Low Carb Veggies

If the veggie grows above ground, it is low carb. Veggies like potatoes, yams, onions, carrots, beets and turnips tend to have higher carbs than other veggies. Spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, celery, string beans, etc., tend to be lower carb. Fruits like cucumbers and tomatoes are good too. Squash is pretty moderate.

Grains like corn are higher carb, and many beans are higher carb.

I tend to eat raw veggies with a salad dressing or cheese dip. Sautéed or steamed with butter is tasty. Broiled or BBQed is tasty too. Or put it in a soup. Smothered in cheese sauce is always good!

Paleo cook books usually have lots of creative veggie ideas.

pretty much everything tastes good sauteed with a little olive oil & garlic. Cauliflower is awesome when you grate it and use it as rice.

escalada22 wrote: »

What are some low carb veggies you like to eat and some ideas on how to prepare them...for example I know spinach is low carb but never know how to prepare it!

melt a little butter in a pan, pile in the spinach, put a bit more butter on top and let it sautee / steam away for a few minutes and it'll reduce from a pan full of leaves to a more substantial vegetable side.

nvmomketo wrote: »

If the veggie grows above ground, it is low carb. Veggies like potatoes, yams, onions, carrots, beets and turnips tend to have higher carbs than other veggies. Spinach, broccoli, cauliflower, kale, celery, string beans, etc., tend to be lower carb. Fruits like cucumbers and tomatoes are good too. Squash is pretty moderate.

Grains like corn are higher carb, and many beans are higher carb.

To expand on this:
From a biological/botanical point of view, there is no such thing as a vegetable. Vegetable is a purely culinary term. So, all the things we call vegetables have different biological functions and the function largely determines the nutritional content.
Most underground vegetables are for the plant to store starch for energy for when the plant can't produce glucose by photosynthesis, so they are high in carb. Grains and beans are actually the seed of the plant, so just like eggs, they have to be nutrient dense to be able to support the new plant life. Fruits are there to protect the seed and to provide enticement for animals to eat them so the seeds can be dispersed, hence why they tend to be sweeter and colourful. Most other vegies are the leaves, stems, or flowers of the plant. They don't need to contain a lot of nutrients, but particularly the stem and leaves contain a lot of cellulose fibre as they need to provide the structural integrity of the plant.

So for low carb, look for fruits with a high water content (like tomatoes, green beans, and zucchini), stems (like celery), flowers (like broccoli), or leaves (like spinach and lettuce)