Your Slimming Essentials – The Weekly Pinch of Shopping 17.05.24
Your new Weekly Pinch of Shopping article has arrived to start your weekend right! Make a cuppa, get comfy and have a scroll through all the goodies we’ve picked up.
There’s no doubt you’ll want to run and grab some tortilla chips this week. We’ve spotted a warm, gooey, cheesy dip that makes for a gorgeous savoury snack…it’s heavenly with crunchy nachos!
You know we’d never forget to pick up a sweet treat or two. You can try the chocolate coated, squidgy-centred Raspberry Mallows we’ve added to the basket for only 76 calories each.
Plus, make some room in your freezer – a few scoops of TIRAMISU ICE CREAM is sure to go down a treat after dinner (and it’s lighter than you’d expect!).
It’s not long now until our most-requested cookbook ever, PINCH OF NOM: AIR FRYER hits the shelves on June 20th! Ahhh…we are BEYOND excited!!
Keep an eye on our Instagram account in the run up to release day. We’ve been sharing lots of handy air-frying hints and tips, including taking things back to basics.
Did you know that a quick spell in the microwave will make spuds from your air fryer even quicker and crispier? Our Jacket Potato video shows you how.
Watch the episode below or head to our Instagram to watch the rest of our Air Fryer Basics series.
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We want to say a huge THANK YOU SO MUCH if you’ve already pre-ordered your copy of Pinch of Nom: Air Fryer. You are the BEST and we wouldn’t be here without you!
Just remember, all 75 scrummy, slimming-friendly air fryer recipes will be with you very soon – pre-order a copy 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! 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!**
Itsu Lemon & Yuzu Zen Water – 2 calories per 100ml
If you’ve ever visited the popular Japanese-inspired restaurant chain, you might recognise the colourful packaging for Itsu’s Lemon and Yuzu Zen Water on the shelves at Waitrose.
This low-calorie sparkling water is mild-flavoured with notes of zingy lemon and tart, fragrant yuzu, making it all the more refreshing next to a crunchy salad or rice bowl.
At nearly zero calories, it’s well worth cracking open over a glass of ice when the sun’s shining.
As soon as we see a blue sky, we need a glass of Homemade Lemonade. You can store the lemon syrup from our recipe in ice cube trays in your freezer, so you only need to add water when you fancy a cold, zesty beverage at a moment’s notice.
Indoors or outdoors, this one’s always a winner with the whole family!
Itsu Lemon & Yuzu Zen Water is available from Waitrose, priced at £1.50 per can.
Morrisons Mango, Passion Fruit & Papaya Protein Yoghurt – 134 calories per pot
We love fruity treats so there’s no way we could resist picking up this new Morrisons Mango, Passion Fruit and Papaya Protein Yoghurt. With 20 grams of protein in every pot, you can trust that it’ll keep you fuelled for the day ahead, as well as leaving your sweet tooth satisfied.
If passion fruit isn’t your bag, you can also pick up strawberry or salted caramel flavoured pots with the same amount of protein packed in.
For more mango goodness, our Thai-Style Sticky Rice with Mango and Coconut Sauce is just the ticket. It’s inspired by a hugely popular Thai dessert, except we’ve kept things nice and light by using lower-calorie swaps.
The most important ingredient in this recipe is patience. You’ll soak the grains for around 5 hours to say goodbye to excess starch, and leave your rice with its all-important sticky texture!
Morrisons Mango, Passion Fruit & Papaya Protein Yoghurt is available from Morrisons, priced at 95p per pot.
M&S Raspberry Mallow Balls – 76 calories per mallow ball
Sometimes you just need a chocolatey bite! These M&S Raspberry Mallow Balls have a scrumptious pillowy strawberry marshmallow centre that pairs like a dream with a cuppa.
It’s all wrapped up in a layer of silky milk chocolate and sprinkled with raspberry powder for good measure. Not bad for 76 calories each!
If you’re a fan of these, you can keep an eye out for the Cappuccino Mallow Balls too. They have a mild coffee flavouring and a crispy biscuit crumb that brings them to 88 calories each.
With layers of raspberry and coffee deliciousness, these Raspberry Mocha Granola Pots are a delight to wake up to.
Granola can be sneakily high in calories, so to make our pots slimming friendly, we’ve baked oats into an oh-so-crunchy, coffee flavoured granola-style mixture instead.
M&S Raspberry Mallow Balls are available from M&S and Ocado, priced at £2.00 per pack.
The Tofoo Co. Pepperoni Seitan – 137 calories per 75g serving
We love finding new ways to make Meat-free Mondays more exciting! With brand-new The Tofoo Co. Pepperoni Seitan, you’ll be able to add a plant-based savoury boost to all kinds of dishes, from creamy bowlfuls of spaghetti to fresh salads and toasties.
You can also pick up a shreddable ‘chicken’ seitan from the same range that’s ideal for stuffing into sandwiches or tacos.
Why not use chewy, protein-rich seitan to add pepperoni flavours and even more texture to our Cheesy Chilli Pizza? Our version uses melty Gouda, so you may want to swap in a veggie-friendly alternative.
A little bit different from the usual dough you might expect, we’ve used a home-baked naan bread base. Roll it, prove it and bake it until gloriously golden!
The Tofoo Co. Pepperoni Seitan is available from Waitrose, priced at £2.50 per pack.
ASDA Tasty Garlic & Parsley Marinated Prawns – 75 calories per 1/2 pack
Tasty, filling and low in calories, prawns are always a great option for your midweek menu. These ASDA Tasty Garlic and Parsley Marinated Prawns are ready-cooked and coated in a mild garlic and parsley marinade, so all that’s left for you to do is decide how to serve them.
Will you add them to a pasta dish, toss them into a salad or nibble on them as part of a tapas-style spread?
We can’t talk about tapas without mentioning our luscious Creamy Garlic Prawns. With lots of colourful veg and budget-friendly prawns stirred into a reduced-fat cream cheese sauce, it’s surprisingly easy to make for a dish that tastes like a Mediterranean summer holiday.
The sauce is so good, it’d be rude not to mop up the leftovers with a crusty wholemeal bread roll.
ASDA Tasty Garlic & Parsley Marinated Prawns are available from Asda, priced at £3.00 per pack.
M&S Cook Menu Chilli, Lime & Coriander Seabass Fillets – 155 calories per 1/2 pack
It’s always a good idea to have some seafood on the menu. These M&S Cook Menu Chilli, Lime and Coriander Seabass Fillets are effortless to serve, since they’re topped with a knob of chilli and lime butter that melts into the seabass as it bakes.
They’re also sprinkled with fresh coriander leaves and chopped chillies, to ramp up the flavours even more.
At just 155 calories per fillet, they’re light enough to pencil into your midweek meal plan, even if they look and taste like a fancy treat.
Plate them up with a dollop of our easy-peasy Creamy Mashed Potatoes and steamed greens for absolute perfection.
M&S Cook Menu Chilli, Lime & Coriander Seabass Fillets are available from M&S and Ocado, priced at £6.00 for 2 fillets.
Sainsbury’s Tomato, Pepper & Chilli Pasta, Taste the Difference – 206 calories per 1/2 pack
Sainsbury’s always seems to pull it out of the bag when it comes to the Summer Edition of their Taste the Difference range, and this Sainsbury’s Tomato, Pepper & Chilli Pasta is no exception.
We’re talking about ready-cooked spiral pasta coated in a rich fire-roasted red pepper and jalapeño chilli dressing, with piquillo peppers and spinach.
The sweet and spicy flavours are divine to tuck into for lunch, or spoon a portion onto a plate with grilled chicken and a mixed salad for dinner.
If you like the sound of the flavours here, you need to try our Creamy Roasted Red Pepper and Chicken Pasta. The roasted red pepper sauce is utterly irresistible, which is why our top tip for this recipe is to always make more than you need…you’ll want to save leftover sauce so you can make it in a hurry next time!
Sainsbury’s Tomato, Pepper & Chilli Pasta, Taste the Difference is available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £2.70 per pack (or £1.65 with a Nectar card).
Ashfields Chicken & Chorizo Kebabs – 125 calories per skewer
Whether the sun shines or hides away this weekend, the chargrilled flavours in these Ashfields Chicken and Chorizo Kebabs are worth cooking up.
Aldi’s done the hard work for you by threading juicy chicken chunks onto skewers with smoky chorizo slices, so you’ll only have to think about plating them up with one or two of your favourite barbecue side dishes – depending how hungry you are!
For a bit of spice, you could always rustle up some Chilli Roasted Greens. A medley of crunchy broccoli florets, asparagus and courgettes coated in a punchy chilli, ginger and lime dressing, these roasted vegetables never ever get boring.
We’ve ramped up the heat by slicing in a full red chilli, but they’ll still be full of flavour even if you turn down the spice, thanks to all the other tasty herbs and spices in the mix!
Ashfields Chicken & Chorizo Kebabs are available from Aldi, priced at £3.99 per pack.
Waitrose Tiramisu Ice Cream – 139 calories per 1/6 pot
As soon as we realised it was two desserts in one, picking up a tub of this Waitrose Tiramisu Ice Cream was a no-brainer. In every spoonful, you’ll get smooth velvety coffee flavoured ice cream infused with a glug of fortified wine and decadent chunks of fluffy sponge cake.
If you’re not already sold, just wait until you hear it’s only 139 calories per serving!
We think a scoop would work really well with a slice of our brand-new Coffee and Walnut Sponge Traybake. The flavours in the nutty sponge are so yummy and versatile, it can work as a grab-and-go breakfast, a cakey dessert or a quick, light bite with a cuppa.
It’s all topped off with smooth coffee icing and a sprinkling of walnuts for a gorgeous crunch.
You can even keep leftovers in an airtight container to snack on throughout the week!
Waitrose Tiramisu Ice Cream is available from Waitrose, priced at £3.40 per tub.
Sainsbury’s Nacho Cheese Bake Summer Edition, Taste the Difference – 101 calories per serving
Remember how we mentioned that Sainsbury’s is smashing it? This Sainsbury’s Nacho Cheese Bake Summer Edition, Taste the Difference just proves our point again.
While cold dips are everywhere when the sun’s out, this warm, jalapeño-spiced option is absolutely perfect for pairing with crunchy tortilla chips for a Mexican-style savoury bite.
Heat it up gently in the oven for 18 minutes while it bubbles away to gooey perfection, and you’re away!
If you can’t say no to nachos, get cosy with a sharing bowl of our Cheeseburger Nachos for your next movie night. The best of two cheesy worlds, we’ve used beef, shredded lettuce, gherkins and cheese to give low-salt tortilla chips a burger-inspired twist.
Sainsbury’s Nacho Cheese Bake Summer Edition, Taste the Difference is available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £4.00 per pack.
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.
Jersey Royal New Potatoes – 75 calories per 100g
Whether they’re the centre of attention, or treated as a side dish, you can always count on potatoes to make your dish. We’ve paired zingy pesto with velvety fat-free Greek yoghurt to give our gloriously green Pesto Potato Salad its glorious green magic.
You’ll want this summertime staple on your barbecue menu time and time again!
Radish – 16 calories per 100g
Mild and peppery in flavour, radishes are so easy to prep and throw into salads or stir-fries. They’ll add a scrummy crunchy texture to your lunch, for the bargain price of 39p per bag in this week’s Super 6 – thank you, Aldi!
You’ll find them in the rainbow-coloured salad that’s piled into our Katsu Curry Burgers. They make for an ideal match-up with the scoop of Katsu curry sauce on top.
Mango – 60 calories per 100g
Packed with magnesium and potassium, mangoes are famously good for digestion. While we wouldn’t recommend eating the skin, you can do so if you want to absorb every last nutrient!
Rain or shine, we’re always in the mood for curry! The juicy chunks of sour mango pickle in our brand-new Chicken and Mango Pickle Curry keep things nice and fresh year-round. Try it tonight over a bed of fluffy rice!
Bananas – 89 calories per 100g
We love the versatility of bananas! From breakfast pancakes and porridge bowls to pancake stacks and desserts (like homemade ice cream!), they’re so much more than an easy, peelable, grab-and-go snack.
Speaking of banana-flavoured treats, have you ever whipped up a ramekin of our silky Banana Cream Pudding? This speedy little treat makes the most of thick vanilla custard, light cream, bananas and the shavings from a Cadbury Flake.
Large Vine Tomatoes – 20 calories per 100g
With a deeper flavour than smaller, salad tomatoes, large vine ones can make your midweek meal feel that little bit fancier. They taste amazing when you roast them low and slow, with just a spray of low-calorie cooking spray and some salt and pepper.
Try a few chunks in our bright and colourful Baked Cod Provencal recipe. We love that everything bakes in the oven together to soak up all those lovely flavours…and cut down on the washing-up!
Blueberries – 57 calories per 100g
Blended into smoothies, baked into puddings or served with yoghurt, there are lots of ways to make the most of blueberries. You can always make the most of this week’s Super 6 and team them up with the bananas above to whip up a batch of our Banana and Blueberry Muffins (they’re on pages 122-123 of Pinch of Nom: Express).
They even include a dreamy sprinkling of chocolate chips for only 188 calories each.
**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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