Which foods should you choose when the urge to eat strikes between meals?

Today, I'll share the best and the worst snacks to eat on a low diet. Let's start with the easiest options. The best easy prep snacks on a low carb diet provide protein, fat or both with very few carbs. Eggs are a fantastic low carb food that provide protein and fat in a portable package. Keep a bowl of hard boiled eggs in your fridge and take a couple for a quick grab and go snack with about 1 gram of carbs.

Not a fan of eggs? A slice of cheese or cold cuts are also quick and easy high protein options, a snack sized portion will give you about 1 gram of carbs at most.

Avocados and olives don't have much protein, but they are high in fat as well as fiber, which can help you feel full. Plus, they are very low in net carbs, also known as digestible carbs. Half an avocado or 20 olives contain about one to 2 grams of net carbs.

And for a portable, completely shelf stable snack, have a small portion of nuts. You'll get a little protein, lots of fat and some fiber. If you keep the portion size to a small handful or less, you will get about one or 2 grams of net carbs from most nuts, with the exception of calciums. More on those later.

Fresh vegetables are low in calories but high in vitamins, minerals and fiber. Simply slice them up and enjoy with a creamy dip or dressing. If you want a snack with less than 3 grams of net carbs per cup, go for celery, cucumbers or green peppers. Red and yellow bell peppers are a bit higher in carbs at about four to 5 grams of net carbs per serving.

If your diet allows a few more carbs, carrots are another option. One cup of chopped carrots contains about 7 grams of net carbs. Do you want a snack that is a bit sweeter? Go for berries. Keep in mind that they are a bit higher in carbs than most of the other snacks I've mentioned, especially blueberries. Choose half a cup of raspberries, blackberries or strawberries for a naturally sweet dessert with three to 4 grams of net carbs per half cup. Enjoy them with a small amount of whipped heavy cream.

Notice I said a small amount cream is delicious and can be easy to overconsume, so only add a little bit. Here's the low carb snack option that might surprise you. Dark chocolate Again, I recommend a small portion of this tasty treat. Although dark chocolate has less sugar than milk chocolate, it's still not a low carb food. However, a small amount can be a nice snack to enjoy occasionally. Choose chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa. The higher the cocoa percentage, the less sugar the chocolate contains. One square of 86% chocolate has roughly 2 grams of net carbs. If you're okay with a few more carbs, 70% chocolate provides about 3.5 grams of net carbs per square.

Other good snack options with less than a gram of carbs include pork rinds and no sugar added beef jerky. However, beef jerky isn't always a good low carb snack option. Why is that? Most brands contain sugar which can drive their carb count up to 3 grams or more per piece, so be sure to read the label before you snack on jerky.

Now, which are the worst low carb snack choices you can possibly make? The truth is, there are many snacks you should avoid. Some of them are surprising, others not so much.

Let's start with the snacks that most people would consider healthy choices, such as fruit. Aside from berries, fruit is pretty high in carbs, so it's not a great option on a low carb diet. Fruit juice is much worse because it contains no fiber and is more concentrated in sugar than whole fruit. Cafe lattes, even unsweetened, are rich in carbs because they contain a large amount of milk. Vitamin water has added vitamins, but it also has a lot of added sugar and a whopping 32 grams of carbs per bottle.

Earlier, I talked about nuts being a good snack when consumed in small amounts. However, cashews provide between three to six times more carbs per serving compared to other nuts, so you are better off choosing any other type of nut for a snack.

But the truly terrible snack options are highly processed foods that are high in both carbs and fat, and I'm talking about donuts, chips, candy bars, cookies, ice cream and similar treats. These foods can be extremely difficult to eat in small quantities. In fact, once you start eating them, it may be hard to stop. So avoid these foods altogether.

Let's do a quick recap. The best low carb snacks are often the simplest, hard boiled eggs, cheese, cold cuts, avocado, olives or nuts sliced vegetables with dip, low carb berries with cream, or a small square of dark chocolate are also good options. Avoid fruit and fruit juice, coffee drinks made with lots of milk and cashews.

Finally, stay far, far away from processed high fat, high carb foods like cakes, cookies, chips and candy bars.