The big issue with meal plans is that they are often too rigid, perhaps sometimes restrictive. At Reverse Health we promote food freedom. The reality is there is no ‘good’ and ‘bad’ foods and realistically you can substitute ingredients within recipes freely, within reason. The ability to swap or substitute ingredients allows greater flexibility, more freedom to adjust and adapt dishes to your personal preferences and to better suit the ingredients available to you at the time.
Below you will find a list of suitable food substitutions that you can easily make within recipes to stay on track in your weight loss journey but not be restricted to a specific recipe.
I don’t want to eat: | No problem, replace with: |
Cod | 1 small chicken breast, 1 small turkey steak, 1 sea bass fillet |
Tuna | 10 shrimp, 1 small chicken breast |
Kiwi | 1 handful of berries |
Ham | Sliced turkey ham, sliced chicken breast |
Yogurt | Coconut yogurt, cottage cheese, quark |
Feta cheese | ¼ avocado |
Milk | Soya milk, almond milk, oat milk |
Whey protein | 3 tbsp fat free Greek yogurt |
Walnuts | Almonds, cashew nuts or pistachio nuts |
Arugula/rocket | Spinach or lettuce |
Orange | Apple or pear |
Generally speaking, you can substitute ingredients within each category. They are interchangeable, do not feel limited by the meal plan, simply use this meal plan as a template or a basic road map if you like.
The foods in the categories within the table below are relatively similar in regards to nutrition values and therefore can be substituted in the same serving sizes.
FUEL | BUILD | BOOST | FLUID |
1 fist sized serving | 1 hand sized serving | Create a rainbow of colour in the remaining space on the plate | 100 oz or 3 L |
Example foods:
Potatoes Pasta Rice Noodles Quinoa Cous cous Bread | Example foods:
Chicken Turkey Salmon Sea bass Cod Shrimp Lean beef Low fat yogurt Cottage cheese Beans Pulses | Example foods:
Vegetables Broccoli Cauliflower Carrot Spinach Kale
Fruits Apple Orange Pears Berries
Healthy fats Avocado Olives Oilve oil Nuts Seeds
| Example fluids:
Water |
If you have specific questions around food substitutions please contact our customer service team and they would be happy to assist you.