The Weekly Pinch of Shopping: Slimming-friendly Air Fryer Book Finds 21.03.25
Happy Fry-day! Today’s Weekly Pinch of Shopping is filled with delicious finds inspired by our Air Fryer cookbook.
Spring is officially here, and there’s no better way to start a new season than with a midweek menu refresh. Our Air Fryer book is packed with tasty midweek dinners, light bites and sweet treats that are perfect for the brighter days ahead. Tap the image below to order a copy.
That’s why we’ve picked up plenty of goodies that’ll bake to perfection in an air fryer, from crunchy-croated croquettes and fluffy jacket spuds to juicy sausage patties.
If you’ve already turned to page 48 to enjoy our Air Fryer Cinnamon Breakfast Buns, we’ve found a cinnamon bun flavoured ice cream that will be right up your street.
Plus, we’ve picked up some garlicky Italian-style sausages that instantly inspired us to cook our Air Fryer Sausage Pasta Bake on page 110.
We’re running a COMPETITION on Instagram and Facebook to give you (and someone you care about) the chance to share TWO copies of Air Fryer and two lovely PON mugs. Tell us who you’d share yours with by tapping through to the post below.
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Spotted any yummy-looking, slimming-friendly products at the supermarket lately? Share them with us – they might feature in our next article! You can also join the discussion in our Facebook group here.
Our Weekly Pinch of Shopping highlights budget-friendly, slimming-friendly products available in local supermarkets and online. We include calorie information and RRP, though prices may vary.
Each week, we also feature Aldi’s Super 6 deals – a fortnightly selection of discounted fruits and vegetables – along with recipe ideas to help you make the most of them. 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!**
1. Almond and Cherry Pressed Fruit and Nut Bars – 133 calories per bar
It’s always a good idea to have a stash of slimming-friendly snacks on standby. These Almond and Cherry Pressed Fruit and Nut Bars are absolutely spot on for busier days; they’re bursting with fruity flavours, fibre and B12 for only 133 calories per bar.
Your air fryer is ideal for making your very own cherry-packed treat at home (you can use your oven if you’d like). Turn to page 174 to try our Air Fryer Cherry Bakewell Slices – they’re delightfully light at only 91 calories each.
Our top tip is to undercook the cakes ever so slightly, and then leave them to cool in the tin. You’ll be left with a scrumptious, squidgy-in-the-middle batch every time.
Almond and Cherry Pressed Fruit and Nut Bars are available from Ocado and M&S, priced at £3.20 for a pack of 4 bars.
2. Iceland Cheese and Onion Rolls – 145 calories per 3 rolls
These Cheese and Onion Rolls from Iceland will be crispy and golden after just 12-14 minutes in the air fryer, or 22 minutes in the oven. Filled with a classic combination of cheese and onion and coated in a crispy layer of flaky puff pastry, you really can’t go wrong.
We’ve said goodbye to pastry with our Air Fryer Cheese and Onion Bakes by using lower-calorie sandwich thins to hold our gooey filling. Tuck into them as a grab-and-go snack, or plate them up with a side of chips for a hearty midweek dinner.
You can find even more slimming-friendly inspiration for what to make with sandwich thins here.
Iceland Cheese and Onion Rolls are available from Iceland, priced at £2.50 per pack.
3. Mash Direct Potato Croquettes – 169 calories per 2 croquettes
Everybody loves croquettes! Pop these Mash Direct Potato Croquettes in your air fryer and you’ll have a savoury, crunchy-coated bite that’s ready in less than 15 minutes.
Just make sure you give them a good shake part way through cooking, so you know they’re evenly crispy on all sides.
To make croquettes from scratch, flick to the Air Fryer Viking Croquettes on page 144. We’ve combined punchy mustard with cheese, onion and creamy mashed potatoes, inspired by our viral Viking Toast recipe.
For more of the same flavours, take a scroll through our blog on what to make next if you love Viking Toast.
Mash Direct Potato Croquettes are available from Tesco, priced at £2.30 for a pack of 6 croquettes.
4. Iceland Sausage Breakfast Patties – 137 calories per pan-fried patty
When you’re too busy to make your own from scratch, these Iceland Sausage Breakfast Patties are a tasty sandwich filler. Stack them into a muffin with a runny fried egg, or pop them on toast with poached eggs, for a flipping delicious addition to your morning menu.
You might be able to guess that our Air Fryer Sausage and Egg Muffin is inspired by a certain fast food chain! We’ve used lean pork mince to create juicy homemade sausage patties, and piled them high with light burger cheese slices on fluffy English muffins.
Crack your eggs into ovenproof ramekins and they’ll cook nicely alongside your patties.
Iceland Sausage Breakfast Patties are available from Iceland, priced at £2.50 for a pack of 6 patties.
5. Muller Corner Bliss Lemon Greek-Style Yoghurt – 163 calories per pot
Take a minute for yourself with a pot of Muller Corner Bliss Lemon Greek-Style Yoghurt. It’s a thick, luxurious-tasting blend of whipped Greek-style yoghurt, cream and smooth lemon sauce.
While we went for the lemony option, there’s a Muller Corner Bliss Cheesecake Inspired Whipped Greek Style Salted Caramel Yoghurt you can take home too.
If you love citrus flavours, you need to try a slice of Air Fryer Orange and Lemon Cake. When your loaf is risen and almost ready, you’ll baste the outside with an extra layer of fruit juice, to guarantee every mouthful packs a zingy punch!
Muller Corner Bliss Lemon Greek-Style Yoghurt is available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £3.00 (or £2.00 with a Nectar card) for a pack of 4 pots.
6. TruFru Blueberries White & Dark Chocolate – 84 calories per 1/7 pack
You can take a humble bowl of fat-free Greek yoghurt to the next level with these TrüFrü White and Dark Chocolate covered Blueberries. Great as a light snack or dessert option, each sweet berry comes ready-coated in a silky layer of dark and white chocolate.
We like to chop them up a bit to make their juicy, chocolatey crunch go even further!
As soon as we hear the word ‘blueberry’, we can’t stop thinking about how yummy our Air Fryer White Chocolate and Blueberry Muffins are. You’ll find the full recipe on page 178.
One batch this speedy recipe makes 12 muffins, so there should be plenty to go around!
TruFru Blueberries White & Dark Chocolate is available from Waitrose, priced at £4.50 per pack.
7. Iceland Little Jacket Potatoes – 126 calories per air-fried jacket potato
You can always rely on the humble jacket potato to brighten up lunchtimes! These Little Jacket Potatoes from Iceland might be smaller, but they’re as fluffy and satisfyingly crispy-skinned as their larger counterparts.
They only take half an hour to bake until golden in the air fryer from frozen, or you can pop them in the microwave for 4 minutes if you’re really in a hurry!
Next time you’re stuck and wondering what to have for lunch, take a look at our Air Fryer Fluffy Jacket Potatoes with Spicy Tuna on page 138.
Top it off with your choice of filling, or use our fiery blend of tuna, crunchy red pepper, onion and sriracha.
Iceland Little Jacket Potatoes are available from Iceland, priced at £2.75 for a pack of 6.
8. Birds Eye Captain’s Discoveries Tortilla Crumb Mexican Inspired Fish Fillets – 188 calories per fillet
We absolutely love to spot anything new from Birds Eye! These Birds Eye Captain’s Discoveries Tortilla Crumb Mexican Inspired Fish Fillets are bound to make for a flavourful, yet light dinnertime bite.
The Basa fillets are coated in a crispy crumb made from lime-infused tortilla chips – a dollop of salsa and a side of rice and beans would pair like a dream.
When it comes to crispy-coated fish dinners, it’s tough to find anything tastier than our Air Fryer Fish and Chips Fishcakes. We’ve taken all the best bits of a chippy tea, rolled them into tasty panko-breadcrumbed patties.
Add a spoonful (or two!) of our lemony mayo and tartare sauce to round off all the chip-shop goodness on your plate.
Birds Eye Captain’s Discoveries Tortilla Crumb Mexican Inspired Fish Fillets are available from Morrisons, priced at £4.00 for a pack of 2 fillets.
9. Ashfields Italian-Style Sausages – 194 calories per sausage
You’ll want to keep an eye out for these Ashfields Italian-Style Sausages in the refrigerated aisle at Aldi – they’re brimming with flavour! To make them extra special, they’re filled with Tuscan-style pork and seasoned with garlic and herbs.
You can air-fry them until juicy and flavourful as they are, or chop them into a variety of delicious, budget-friendly dinners.
We tend to use reduced-fat pork sausages to cut the calories down in our Air Fryer Sausage Pasta Bake on page 110. The whole thing is dished up straight from the air fryer in just half an hour, leaving behind minimal pots and pans to clean.
Ashfields Italian-Style Sausages are available from Aldi, priced at £1.25 for a pack of 6 bangers.
10. Waitrose Cinnamon Bun Dairy Ice Cream – 126 calories per 1/6 pot
If you love cinnamon as much as we do at Pinch of Nom, add a tub of this Waitrose Cinnamon Bun Dairy Ice Cream to your basket. The velvety cinnamon-flavoured scoop has a ripple of warming spices and chunks of sponge scattered through, making it pure cinnamon heaven!
Our lovely little Air Fryer Cinnamon Breakfast Buns on page 48 always start the day right. It only takes a few minutes to roll and fill a whole batch, then you just leave them to bake and top with a sticky-sweet glaze.
They’re perfect for a brekkie spread with chopped fresh fruits and sweetened fat-free yoghurt.
Waitrose Cinnamon Bun Dairy Ice Cream is available from Waitrose, priced at £3.40 per tub.
NEW Aldi Super 6 Fruit and Veg Selection
We love Aldi’s fortnightly selection of fresh fruit and veggies! They choose different items for a special offer where you can pick them up for much less than the normal price.
Here’s a rundown of the recipes we’d make with this week’s Super 6 offering.
Red Grapes – 69 calories per 100g
We love snacking on a refreshing punnet of grapes. It might sound a bit strange, but grapes add a gorgeous burst of juicy sweetness to fresh, summery salads like our Chicken Walford Salad.
Limes – 30 calories per 100g
A squeeze of lime gives countless recipes a gorgeous lift. It’s a key ingredient for a colourful, Mexican-style feast with our Honey and Lime Pork Nachos at the centre.
Conference Pears – 64 calories per 100g
Now’s the perfect season to tuck into a cosy bowl of crumble, filled with juicy-sweet apples, pears or berries. You can have our Pear and Ginger Crumble ready in less than 30 minutes.
White Mushrooms – 22 calories per 100g
The beauty of mushrooms is that you can add them to just about any savoury dish and they won’t just boost the nutrients, they’ll ramp up the flavours too.
This week’s Super 6 gives you two of the major veggies for our showstopping Chicken, Mushroom and Leek Lasagne.
Leeks – 61 calories per 100g
Leeks are an essential spring green as far as we’re concerned. We’ll find any excuse to use them, from lasagne (above) through to hearty soups.
Add our Cheesy Leek Risotto to your midweek menu for gloriously creamy indulgence.
Chantenay Carrots – 35 calories per 100g
After a busy day, nothing is better than baking everything on one easy-peasy dish. This Lemon and Garlic Chicken Traybake recipe leaves carrots tender and full of flavour from its lipsmacking garlicky glaze.
**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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