Your Slimming Essentials – The Weekly Pinch of Shopping 11.08.23
Friday is finally here – and so is a brand-new Weekly Pinch of Nom! The weather might still be a little unpredictable, but you can rely on us to help you fill your shopping trolley with bits and bobs that will make mealtimes easier, come rain or shine.
This week we’ve spotted a bumper bag of BBQ chicken pieces that you can keep stashed away in the freezer for the next sunny weekend. Best of all, it’s nice and budget-friendly, at just £3.95 for 1kg.
Nostalgia alert!! We’re obsessed with the retro yoghurt flavour that Muller Corner has put back on the shelves. You’ll have to scroll down to find out more, but we’ll give you a little clue…it’s a toffee, coffee, chocolate-y dream!
Our new cookbook Pinch of Nom: Budget, is out now! We’re absolutely loving seeing everybody’s photos and posts. Don’t forget to tag us when you’re sharing them, we don’t want to miss a single one!
From Meatball Mash Bake to Veggie Quesadillas, there is something for everyone in our first-ever paperback cookbook (if you’ve not got yours yet, you can order here!).
You’ll get 50 brand-new recipes and 25 fan-favourites dishes that cut down on costs, without compromising on the Nom flavours you know and love.
Split into two chapters, dinners and desserts, ‘Budget’ is all about turning affordable ingredients and store cupboard staples into food that the whole family will love.
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!
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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!**
Heinz Curry Tomato Base – 36 calories per 100g
We’ve always got our eyes open for any new items that boost flavours while saving precious time in the kitchen. Made from carefully cultivated ingredients, this Heinz Curry Tomato Base is a fast, flavourful gamechanger.
The tomato puree is infused with coriander, chilli and a hint of cinnamon, so it’s ready to level up your curries, stews and other tomato-based sauces. With a sweet yet spicy heat, try spreading it on pizza bases, or use a spoonful instead of ordinary tomato puree for a subtle taste in just about any recipe.
We reckon it’d add a gentle spiciness to our Creamy Tomato Chicken dish. Thanks to slow-roasted cherry tomatoes, it already has a rich, intense flavour, but a dollop of this tomato base will turn things up a notch further!
Heinz Curry Tomato Base is available from Asda, priced at £1.30.
Swizzels Squashies No Added Sugar Bubblegum Flavour Squash – 5 calories per 250ml serving
Next time you have a craving for a bag of chewy sweets, grab a glass, add some ice and make yourself this Swizzels Squashies No Added Sugar Bubblegum Flavour Squash instead.
With only 5 calories per serving, you can hydrate and satisfy your sweet tooth at the same time! It’s made with real fruit and no additives, so it’s far better for you than tucking into a bag of real Squashies. If bubblegum isn’t the flavour for you, there’s also a Refresher’s Lemon squash in the same range.
Why not use this to mix up the flavours in our FABulous Lollies? We like to use no added sugar strawberry squash to replicate the retro ice pops they’re named after, but imagine how tasty a bubblegum flavour would be!
Swizzels Squashies No Added Sugar Bubblegum Flavour Squash is available from Tesco, priced at £1.00 for a 1 litre bottle.
Flourish Greek inspired Feta & Grains Salad – 324 calories per pack
Whether you’re out and about at lunchtime or picking up a readymade side dish for dinner, this Flourish Greek inspired Feta and Grains Salad is full of veggie goodness. It’s a nutrient-packed mixture of pearl barley, quinoa, feta cheese and vegetables, with a pot of zesty, lemon and herb dressing.
With one of your 5-a-day in each 324-calorie pack, this salad balances being tasty, convenient and good for you.
It only takes 15 minutes to make our Salad Grain Bowl recipe at home, and it’s well worth the extra effort of picking up the colourful array of vegetables you’ll need. This crunchy, rainbow-bright dish is bulked out with puy lentils and quinoa, so it’s super filling and packed with protein, and just 251 calories per portion.
Flourish Greek inspired Feta & Grains Salad is available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £4.00.
Muller Corner Mississippi Mud Pie Chocolate Yoghurt – 168 calories per yoghurt
Okay, so this one isn’t NEW, but it hasn’t been around since the 90s! Muller has brought back these Muller Corner Mississippi Mud Pie Chocolate Yoghurts for a tasty bit of nostalgia.
You get a layer of toffee and coffee yoghurt, on top of a chocolate sauce, with a pot of chocolate crumble to tip in (or sprinkle over, or spoon on, depending on how you like to eat your Muller Corner!). One loaded spoonful and that taste will take you right back.
If it’s a hit of intense chocolate that you’re after, you’ll want to find a peaceful hour this weekend to make our Chocolate Mud Pie. It looks and tastes incredibly decadent – but there are only 125 calories in each slimming-friendly slice.
Muller Corner Mississippi Mud Pie Chocolate Yoghurt is available from Asda, priced at 90p per yoghurt.
Plantastic Creamy Pasta Sweet Potato & Caramelised Onion – 219 calories per portion
The weather may be a little bit brighter this week, but there’s still room in your meal plan for a comforting bowl of creamy pasta. This Plantastic Creamy Pasta Sweet Potato and Caramelised Onion Sauce is great for a low-effort, vegan-friendly family meal.
The silky smooth sauce is an indulgent-tasting mixture of sweet potato, caramelised onion, herbs, spices and coconut milk. Cook your favourite pasta shape and stir it through for an easy-yet-satisfying dinner.
Vegan recipes don’t come much easier than our Marmite Pasta dish. A budget-friendly banger, you only need a handful of ingredients – and you probably already have most of them in your cupboards!
Plantastic Creamy Pasta Sweet Potato & Caramelised Onion is available from Morrisons, priced at £2.99.
Bahlsen Butter Leaves Shortcake Thins Buttery Biscuit – 145 calories for 7 biscuits
When you’re ready to put the kettle on and relax after a long day, you’ll be glad that you added these Bahlsen Butter Leaves Shortcake Thins onto your shopping list. The delicate butter biscuits are melt-in-the-mouth indulgent – and yet you can enjoy 7 of them for just 145 calories.
Whether you’re team tea or team coffee, we can’t think of a better excuse to take a chilled time out and enjoy a cuppa.
We know you all love a biscuit-y pudding, especially if Biscoff is involved (and so do we). This Biscoff Mousse is scrumptiously light and airy, with a dusting of Lotus biscuit crumbs on top to add an irresistible crunch.
Bahlsen Butter Leaves Shortcake Thins Buttery Biscuits are available from Asda, priced at £1.40.
Acre Lane Minted Lamb Quarter Pound Burgers – 242 calories per burger
We’ve got our fingers crossed for BBQ weather around the corner, but even if the sun isn’t shining, a burger night is always a good idea. Rain or shine, lamb and mint is a flavour combination that never fails.
These Acre Lane Minted Lamb Quarter Pound Burgers are perfect for keeping on standby in the freezer – they cook from frozen in as little as 20 minutes. Juicy and flavourful, all you need is a burger bun and some crisp, fresh salad for an easy, quick dinner.
Grilled, oven-cooked or barbecued, our Minted Lamb Kebabs are another way to celebrate the same delicious flavours. An ideal midweek dinner, they pair perfectly with rice – or you can make an even lighter meal and serve with a fresh green salad.
Acre Lane Minted Lamb Quarter Pound Burgers are available from Tesco, priced at £3.50 for a pack of 4.
Sainsbury’s MSC Cod Fillets with Mediterranean Tomato & Herb – 108 calories per serving
We spotted these responsibly sourced MSC Cod Fillets with a Mediterranean Tomato and Herb marinade in Sainsbury’s this week. Ready to cook, they’re ideal if you’re making an effort to eat more fish.
The saying goes, ‘if it swims, it slims’, and at 108 calories per serving, these protein-rich fillets are both delicious and slimming friendly. Dish them up with Mediterranean-inspired roasted vegetables, or your favourite green veggies.
Our Garlic Green Beans are the side dish that goes with anything. Adding some crunch and green goodness to your dinner, you’ll always be glad to have some frozen beans in the freezer.
Sainsbury’s MSC Cod Fillets with Mediterranean Tomato & Herb are available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £4.50 for a pack of 2 (or £3.95 with a Nectar card).
Morrisons BBQ Bumper Pack Chicken Portions – 214 calories per 100g
Putting on your best-ever barbecue shouldn’t have to cost a fortune, so we were pleased to spot this BBQ Bumper Pack of Chicken Portions in the freezer aisle at Morrisons. You get 1kg of skin-on, bone-in, BBQ-glazed chicken pieces for just £3.95.
Because the chicken comes frozen, you’ll need to remember to defrost it in the fridge for at least 12 hours before cooking. Transfer the whole bag to the bottom shelf of your fridge, or just take out what you need (but make sure you put it in a covered container and don’t let it drip onto any other food).
You can’t have BBQ chicken without a spoonful of coleslaw on the side – and this Buffalo Coleslaw is next level when it comes to flavour. It might be only 67 calories per serving, but we haven’t skimped on creamy blue cheese and punchy hot sauce.
Morrisons BBQ Bumper Pack Chicken Portions is available from Morrisons, priced at £3.95 for a 1kg pack.
Tony’s Chocolonely Littl’ Bits Triple Chocolate Mix – 164 calories per 30g
This Tony’s Chocolonely Littl’ Bits Triple Chocolate Mix is precisely what you need for those moments when your sweet tooth is crying out for chocolate. Rather than the huge slabs that Tony’s usually comes in, this bag of mixed bits is easier to portion out or share.
The ethical bag of treats includes milk, dark and white chocolate, layered into bitesize nuggets. At 164 calories for 30g, you can nibble your way through a decent handful, and still stay on track towards your slimming goals.
When we need a chocolate fix, a batch of Chocolate Brownies is our go-to recipe. They work out at just 59 calories per square – but who’s to say you can’t swap the chocolate chips for these Tony’s Littl’ Bits? Just be sure to work out the extra calories, if you’re counting!
Tony’s Chocolonely Littl’ Bits Triple Chocolate Mix are available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £2.50 for a 100g bag.
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:
- Radish – 16 calories per 100g
- Cucumber – 15 calories per 100g
- Avocado – 160 calories per 100g
- Mini Apples – 53 calories per 100g
- Vine Tomatoes – 17 calories per 100g
- Courgettes – 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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