Your Slimming Essentials – The Weekly Pinch of Shopping 05.07.24
It’s the very first Friday of July 2024 and your Weekly Pinch of Shopping is ready to scroll through! We can’t tell you how time’s flying by so fast, but we can promise that we’ve found lots of tasty goodies to inspire you next time you’re at the shops.
Did you hear about GÜ’s brand-new range of frozen sundaes? We couldn’t resist the sound of their signature ramekins filled with Frozen Caramel, Chocolate and Hazelnut layers – don’t worry, all the details are below.
Plus, HECK’s Limited Edition Mini Burgers are sure to keep the whole family entertained while Saturday’s England game is on. Choose between a yummy selection of juicy little chicken, beef and pork patties!
We’ve also spied a new addition to the Quaker’s range of sachets: High Protein Strawberries and Cream. Talk about making breakfast Oat So Simple…just in time for Wimbledon!
We STILL can’t believe that our most-requested cookbook ever, PINCH OF NOM: AIR FRYER, is finally out there in the world! We’ve already seen so many of you posting recipes from the book in our Facebook group…and yet it still doesn’t feel real!
If you don’t have your own copy yet, or you can’t decide what to make first, go to our blog to see what everyone else has been making!
You can join the air-frying fun by picking up a copy just 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! The members in our incredible Facebook group are always happy to have a good old chat about lots of these shopping items. You can join the group by clicking here.
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. This week we’ve given you a reminder of the current selection, so hurry down to Aldi to pick up some bargains before a fresh selection goes on offer next week!
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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!**
Kellogg’s Corn Flakes Squares – 127 calories per bar
If you love a crunchy, chewy snack, pick up a four-pack of Kellogg’s Corn Flakes Squares. These nifty little snack bars combine rice krispies and cornflakes with silky marshmallow to make a gorgeous grab-and-go sweet treat. At 127 calories per bar, they’re ideal for pairing with a cuppa!
From cereal bars to cakes, there are plenty of recipes that prove cornflakes aren’t just for breakfast. Our Summer Berry Dessert turns them into a fruity, creamy way to curb your sweet cravings in the evening, for only 168 calories per bowlful.
With our short list of staple ingredients, chances are you’ve already got everything you need to try it right now!
Kellogg’s Corn Flakes Squares are available from Morrisons, priced at £2.25 for a pack of 4 bars.
Knorr Stock Pots Red Wine – 4 calories per 100ml (prepared)
While red wine stock pots aren’t a brand-new invention, this is the first time we’ve seen Knorr add their own version to supermarket shelves. If you’ve never used a red wine stock pot before, it’s an effective, budget-friendly way to give countless dishes a boost.
In Knorr’s mix, each pot gives the depth of flavour from half a glass of wine to heartier dishes like stews, gravies and casseroles, without a single drop of alcohol involved.
The rosemary-infused gravy from our Lamb Steaks with Redcurrant and Rosemary Gravy recipe wouldn’t be the same without a good glug of red wine stock. When the lamb is cooked through, it’s ready to serve on a bed of fluffy mashed potatoes and chopped vegetables with the thick, velvety gravy spooned on top.
Knorr Stock Pots Red Wine are available from Asda, priced at £1.90 for a pack of 4.
Quaker High Protein Strawberries and Cream Porridge Sachets Oat So Simple – 158 calories per portion
In a rush? Quaker High Protein Strawberries and Cream Porridge Sachets Oat So Simple leaves you with perfect porridge in just two and a half minutes! Ready-divided into eight easy-peasy sachets, all that’s left for you to do is add milk or water to the fill line, and microwave the oats until delightfully fluffy.
The tangy-sweet berry and cream flavours are the perfect complement to a bright and sunny morning.
The more intense Wimbledon gets, the more we want to eat strawberries and cream – not that we’re complaining! Watching the match is the best excuse to serve a tray of our scrumptious Creamy Strawberry Mini Meringues.
Impressive to look at and delightfully chewy in the middle, you won’t believe they’re only 33 calories each. We’ve got a whole blog full of more Wimbledon afternoon ideas for you here!
Quaker High Protein Strawberries and Cream Porridge Sachets Oat So Simple are available from Morrisons, priced at £3.50 for a box of 8 sachets.
Deli Kitchen Lebanese Style Flatbreads – 260 calories per flatbread
These Deli Kitchen Lebanese Style Flatbreads are great for topping, filling or folding with a variety of different flavours and ingredients.
Try them Lebanese-style with pulled spiced chicken and a drizzle of minty yoghurt, or keep things veggie-friendly by folding in halloumi and a crunchy mixed salad.
We use flatbread thins for our lower-calorie Cheesy Bacon Flatbreads but there’s nothing to stop you making them even heartier with a larger flatbread (just be sure to adjust the calories, if you’re keeping track!).
Using the heavenly savoury combination of bacon and cheese, this recipe makes for the perfect breakfast or lunchtime bite. Delicious hot or cold, you can even wrap them up and take them on a picnic for the whole family to enjoy!
Deli Kitchen Lebanese Style Flatbreads are available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £1.50 for a pack of 2 (or £1.00 with a Nectar card).
Ashfields Grill Sweet Chilli Chicken Koftas – 127 calories per 1/2 pack (cooked)
Aldi’s making barbecue season even easier yet again with these brand-new Ashfields Grill Sweet Chilli Chicken Koftas. After 20 minutes in the oven, top the skewers with the provided sachet of sweet chilli drizzle and return them to the grill for a couple of minutes, to brown until irresistibly juicy.
The summery, vibrant flavours pair really well with a number of different side dishes, and yet we’d always go with our Jewelled Giant Couscous. With wholesome giant couscous, lots of colourful veg and spices all tossed together with a zingy squeeze of lemon, it’ll steal the show at the centre of your dining table.
If you’re on the lookout for even more (slimming-friendly!) kebab night inspiration, we’ve got plenty of recipes for you to try here.
Ashfields Grill Sweet Chilli Chicken Koftas are available from Aldi, priced at £2.99 for a pack of 4.
Blue Dragon Pad Thai Rice Noodles – 182 calories per serving
These Blue Dragon Pad Thai Rice Noodles are cracking if you’re looking to cook up a Thai-inspired fakeaway lunch or dinner that’s flavourful, filling and also gluten-free! You’ll get 4 nests per pack, plenty to cook up broths, stir-fries, soups or salad recipes for the whole family.
It might be a classic, but we never get bored of rustling up our Chicken Pad Thai recipe. We’ve used a surprise ingredient to liven up our Thai-inspired sauce for fewer calories: honey-sweetened ketchup.
Tossed together with diced chicken breast, spring onions and an array of aromatic staples, you’ll be left with oodles of takeaway-style noodles for only 276 calories per portion.
Blue Dragon Pad Thai Rice Noodles are available from Morrisons, priced at £1.75 for a pack of 4 nests.
Specially Selected Garlic and Herb Butter – 66 calories per 10g serving
For those of you who missed it over Christmas, Aldi’s Specially Selected Garlic and Herb Butter is back with a bang – for a limited time only! Run, don’t walk to grab a block…this one’s sure to be popular!
The silky, garlicky blend is absolutely banging spread over a slice of crusty bread, or melted into a steaming bowl of freshly-cooked pasta.
You can’t beat a quick and simple spaghetti for dinner when you’re short on time, strapped for cash or both. Just like garlic butter pasta, our Marmite Pasta is ready in a flash with heaps of flavour, in return for next to no effort.
Simply stir together leeks, onions, vegetable stock and a dollop of Marmite to create the ultimate store cupboard pasta sauce.
Specially Selected Garlic and Herb Butter is available from Aldi, priced at £1.59 for a 110g block.
Inspired Cuisine Spanish Paella – 321 calories per pack (cooked)
Not in the mood to cook dinner? It’s already sorted with Inspired Cuisine Spanish Paella on the menu. We’re talking turmeric rice, chopped onion, peppers, peas and generous chicken chunks, all mixed together in a ready-portioned microwave meal from Aldi.
While ready meals aren’t normally filling for very long, this one’s packed with plenty of protein to fuel your evening, with 34 grams in every pack.
It wouldn’t be right to talk about paella without mentioning our Spanish Rice recipe on pages 120-121 of our Comfort Food cookbook. This fuss-free, one-pot meal is rich and smoky with Spanish-inspired flavours, thanks to a generous helping of paprika and sweet chorizo chunks.
You can always add skinless chicken thighs or breast, if you’re looking to bulk things out a bit.
Just imagine a table laid with rice, tomatoey meatballs and a jug of sangria…heaven!
Inspired Cuisine Spanish Paella is available from Aldi, priced at £1.85 per pack.
HECK Limited Edition Mini Burgers – 134 calories per chicken burger (grilled)
When the football’s not that exciting, one thing keeps us going: the food! These HECK Limited Edition Mini Burgers are great to serve while the England game is on, as part of a buffet-style football feast.
You can choose between little steak and butter burgers, chicken Italia burgers and pork and apple burgers – bear in mind that they vary in calories, with chicken being the leanest of the lot!
Why not pile them high on mini buns next to a sharing bowl of Air Fryer Loaded Cheeseburger Fries? It’s on pages 76-77 in our brand-new Air Fryer cookbook.
Our top tip has to be DON’T skip the step of soaking the spuds for 10 minutes before throwing them into the air fryer basket! It’s the key to crunchy on the outside, fluffy in the middle perfection.
With or without the cheeseburger-inspired toppings, you’ll be left with the tastiest basket of homemade fries ever.
HECK Limited Edition Mini Burgers are available from Asda, priced at £3.50.
GÜ Frozen Caramel, Chocolate and Hazelnut Sundae – 308 calories per ramekin
It’s so nice to see GÜ trying something different with their new range of frozen sundaes! We picked up the Frozen Caramel, Chocolate and Hazelnut Sundae, but you can also pick up Double Salted Caramel and Mascarpone or Clotted Cream with Chocolate Crunch.
We couldn’t say no to a caramelised biscuit topping, with layers of gooey-sweet caramel and cheesecake-inspired crème fraîche underneath.
Keep them on standby in the freezer until you’re in the mood for a luxurious dessert! Leave your chosen ramekin to rest for 10 minutes before you dig in – if you can resist!
For a quick fix of chocolate and hazelnut, our Chocolate French Toast recipe is the one. We’ve used cinnamon, vanilla and nutmeg to take every crunchy bite up a notch.
GÜ Frozen Caramel, Chocolate and Hazelnut Sundae is available from Waitrose, priced at £6.00 for a pack of 4 desserts.
REMINDER 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 our reminder of this week’s Super 6 selection
- Sweetcorn – 86 calories per 100g
- Celery – 14 calories per 100g
- Vine Tomatoes – 18 calories per 100g
- Pink Lady Apples – 52 calories per 100g
- Little Gem Lettuce – 16 calories per 100g
- Lemons – 17 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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