Low-carb foods list

Foods to eat

• Meat: Any type: Beef, pork, lamb, game, poultry, etc. Feel free to eat the fat on the meat as well as the skin on the chicken. If possible try to choose organic or grass-fed meats. Top recipes
• Fish and seafood: All kinds: Fatty fish such as salmon, mackerel, sardines or herring are great. Avoid breading. Top fish recipes
• Eggs: All kinds: Boiled, fried, scrambled, omelets, etc. Preferably organic eggs. Top egg recipes
• Natural fat, high-fat sauces: Using butter and cream for cooking can make your food taste better and make you feel more satisfied. Try a Béarnaise or Hollandaise sauce, check the ingredients or make it yourself. Coconut fat or olive oil are also good options. Learn more
• Vegetables that grow above ground: Cauliflower, broccoli, cabbage and Brussels sprouts, kale, collards, bok choy, spinach, asparagus, zucchini, eggplant, olives, spinach, mushrooms, cucumber, lettuce, avocado, onions, peppers, tomatoes etc. Low-carb vegetables guide
• Dairy products: Always select full-fat options like real butter, cream (40% fat), sour cream, Greek/Turkish yogurt and high-fat cheeses. Be careful with regular milk, reduced fat and skim milk as they contain a lot of milk sugar. Avoid flavored, sugary and low-fat products.
• Nuts: Great for a treat (in moderation) instead of popcorn, candy or chips. Learn more
• Berries: Okay in moderation, if you are not super strict or sensitive. Great with whipped cream. Learn more

Read the nutrition label in the grocery store.
No more than 5% of carbohydrates in any food item is a good rule of thumb.

Recipes

For ideas and step-by-step instructions for appetizing meals that you and your family will love, take a look at our more than 500 low-carb recipes. Every week, we add more. Some of the most popular recipes you will find below, but we have recipes to suit almost every taste.

Shopping lists and meal plans

Do you want to make shopping simple? Sign up for the free 2-week low-carb challenge or our low-carb meal plan service (free one month). Personalized shopping lists are included.

Alternatively, simply use our free 14-day low-carb meal plan.
 

Do not eat high-carb foods

• Sugar: The worst. Soft drinks, candy, juice, sports drinks, chocolate, cakes, buns, pastries, ice cream, breakfast cereals.
   
  Preferably avoid artificial sweeteners as well (here’s why). Full low-carb sweeteners guide
• Starch:

  Flour, wheat products or other refined cereal grains, even if labelled “gluten free.” This means bread, buns, pasta, crackers, porridge, muesili. Whole grains too (they are just less bad). Also potatoes (sweet potatoes too), potato chips, French fries etc. Corn products and popped corn. Rice. Do check out, however, some of the low-carb versions of these foods:
  – Low-carb bread
  – Low-carb “mashed potatoes”
  – Low-carb rice
  – Low-carb porridge
  – Low-carb pasta

  Beans and lentils are also relatively high in carbs. Moderate amounts of root vegetables may be OK (unless you’re eating extremely low carb).

• Beer: Made from fermented grain and hops, beer is bread in liquid form. Avoid. A few lower carb beers are now available.
• Fruit: While berries like blueberries, raspberries and strawberries are fine from time-to-time, be careful with other fruit. Full of sugar and fructose, which can contribute to blood sugar issues and fatty liver, excess fruit can slow weight loss and worsen metabolic issues. Consider it Nature’s candy: fine for a special treat; do not consume daily. Learn more

View list of things to clean out from your pantry
 

Watch out

Be very skeptical of special “low-carb” products, such as pasta or chocolate. Unfortunately these products usually work poorly. They have prevented weight loss for loads of people. They’re commonly full of carbs once you see through the creative marketing.

There are dozens of companies trying to trick you into buying their “low carb” junk food, full of starch, sugar alcohols, flour, sweeteners and strange additives.

One of the largest such companies was recently fined 8 million dollars for shamelessly lying about the carb content of their products.

Two simple rules to avoid this junk:

• Don’t eat “low carb” versions of high carb stuff, like cookies, bars, chocolate, bread, pasta or ice cream – unless you are SURE of the ingredients (perhaps from making it yourself).
• Avoid products with the words “net carbs” on them. That’s usually just a way to fool you.

Read more about fake low-carb products

Also, preferably avoid margarine. It’s a solid form of industrial seed and vegetable oils. Why eat imitation butter when real butter is so much tastier and better for you? Margarine, too, like industrial oils has high amounts of omega-6 fat, linked to inflammation and inflammatory diseases.

Important: It’s low carb HIGH FAT

After years of being told to avoid fat and eat low fat foods, many people find the hardest part of adopting the diet is adding back in lots of fat. A low-carb diet needs the fat. Get it from using butter, coconut oil, high fat cheese, olive oil, avocado oil, even beef and bacon fat. Here’s some easy tips.

Like a hybrid car engine, the body can burn two fuels for its energy needs. 1) Glucose from the breakdown of carbohydrates and 2) ketones, from the breakdown of fats. When you are no longer consuming a lot of carbs, the body’s engine will convert to burning fats. It will either burn the fat you have eaten or the fat stored on your body in your adipose tissue.

The body will only start burning fat when its carb supply is low. This is why the diet is called the low carb high fat (LCHF) diet – because that is exactly how you must eat.

At the start, do not deny yourself fat. Eat enough so that you are satisfied and you do not feel hungry. That way you will soon become what is called “fat adapted” —burning fat for fuel efficiently. You will know that you are fat adapted when you do not need to eat every few hours and you no longer feel the highs and lows (hangry episodes) of the blood sugar roller coaster.

Once your body is fat adapted, you can then consume a little less fat at every meal and let your body burn what it needs for energy from your fat stores. This will help you lose weight. If at any time you feel deprived, unsatisfied or have cravings, add fat back into your diet. Listen to your body. If you consume more fat than your body needs it will slow down your fat loss. If you eat too little fat, however, you will feel tired, grumpy and hungry. Your body will tell you what it needs. Learn to listen to its cues again.

In short eat as much fat and low carb food as you need to feel satisfied, healthy and full. You don’t need to count calories. Eat when you are hungry. Stop when you are full. Easy peasy!

Learn more

Suggestions for low-carb lunches and dinners:

• Meat, fish or chicken dishes with vegetables and a rich full-fat sauce. There are many alternatives to potatoes, such as mashed cauliflower.
• Stews, soups or casseroles with low-carb ingredients.
• You can use most recipes in cookbooks if you avoid the carbohydrate-rich ingredients. It’s often a good idea to add fat (e.g. butter, cream) to the recipe. Or check out our full low-carb recipe site.
• Drink water with your meal or (occasionally) a glass of wine.

Meal plans

Get lots of weekly low-carb meal plans, complete with shopping lists and everything, with our new premium meal planner tool. Make low carb truly simple – and delicious! Try it for free one month

Instead of potatoes, rice and pasta

There are many ways to replace potatoes, pasta and rice that result in far fewer carbs. Here are a few of the most popular options.

Other simple sides

• Salads made from above-ground vegetables, perhaps with some kind of cheese. Try out different kinds.
• Boiled broccoli, cauliflower or Brussels sprouts.
• Vegetables au gratin: Fry squash, aubergine and fennel (or other vegetables you like) in butter. Add salt and pepper. Put in baking dish and add grated cheese. Bake at 225° C (450° F) until the cheese melts and turns golden.
• Vegetables stewed in cream, e.g. cabbage or spinach.
• Avocado
• Vegetable spaghetti can be used instead of pasta. Try it

All low-carb side dishes
 
 

Dining out or meals with friends

• Restaurants: Usually not a big problem. You can ask to have potatoes/fries switched for a salad. Ask for extra butter.
• Fast food: Doner kebab can be a decent option (avoid the bread). At hamburger chains the hamburgers are usually the least bad option. Avoid soft drinks and fries, obviously. Drink water. Pizza toppings are usually OK, and the stricter you are the less of the pizza crust you will eat.
• Nuts or cheese are good “emergency food” when there are no other adequate options to be found.
• If you eat strictly everyday it’s less of a problem to make a few exceptions when you are invited out. If you’re not sure what will be served you can eat something at home before you leave.

Full dining out guide

 

 

Low-carb bread

Will you have a hard time living without bread? There are good low-carb options, unfortunately it’s hard to find them in stores. “Low carb” bread from stores tends to be either (A) not even remotely low carb, or (B) chock-full of gluten:

• The problem with low-carb bread
• Another low-carb bread company lying through their teeth
• Why you should never trust a low-carb label

Recipes

Low-carb bread is fairly easy to do at home though. Here are our top options.

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