Your Slimming Essentials – The Weekly Pinch of Shopping 10.03.23
It’s time to kick-start your Friday with a whole new Weekly Pinch of Shopping! We’ve got plenty of goodies for you to snack on this week, and we’re especially excited about Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruitier and Nuttier Trail Mix.
We’ve also got plenty of lunchtime ideas for you, including a bag of leafy greens that’ll stay fresher for longer in your fridge. That’s one way to combat the salad shortage (you’ll find more ideas here)!
Plus, you’ll want to treat yourself to a taste of Parisian indulgence with Häagen Dazs’ Macaron-inspired mini cups. They come in scrummy chocolate ganache and strawberry flavours, for fewer calories than you’d expect…
Our upcoming paperback cookbook, Pinch of Nom: Budget, is available to pre-order NOW! It’s filled with 75 recipes (50 brand-new dishes and 25 fan-favourites!) that cut down on costs, without compromising on the Nom flavours you know and love.
Split into two chapters, dinners and desserts, this book is all about turning budget-friendly ingredients and store cupboard staples into food that the whole family will love.
Pre-order your copy today and you won’t pay a penny until it’s dispatched. Pinch of Nom Budget is out on the 22nd of June…we’re counting down the days already!
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!**
Morrisons Savers Avocado – 160 calories per 100g
In a salad, mashed into salsa or spread over toast, you’ll never regret working avocado into your day-to-day routine. Nutritious and versatile, avocados are delicious at any time of day. While they can be on the more expensive end of the scale, Morrisons Savers Avocado bags offer three fresh ones for a budget-friendly 99p!
Can you dream up how gorgeous crispy potato wedges topped with melted cheese, smooth avocado and sour cream would be? There’s no need to use your imagination thanks to our Cheesy Avocado Salsa Wedges. Freshened up with our homemade avocado salsa, chilli flakes and zingy lime, side dishes for a Mexican-inspired fakeaway night don’t come much tastier.
Morrisons Savers Avocado are available from Morrisons, priced at 99p for a bag of 3.
Bio&Me Cashew & Almond Granola – 201 calories per 50g serving
Breakfast sets the tone for the rest of the day, and a filling bowl of Bio&Me Cashew & Almond Granola is sure to help you put your best foot forward. A tasty, plant-based blend of nuts, seeds and oats, every gluten-free portion comes rich in nourishing fibre for the benefit of your gut. Not bad for 201 calories per serving!
We like to use almond milk when we’re preparing warming breakfast bowls like our Chai Rice Pudding; the nutty notes add a whole new level of silky luxury, without the need for full-fat milk or cream.
Too good to save for morning, you can enjoy chai-infused oats at suppertime too. The subtly-spiced mixture is batch-cook friendly, so you can leave extra portions in the fridge or freezer until you’re ready for them.
Bio&Me Cashew & Almond Granola is available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £3.00 per box.
Sainsbury’s Flourish Sour Cream & Onion Lentil & Pea Cakes – 40 calories per cake
Sometimes all you need is a savoury, crunchy snack to tide you over, and these Sainsbury’s Flourish Sour Cream & Onion Lentil & Pea Cakes are just the ticket. Made with lentils and pea protein, they’re lightly-seasoned with the classic combo of sour cream and onion for just 40 calories per cake.
Speaking of lentils, have you tried our Vegan Lentil Hotpot yet? We’ve made our filling rich and delicious with plenty of vegetables, so you’ll never miss the meat. To guarantee our sliced potatoes are crispy on the outside and fluffy in the middle, we’ve made sure to parboil them before they’re arranged on top.
Sainsbury’s Flourish Sour Cream & Onion Lentil & Pea Cakes are available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £1.90 per pack.
Muller Light Skinny Cappuccino Flavour Yoghurt – 99 calories per pot
If you’re a coffee lover, this is your cue to grab a pen and paper – you’ll want to add Muller Light Skinny Cappuccino Flavoured Yoghurts to your shopping list! An homage to the frothy coffee shop favourite, you’ll even peel back the lid to find chocolate sprinkles on top. While these little fat-free pots might taste indulgent, they’re lighter than you’d think at 99 calories each.
When it comes to an Italian-inspired feast, coffee must be on the menu somewhere. Our slimming-friendly Banoffee Tiramisu is super simple to prepare, and you can make it look really impressive in individual serving dishes.
To add sweetness for fewer calories, we’ve topped each pud with banana slices and a drizzle of reduced-sugar chocolate and caramel dessert toppings.
Muller Light Skinny Cappuccino Flavoured Yoghurts are available from Morrisons, priced at £2.50 for a pack of 6.
Fresh Leaf Co. Red + Green Mix – 14 calories per 100g
There’s nothing more disappointing than heading to the fridge and finding that your luscious lettuce leaves have turned soggy and brown. These Fresh Leaf Co. Red and Green Mix promise to stay fresher for longer, giving you even more value for your money. Keep them on standby to fill sandwiches, wraps, burgers or toss into salads, and give your meals a vibrant crunch.
If salads aren’t your style while the weather’s nippy, add your lettuce leaves to a warming broth like our Vietnamese-inspired Turkey Bun Cha. To save yourself time preparing this one next time (trust us, there will be a next time!), you can always prepare the turkey meatballs in advance for a quicker fakeaway fix.
Fresh Leaf Co. Red + Green Mix is available from Iceland, priced at £1.00 per pack.
Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruitier & Nuttier Trail Mix – 127 calories per 25g serving
Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruitier & Nuttier Trail Mix gives you chocolate buttons like you’ve not tried them before. Mixed in with hazelnuts, sultanas, raisins and cranberries, they come higher in protein and fibre for a healthier way to satisfy your hanking for dairy milk. If citrus is more your bag, you can also buy orange-flavoured trail mix from the same range.
Where chocolate and nutty flavours meet, magic happens – that’s why our Choco Nut Lava Cakes are always a hit! Hot and spongy with an oozy centre, pop them in the microwave for a chocolate-y deliciousness in minutes. You’ll find the full recipe in our fourth cookbook, Pinch of Nom: Comfort Food on pages 263-265
(Psst! They’re even better topped with the Chocolate Custard on pages 240-241.).
Cadbury Dairy Milk Fruitier & Nuttier Trail Mix is available from Tesco, priced at £2.50.
Sainsbury’s Plant Pioneers Meat Free Roasting Joint – 115 calories per 1/2 joint (oven cooked)
Sainsbury’s Plant Pioneers Meat Free Roasting Joint makes adding a meatless Sunday to your weekly meal plan a whole lot easier and tastier. Made with mushrooms and soya, it comes ready-stuffed with a sage and onion centre and topped with a moreish smoked paprika marinade.
Roast dinner trimmings are personal, and everyone’s got their own idea of how to serve the ultimate Sunday roast. While Roast Potatoes are a surefire must, we think our Roast Potatoes with Herbs and Lemon really up the game.
Refreshingly different with zingy citrus, we’ve also braised them in a rich, herby stock to make them extra fluffy and flavoursome. They’ll leave the oven lightly crispy and lemony, for only 119 calories per portion.
This recipe is hot off the press! If you missed it, you can catch up with all of the brand-new slimming-friendly recipes that we added to our website in February here.
Sainsbury’s Plant Pioneers Meat Free Roasting Joint is available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £3.50.
Linda McCartney’s Vegetarian Chicken Pesto Burgers – 183 calories per burger
We’ll take any excuse to add pesto to our midweek menu, and these Linda McCartney’s Vegetarian Chicken Pesto Burgers are perfect for the job. Swapping out chicken for rehydrated soya and wheat, each chicken-style patty is infused with a cheesy, basil pesto seasoning.
There’s no denying that chicken and pesto is a match made in heaven, that’s why our Creamy Pesto Chicken never fails to hit the spot. Your freezer-friendly best friend, you can make it once and love it twice (or more) by freshening it up with various side dishes.
It’ll pair like a dream with mashed potatoes, rice or pasta!
Linda McCartney’s Vegetarian Chicken Pesto Burgers are available from Morrisons, priced at £2.50 for 2.
Roosters Gastro Sticky Teriyaki Chicken Thigh Bites – 218 calories per 7 bites
A convenient bite you can cook in a hurry is the order of the day sometimes, and these Roosters Gastro Sticky Teriyaki Chicken Thigh Bites won’t disappoint. They’ll only need around 15 minutes in the oven before they’re tender in the middle with a sticky, breadcrumbed teriyaki coating.
Serve them with steamed veggies and rice for a takeaway-style treat!
Just as delicious from the oven or air fryer, our Sticky Chicken Nuggets taste too good to be slimming friendly. Coming in at an oh-so-crispy 212 calories per portion, they’re light enough to enjoy as a midweek treat with a side of Homemade Oven Chips.
The secret’s in the sauce. By preparing our sweet and sticky glaze at home with a short list of store cupboard staples, we’ve cut the calories without removing the fun!
Roosters Gastro Sticky Teriyaki Chicken Thigh Bites are available from Aldi, priced at £1.99 per bag.
Häagen-Dazs Macaron Collection Ice Cream Mini Cups – 212 calories per tub
You know we like to leave you with a touch of indulgence, and these Häagen-Dazs Macaron Collection Ice Cream Mini Cups are a French holiday by the scoop. Luxuriously creamy, they’re also loaded with crumbled pieces of classic patisserie-inspired macarons. Will you try double chocolate ganache or strawberry and raspberry first?
We can’t talk about luxury without mentioning our decadent-tasting Millionaire’s Ice Cream. With a few nifty swaps, it comes loaded with toffee, biscuit and chocolate pieces for only 156 calories per serving!
Häagen-Dazs Macaron Collection Ice Cream Mini Cups are available from Asda, priced at £5.15 for 4 mini cups.
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 the rundown of this week’s Super 6 offering, along with some recipe ideas for you.
Baby Potatoes – 75 calories per 100g
They might be smaller, but baby potatoes are just as filling and versatile as bigger varieties of spuds. Harvested just before they reach full size, they’re perfect for chopping into salads, or as part of a roast dinner.
While you can mash them, boil them or bake them, we’ve fried them and spiced them up a bit for our Bang Bang Pork with Spicy Roast Potatoes recipe. This easy-peasy fakeaway is batch-cook friendly too!
Kiwi Fruits – 61 calories per 100g
Full of tangy sweetness, kiwis are a juicy pick-me-up fruit you can enjoy at any time of day. Good for digestion and full of immune-boosting vitamins, they’re well worth having in the fridge to reach for when you need a little treat.
We’d recommend adding a few slices on the top of our Fruity Flapjack Pizza. You won’t be able to get enough of the chewy, oaty base and creamy topping!
Easy Peelers – 35 calories per 100g
Bursting with vitamin C, easy peelers add a boost of goodness to breakfast, or you can save them to be enjoyed as a fruity pick-me-up at lunch time. They’ll definitely curb your cravings in the mid-afternoon lull!
We love how well orange flavours pair with chocolate, and our Chocolate Orange Trifles are heaven if you’re the same way. Layered with Jaffa Cakes, orange segments, orange jelly, chocolate custard and light aerosol cream, it’s tough to believe they’re slimming friendly (only 169 calories per serving!).
Jazz Apples – 56 calories per 100g
Jazz Apples are a crunchier alternative to sweet varieties like Gala or Pink Lady. The sweet-sharp flavours are just the ticket for when you’re in need of a satisfying, crunchy treat, or they’ll break down nicely baked up in a sweet pie or crumble.
Did someone say crumble? When it comes to apply, fruity desserts, you can’t beat Apple Crumble. Topped with a glug of Custard, it’s the ultimate crunchy-topped warmer to help you stave off the winter chill.
Mini Pears – 42 calories per 100g
A snack-sized version of juicy pears, Mini Pears are ideal to take on the go with you. Juicy in the middle with a light, crisp skin, they’re a satisfying filler for when you’ve got the urge to nibble on something sweet.
A versatile breakfast, you can top your morning porridge with so many different fruity toppings. Why not try our Apple Pie Porridge with pear slices for a change? It’ll be just as delicious!
Just be sure to adjust the calories accordingly, if you’re counting.
Spring Onions – 32 calories per 100g
A must-add ingredient for stir-fries, soups or salads, spring onions will freshen up any dish in an instant. Their satisfying onion crunch is so easy to include in your cooking, and packed with vitamin goodness! They’re even more of a key ingredient in takeaway-inspired dishes like our Beef and Spring Onion Chow Mein.
**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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