Eating low carb in Rome!...

Typically, salads are on the menu. Grilled vegetables are great. Look for the conditori side dishes, which are usually vegetables.

Most restaurants have plenty of veggie side-dishes on the menu ("verdure" or "contorni"), as well as fish ("pesce"). Sauces tend to be lighter as well, and the portions are smaller and much less fatty or salty. You'll be surprised that eating in Rome could easily be healthier than in the US as long as you stay clear of fried items (fried artichokes are very common), pasta, or pizza. I would highly consider eating some dinners out as that meal is such an important part of Italian culture - it would be a shame to miss out eating among local families.

Sounds like a good excuse to have a Caprese salad (aka Tomato Mozzarella salad).
And of cause Minestrone.

I don't know if they were "American style," but I definitely had a couple of very nice meal-sized salads in Rome. One of them was served on a pizza crust, but I'm sure they could just as easily put it on a regular plate.

Also look at the "secondi" section of the menu, which typically has a lot of meat dishes served without pasta (but sometimes with potatoes or other carbs).

Oftentimes I would order a meat or fish dish and a side dish of vegetables. Your daughter will have delicious choices.

you'll be surprised that eating in Rome could easily be healthier than in the US as long as you stay clear of fried items

Nothing wrong with fried items, pretty much everything will be fried in olive oil. We're not talking buckets of chicken fried in groundnut oil or plates of chips fried in beef fat. Besides, a plate full of fried aubergine or courgette is healthier than a plate of potatoes or pasta.

My wife steers well clear of carbs when in Italy due to intolerance to grains and potatoes, she never has a problem finding things to eat.

Rome is a very cosmopolitan city and your daughter will find plenty of healthy options in Rome. We were there is mid-June and the vegetable dishes were amazing, especially the tomatoes. As for shopping, there are plenty of grocery stories, but depending in the area that you are staying, you might want to search out the local markets. We were near Trastevere Rome and there are a lot of local shops.

Have a great trip.

Sandy

Italian food not just carbs, what you're used to seeing is American-Italian food which, stereotypically is heavy on pasta/bread, and even then it's more southern Italian-centric, which was where a lot of Italian immigrants originated from. Go north and you'll find more meat and less carbs.

Rome is a big city, that has a lot of options. Stand alone salads you don't normally find on the menu, however vegetables as a side-dish are common in all restaurants. Pretty easy for her to order an app and a couple of side dishes and that'll make a meal; my mother did that a couple of times when we lasted visited. Keep in mind also that the food served is not heavily salted/sweet, sauced or, embellished like you may find here in the States, it's pretty straight forward.

pretty much everything will be fried in olive oil

In your dreams (and mine), frying in olive oil is not easy and it's too expensive these days. They all use a mix of peanuts and sunflower oil with a little olive oil thrown in. Even my friend who's been chasing the first star for 10 years tells me that "it's over, it's too complicated, it will disappear from professional cooking schools just like frying in lard has vanished because of fire prevention rules".

To the OP: your daughter will have to pick something among Starters (Antipasti), side dishes (contorni) and main courses (secondi). Secondi are mostly carbs-free as Italians rarely mix carbs and proteins in the same dish; the Lady and the Tramp were eating at Olive Garden's.

Expect each type of dish to be sold a la carte in Italian sit-down restaurants. There will always be at least a green salad (maybe lettuce only) or mixed salad (size can be quite suitable for lunch) and a few vegetable contorni, but don't expect a ton of variety. Pasta, rice, or pizza are always a separate course, so of course you don't have to order those. Meat and fish are generally served without side dishes, hence the option to add contorni. Having a kitchen for your own cooking will allow you to prepare a much wider variety of vegetables - they are in the market, if not always in the restaurants.

Becky, Agnes, Chris F, khbuzzard, jvb, JC, SandyO, zcorsair, Dario, Laura -- I never cease to be amazed by folks' generosity with their time and thought in replying on this forum. What a wealth of info - thank you all so much.

I thought I'd share my experience... Obviously not as severe as full blown diabetes, I have pre-diabetes and was also concerned about the amount of carbs I'd be tempted with (I LOVE bread and pasta). I found that with combining my carb intake with plenty of protein (lots of prosciutto, culatello, etc), spreading it out through the day combined with lots of walking (we walked 5-6 miles a day), my average glucose level dropped 20-25 mg/dL's.

Thanks DOPdaddy -- those are some solid strategies - combining carbs with protein and spreading it through the day. And you're right, the amount of walking we hope to do will probably mean she'll be able to have a bunch of "free" carbs!

Check out Insalata Ricca. There are a few in Rome and one near either Campo de’ Fiori or Piazza Navona. (It used to be the former but according to Google Maps, it is now near P.za Navona.) Very nice large salads.

As others have said, there are many diet friendly options such as grilled veggies, sautéed greens, roast chicken, lamb, or veal, fish and shellfish. We rarely ate pasta in a restaurant preferring antipasti and secondi.

Definitely recommend Insalata Caprese!! This is an essentially simple but incredibly delicious dish.

Just wanted to say a big thanks to all who chipped in on this. We did manage a decent job on the low-carb front. Also thanks for the advice to eat dinner out at least one evening - we ate out twice in the end and it was wonderful.

Check out Insalata Ricca. There are a few in Rome and one near either
Campo de’ Fiori or Piazza Navona. (It used to be the former but
according to Google Maps, it is now near P.za Navona.) Very nice large
salads.

Ditto to Laurel's advice! We've eaten at the one at Piazza Pasquino, 72, close to Piazza Navona, and it was very good. While neither of us had salads - and there were many to choose from! - neither of us had pasta either, just meat, veggies and/or fish. Prices were nice as well.

http://insalataricca.it

I don't have any idea if this online menu is still accurate or accurate for all outlets, anyway, but the menu tabs on their website aren't working for me so it'll at least give you an idea of the breadth of the offerings. Click all the way through as salads are nearer the end.

https://www.zomato.com/roma/linsalata-ricca-trastevere/menu#tabtop

Lots of restaurants have big salads. We eat more of them these days for lunch, and you see workers on a lunch break eating them pretty often. Look for an "insalatone," which literally means "big salad."