Your Slimming Essentials – The Weekly Pinch of Shopping 15.03.24
It’s FRIDAY! Get ready to make a list because your Weekly Pinch of Shopping is here. Who wants the scoop on Halo Top’s brand-new GOLDEN BLONDIE ice cream?! It’s a scrumptious, satisfying sweet treat that’s far lower in calories than a full-fat tub, and we can tell you where to grab it!
Plus, there’s a cracking selection of savoury bites on this week’s list, including a pack of veggie-stuffed gyozas you can snack on after just 2 minutes in a frying pan.
Since announcing that we’ll be releasing PINCH OF NOM: AIR FRYER on our socials a couple of weeks ago – eeeek!! – it’s no surprise that we’ve got air-frying on the brain. We’ve picked up some Sweet Chilli Saucy Chicken Bites that’ll crisp up in a jiffy for your next fakeaway night!
Yep, you read that right…our most-requested cookbook ever, Pinch of Nom: Air Fryer, is happening! We’ve absolutely loved seeing your reaction to our announcement on Instagram and in our Facebook group (we really appreciate all of your lovely comments!) – it feels epic to know you’re just as excited as we are.
You’ll get to try all 75 scrummy recipes on the 20th of June, but you can pre-order your copy right now (and find out more about the book on our website here).
And if you’ve already pre-ordered a copy, we just have to say…THANK YOU SO MUCH!! Kate and I really couldn’t do this without you.
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. 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!**
Shloer Summer Punch Sparkling Fruit Drink – 16 calories per 100ml
This Shloer Summer Punch Sparkling Fruit Drink has us dreaming about sunnier days. Flavoured with a refreshing medley of strawberry, cucumber and garden mint, this sparkling drink is perfect served over ice on its own or as part of a fruity tipple.
If you’d prefer to make your own at home, our Pink Lemonade is brimming with citrusy goodness for just 20 calories per glass.
We’ve swirled together fresh lemon juice, raspberries and granulated sweetener to create a gorgeous, slimming-friendly, lip-smacking syrup. Whether you sip it indoors or out, make sure to make it extra-special with a sprig of fresh mint!
Shloer Summer Punch Sparkling Fruit Drink is available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £2.60 for a 750ml bottle.
Tropical Sun Jollof Cooking Sauce – 33 calories per 100ml
Jam-packed with fragrant, smoky flavours inspired by vibrant West African cuisine, this Tropical Sun Jollof Cooking Sauce makes dinnertime easy-peasy and it’s less than 100 calories per jar.
Combine the rich tomatoey sauce together with water and rice, until it’s cooked through, colourful and ready to be served with meat, fish or tofu.
If you’re in the mood for a fiery midweek dinner, look no further than our Chicken and Prawn Creole. With a hot, hot, hot homemade sauce blended from heaps of extra veggies, it’s a guaranteed serving of slimming-friendly deliciousness for only 284 calories.
Tropical Sun Jollof Cooking Sauce is available from Ocado, priced at £2.50.
Sainsbury’s Biancoli Stir-Fry with Garlic & Ginger, Taste the Difference – 131 calories per 1/2 pack
This Taste the Difference Sainsbury’s Biancoli Stir-Fry with Garlic and Ginger definitely takes the effort out of prepping and chopping vegetables. A wok-ready mixture of Biancoli® florets, pak choi and babycorn, it also comes with a tasty, aromatic garlic and ginger glaze.
A helping of crunchy stir-fry veg would complement our high-protein Baked Garlic Salmon like a dream. To make things more slimming-friendly, we’ve swapped lashings of full-fat butter or oil for a clever combo of reduced-fat spread, water and fresh garlic cloves.
The home-mixed ‘butter’ is also infused with parsley and lemon juice, so every flaky forkful is bursting with flavour the whole family can enjoy.
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Biancoli Stir Fry with Garlic & Ginger is available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £2.65 per pack.
Proper Katsu Curry Flavour Chickpea Chips – 97 calories per 20g serving
If you can’t say no to a light, savoury snack with a takeaway-inspired flavour, these Proper Katsu Curry Flavour Chickpea Chips tick all the boxes. Far lighter in calories than a standard packet of crisps, each protein-packed handful comes in at just 97 calories.
We couldn’t resist their Katsu-style grab bags this week, but there’s nothing to stop you grabbing Jerk Sauce or Ghost Chilli flavours from the same range – they’re all less than 100 calories per serving!
From loaded fries to stacked burgers, it’s no secret that we love Katsu at Pinch of Nom. If you’re the same, write the ingredients down for our Air Fryer Cauliflower Katsu.
The sauce is so simple to make and the florets bake to crispy perfection in less than 15 minutes!
Proper Katsu Curry Flavour Chickpea Chips are available from Asda, priced at £1.25 for a sharing pack.
M&S Vegetable Gyozas – 156 calories for 6 gyozas
Crispy, satisfying and far lighter than you’d expect, it’s well worth trying a pack of M&S Vegetable Gyozas. You can tuck into 6 Japenese-style dumplings for only 156 calories, making them an ideal vegetarian snack, side dish or starter.
Pop them in a frying pan for a couple of minutes until they’re cooked through with a slight crunch, and they’re ready to dip with light soy sauce.
They’d definitely pair nicely with our Thai-Style Green Curry Soup. It’s full of creamy comfort without piling on the calories, thanks to a nifty blend of dairy-free coconut milk alternative, zingy lemongrass, garlic, ginger and chilli.
M&S Vegetable Gyozas are available from Ocado and M&S, priced at £4.75 for a pack of 12.
The Fish Market Skinless & Boneless Tuna Steaks – 150 calories per steak
Low in fat and high in protein, these The Fish Market Skinless and Boneless Tuna Steaks deserve a spot in your shopping basket. Store them in the freezer until you’re ready to enjoy them, and make sure to defrost them thoroughly before cooking.
They only need minutes in a pan to sear nicely, until you’re left with a light crust on each side that locks in the flavour. Plate them up with an eye-catching medley of your favourite colourful veggies for a low-calorie midweek dinner.
We’d have to go for a bright-green bed of tender Garlic Green Beans. Ready to serve in 5 minutes, this one’s just as yummy whether you use fresh beans, or more budget-friendly frozen ones.
The Fish Market Skinless & Boneless Tuna Steaks are available from Tesco, priced at £4.95.
Morrisons Cooked Chicken Breast Strips – 118 calories per 100g serving
If you don’t love handling and prepping raw chicken breast, these Morrisons Cooked Chicken Breast Strips are really useful to have in the freezer. Defrost your portion overnight and they’ll be ready to throw into salads, stir-fries, sandwiches, wraps and more in a flash – no cooking needed!
Our Herby Lemon Chicken Salad doesn’t leave you waiting around, by using ready-cooked chicken breast to speed things up a bit. We’ve made every bite exciting and tangy with a gorgeous blend of lemon, herbs and (of course!) sumac.
If you’ve never cooked with sumac before, we answer any questions you might have about it here.
Morrisons Cooked Chicken Breast Strips are available from Morrisons, priced at £4.95 per pack.
TrüFrü White & Dark Chocolate covered Raspberries – 80 calories per 1/8 pack (20g)
You can take a humble bowl of fat-free Greek yoghurt to the next level with these TrüFrü White and Dark Chocolate covered Raspberries. Great as a light snack or dessert option, each sweet berry comes ready-coated in a silky layer of dark and white chocolate.
A portion at 80 calories is a small handful of berries, so you may want to chop them up a bit to make their juicy, chocolatey crunch go further!
As soon as we hear the word ‘raspberry’, we’re thinking about our Raspberry Sorbet from pages 220-221 of Pinch of Nom: Express.
This scrumptious cooler is mouth-wateringly refreshing for only 104 calories per portion, and it’ll keep nicely in the freezer for up to 3 months.
TrüFrü White & Dark Chocolate covered Raspberries are available from Tesco, priced at £5.00 per pack.
Iceland Sweet Chilli Saucy Chicken Bites – 212 calories per 100g
You don’t need to pick up a takeaway menu to get a fix of sweet chilli flavours with these Iceland Sweet Chilli Saucy Chicken Bites. You can use your oven, but we prefer to pop them in the air fryer for 10-12 minutes until they’re golden brown and crisp.
The sweet chilli filling comes oozing out and tastes delicious…just be careful to let them cool down before you tuck in!
For a fix of sweet chilli flavours throughout the week, you can always try bottling a batch of our slimming-friendly Sweet Chilli Sauce. It’s ready in just 15 minutes and chances are you’ve already got the ingredients in your store cupboard (a good-sized dollop is only 13 calories!).
Iceland Sweet Chilli Saucy Chicken Bites are available from Iceland, priced at £3.50 per pack.
Halo Top Golden Blondie Ice Cream Tub – 151 calories per 100g
We’ve got four words for you: Golden Blondie Ice Cream. Halo Top have done it again with an all-new, irresistible, lower-calorie flavour. This one’s every bit as silky and velvety as you’d expect, with moreish chunks of golden blondie stirred in!
At 151 calories per serving (or 380 for the whole tub!), it’s worth giving this sweet treat alternative a go. If you’re still not sold, keep an eye on our Instagram, TikTok and Facebook over the weekend – we’ll be sharing an honest video review of how Halo Top compares to a similar flavour of Ben & Jerry’s!
In the meantime, our White Chocolate Blondies are just the thing. At 69 calories per perfectly squidgy square, they’re even better paired with a cuppa.
Halo Top Golden Blondie Ice Cream Tubs are available from Tesco, priced at £5.40 per tub (or £3.75 with a Clubcard).
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.
Conference pears – 64 calories per 100g
When they’re nice and ripe, conference pears are juicy and soft with a gorgeous, syrupy sweetness, and they’re great for snacking on or cooking with.
Pears work really well in homely oven bakes like our slimming-friendly Pear and Ginger Crumble. Just the ticket to warm you up when it’s chilly outside, you can always ramp up the cosiness with a glug of Custard!
Closed cup mushrooms – 17 calories per 100g
From risotto and pasta dishes to curries and pies, there are so many dishes you can add closed cup mushrooms to. They’re also packed with vitamins and minerals, and super low in calories!
Why not start your day right with our Marmite Mushrooms on Toast? It’s wholesome breakfast-time comfort food that you’ll either love or hate (we’re pretty confident you’ll love it!).
Red seedless grapes – 69 calories per 100g
You can’t go wrong with a punnet of red seedless grapes in the fridge. They’re great as a healthy grab-and-go snack or you can slice them up to throw into a vibrant salad.
Their juicy sweetness works a treat to break up the creaminess in our Chicken Waldorf Salad. We’ve also stirred in walnuts, for a gorgeous savoury crunch!
Easy peelers – 35 calories per 100g
We love taking easy peelers on the go. Satisfying and sweet, you can always rely on them to curb your midday cravings for only 35 calories each (and somehow they taste even better when they’re only 89p – thank you, Aldi!).
If you love the heavenly combination that is chocolate and orange, you need to make a batch of our Chocolate Orange Brownies. They’re only 72 calories each!
Limes – 30 calories per 100g
Limes are great for adding a zingy kick to your cooking with a simple squeeze. In fact, our Honey and Lime Pork Nachos wouldn’t be the same without them!
The perfect balance of spicy and citrusy, this crunchy dish makes for the ideal savoury sharer when you’re having a cosy night in front of the telly.
Mini apples – 53 calories per 100g
Small but mighty, mini apples will give your day a sweet boost for only 53 calories each, or you can use them as a delicious porridge topper.
Our silky, oaty Apple Pie Porridge recipe is infused with cinnamon and nutmeg, and topped off with honey-glazed apple slices and almonds. It’s a cracking excuse to jump out of bed!
**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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