Holidays can be tough when you’re trying to avoid carbohydrates, and Halloween might be the toughest of them all, a day absolutely dedicated to sugary gluttony. The average trick or treater on Halloween eats an unbelievable 3 cups of sugar—equivalent to 220 sugar packets—an outrageously unhealthy amount by any standard. That’s a blood glucose management nightmare!
Lucky for us, low-carb options are getting better every year, and this year meats snacks are having a moment. So there’s no need to deny yourself the fun of a Hallows’ Eve snackfest—just treat yourself, or the local kiddos, to some of the best new meat treats on the market.
ASweetLife has put together a list of the best carnivore snack-size treats:
The New Primal Snackmates
A special line of meat snacks for kids, these pouches pack away perfectly into a pumpkin pail (or a lunchbox). Flavors include low-carb hints of maple, cranberry, and cherry.
Stryve Beef Biltong
Have you tried biltong yet? It’s the beef jerky of South Africa, and is traditionally made without any sugar at all. Unlike jerky, which is sliced into thin strips and dried in an oven, biltong is marinated in vinegar and then air-dried one big slab of beef at a time, and sliced afterwards for a more tender final product.
Shrooms Splits
Here’s a new idea: portabella mushroom and turkey jerkies together in one pack. Healthy snacking ingredients with a slightly sweet marinade.
Brooklyn Biltong 2 oz Packs
There’s at least a couple awesome new biltong businesses, and Brooklyn Biltong offers its tender dried beef marinated in Peri-Peri in little two ounce packs, perfect for sampling and sharing.
Goodfish Crispy Salmon Skins
Goodfish prepares the pork rind of the sea, Wild Alaskan salmon skins lightly fried in sustainable palm oil, in flavors like Chili Lime and Spicy BBQ.
Epic Bites
Epic might well be the most important business in the growing keto meat snack market. They’ve got all sorts of products to investigate, but nothing says Halloween more than a grab-bag of “bites”, six different recipes from six different animals, from venison to chicken.
4505 Cheese-Charrones Snack Mix
San Francisco’s 4505 Meats has quickly grown from a lone farmer’s market stand into a small empire of porky brilliance. The company’s fried pork rinds are a huge hit and are now widely available, and a new party treat has just hit the shelves: this mix of two different types pork crackling mixed with cheddar cheese crisps.
Flock Chicken Chips
Pork rinds aren’t the only crispy skins in the game. Flock’s chicken skin chips are thin and crunchy like potato chips, zero sugar and high protein.
Epic Snack Strips
Epic is back at it, with a sampler pack of individually wrapped mountain man fuel: turkey, venison, beef and salmon strips.
The New Primal Beef Thins
What’s a beef thin? The innovators at The New Primal have invented a meaty snack with a crispy bite, “the tempting look of jerky and the satisfying crunch of a chip.”
Nick’s Sticks Minis
Another new product, the popular grass-fed beef stick company Nick’s Sticks now offers a sack of individually wrapped mini sticks, a perfect on-the-go meat snack.
Wild Merman Salmon Jerky
Wild caught salmon, marinated in organic flavors and smoked over flavorful hardwood. This salmon jerky has a touch of molasses or honey in it, but not enough to throw you off your keto diet.
Exo Protein Bars
You want to talk about spooky? Try an Exo protein bar, the snack bar made out of … gulp … crickets! Insect protein is actually super trendy, super healthy, and super environmentally friendly. These bars are delicious and are absurdly packed with protein and fiber.
Mini-Kickers Flavored Crickets
OK, now we’re getting really gross. But what better way to terrify your family than to distribute tubes of edible crickets? These crickets are exceptionally healthy, come in all sorts of flavors, and are sure to be … memorable.
