2 crackers. The Dark Rye and Sesame Rye have 10 grams of net carbs, and the Whole Grain Snackbread variety has 9 grams per serving of 3 slices. The other flavours I looked at have higher carb counts so be sure to check the nutrition labels. You will find these at most grocery stores.
Smart Sweets
These all natural gummy bears have added fibre and are sweetened with stevia. They only have 5 grams of net carbs per bag! You can purchase these Smart Sweets in original and sour flavours, as well as other varieties of gummies at many local stores that sell low sugar candies or online at Well.ca.
Stuffed Olives
Olives are a great high fat snack. There are all kinds of varieties but I particularly like the large stuffed olives. These President’s Choice olives are stuffed with almonds. There are others stuffed with garlic or cheese as well. Delicious.
Nuts-For-Cheese Non-Dairy Cheese Alternative
I love cheese and I consider myself lucky to not have a sensitivity to it because I enjoy it almost every day! However, for those of you who aren’t able to eat cheese, this product is a fantastic alternative. There are 5 different flavours and they are all made from cashews. It’s fermented like regular cheese, and you can use it just like regular cheese: it’s meltable, shreddable, sliceable and spreadable…and it tastes wonderful! It’s a little pricey but good quality cheese is anyway!
Pasta/Rice Alternatives
I wrote a more detailed post about my favourite pasta and rice alternatives because those two things seem to be the hardest for people to give up when they first start eating low carb. Click HERE to read that post.
The first 2 products above are made of a root vegetable, Konjac, that has zero net carbs. The slightly chewy texture is a little different than regular wheat pasta or rice and for some people, it takes some getting used to. I love that it’s so easy to use. Just open the bag and rinse the pasta/rice, then add to your sauce to heat, and it’s ready. There are various shapes to choose from including angel hair pasta, fettucini, penne, and spaghetti.
The Explore Cuisine pasta is made from organic soybeans and mung beans, and only has 6 grams of net carbs per serving. This product is closer in texture to regular wheat pasta and cooks much the same way. You can find these products at most grocery stores, in the health food section of gluten-free foods section, or online at Well.ca.
Bread Products
Flatout Low Carb Flatbread
You can find this flatbread at most grocery stores. There are various flavours with different carb counts so be sure to read the labels. This particular one has 8 grams of net carbs for a large oval shaped flatbread. I like to use this to make pizza.
La Tortilla Factory Low Carb Tortilla
These tortillas come in 2 different sizes. The smaller tortilla has 3 grams of net carbs and the larger has 6 grams. In my area, they are only available at Sobeys grocery store. To find out where you can get them, go to the website and contact them by email.
Baking Ingredients
For low carb baking that requires a sweetener, I usually choose erythritol. It’s low carb since most of the carbohydrate content (sugar alcohol) isn’t absorbed by the body and yet it doesn’t cause gastrointestinal upset in most people like other sugar alcohols do. Swerve is a common brand as it Lakanto but there are others. I usually choose the powdered version (like confectioner sugar) because it dissolves the easiest. However, for creme brulee like in the photo above, I use the golden granulated variety. You can buy these products at most grocery stores or online.
Other Favourite Products
Grace Pure Creamed Coconut
I use this creamed coconut in my Basic Fat Bomb Recipe. It’s much less expensive than buying coconut mana in a jar and is the same thing…just coconut. You can grate it into soup or sauces, make this dessert with it, use it to make coconut milk or just eat it as is. I find this product at Bulk Barn and sometimes at Food Basics and Zehrs.
Fever-Tree Low Sugar Tonic Water
I enjoy a good gin and tonic from time to time, but tonic water is as high in sugar as regular pop! Fever-Tree brand has a Naturally Light version that has only 3.8 grams of carbs per serving compared to 9.2 grams of carbs in the equivalent amount of regular tonic. Many grocery stores now carry this brand but be sure to look for the Naturally Light variety for the lower carb content.
Zevia soft drinks have no sugar and nothing artificial. They don’t even have the caramel colouring that is added to soft drinks, so these are clear. That’s sort of mind-bending… a clear beverage that tastes like cola or rootbeer. Zevia soft drinks are sweetened with stevia and come in an array of flavours including cola, root beer, ginger ale, cream soda, and grape. I love using these to make root beer floats with my Keto No-Churn Ice Cream.
You can find this tasty all-natural salad dressing at most grocery stores, in the health food section or online at Well.ca. I usually just use good quality oil and vinegar on my salads but these are a nice alternative once in a while.
Lupini Beans
Lupinin beans are very high in fibre. They only have 1 gram of net carb per 1/2 cup serving! They are also really high in protein, with 22 grams of protein per 1/2 cup serving, making these a great choice for vegetarians who are eating low carb. The dried form of this bean requires quite a lengthy preparation period in order to make them edible, so I just buy the canned or jarred product. However, these may be high in sodium so be sure to rinse them well. Rinsing won’t get rid of all of the sodium, but it will reduce it. Lupini beans can be eaten on salad, in soup or chili, made into hummus or roasted until crispy for a delicious snack.
To roast lupini beans, lightly toss in olive oil or coconut oil and seasoning. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 375 degrees for 25 minutes. THEY WILL POP AND BOUNCE AROUND ON THE TRAY>>>THAT’S OK. Turn off the oven and leave the lupinis in the oven with the door closed for another 10 minutes. If they’re not crunchy enough at that point, leave them in there for a bit longer.
If you have any favourite low carb packaged foods that you’d like to recommend, comment below or send me a message. I’ll regularly update this post as I find new products.
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