Your Slimming Essentials – The Weekly Pinch of Shopping 03.03.23
Say hello to your very first Weekly Pinch of Shopping for March! You’ll want to grab a pen and your copy of our Family Meal Planner for this one, we’ve got plenty of slimming-friendly goodies to add to your shopping list.
If you’re on the lookout for a decadent dessert, look no further than the cocktail-inspired cheesecake pots we’ve spotted in Asda. We’ve gone for a Passion Fruit Martini cheesecake pot that you’ll down in one!
From cocktails for dessert to pies for breakfast, we’ve found a Pecan Pie Flavour Porridge that’ll help you start your day right. It’s flavoursome and filling enough to see you through until lunchtime.
Plus, you’ll find Mini Hash Brown Waffles that’ll take your breakfast plate up a notch if you keep scrolling (thank you, Aldi!).
Our NEW cookbook, Pinch of Nom: Enjoy, is out NOW! Enjoy is all about turning mealtimes into memories, and it’s brimming with 100 brand-new recipes that you’ll be excited to make, share and eat with family and friends, time and time again.
From fakeaway favourites to midweek wonders, every dish comes big on flavour without taking you off track. Put the food you love back on the menu by ordering your copy here.
You can share your recipes and photos by posting over in our Facebook group, where you’ll also find our members having a good old chat about lots of these shopping items too. You can join the group by clicking here. Make sure to let us know if you spot any yummy looking, slimming-friendly new products on the supermarket shelves – we might just feature them in our next article!
Our Weekly Pinch of Shopping list aims to show you slimming-friendly products that you can find online or in one of your local supermarkets. We try to make it as easy as possible for you to pick up these items as part of your usual weekly shop, and we’ll always include the calorie information and the RRP for you.
Please remember that, although all prices are correct at the time of writing, supermarkets can change their prices often, so this should be used as a guide only.
Along with our favourite new finds from the supermarket shelves, each week we include details of the Aldi Super 6. Every fortnight Aldi discounts a selection of 6 fruits and veggies that you can pick up for a fraction of the price. There’s a fresh selection this week, so scroll down to find out what’s included, along with some ideas on how to make the most of the ingredients.
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**A note on our shopping list: we do not take payment, promotion or gifts for including any of the items mentioned in these articles. We bring them to you because we love them and hope you will too!**
Plenish Ginger Immunity Shot – 27 calories per shot
Small but mighty, these Plenish Ginger Immunity Shots from Morrisons pack a punch. A cold-pressed combination of tangy apple and zingy ginger, it’ll wake you right up in the morning or mid-afternoon lull. With anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting properties, they’re well worth working into your routine. Just be sure to give them a good shake before you try a sip!
If you can’t get enough of ginger flavours, you need to try our Pear and Ginger Crumble. Warm and comforting with an oh-so-crunchy oat topping, you can have this fruity pudding ready in less than half an hour. It’s just the ticket on a chilly evening with a glug of Custard!
Plenish Ginger Immunity Shot is available from Morrisons, priced at £2.00 per shot.
Cook With M&S Easy Cooked Onions – 21 calories per 20g serving
There’s no better feeling than a store cupboard full of trusty, time-saving ingredients, and it never hurts to have these Cook With M&S Easy Cooked Onions on standby. A tasty shortcut for topping burgers, baking into casseroles or serving with cheese on toast (Viking Toast, anyone?), they’re a convenient way to get creative with caramelised onion deliciousness.
When you’ve got a hankering for cheese and onion, our Caramelised Onion Quiche has you covered. So simple to put together with a short list of budget-friendly ingredients, you can get even more value for money when you pop a slice in your tupperware for the next day (it’s just as delicious hot or cold!).
Using a couple of clever, slimming-friendly swaps, you won’t believe these easy, cheesy slices come in at just 164 calories each.
Cook With M&S Easy Cooked Onions is available from Ocado, priced at £1.95 per jar.
Tesco Punjabi Inspired Black Lentils – 150 calories per 1/2 pack
Stave off the winter chill with Tesco’s Punjabi Inspired Black Lentils. A buttery, ready-mixed blend of black lentils, red kidney beans, tomatoes, cumin and garam masala, all you have to do is pop them in the microwave for 2 minutes and wait for the ping. They’re a delightful bowl of flavour on their own, or serve them with fluffy basmati rice for a bulkier dish. Bread works a treat too, and it’s perfect for mopping up every last drop…
We can’t talk about creamy lentils without mentioning our Sausages with Creamy Lentils recipe. If you thought pork, sage and apple couldn’t get any tastier, just wait until you’ve tried it with velvety, peppery lentils. A proper winter warmer, this nutritious stew is a great way to transform your leftover veggies and sausages into a silky and satisfying one-pot.
Tesco Punjabi Inspired Black Lentils is available from Tesco, priced at £1.50 per pack.
Morrisons Straight To Wok Fine Thread Noodles – 210 calories per pouch.
You might not think stir-fries could get any quicker, and yet Morrisons Straight To Wok Fine Thread Noodles win the gold medal every time. There’s no need to boil them; add to the wok with your chopped veggies and meat to have your stir-fried lunch or dinner ready at breakneck speed.
You normally need around 10 minutes to cook rice noodles for our Chicken Pad Thai recipe, but you can shave that time off with straight-to-wok fine thread noodles on hand. To lower the calories in our version of the classic Thai takeaway order, we’ve turned honey-sweetened tomato ketchup, powdered peanut butter and store cupboard staples into a moreish Pad Thai sauce.
Morrisons Straight To Wok Fine Thread Noodles are available from Morrisons, priced at 99p.
The Fishmonger Hot & Spicy Fish Fillet Burgers – 189 calories per burger (cooked)
The Fishmonger Hot & Spicy Fish Fillet Burgers are so simple if you’re in a hurry, and you can plate them up for 189 calories per patty. Served naked or with a wholemeal bun, they’re bound to taste especially good with a topping of homemade tartare-inspired flavours. Our very own Salmon Burgers show you how to transform easy-to-find ingredients like yoghurt, mustard and dill into the perfect pickled topping for fishy recipes.
Coated in a crunchy, chilli-infused crumb, we’d love to try them with our Salt and Pepper Chips. They’re far healthier than the version you’d get from the takeaway, without compromising on the familiar flavours you know and love.
If you don’t believe us, give them a whirl in your oven or air fryer! We’d love to hear your feedback over in our Facebook group.
The Fishmonger Hot & Spicy Fish Fillet Burgers are available from Aldi, priced at £1.99 for a pack of 2.
OMV! Deliciously Vegan No Meatballs – 178 calories per 4 balls (oven baked)
Oh. Em. Gee. These Deliciously Vegan No Meatballs from OMV! are so convincing, you’d never miss the meat. One to try on your next Meat-free Monday menu, they’re made with a vegan-friendly blend of soya protein and onions. Pop them in the oven for 16 minutes until they’re piping hot, juicy and ready to serve.
Speaking of meatballs, you don’t want to miss our Hunter’s Chicken Meatballs recipe. An inventive way to enjoy the best of Hunter’s Chicken flavours, we’ve baked them in a rich, spicy BBQ sauce and topped them with plenty of gooey cheese. Too good to enjoy just once, you’ll be glad to know they’ll keep nicely in the freezer for a rainy ‘I can’t be bothered cooking’ kind of day.
OMV! Deliciously Vegan No Meatballs are available from Asda, priced at £2.40 for a pack of 12.
Four Seasons Mini Hash Brown Waffles – 128 calories per 4 mini hash brown waffles (oven cooked)
Something a little bit different, these Four Seasons Mini Hash Brown Waffles make the best of two crispy oven-baked classics. Ready from frozen in 16 minutes, they’re a convenient savoury snack. They’ll also pair deliciously well with breakfast staples like beans and reduced-fat cheese, eggs and smoked salmon or bacon.
If it’s not Sunday morning until there’s a fry-up on the table in your house, you’ll want to try our Air Fryer Full English. With bacon, eggs, beans, sausages, mushrooms and tomatoes in one air fryer tray, there’s no need to turn on the hob and far less washing up to do afterwards!
Why not squeeze a handful of mini hash brown waffles onto the menu too? Just be sure to take note of the additional calories, if you’re counting.
Four Seasons Mini Hash Brown Waffles are available from Aldi, priced at 99p per bag.
M&S Pecan Pie Flavour Porridge – 147 calories per serving
M&S Pecan Pie Flavour Porridge starts off your day just right. High in fibre, this toasty blend of oats with satisfying chunks of chopped dates and pecans isn’t just sweet – it’s filling too! Simply combine your oats with milk (or your preferred milk alternative) and heat gently in a saucepan or the microwave, until they’re soft and fluffy.
Another pie-inspired porridge bowl, our cinnamon-y Apple Pie Porridge comes topped with honey-glazed apple slices and crunchy almonds. If you’re batch cooking this one to warm you up throughout the week, you might want to add your apple slices fresh so that they don’t brown.
When you’re not sure what to top your porridge bowl with, our guide to healthy porridge toppings is a great place to start.
M&S Pecan Pie Flavour Porridge is available from Ocado, priced at £3.20.
Morrisons The Best Rossini Wafer Curls – 16 calories per wafer curl
These Morrisons The Best Rossini Wafer Curls make us feel like we’re on holiday at home. A fun, affordable way to serve ice cream with restaurant-inspired flair, each curl comes with a light, biscuit-like crunch and a layer of milk chocolate inside. At 16 calories each, add one (or two, or three!) on top of your favourite ice-cold scoops.
When the clock strikes ice cream o’clock, serving our Millionaire’s Ice Cream never disappoints. We’re experts by now at creating sweet treats that don’t taste slimming friendly, and this toffee, biscuit and chocolate loaded recipe is no exception.
Using a few clever, lower-calorie swaps, you’d never know it’s as light as 156 calories per serving.
Psst! When adding wafer curls, adjust the calorie count if you’re keeping track.
Morrisons The Best Rossini Wafer Curls are available from Morrisons, priced at £1.45 for 20 wafer curls.
GU Mixology Passion Fruit Martini – 282 calories per ramekin
Cocktail for dessert? Don’t mind if we do! GU’s Mixology range of cheesecake pots has a few bar-favourite flavours for you to try, including Strawberry Daiquiri, Espresso Martini and Passion Fruit Martini.
If you like the sound of passion fruit and champagne compote on a layer of vanilla and vodka cheesecake, topped with chocolatey, fizzy popping candy, you’ll want to order the latter. At 282 calories per ramekin, it’s happy hour and dessert in one!
Perfect for dinner parties, our tipple-inspired Espresso Martini Trifle never fails to impress. We’ve used granulated sweetener, fat-free Greek yoghurt and low-fat aerosol cream to lower the calories, without spoiling the fun.
With a Tia Maria coffee liqueur infused jelly, chocolatey yoghurt and time-saving shop-bought brownie pieces on top, there’s no tastier excuse to crack out your trifle dishes.
GU Mixology Passion Fruit Martini is available from Asda, priced at £2.95 for 2 pots.
REMINDER Aldi Super 6 Fruit and Veg Selection
We love Aldi’s Super 6 selection of fresh fruit and veggies! Each fortnight they choose six different items for a special offer where you can pick them up for much less than the normal price.
Here’s our reminder of this week’s Super 5 selection:
- Baby Corn – 26 calories per 100g
- Brussels Sprouts – 43 calories per 100g
- Limes – 30 calories per 100g
- Chantenay Carrots – 35 calories per 100g
- Mini Apples – 53 calories per 100g
**Remember: we do not take payment, promotion or gift for any of the items mentioned in these articles. We bring them to you because we love them and hope you will too!**
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