Substitutions for Unusual Ingredients

These are substitutions for unusual ingredients that might be found in Extreme Lo-Carb Cuisine or Extreme Lo-Carb Meals on the Go!


Arrowroot powder - You may substitute xanthan gum for arrowroot in sauces or gravies.

Bragg Liquid Aminos - You may use soy sauce in place of Braggs Liquid Aminos. If you are allergic to soy, I’ve found a combination of lemon juice and seasoning salt will make an equitable substitution for soy sauce or Braggs Liquid Aminos.

Coconut milk - If you cannot locate coconut milk, you may substitute buttermilk or kefir in most recipes calling for coconut milk, however the taste will be quite different.

Coconut oil - You may substitute olive oil or lard in most recipes calling for coconut oil.

Kefir - Buttermilk may be used for kefir in most recipes. In some recipes yogurt may be used equally for kefir.

Lard - Nothing fries food quite like lard does, but as a substitute you may use coconut oil or olive oil. Just be aware that the taste and finished product will be different when using these oils rather than lard.

Lemon pepper - If you can’t find a lemon pepper without sugar, you can use black pepper and a small amount of lemon zest.

Milk and egg protein - This one is harder to substitute, and will require experimentation in the specific recipe, but generally soy protein or vital wheat gluten may be substituted for milk and egg protein.

Olive oil - Depending upon the recipe, melted butter if it is in a baked good. If it is a fried food, you may use lard or coconut oil.

Pork rinds, ground - Again, changing this ingredient in a recipe will yeild vastly different results than the original, but in most cases ground almonds or possibly soy protein (depending upon the recipe) will work in place of ground pork rinds.

Seasoning salt - What if you can’t find any seasoning salt without sugar or MSG? You can use garlic salt in its place with very little effect upon the recipe. You can also make my home made seasoning salt, linked in my previous blog post.

Soy protein isolate - You may use vital wheat gluten in place of soy protein in baked goods. In protein shakes, you may milk and egg protein instead of soy protein isolate.

Soy sauce - You may use Braggs Liquid Aminos in place of soy sauce. If you are allergic to soy, see Braggs Liquid Aminos.

SteviaPlus® - You may substitute other stevia products for SteviaPlus, but the results will vary from brand to brand. If you use other sweeteners, you can refer to the chart provided for assistance in sweetness equivalencies.

Sucralose - You may substitute SteviaPlus® or Sweet & Slender® for sucralose, or you may choose another favorite sweetener. Just beware of aspartame, as it isn’t heat stable and is not suitable for cooking.

Sugar free specialty syrups - I can’t give you an exact conversion ratio, but you can substitute flavored extracts plus sweetener and some more liquid in recipes calling for these.

Sweet & Slender® - Since it isn’t intensely sweet like sucralose or SteviaPlus®, converting Sweet & Slender® recipes will require a bit of finesse. Generally, about 1/2 of the amount of sucralose will be required.

Vital wheat gluten - You may use soy protein in place of vital wheat gluten for baking applications.

Xanthan gum - guar gum can be used in place of this or special blends of the gums can be purchased at specialty stores. In gravies and sauces arrowroot powder may be used instead of xanthan gum. In baked goods, substitutions are more difficult. In many cases it may simply be omitted, but this will greatly affect the end product.