Low-Carb Summer Fruit Roundup! by Dana Carpender

Summer is the time when the low carber’s restriction on fruit really begins to chafe. Just how high carb are these delectable morsels? Can you get away with enjoying at least a bit of the summer’s bounty?

You bet you can! I have very good news for you: Unless you’re on Atkins induction, you can work some fruit into your summer. Here’s a rundown of the best of the summer fruit:

Peaches

One 2½ inch peach has 12g of carb, with 2g of fiber, for a usable carb count of 10 grams. They’re a good source of vitamin A and B Vitamins, not to mention potassium, and they contain a smattering of other minerals.

Plums

A plum just bigger than 2 inches across has 7.5g of carb, and about a gram of fiber, for a usable carb count of about 6.5g. They have a bit less vitamin A than peaches, but the rest of the nutritional profile is similar.

Nectarines

I just can’t figure out nectarines. They’re just a fuzzless peach, but they have more carb in ’em – 15 grams in a 2½ inch nectarine! Even after you subtract out the 2.4g of fiber, you’ve got 12.6 grams of usable carb. They’ve got a pretty good nutritional profile otherwise, including a tad more vitamin A than a peach.

Cantaloupe

A half of a 5 inch cantaloupe has 22.5 grams of carb, and 2.5 grams of fiber, for a total usable carb count of 20 grams. Too much, but then, that’s a big serving! Have 1/8 of a melon – a nice-sized wedge – and you’ll get just 5g of usable carb, and that should fit into anyone’s diet! Plus it’s hard to think of a better nutrition bargain. Cantaloupe is among the most nutritious fruits. You’ll get better than 2000 IUs of vitamin A, plenty of potassium, 14mcg of folic acid (prevents birth defects and heart disease!), and a smattering of other vitamins and minerals. If you like cantaloupe, it’s one of your best bets. A wedge of cantaloupe and a scoop of cottage cheese is a lovely, light, cool summer breakfast.

Honeydew

Honeydew is higher carb than cantaloupe, with 11 grams of carb and 1 gram of fiber in a 1/8 melon wedge, and it doesn’t pack the vitamin A hit that cantaloupe does. But it’s an even better source of potassium and folic acid than cantaloupe, and has some other minerals and B vitamins as well.

For a great, easy summer dessert, toss cantaloupe and honeydew balls or chunks with lime juice, a little freshly grated ginger root, and Splenda to taste. Chill for a few hours before serving.

Watermelon

Watermelon can be hard for the simple reason that watermelons are big, and so are the slices of it you’re likely to run into at your friendly neighborhood barbeque. If you eat 1/16th of the average melon, you’ll get 21.6 grams of carb, and only 1 gram of fiber. So watch your portion carefully – and join the pit-spitting fight!

My favorite Low-Carb Dessert – Strawberries

A whole pint of strawberries will cost you just 16 grams of usable carb – and who eats a whole pint? Six large strawberries have only 6 grams of usable carb. No wonder strawberries are my favorite low carb dessert. They’re a pretty good source of vitamin C, with 63mg in those six berries. That’s about what you’d get in an orange, but the orange will run you 13 grams of usable carb. You’ll get some folic acid, a good dose of potassium, and bits of other stuff. More exciting, strawberries are an excellent source of several antioxidants, and also a compound called ellagic acid. A powerful anti-oxidant, ellagic acid is being studied intensively and appears to have anti-cancer properties.

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Blueberries

A half cup of blueberries has about 8 grams of usable carb. They’re not the vitamin C source that strawberries are, but otherwise they’re pretty comparable, nutritionally. Blueberries have a phytochemical in them that stabilizes capillary walls. As a result, blueberries may help fight diabetic retinopathy, the blindness caused by diabetes, and macular degeneration, the most common cause of blindness in aging. If you don’t like blueberries, be aware that bilberries have the same chemical, and are available in capsules.

Raspberries

Perhaps the best source of cancer-fighting ellegic acid, raspberries are also a Low-Carb Summer Fruit. One cup of raspberries has 14.7 grams of carbohydrate, but fully 8 of those grams are fiber, for a usable carb count of just 6.7 grams. Yummy, too! Again, you’re looking at some vitamin A, some vitamin C, some potassium (although less than some other fruits), and appreciable amounts of a variety of minerals.

Blackberries

Once again, a source of ellagic acid! (If you don’t like any of the berries, it’s good to know that walnuts are a good source of ellagic acid as well; and, to a lesser extent, so are pecans) One cup of blackberries has 13.8 grams of carb with 7.6 grams of fiber, for a usable carb count of 6.2 grams. I like ’em even better than raspberries, and I have them growing in my yard! (But the Organic Gardening Gods next door have thornless blackberries. I may have to replace mine!) Blackberries have a bit more vitamin A than raspberries, and are a bit richer in minerals as well.

My absolute favorite Low-Carb Summer Fruit – Cherries

I love cherries so much that before I went low-carb, it wasn’t unknown for me to eat a quart of them in a sitting! I have to rein it in, now; cherries aren’t as low-carb as some other fruits. There are 11g of carb in 10 ripe Bing cherries (the blackish-red sweet cherries that are the most popular for out-of-the-hand eating). Only a gram of that is fiber, so you’re still looking at about a gram of usable carbohydrate apiece! Still, I love them so much that it wouldn’t be summer without them, and I make room in my diet for a handful here and there. I know this is getting repetitive, but cherries are a pretty good source of vitamin A, folic acid, potassium, and other minerals. They are not, however, much of a source of vitamin C.

If you can get sour cherries, also known as pie cherries (I have sour cherry trees in the back yard of my old house, which I still own and now rent; I need to transplant a jump-up over here!), they are, of course, lower in sugar than sweet cherries – just over half the carb count. You probably won’t want to eat them out of your hand, of course, but cooked with a little Splenda (and a drop of almond extract – almonds and cherries are close botanical relatives, did you know that?) they’re wonderful on top of a sugar-free cheesecake, or stirred into low carb muffin batter or Splenda-sweetened vanilla yogurt.

Apricots

Fresh apricots are a carb bargain – three medium apricots have 11.7 grams, with 2 grams of fiber, so the usable carb count is 9.7 grams – and again, that’s for three. One would have just over 3 grams! Apricots are a terrific source of vitamin A. They’re an okay source of folic acid and potassium, and of course, have a smattering of other vitamins and minerals. However, if you’re a fan of dried apricots – I love them – remember that each piece is one half of a fruit, so you can’t afford to eat more than a few pieces!

Clearly, summer fruits can be a delicious and healthful addition to our low carb diets. I urge you to enjoy them often as long as they last!

More Low Carb Recipes & Articles by Dana Carpender

© Copyright 2009 by Dana Carpender. Used by kind permission of the not-so-fruity author. What do you think? Please send Dana your comments to Dana Carpender.