My bat mitzvah was a disaster for many reasons, the most obvious one being that it took place on Super Bowl Sunday. As you can imagine, people had football and buffalo wings on their minds and were just waiting for the end of my Cyndi Lauper inspired, feminist bat mitzvah speech. I know this because when I looked up from my speech and prayers, I noticed the many people checking their watches. And of course, no one wanted to hang around after the service. Guests shouted “mazel tov” in my direction and bolted for the door. Only a few women over eighty stayed to snack on the dry sponge cake and challah. I’ll be honest, those are really, truly lousy snacks, especially for a Superbowl Sunday. I’m not just saying that because they’re high carb.
Having learned my lesson about Super Bowl Sunday the hard way, I now feel I can help others avoid making the same mistake. My advice to you, then, is not to dress up in a stiff, shiny blue dress and celebrate your coming of age this weekend, but rather to plop down in front of the TV with your family and friends and watch football. And be sure to have low carb snacks around so your blood sugar doesn’t skyrocket during the game.
Here are some of our favorite low carb snacks:
Buffalo Spiced Cocktail Nuts: Our culinary contributor Carolyn Ketchum, who writes the blog All Day I Dream About Food shared this recipe with us. She says, “If you like Buffalo-flavored things, these nuts are a must-try, low carb snack. They are simple to make, so it’s easy to whip up a batch for a party or on game-day. Or just for having around the house for snacking. My husband couldn’t stop picking at them when he came home from work. I kept running my finger around the bowl where I’d tossed them together, the sauce was so tangy and good.”
Baked Buffalo Wings: Our culinary contributor Missy Lieser shared this low carb recipe with us for last year’s Superbowl and it was a hit! Missy says, “Super Bowl Sunday just wouldn’t be the same without Buffalo Chicken Wings. This is my favorite way to prepare them because it requires no frying and they taste delicious. I like to broil them for just a minute after coating them with the sauce. Perfect for a party because you just pop them into the oven.”
Zucchini Pizza Bites: If you’re not into buffalo flavors, try these low carb zucchini pizza bites courtesy of Gina’s Skinny Recipes. They are so quick to prepare, you won’t believe it. And they bake in just a few minutes. We only use homemade tomato sauce, but if you’d rather buy something in a jar, try to find one that doesn’t have any added sugar. If you would rather skip the tomato sauce altogether, you can. Then you’ll have cheesy zucchini bites. Either way, they won’t stay on the plate long.
Garam Masala Eggplant Chips: Move over potato chips! These are a little bit more work than opening a bag of store bought chips, but totally worth the effort. Here’s what Carolyn Ketchum had to say about her low carb snack recipe: “Finding healthy snack options isn’t always easy and more often than not, I find myself shoveling yet another handful of peanuts into my mouth to stave off hunger. But I’ve discovered that a number of vegetables crisp up nicely when oven-baked and can be a great substitute for potato chips. Eggplants are perfect for it, especially if you salt them beforehand to remove some moisture.”
If you’re into dips, Carolyn included a recipe for cilantro mint raita.
Oven Roasted Cauliflower: If you cut this into small florets before cooking, and roast it until it’s crispy on top, people will eat it like it’s popcorn. I’m willing to bet a dish will be devoured in minutes. (The recipe calls for bread crumbs, but you really don’t need them at all.) For us, this isn’t just a game-day snack, but a household staple. It shows up on our dinner table several times a week, and is more filling than any carb I can think of. And it will barely budge your blood sugar.
Crudites with Kale Pesto: This delightful recipe for kale pesto comes from one of my favorite food bloggers, Erica Kerwien of Comfy Belly. It’s a refreshing change from traditional basil pesto, works well in scrambled eggs, and it’s a great dip as well. For game day, slice up your favorite veggies – carrots, cucumbers, bell peppers, mushrooms, green onions, purple onions… whatever you like… and serve them with pesto for dipping. Check out Elizabeth Edelman’s lovely crudite platter on Diabetes Daily. She uses radishes, endives, radicchio, and arugula.
Crudites with Black Lentil Hummus: This is one of our all-time favorite dip recipes. And unlike a lot of dip recipes, because this is made with lentils and tehini, it’s packed with nutrients. It’s delicious with cucumbers and carrots.
Dark Chocolate Covered Bacon: Bacon-in-dessert recipes have been all over the web recently, and Steve Gilbert of Without Envy shared this recipe with us. Bacon lovers out there, what do you think of this?
Bacon Wrapped Shiitake Mushrooms: If you’re not into the idea of bacon and chocolate, Missy Lieser says in this recipe, the saltiness of the bacon pairs wonderfully with the earthiness of the mushrooms.
Do you have any great low carb snack ideas? Please share if you do!
I love eggplant chips… and butternut squash fries… and kale chips… and cabbage “chips”!
Yum! The zucchini pizza bites might work for kids too!
The recipes on this site are wonderful! Thank you for posting these snack ideas.
Fantastic recipes! What a great week for low carbers on A Sweet Life. First Peter Attia and now this. I love this site.