Your Slimming Essentials – The Weekly Pinch of Shopping 17.02.23
The weekend is just around the corner, AND we’ve got a brand-new Weekly Pinch of Shopping for you! Do Fridays get any better?
This week we’ve thrown in a couple of things to help you have a flippin’ good Pancake Day! It’s Shrove Tuesday next week, so don’t forget to grab the loaded M&S pancakes we’ve spotted on Ocado’s website. If you’re planning on whisking up a homemade batch, we’ve found a fruity topping idea in the freezer section at Aldi…scroll down to find out more!
If you need some midweek dinner inspo, how about succulent chicken breasts, smothered in garlic and served with a creamy mushroom sauce? We’ve got you covered with another cracking Aldi find – and they cook straight from frozen. Get ready to add everything to your shopping list!
Our NEW cookbook, Pinch of Nom: Enjoy, is out NOW! Enjoy is all about turning mealtimes into memories, and it’s brimming with 100 brand-new recipes that you’ll be excited to make, share and eat with family and friends, time and time again.
From fakeaway favourites to midweek wonders, every dish comes big on flavour without taking you off track. Put the food you love back on the menu by ordering your copy 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. 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.
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!**
Iceland Crispy Potatoes with Mediterranean Style Vegetables – 249 calories per 1/2 pack
Skip the peeling and chopping and pop these Crispy Potatoes with Mediterranean Style Vegetables straight in the oven when you get home. The mixture of diced potatoes, red onion, grilled red and yellow peppers and grilled courgettes even comes pre-marinated in a savoury seasoning.
After just half an hour in the oven, you’ve got yourself an easy, tasty side dish that’ll go with just about anything – chicken, sausages, fish or vegetarian alternatives.
We’d pair it with one of this week’s new website recipes: Peri Peri Creamy Chicken. It brings all the flavours of Nando’s to the table, for a fraction of the cost. It’s ready in just 45 minutes, and best of all, it’s just 251 calories per serving.
Iceland Crispy Potatoes with Mediterranean Style Vegetables are available from Iceland, priced at £2.50 for a 500g bag.
Plant Based by ASDA Thai Inspired Edamame Balls – 148 calories per 3 balls
Looking for meatballs without the meat? We’ve spotted these Thai Inspired Edamame Balls in the Plant Based range at Asda, and we think they’re perfect for an easy vegetarian or vegan dinner.
Approved by nutritionists, they’re high in protein, low in calories and full of fibre. With a mild kick of Thai spices, the flavour won’t overwhelm any sauce that you choose to pair with them. Perfect for stir-fries, try serving them with rice or noodles.
It doesn’t take as long as you might think to make your own meat-free meatballs from scratch. Our Vegan Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe includes delicious ‘meatballs’ made from borlotti beans, cannellini beans, mushrooms and oats, and it’s on the table in well under an hour.
Plant Based by ASDA Thai Inspired Edamame Balls are available from Asda, priced at £2.35.
Four Seasons Breakfast Topper – 37 calories per serving
We love to have the freezer stocked with handy bags of frozen fruit – from smoothies to baking, they come in useful time and time again. This Four Seasons Breakfast Topper that we’ve found at Aldi is a mixed bag of diced strawberry, peach, mango and pineapple, designed to be defrosted and spooned on top of your brekkie.
Cheaper and way less effort than peeling, prepping and chopping up fresh fruit, we reckon this would make for an epic pancake topping.
Whip up a batch of slimming-friendly Oat Pancakes next week (psst…it’s Pancake Day on the 21st, just in case you forgot!) and add this breakfast topper and a spoonful of fat-free Greek yoghurt for a delicious start to your day.
Four Seasons Breakfast Topper is available from Aldi, priced at £1.65 for a 350g bag.
Angel Delight Chocolate Mint Flavour – 105 calories per serving
Serve up a bowlful of nostalgia, with a whole new flavour: Angel Delight have brought out this Chocolate Mint version of their classic creamy pud. A family-friendly dessert that’s also low in calories, this whips up into a light, airy treat.
Made with real chocolate and no nasty additives or preservatives, each minty portion works out at just 105 calories. Mix it up and set it in the fridge to chill until after dinner.
The big question is: are you team mint chocolate or chocolate orange? If you prefer your sweet treats with a zesty twist, you need to give these Chocolate Orange Brownies a whirl. The squidgy little squares are only 72 calories each!
Angel Delight Chocolate Mint Flavour is available from Tesco, priced at 60p.
M&S Sticky Toffee Pancakes – 197 calories per pancake
Ramp up the indulgence at breakfast time with these M&S Sticky Toffee Pancakes. Perfect for Pancake Day, this golden stack will save you so much time and effort.
Easy to heat up in the toaster, frying pan or microwave, each pancake is filled with sticky toffee sauce, salted caramel fudge pieces, date paste and a hint of cinnamon.
If you’d rather celebrate Pancake Day with a savoury pancake dinner, we’ve got you covered. These Cheesy Courgette Pancakes are so good, they’ll become a staple of your weekly meal plan. On the table in under 20 minutes, they’re light, fluffy and delicious served with a side of crispy bacon and a few grilled tomatoes.
M&S Sticky Toffee Pancakes are available from Ocado, priced at £1.80 for a pack of 4.
Sainsbury’s Barbecue Lentil Tubes – 99 calories per 1/4 pack
Craving the crunch of a savoury snack? We’ve spotted these new Barbecue Lentil Tubes at Sainsbury’s and we reckon they’re well worth a try. Flavoured with a smoky seasoning, they’re light, crunchy and ideal for an afternoon nibble.
At 99 calories per serving, these are great for sharing, or portioning up for snacking throughout the week.
If it’s a taste of summer barbecues you’re after, why not plan these Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Nuggets for dinner one night next week? They’re crispy, smoky and seriously moreish! Don’t worry if you don’t have an air fryer, you can make these in the oven too (the method is right here).
Sainsbury’s Barbecue Lentil Tubes are available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £1.25.
Alpro Plant Based Gut Health Strawberry Yoghurt – 85 calories per yoghurt
Add a dollop of plant-based goodness into your day with this fruity new find from Alpro. These Plant Based Gut Health Yoghurts come in a choice of strawberry or peach flavours, and they’re a handy little addition to your breakfast or packed lunch.
Brimming with billions of live cultures, added calcium and vitamins, these low-calorie yoghurts are a recipe for good gut health.
We love adding strawberries to our breakfasts, and this Strawberry Souffle Omelette is always a strong start to the day. You only need a handful of ingredients and a spare 15 minutes, then you’ll be tucking into the fluffy, light, sweet omelette.
Alpro Plant Based Gut Health Strawberry Yoghurt is available from Sainsbury’s priced at £2.50 for a pack of 4.
Bisto 25% Less Salt Cheese Sauce Mix – 44 calories per 50ml
Sometimes you just need cheese sauce in a hurry! When you don’t have time to wait, this Bisto 25% Less Salt Cheese Sauce Mix will save the day. From pouring it over pasta to mixing it into cauliflower cheese, it’s perfectly creamy and rich, despite being just 44 calories per 50ml.
Boil a kettle, mix in some hot water and you’re onto a winner! If you want to ramp up the luxury a bit further, you can always make it using milk instead of water (just remember to work out the extra calories, if you’re counting).
There’s no need to add this into our Chicken and Bacon Lasagne as our slimming-friendly yoghurt-based cheese sauce is already super simple and delicious. The tomatoey chicken and bacon filling makes such a nice change to bolognese too!
Bisto 25% Less Salt Cheese Sauce Mix is available from Tesco, priced at £2.00.
Oakhurst Garlic And Mushroom Chicken Breast Fillets – 176 calories per 1/2 pack
Make a little room in your freezer for these Oakhurst Garlic And Mushroom Chicken Breast Fillets. For an effortless midweek meal, they’ll cook straight from frozen in 45 minutes. Ready-marinated in garlic and herbs, the juicy chicken breasts also come with a creamy mushroom sauce to spoon over when serving. At just 176 calories per portion, there’s plenty of room to add some veggies and potatoes on the side – would you go for Homemade Oven Chips or Creamy Mashed Potatoes?
Did you know that this Creamy Garlic Chicken recipe is one of our most popular dishes ever? It uses reduced-fat cream cheese to make a silky sauce that’s super satisfying. You can make it from scratch in just 30 minutes, and any spare leftovers will freeze really nicely.
Oakhurst Garlic And Mushroom Chicken Breast Fillets are available from Aldi, priced at £3.29 for a pack of 2.
Ambrosia Dessert Pots Belgian Chocolate & Salted Caramel Sauce – 142 calories per pot
If you’ve got space for an extra snack in your meal plan next week, we’d suggest picking up a couple of these Belgian Chocolate & Salted Caramel Sauce flavoured Ambrosia Dessert Pots. For only 142 calories, you can dig your spoon into the velvety chocolate dessert with its gooey salted caramel sauce.
Also available in chocolate and mint fondant flavour, they’re handy to have on standby for the next time your sweet tooth is crying out for a treat!
Salted caramel is one of our all-time favourite flavours, especially when it’s paired with chocolate. This Chocolate Cake with Salted Caramel Cream is a really easy bake that you can rustle up in less time than you might think (and you’ll only need 7 ingredients!).
Ambrosia Dessert Pots Belgian Chocolate & Salted Caramel Sauce are available from Asda, priced at £1.60 for a pack of 2.
REMINDER Aldi Super 6 Fruit and Veg Selection
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:
- Braeburn Apples – 51 calories per 100g
- Bananas – 89 calories per 100g
- Easy Peelers – 41 calories per 100g
- Blueberries – 57 calories per 100g
- Asparagus Tips – 25 calories per 100g
- Unwaxed 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!**
Love our Weekly Pinch of Shopping articles? Remember to sign up to our newsletter to get first access to the next one.
And if you’re not already part of our Facebook Group then make sure you join as we love seeing all of the new products that you share – not to mention all of the amazing support and motivation!