Some substitutes are perfectly acceptable, others are somewhat acceptable (indicated by italicized type) and therefore should be used only occasionally or if you just must have that particular item (i.e. comfort food, family or peer pressure, having a party …). If there is no entry under a certain column that means that there is no substitute needed for that food group. If an entry spans two or more columns then it works for those two or three food groups.
This page is a full list of all the UnDiet substitutes. If you’re focusing on a Protein Blast or meat free diet you can print out either the Protein Substitutes or Starch Substitutes pages.
Soy products that contain Starches such as grain syrup or food starch are in a small enough amount that if you’re on a vegetarian diet you can safely use them in place of meat in Protein dishes.
Protein |
Starch |
Neutral |
|
Baked Goodschocolate |
Substitute cocoa powder and a little butter, or unsweetened chocolate or carob. Adjust the sweetener to compensate for the loss of sugar that would have been in the semi-sweet or milk chocolate. |
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eggThese substitutions don’t work well for cookies, but are great for all |
To reduce fat you can substitute liquid egg, 1/4 cup = 1 egg |
Three egg yolks = one whole egg.
3 tablespoons pureed or well mashed tofu for each egg called |
|
flour |
Replace white flour with 1/2 the amount of soy flour, so 1 cup of all purpose flour becomes 1/2 cup soy flour. Replace 1/4 of the flour with ground nuts, seeds, or ground |
Replace white flour with sifted whole grain flour, using 1/4 less than the recipe calls for. Tip: oat flour has the lightest taste and color. |
. |
sugar |
Replace sugar with Stevia, Sucanat, honey, pure maple syrup, date or maple sugar. Experiment to find the amount that will satisfy you. |
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Beveragesbeer |
. | non-alcoholic beer | |
coffee |
. | roasted grain beverages | decaf
cream instead of milk, half & half or non-dairy creamer date/maple sugar instead of white sugar or sugar sub. |
cola |
sparkling water with fresh Fruit juice | ||
wine |
dilute with water (the French do it), sparkling water if you must |
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Breading & Breadcrumbs |
Ground:
|
whole grain bread crumbs
whole grain flour |
..Ground:
|
Crust for a DessertA crust can often be omitted or use one of these |
Pastry crust: soy flour pastry crust.
Protein Crepe with sweetener added. |
whole wheat pastry
whole wheat tortilla or lavosh coated with butter and/or honey/maple Crumb Crust: sugar free whole grain cookies or graham crackers |
Crumb crust: ground nuts with a little soy flour. . |
Crust for an EntreeA crust can often be omitted or use one of these |
Rice Crust: soy granules or finely chopped nuts. You may need to add extra moisture to hold the crust together, you can add water, softened or melted butter, broth. Pastry Crust: Protein Crepes, or melt butter in an omelette pan, thinly |
whole wheat pastry crust
whole wheat tortillas crumb crust: whole grains, ground nuts or seeds |
. |
Dairy |
. | ||
American, Cheddar, Mozzarella or Jack Cheese |
nondairy or real dairy cheese such as rice, almond or soy cheese |
nondairy cheese | .soy or almond cheese |
condensed milk |
Pour 1 cup water and 4 cups soy powder into a large saucepan. Let sit for 2 hours, then bring to a boil and boil for 20 minutes. Remove from heat and add (for sweetened condensed milk 2 cups unrefined sugar) 1 tablespoon vanilla extract and 1/4 cup butter stirring until dissolved. Makes 1 quart. Store in refrigerator up to 2 months. |
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cottage cheese |
Mash firm tofu with a fork, add a little heavy cream. |
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cream cheese |
nondairy cream cheese | ||
farmers cheese/hoop cheese |
Mix nondairy cream cheese & roughly mashed tofu. |
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milk |
soy or almond milk | any nondairy milk | soy or almond milk |
ricotta cheese |
. | Same as cottage cheese. | |
yogurt |
. | nondairy sour cream or nondairy yogurt | creme fraiche or clabbered cream |
Eggs |
Frozen egg substitute tastes great and is healthy. Make sure that you buy one with no additives. Two egg whites for one whole egg, except in cookies. One whole egg and two to three egg whites and you won’t notice any difference |
1/4 cup well mashed tofu for each egg | …1/4 cup well mashed tofu for each egg |
Sauces |
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Roux Sauces |
soy flour instead of white or wheat flour | whole wheat or oat flour instead of white flour |
Add water to heavy cream to sub for milk or half & half or use soymilk. |
Tomato Paste Tomato Sauce Tomato Pasta Sauce |
Tomato Paste : Soak dried tomatoes in medium hot water for an hour – overnight. Puree using only enough of the soaking liquid to make a thick puree. Tip: For a shorter soaking time dice the tomatoes before adding water. Tomato Sauce: add more liquid. Pasta Sauce:Add broth, cream, olive oil or combo until sauce Add Dried Tomato Paste or sauce at the end of a recipe so If it’s impossible to add the tomatoes at the end use pureed |
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Vegetables |
. | .. . | . |
carrot |
tomatoes, yellow or orange bell pepper, fennel, celery |
.. . | . |
corn |
onion, celery, bell pepper | .. . | . |
potato |
cauliflower, onion, fennel, jicima (yes it can be cooked!) |
.. . | . |
tomato |
red bell pepper, yellow tomatoes (they’re less acidic than red tomatoes) or Slow Cooked Tomatoes: place cored tomatoes cut in 8-10 wedges or chunks skin side down on a baking sheet lined with oiled foil. Bake at 115 degrees for 4-8 hours depending on how moist you want them. Check every 60 minutes. Since these take so long to dry I make 2 full trays & freeze the excess. |
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winter squash |
yellow or orange bell pepper, fennel, cauliflower | .. . | . |
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