Food for a Low Carb Diet

A low-carb diet is not a "no-carb diet"; it's just a smart-carb diet, in which you can consume foods that have some carbohydrates but also fiber. What you have to watch out for are the high-carb "white and/or sweet" foods: white flour, white rice, white sugar and honey. There's an easy way to identify foods that are low carb: If they are a derivative of something that had hide, fur, fins or feathers, they're low carb.

Fur, Fins, Feathers

Meat is the backbone of a low-carb diet. The only meat you need to be cautious about are shellfish, which have some carbohydrates (oysters and mussels have the most). Also beware of processed meats such as ham, bacon, hot dogs and luncheon meat. They are usually cured with sugar, which adds carbs, or they may have been cured with nitrates, which are known carcinogens.

Fats

You can eat butter, chicken skin and other fats and oils. Avoid margarine as it usually contains hydrogenated oils (trans fats). Olive oil is especially beneficial. Cold-pressed oils are best, such as canola, sesame, sunflower, safflower and walnut.

Eggs

Eggs can be eaten every day. This is the one diet where there is no limit to the number of eggs you eat. So, you can enjoy fried eggs in the morning, boiled eggs for lunch and a nice cheesy omelet topped by real bacon crumbles for dinner.

Cheese

Cheese is an animal product and contains very few carbohydrates, making it a staple on a low-carbohydrate diet. Since all cheeses contain some carbs, you should consume only 3 to 4 ounces of full-fat, hard, soft or semi-soft cheese per day. Make sure you eat real cheese; imitation cheese products are not allowed on a low-carb diet.

Good Vegetables

The good vegetables are salad vegetables, which are high in phytonutrients and fiber. On a low-carb diet, you are permitted 2 to 3 cups per day of the following: alfalfa sprouts, mushrooms, chicory, jicama, radishes, chives, all lettuces, bok choy, peppers, parsley, endive, cucumber, celery, fennel, radicchio and sorrel. Just remember this list when you go out to dine, and look for restaurants that have salad bars.

Limited Vegetables

Intake of these vegetables should be limited to 1 cup per day when combined in a salad from the "Good Vegetables" list, as long as the salad is a total of 2 cups. Some of these limited vegetables are: artichoke hearts, eggplant, spinach, broccoli, string beans, tomatoes, cauliflower, onions, zucchini, scallions, bean sprouts, snow peas, summer squash, spaghetti squash, bamboo shoots and asparagus.

Fruits

While fruits are limited on a low-carb diet, some are permitted in limited quantities. A half-cup portion is all you are allowed for these fresh fruits: cherries, cranberries and raspberries. You are allowed half an avocado, half a grapefruit, 6 olives and 3 large strawberries.