If you're on a low-carb diet, adhering to strictly low-carb recipes is recommended, but not necessary. Sometimes, it's enough to know which foods you should avoid, and which you may eat. The thing about low carb foods is, they may be a bit hard to get used to, especially if you've become too accustomed to eating fast food and vegetable oil-fried concoctions.

But if you know where to look, foods that are low on carbohydrates and fats may also taste good. You need not sacrifice taste for good health! Here are a few examples of low carb foods that also tickle the taste buds:

1. Barbecued meat and fish. Grilling meat is a great way to melt harmful fats out of a piece of meat or fish. Just be careful that the seasonings you include don't come with any particularly fatty or harmful chemicals. Low carb barbecue sauce is also usually diabetic-friendly.

2. Meat and fish products that are NOT cured with nitrates. Meat products already come with a hefty store of carbohydrates; the curing process, in which preservatives and seasonings are added, may add more to the natural supply. Fish products are generally not high on carbohydrates, although the seasonings that come with some fish products may add unwanted carbs to your diet. Nitrates are included in the list of chemicals that do this, and they are known carcinogens besides.

3. High fiber foods. Vegetables are among the natural foodstuffs that are high in fiber and low on carbohydrates. Flax seeds, for example, contain almost no carbohydrates at all! Other examples of high fiber, low carb vegetables are broccoli, spinach, and cauliflower.

Most foods, in fact, are healthy in moderation, as long as they are not packed with preservatives. Some manufacturers make it a point to process food even further so that the carbohydrates are filtered out - as in the case of cheese. Almost all cheeses contain usable carbohydrates in one form or another, but specially processed cheeses contain significantly less of it, if any. You may consider these products, but why spend more for stuff that you can prepare at home, the all-natural way?

Low carb foods are frequently prescribed in diets such as the South Beach Diet, the Atkins Diet, and other well-known eating routines. When in doubt about a certain foodstuff, you can refer to any of these diets, and the list of allowed or recommended foods included with the regimen.