Popular Snacks That Follow The Carnivore Diet's Strict Rules

We all like to bite into a tasty snack now and then. But if you're diligently following the highly popular carnivore diet, you may feel like your snacking days are over. That's certainly not true, although it's an understandable reaction. After all, the carnivore diet requires its followers to adhere to incredibly specific (and inflexible) rules, and those rules can make it seem hard to even think of a snack that doesn't violate the diet's parameters.

What is it about the carnivore diet that makes it seem so snack-unfriendly? For one, the diet doesn't just seek to reduce carbohydrates like other protein-heavy diets like the keto diet or Atkins diet. It seeks to eliminate them. And let's face it: From carrots and hummus to oatmeal and nuts, many snacks that are typically considered "healthy" contain carbohydrates — and that means they're forbidden for carnivore dieters.

There's another reason the carnivore diet seems to be anti-snacking. Fruit is off the table, as described by WebMD. Consequently, merely eating a medium-sized banana every day would go against the carnivore philosophy.

This is why many carnivores may assume their only snacking choice is to munch on a smaller-scale version of a carnivore breakfast, lunch, or dinner. That's not accurate. Carnivores have more snacking choices than they might realize, notwithstanding the carnivore diet's narrow food range. They just have to take a few steps ahead of time to make sure they don't send their carnivore lifestyle sideways by nibbling on the wrong items.

Obviously, the carnivore diet is very strict. Accordingly, you need to be cognizant of everything you're putting into your body as a first step in your snacking if you intend to practice carnivore dieting for the long term.

The best way to ensure you don't go off the rails and eat the wrong items unintentionally is to thoroguhly examine the nutritional makeup of any carnivore snacks you're considering. Dr. Chris Mohr, the Fitness and Nutrition Advisor at Fortune Recommends Health, told Health Digest in an exclusive interview that he strongly recommends that carnivore dieters take time to scour through snack food ingredient lists. After all, many food products have "hidden" ingredients that aren't obvious just by looking at the packaging, and some of those ingredients fly in the face of the carnivore lifestyle.

"You need to be careful with snack labels," said Mohr. "Since plant-based additives are out, make sure to check for any non-animal ingredients. Avoid grains, legumes, sweeteners, or preservatives. The simpler the ingredient list, the better, ideally focusing on animal-based items only if this is the diet you choose to eat."

Of course, reading an ingredient list and understanding what you see can be two different things. Many ingredients aren't well understood or recognizable by the general public, and that can muddy the waters. (By the way, you shouldn't feel bad if you're perplexed by ingredient lists. A 2019 survey published in Waste Management showed that misunderstanding food labels is commonplace. While the survey focused mainly on sell-by dates, it showcased how head-scratching the information on food products can be due to inconsistent wording.)

How do you know if a snack passes the carnivore "test" if you encounter unfamiliar terms? Be patient and learn the lingo. Eventually, you'll catch on. 

For example, you'll want to bypass any potential snacks that contain dextrose, fructose, or so-called "natural flavors." Mohr said those natural flavors could be plant-derived, and plants aren't allowed if you're following the carnivore diet. You also should be cautious about eating foods with fillers and extenders since they might be processed with soy or corn. 

Mohr added that artificial additives (e.g. BHT, BHA) aren't a good fit for carnivores, either. And there's been a bit of controversy around BHT and BHA anyway. Although they're widely used as preservatives, research indicates they've been potentially linked to hormonal disturbances, cancer, and toxicity. That said, BHT and BHA are FDA-approved when used as allowed. But bypassing them for the sake of your carnivore dieting may also help you avoid unwanted outcomes.

What's the next step in finding snacks to satisy both you and the requirements of the picky carnivore diet? Look for items that are likely to be an appropriate match with the carnivore diet's stringent rules, such as anything made of pure meat. 

For instance, try beef jerky, which Mohr called a good option as long as it hasn't been made with added sugars or preservatives. It's basically just a lot of protein, which follows the carnivore diet to the letter. Whether or not you're allowed to try a spicy or seasoned beef jerky appears to depend on the type of seasoning or blend. Healthline reports that the key to using spices is to pick ones without carbohydrates.

Pork rinds are another of Mohr's protein-packed, no-carb recommendations, along with beneficial omega-3 fatty acid-rich canned sardines, mackerel, or salmon.

Just be cautious about how much canned tuna you eat. Even though it's allowed on the carnivore diet, it's been associated with some serious health concerns. As noted in 2023 by Consumer Reports, foods like canned tuna can contain unhealthy amounts of mercury, a known neurotoxin. However, findings on canned tuna varieties showed that canned light and skipjack tuna varieties offer up far less mercury. Consequently, aim to stick with those tuna versions if you're concerned about your mercury intake. Or, just go with Mohr's original seafood picks since they're likely to contain less mercury than tuna does. 

If you love dairy, you'll be happy to hear that don't have to give it up entirely as a carnivore dieter. You can even snack on some types of dairy.

Mohr suggests considering hard cheese, cottage cheese, and plain Greek yogurt as solid snacking choices. However, WebMD explains that to stay within the boundaries of the carnivore diet, you should keep your dairy consumption in check. This means you may need to give up feasting on dairy products during your main meals if you intend to eat dairy foods at snack time.

How does this work? Let's consider a Healthline sample carnivore diet daily menu plan to see how this could play out in real life. On day three, the plan allows for a small portion of Parmesan cheese during dinner. Instead of eating the cheese for dinner, you could enjoy it as a snack.

Above all else, a good rule of thumb is to keep seeking out different snacks to give yourself variety as you move into your carnivore dieting. As outlined in a 2020 Cureus article, dieting has been known to have a "negative psychological impact." The piece goes on to say that "[s]tudies have shown that food restriction is a poor mechanism for weight loss and may instead contribute to weight gain." Therefore, bringing numerous carnivore-friendly snacks into your daily eating could help you stay the course and not become bored due to the carnivore diet's food restrictions.