When you need to watch your figure or just want to practice eating well, choosing the right snacks can help you stay full in between meals and achieve your health and weight loss goals in the long term.
When you’re on a health kick, you might think of grabbing nuts, seeds, and dried fruit as quick and easy snack ideas. However, most snacks today are loaded with sugar, fats, and empty calories. So when you need to bump up your protein intake, use this round-up of high protein, low-fat snacks to add to your diet so you can go about eating more protein-rich snacks that can help you stay full while reducing calorie intake.
Best High Protein Low Fat Snacks
Before we jump into the snacks that are high in protein and healthy fats, let’s first start off by creating an understanding around why this is even important. Our body needs protein to perform its daily functions, provide maintenance to our cells and tissues, build muscle and offer nourishment to support growth and energy to get through the day.
The average American adult needs about 58 grams of protein each day, which can be hard to reach if you’re not intentional or know what does 100 grams of protein look like.
Eating healthy high protein snacks can offer us with high amounts of protein as well as other sources of vitamins and minerals our bodies need to perform at its best.
What Is A High Protein Low Fat Snack
A high protein, low fat food is a snack that is high in protein floats around or over 30% in its protein content. Some high protein food ideas are meat, poultry, seafood, dairy, eggs, and legumes. Nuts and cheeses also contain protein, but they are lower in protein (usually around 20 – 30% of protein content) compared to the other options we just mentioned.
On the contrary, low fat means 30% or less of the food’s calories come from fat. While you never want to completely remove fats from your diet. Instead you want to get a good amount of protein and healthy fats. Healthy fats are found in olive oil, nuts, avocado, tofu, and fatty fish (a good source of omega-3 fatty acids) to name a few. Choosing high-protein, low-fat foods can make your snacks filling without compromising your diet or packing on unnecessary fat.
Consider this information when on the hunt for low carb snacks on the go and choosing which foods you’re going to incorporate into your diets to help you build muscle, with your body composition and weight loss journey.
10 High Protein Low Fat Snack Ideas
What I like about all of these options are the fact that they’re filling, quick and easy to prepare, and leave you feeling energized. They’re also all around or more than 30 grams of protein per serving; and bonus – a lot of these options also have no added sugar!
Jerky
240 CALORIES
0g carbs, 40g protein, 10g fat
You can find these high protein snacks at just about any grocery store or convenience store when traveling.
Ingredients
4 oz Turkey jerky, no sugar added – 240 calories (2 servings)
Instructions
Step 1
Brands I love: Trader Joe’s, Epic (available at most stores). But if you don’t have access to these, other brands are fine!
Step 2
Notes: No animal protein? Try Epic brand’s Salmon Jerky or a jerky made from plant based proteins. No jerky at all? Have 2 hard boiled eggs, 2 string cheeses or 1 yogurt instead.
2 String Cheeses with Prosciutto
260 CALORIES
0g carbs, 28g protein, 16g fat
Prosciutto wrapped string cheese is easy to throw together if you’re at home, but can also be found premade at most grocery stores.
Ingredients
2 oz Prosciutto – 120 calories
2 Cheese, string cheese, mozzarella, full fat/ regular – 140 calories
Instructions
Step 1
Wrap prosciutto around cheese.
Step 2
No dairy? Use extra prosciutto or nuts/ seeds. No meat? Have nuts or seeds with the cheese.
In-Shell Edamame, and String Cheese
340 CALORIES
21g carbs, 29g protein, 18g fat
Load up on this crunchy snack idea that contains high amounts of protein. Edamame and string cheese are both easy to pack for on the go as well.
Ingredients
1⅓ cups Edamame, in shell – 260 calories
¼ tsp Salt – 0 calories
1 Cheese, string cheese, cheddar, full fat/ regular – 80 calories
Instructions
Step 1
Season edamame with salt
Strawberry Cheesecake Cottage Cheese Ice Cream
289 CALORIES
32g carbs, 28g protein, 8g fat
Sometimes you’ll have a sweet tooth, which is why you’ll want to reach for this guilt-free cheesecake ice cream if you’re craving a healthy, yet nutritious dessert.
Ingredients
1 cup Cottage cheese, 2% – 180 calories
6 tsp Stevia – 0 calories
1 cup Strawberries, fresh – 50 calories
1 Graham crackers – 59 calories
Instructions
Step 1
Dice strawberries and crush graham cracker into small pieces.
Step 2
In a blender or food processor, blend together cottage cheese, 3/4 of your strawberries, and your sweetener until smooth.
Step 3
Add your blended mixture to a freezer safe container, and top with the rest of your strawberries and graham crackers.
Step 4
Freeze for 3 hours, enjoy!
Step 5
No dairy? Swap this recipe for another.
Step 6
Inspired by @lainiecooks_
Yogurt, 1/8 Cup Nuts, Strawberries & Egg
332 CALORIES
21g carbs, 27g protein, 17g fat
You can never go wrong with a greek yogurt, fruit and nuts. To help you feel more filling, snack on hard boiled eggs to go alongside your snack the next time you have this deconstructed parfait.
Ingredients
⅛ cup Nuts – 100 calories
1 Greek Yogurt, plain, 2%, single-serving container – 110 calories
1 cup Strawberries, fresh – 50 calories
1 boiled Egg, large – 72 calories
Instructions
Step 1
Hard boil egg
Tuna on Pickles
184 CALORIES
0g carbs, 28g protein, 7g fat
If you’re wanting something to hold you over before a big meal or before you eat at an event, these tuna boats make the perfect high protein, low fat snack option.
Ingredients
4 slice Pickles, sandwich type (unsweetened) – 0 calories
1 Tuna, canned (1 can) – 120 calories
¼ tsp Everything bagel seasoning – 0 calories
2 tsp Mayonnaise (tsp) – 64 calories
Instructions
Step 1
In a small bowl, mix tuna, seasoning, and mayo.
Step 2
Spread on top of pickles as shown in the picture.
Rice Cakes with Yogurt, Berries, and Cinnamon
184 CALORIES
50g carbs, 26g protein, 6g fat
Wanting the breaded, crunchy texture without sacrificing the protein content? Try these rice cake bites which are healthy and perfect for the times when you’re wanting a little something sweet.
Ingredients
2 Rice cakes, brown rice – 140 calories
1 cup Strawberries, fresh – 50 calories
8 oz Greek Yogurt, plain, 2%, from tub – 170 calories
1 tsp Cinnamon – 0 calories
Instructions
Step 1
Top rice cakes with yogurt, cinnamon, and berries
Chocolate Banana Smoothie
354 CALORIES
34g carbs, 30g protein, 12g fat
An easy and delicious way of packing in the protein and other sources of vitamins and minerals is to blend together a high protein smoothie. This is a powerful way of giving you the energy you need while also helping you feel full and keeping those cravings at bay.
Ingredients
1 Banana – 105 calories
1 Protein powder – 120 calories
¼ tsp Cinnamon – 0 calories
1 cup Almond milk, unsweetened – 30 calories
1 Tbsp Peanut butter, unsweetened (Tbsp) – 94 calories
¼ Tbsp Cocoa powder – 5 calories
Instructions
Step 1
Slice banana & freeze overnight, or use fresh if you prefer.
Step 2
Blend all ingredients together in a blender. Add ice if you need to.
Smoked Salmon and Egg
338 CALORIES
0g carbs, 48g protein, 15g fat
If you’re looking for a meatier snack, then these smoked salmon and hard boiled eggs should be your go to. These actually zero carbs and an impressive 48 grams of protein per serving (also a low 15 grams of fat), which is a win-win.
Ingredients
8 oz Smoked salmon – 266 calories
1 boiled Egg, large – 72 calories
Instructions
Step 1
Hard boil egg
Protein Smoothie
294 CALORIES
20g carbs, 30g protein, 12g fat
Ingredients
1 Protein powder – 120 calories
1 cup Strawberries, fresh – 50 calories
1 cup Almond milk, unsweetened – 30 calories
1 Tbsp Peanut butter, unsweetened (Tbsp) – 94 calories
Instructions
Step 1
Slice strawberries.
Step 2
Mix all ingredients in a blender, add ice if you like.
