Notes

Grapefruit Substitute:

Some people can’t eat grapefruit because it interferes with medication. Other people just don’t like the taste. Do not substitute orange for grapefruit. To get the same Military Diet benefits as grapefruit, put 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda in a glass of water and drink it. Alternatively, you can squeeze the juice of the grapefruit and add Stevia. Other than that, there isn’t really a grapefruit substitute.

Peanut Butter Substitute:
Peanut Butter If you have a peanut allergy or just don’t like peanut butter, you can substitute the same amount of almond butter, pumpkin butter, soy butter, sunflower seed butter, hummus or bean dip. Two tablespoons of plain sunflower seeds also work.

Bread Substitute:
In place of bread, you can eat 1/8 cup of sunflower seeds, 1/2 cup of whole grain cereal, 1/2 high protein bar, 1/4 cup of yogurt with 1/2 teaspoon of flax seeds. You can also use one tortilla or two rice cakes instead of bread.

Coffee Substitute:
Green tea Military Diet
Green tea is a great coffee substitute
A regular cup of coffee has about 100 mgs of caffeine, give or take. Instead of coffee, you can drink Green Tea. We don’t recommend artificial sweeteners, but sugar free hot chocolate contains small amounts of caffeine. If you can’t make it through the day without your energy drinks, sugar Free Red Bull also has 76 mgs of caffeine. Any other sources of caffeine have too many calories for the Military Diet. See why we don’t like artificial sweeteners… And there’s more about coffee in our FAQ.

Tuna Substitute:
A few people on the Military Diet say they don’t like ‘plain tuna’ out of the can. The best substitute for canned tuna is a piece of grilled sushi grade tuna, the same size as 1/2 or 1 cup serving of canned tuna. Other substitutes for tuna include cottage cheese, chicken, tofu, almonds or peanuts. Any very lean meat can be substituted for tuna, but fish is preferable.

Green Bean Substitute:
If you can’t eat green beans for any reason, substitute the same CALORIE amount of lettuce, tomatoes, spinach or any other green vegetable.

Meat Substitute:
Military Diet meatIf you’re vegetarian, you can use lentils, beans, tofu or portobello mushrooms as meat alternatives.

Banana Substitute:
For one whole banana, substitute 2 kiwis, 1 cup of papaya or 2 apricots on the Military Diet. Plums, grapes and apple sauce also work. Just make sure you eat the same amount of calories and not more.

Carrot Substitute:
Squash, parsnip, beets, celery and bell pepper can all be substituted for carrots.

Broccoli Substitute:
If you’re substituting out broccoli on the Military Diet, try and use a green or greenish vegetable like cauliflower, spinach, brussel sprouts or asparagus.

Cheddar Cheese Substitute:
For the serving of cheddar cheese in the Military Diet, you can use eggs, cottage cheese or ham as a replacement. Other nondairy, vegetarian cheese substitutes with calcium include soy cheese, soy milk, cabbage and tofu. A one slice serving of cheddar cheese is about an ounce.

Hot Dog Substitute:
Tofu on the Military Diet
Versatile tofu can be prepared many ways…
Typical hot dogs are not a great nutritional choice, especially if the hot dogs contain nitrates. Military Diet substitutes for hot dogs include turkey dogs, soy dogs, tofu dogs, bratwurst,luncheon meat, deli meat or baloney. For vegetarians, you can also substitute beans, lentils, or portobello mushrooms. Again, you can substitute another meat, but you don’t need to skimp on the fat with the hot dog substitute, as long as the calories are the same. There are about 250-30o calories in two plain hot dogs.

Egg Substitute:
On the Military Diet, you can substitute eggs for a cup of milk, one chicken wing, 1/4 cup of seeds or nuts, or 2 slices of bacon.

Apple Substitute:
Instead of apples, try plums, peaches, grapes, zucchini, pears or dried apricots.

Cottage Cheese substitute:
PLAIN Greek yogurt, ricotta cheese, cheddar cheese, eggs, or ham. Tofu is a non dairy substitute with similar nutrients.

Vanilla ice cream:
The vanilla ice cream in the Military Diet can be substituted for 1 cup of fruit flavored yogurt or apple juice. A good non dairy substitute is strawberry, vanilla or banana flavored almond milk. Do not substitute chocolate almond milk.

Saltine crackers:
Rice CakesRice cakes are a perfect substitute for saltine crackers. If you substitute saltine crackers for any other cracker, like gluten free, make sure you’re eating a similar amount of calories. Each saltine cracker has 13 calories.