Your Slimming Essentials – The Weekly Pinch of Shopping 05.08

Weekly Pinch of Shopping - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

It’s Friday, and we’re back with the first Weekly Pinch of Shopping of August! Summer is well underway and we’ve found a whole bunch of tasty, slimming-friendly picks for the week ahead.

There’s nothing we love more than a Fakeaway night feast, so we couldn’t resist adding Bisto chip shop gravy to our list. You need to try a glug over your next batch of crispy chips! 

Plus, even if a grab bag of gummy Percy Pigs isn’t the most slimming-friendly snack out there, there’s no denying that they’re a sweet treat for now and again. So we couldn’t resist popping M&S’ Percy Pig Smoothie in the basket (that’s right, the iconic treat now comes in a fruity drink option!)…

Speaking of doing your weekly shopping, we’re so excited that our brand new food planner is OUT NOW! The Pinch of Nom Family Meal Planner is our most family-friendly food planner yet – it’s ideal for planning your meals and organising what you need to buy (plus there are 26 exclusive new recipes inside!). You can order your copy here.

PON family meal planner packshot

Don’t forget to let us know if you’ve tried any of the recipes from Pinch of Nom Comfort Food! We’d LOVE to know which dishes are your favourites! If you haven’t picked up a copy yet, you can order yours right 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. 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! 

Want to make sure you never miss a Weekly Pinch of Shopping? You can sign up to receive the Weekly Pinch of Shopping in your inbox here, so you’ll always be the first to read the new articles. 

**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!**

Pukka Breathe In Eucalyptus Organic Tea – 0 calories per sachet

Weekly Pinch of Shopping - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

It’s August and time’s flying by, so now is a good moment to sit back, relax and breathe with a brew. This Eucalyptus Organic ‘Breathe In’ tea from Pukka provides serenity in a cup, for absolutely no calories. With zingy ginger, soothing honey and a revitalising minty freshness, it’s the perfect warming beverage to take a minute and unwind with.

Why not complete your calming spread with a tasty sweet treat? The delicate, zesty squares of our Lemon Sponge Traybake are the perfect accompaniment to any afternoon tea break. At 77 calories per tangy serving, the only challenge is stopping after one (or two!).

Lemon Sponge Traybake - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

Pukka Breathe In Eucalyptus Organic Tea is available from Tesco, priced at £3.00 for a pack of 20.

Morrisons Sweet Chilli Hummus Chips – 97 calories per bag

Weekly Pinch of Shopping - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

Crunchy with a kick of spice, these Morrisons Sweet Chilli Hummus Chips are a satisfying savoury snack worth popping in your handbag. Light and crunchy, they’re dusted with a mild sweet chilli seasoning, so they’re exciting without singeing your taste buds. If spice isn’t for you at all, don’t worry – they’re available in an oh-so-delicious (and just as low calorie) barbecue alternative too!

It wouldn’t be right to talk about sweet chilli without mentioning our Thai-inspired Sweet Chilli Chicken Burgers. The secret’s in leaving your chicken to marinate – we smother ours with the zingy homemade marinade in the morning, and then cook it at dinnertime. The results are mouth-wateringly good…

Sweet Chilli Chicken Burgers – Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

Sweet Chilli Hummus Chips (also available in BBQ) are available from Morrisons, priced at £1.00 for a pack of 5 bags.

Tracker Bars (Chocolate & Peanut) – 97 calories per bar

Weekly Pinch of Shopping - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

When you need a quick pick-me-up, a low calorie snack bar that’ll fill you up is always a winner. We’ve added Tracker Bars’ 97-calorie chocolate and peanut butter bars to our list this week, but you can pick up salted caramel fudge or chocolate and caramel options if you’d prefer (for 99 calories each).

Making the most of the dreamy combo of chocolate and peanut butter flavours, our go-to nutty snack has to be these Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars. Each moreish square comes rich with chocolate flavour and drizzled with a malty peanut butter powder mixture. Get the kettle on – they’re perfect with a brew! 

Chocolate Peanut Butter Bars - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

Tracker Bars (Chocolate & Peanut) are available from Waitrose, priced at £1.65 for a pack of 5.

M&S Belgian Milk Chocolate Raisins Multipack – 79 calories per mini bag

Weekly Pinch of Shopping - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

At 79 calories per mini bag, these M&S Belgian Milk Chocolate Raisins are a pocket-sized treat worth taking on the go. With a fruity, raisin centre coated in a layer of silky milk chocolate, they’re just the ticket to curb your sweet cravings in a flash. With ten mini bags per pack, there’s your snacks sorted for well over a week. That’s bang for your buck! 

Can’t say no to a chocolatey snack? Our Double Choc Chip Cookies are easy to rustle up at moment’s notice, and they’re only 40 calories per choc-loaded biscuit. Great for dunking, these crumbly cookies are as gooey as they come, even with our clever slimming-friendly swaps (trust us, you can’t taste the difference!). 

Double Chocolate Chip Cookies - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

M&S Belgian Milk Chocolate Raisins Multipack is available from Ocado, priced at £3.00 for a pack of 10 mini bags. 

Sainsbury’s Summer Edition Sweetcorn Bites with a Wild Garlic and Herb Butter – 37 calories per 2 bites

Weekly Pinch of Shopping - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

We love the summery crunch that sweetcorn brings with it, so we had to pop these Sainsbury’s Summer Edition Sweetcorn Bites in our shopping trolley. Nice and easy to prepare in the microwave, all you have to do is give them a gentle shake halfway through cooking, to make sure they’re evenly-coated in the (included!) garlic and herb butter sauce. 

These garlicky, sweetcorn nibbles would be perfect as part of a picnic in the sunshine with our savoury Sausage Rolls. Without any nasties in our homemade filling and a tortilla wrap alternative to pastry, we’ve kept the calories low enough for you to go crazy with your dip of choice. Will it be red or brown sauce?

Sausage Rolls - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

Summer Edition Sweetcorn Bites with a Wild Garlic and Herb Butter are available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £2.25.

The Gym Kitchen Chicken Tikka Masala – 365 calories per pack

Weekly Pinch of Shopping - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

It’s tough to beat the convenience of a ready-meal when you’re caught out at the end of a long day. High in protein, filled with 5-a-day goodness and only 365 calories per pack, this The Gym Kitchen Chicken Tikka Masala is a handy freezer-friendly option. With tender tikka-marinated chicken pieces, brown rice, lentils and spinach, you’ll be left more than satisfied. 

When you’re feeling extra-peckish, you can always bulk out your Indian-inspired curry dishes with a side of homemade Onion Bhajis. Crispy and onion-y with a combination of wholesome ingredients, they’re so simple to make. Instead of deep-frying in oil, we oven-bake our bhajis until they’re golden and tender in the middle (well worth waiting 30 minutes!). 

Onion Bhajis - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

The Gym Kitchen Chicken Tikka Masala is available from Tesco, priced at £2.50.

Bisto Sauce Mix Chip Shop Curry – 38 calories per portion

Weekly Pinch of Shopping - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

A chip shop curry tea by just adding water? Ahh! Bisto. If there’s anything we love more than chips and gravy, it’s chips and chip-shop curry gravy, so we had to grab this instant mix. All you have to do is add hot water, stir and enjoy in seconds! It’s definitely best-served over a bed of crispy, homemade chips

For a more Chinese chip shop-style Fakeaway night, you could always serve a glug or two over a portion of our Salt and Pepper Chips. With a simple combination of finely-chopped chips, peppers, onions and store cupboard staple spices, you can create flavours that are every bit as impressive as a takeaway version (for far fewer calories!). 

Salt and Pepper Chips - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

Bisto Sauce Mix Chip Shop Curry is available from Morrisons, priced at £1.85. 

ASDA Flavourful Mexican Style Birria Pulled Beef Brisket – 296 calories per 1/2 pack

Weekly Pinch of Shopping - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

Mexican-style flavours are always a winner in our house, so we were really excited to find this Flavourful Mexican Style Birria Pulled Beef Brisket in Asda. It comes pre-seasoned with a blend of Mexican-inspired herbs and spices in a rich Birria-style sauce, and you can enjoy it fresh from the oven in 40 minutes. How easy is that?

For a proper Mexican-inspired midweek meal, why not serve up tender marinated beef pieces with a side of Cheesy Avocado Salsa Wedges? We’ve topped our crispy wedges with a fresh avocado salsa, a fiery spice mix and a melty helping of cheese, so there’s more than enough going on to keep the whole family happy. 

For an indulgent touch, we bet a portion of our Mexican Corn on the Cob would go down a treat on the side too…

Cheesy Avocado Salsa Wedges - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

ASDA Flavourful Mexican Style Birria Pulled Beef Brisket is available from Asda, priced at £4.50.

Sainsbury’s Sides Garlic Dough Balls  – 153 calories per 1/2 pack

Weekly Pinch of Shopping - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

When you’re looking for something extra-special to add to your dining table spread, these Sainsbury’s Sides Garlic Dough Balls could be just the thing. Pre-filled with an irresistible garlic and parsley butter filling, all that’s left for you to do is bake them in the oven until they’re lightly golden and crispy on the outside. 

When there’s more time on hand, try preparing our slimming-friendly Tear and Share Garlic Dough Balls. A guaranteed crowd-pleaser, everyone around the table will be bursting to tear their fair share of this crispy, garlicky, melty-mozzarella treat. We’ve prepared our garlic ‘butter’ using a reduced-fat spread, so you can indulge without going off track. They’re every bit as good as they look (make sure you get stuck in first!).

Tear & Share Cheesy Garlic Dough Balls - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

Sainsbury’s Sides Garlic Dough Balls are available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £2.00.

M&S Percy Pig Smoothie – 46 calories per 100ml

Weekly Pinch of Shopping - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

Oh, Percy! Sweet, fruity and lovely to look at in grab bag form, M&S’ Percy Pig Smoothie isn’t much different. Bursting with berry flavour, this vibrant pink drink celebrates all that’s great about M&S’ most iconic gummy sweet, and it’s not super high in calories either! At 46 per ice cold glass, every dessert-like mouthful is a fun-filled refresher that’s far from boring.

If you’re on the lookout for a berry-licious way to curb those sugar cravings, our Summer Berry Dessert has you covered. Whether you serve it up as a midweek dessert or indulgent brunch, we can promise it will hit the spot. Ready in less than 10 minutes, without the need to cook at all – you can’t get a more fuss-free summer treat than that!

You can find even more recipes you can prepare without cooking here.

Summer Berry Dessert - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

M&S Percy Pig Smoothie is available from Ocado, priced at £1.85 for a 750ml bottle.

REMINDER Aldi Super 6 Fruit and Veg Selection  

Weekly Pinch of Shopping - Pinch of Nom Slimming Recipes

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 6 selection:

  • Cherries – 50 calories per 100g
  • New Potatoes – 65 calories per 100g
  • Spring Onions – 32 calories per 100g
  • Mango – 60 calories per 100g
  • Avocado – 160 calories per 100g
  • Blueberries – 57 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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