When it comes to managing your blood sugar and HbA1c, being aware of the foods with low carbs can help you make diabetic-friendly choices that won’t impact your numbers all too much.
Below you’ll find a list of low carb foods that will fit perfectly into your regular eating plan.
Zero Carb Heroes
Yep, you read that right. There are a range of foods and drinks that have absolutely zero carb content, which means they’re the perfect addition to your everyday low carb meal plan.
Meats
Meats provide a source of protein and fat and are generally zero carbs…that is unless they are marinated in sweet sauces.
- Beef
- Lamb
- Turkey
- Chicken
- Pork
- Game (kangaroo, rabbit)
- Veal
- Organ meats (liver, brains, kidney)
TIP: Choosing whole food sources of meat over processed meats like bacon and ham is recommended. While bacon and ham are low carb and can be eaten on occasion, unprocessed meats are the healthier option.
Seafood
- Shrimp/prawns
- Tuna
- Salmon
- Sardines
- White fish
- Crab
Herbs & Spices
The list of things you can do with herbs and spices is absolutely endless. Whether fresh or dried, add a wide variety of herbs and spices to any dish for flavour and aroma.
Herbs and spices like rosemary, basil, paprika, oregano, Italian blends, cinnamon, ginger, cumin, garlic, and so many more. As a condiment, yellow mustard is also a zero carb choice!
Vinegar
Make a dressing or sauce with the vinegar of your choice:
- apple cider
- white vinegar
- wine vinegar
Condiments
As a condiment, yellow mustard is also a zero carb choice! Buy French’s brand at any Woolworths or Coles. Soy sauce
Fats & Oils
- Coconut oil
- Olive oil
- Avocado oil
- Butter
Beverages
Zero carb choices include still, sparkling, soda or seltzer water.
We all know water’s good for us, but we also know that it can sometimes get boring to drink still water all the time. Drink with a twist of fresh lime or lemon and a pinch of fresh mint.
Nexba has a range of sugar-free flavoured mineral waters that are zero carbs – find them in Woolworths and Coles.
Coffee, black, green tea and herbal teas are also zero carb heroes.
Now For The Lowballers…
The following foods are not zero carb but they are *very* low in carbohydrates.
Seeds
Munching down some pumpkin, sunflower or sesame seeds won’t set you back a great deal in terms of carb count.
- Pumpkin seeds – one tablespoon clocks in at about 2g carbs, 1.5g fibre
- Sunflower seeds – about 0.7g carbs, 3.2g fibre per tablespoon
- Sesame seeds – about 2g carbs, 1g fibre per tablespoon
Vegetables
There are so many low carb vegetables you can eat. Let’s list a few:
- Rocket – 0.3g carbs; 0.2g fibre per half cup
- Spinach, including baby spinach – 1g carbs, 0.7g fibre per cup
- Cucumber – 1.8g carbs, 0.3g fibre per half cup
- Mushroom – 2.3g carbs, 0.7g fibre per one cup pieces or slices
- Radish – 0.07g per on small radish
- Lettuce – 1.63g carbs, 0.7g fibre per cup
- Chinese cabbage like bok choy or pak choi – 1.5g carbs, 0.7g fibre per cup
- Celery – 1.19g carbs, 0.6g fibre per stalk
- Green beans – 3.9g carbs, 1.8g fibre per half cup
- Asparagus – 0.64g carbs, 0.3g fibre per spear
- Tomato – 4.6g carbs, 1.5g fibre per medium
Condiments and spreads
Full-fat mayonnaise is a very low carb choice – particularly full-fat varieties.
A few good brands include:
- Hellmans
- Heinz seriously good
- S&W whole egg
- Kewpie
The above mayonnaise brands all have less than 1g carbs. Make sure you check the nutrition facts if choosing other brands as some can be 6g per serve.
A few spreads are lowballers:
- Vegemite – less than 1g carbs per teaspoon
- Natural peanut butter – 2-3g carbs per tablespoon depending on brand
- Mustard: dijon, english, wholegrain or dijonnaise – all under 1g per serve
Eggs & Dairy
Most eggs and dairy are low in carbohydrates.
- Eggs – 0.3g carbs per large egg
- Cheddar cheese – 0.3g carbs per slice
- Cream – 0.7-1g carbs per 20-30ml serve
- Cottage cheese – 4.2g carbs per 50g serve
- Mozzarella – zero to one gram carbs per 25g serve
- Full-fat natural yoghurt – about 6g carbs per half cup, depending on brand
Nuts
If you choose to eat 6 Brazil nuts, 14 walnut halves, 19 pecan halves or 10 macadamia nuts, you’ll only clock in 3.5 to 4 grams of carbs.
Most other nuts are low carb too with the highest being cashews at 9 grams carbs for 16-18 nuts.
Fruit
There are only a few fruit options in the very low carb category.
- Passionfruit – 2.3g carbs, 1.9g fibre per one small fruit
- Guava – 3.2g carbs, 4.9g fibre per one small fruit
- Apricot – 3.2g carbs, 0.7g fibre per one small fruit
- Star fruit – 3.5g carbs, 2.5g fibre per one small fruit
- Rockmelon – 4g carbs, 0.5g fibre per one small wedge
- Strawberries – 4.3g carbs, 2.5g fibre per half cup
- Raspberries – 4.4g carbs, 3.6g fibre per half cup
- Blackberries – 4.5g carbs, 3.6g fibre per half cup
- Blueberries – 5g carbs, 1.8g fibre per quarter cup
Olives
Green, kalamata or black olives are a great addition to salads and sauce, or on their own as a snack.
- Kalamata – 1.4g carbs per 7 olives
- Green – 1.1g carbs per 10 olives
- Black – 2g carbs per 10 olives
Olives are a great source of antioxidants (vitamin E), flavonoids, and polyphenolic compounds that all help to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation.
Beverages
There are a few lowballers for beverages too.
- Unsweetened almond milk – 0.8g carbs per cup
- Unsweetened soy milk – 1 g carbs per cup
- Schweppes Infused Mineral Water (Raspberry, Lime, Orange Mango) from Coles – about 0.3g carbs per serve
- Nexba Kombucha drinks (Apple & ginger, Strawberry Peach, Lemonade) from Coles- about 0.2g carbs per serve
- Bickford’s ‘Diet’ cordials (lemon, lime bitters, lime cordial) from Coles – about 1.5g carbs per serve
- Bickford’s sugar free cordial (Mixed berry, lemon lime) from Woolworths – about 0.5g carbs per serve
These are just a few of the foods with low carbs suitable for diabetics. As you can see, there is lots to enjoy!
With type 2 diabetes or prediabetes you can still enjoy a wide variety of foods and have great blood sugar levels too!
