Your Slimming Essentials – The Weekly Pinch of Shopping 18.09
Looking for some delicious, low calorie sweet treats that aren’t packed full of loads of additional calories? The Weekly Pinch of Shopping has got your back!
We’ve also found some really tasty vegan drinks and some fantastic, healthier alternatives to crisps.e might love a good snack, but we definitely don’t love all of the extra calories that they usually contain.
And, you’ll either love it or hate it… MARMITE HOUMOUS! It’s our new favourite thing!
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Our Weekly Pinch of Shopping list aims to show you slimming friendly products that are available in a wide range of stores so that you can pick them up during your weekly shop, and to make things really convenient we’ve also listed any relevant nutritional info and the RRP.
Please remember that all prices are correct at the time of us writing this article and so they should be used as a guide only.
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**A note on our shopping list: 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!**
Dolmio Stir In Sun Dried Tomato Light Pasta Sauce – 56 calories per portion
We all have those days where you just want to be able to grab a pot of sauce from the cupboard and be done with dinner, so no list of slimming essentials would be complete without a convenient time-saver!
Dolmio Stir In Sun Dried Tomato Light Pasta Sauce is a great pour in alternative to a fresh sauce when you can’t start from scratch, with rich sundried tomatoes and 30% less fat than the average stir in sauce.
We like to stir this Dolmio Stir In Sun Dried Tomato Light Pasta Sauce into spaghetti, farfalle or your pasta of choice and top with a sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.
Of course, if you can spare 20 minutes or so, we have some deliciously simple pasta dishes like our Creamy Tomato Vodka Pasta or Chicken Fajita Pasta that are packed full of flavour but don’t take hours to make.
Most supermarkets stock this Dolmio Stir In Sun Dried Tomato Light Pasta Sauce around £1.25 a pot.
Brave Roasted Chickpeas Dark Chocolate – 129 calories per portion
If you’ve never had roasted chickpeas before then you’re missing out! They’re the perfect crunchy snack and these Brave Roasted Chickpeas in Dark Chocolate have to be some of our favourites.
High in fibre and protein, these tasty snacks might be coated in chocolate, but they’re also suitable for vegan friendly diets – ideal if you’re after a sweet, vegan snack that’s a bit different.
The even better news is that these Brave Roasted Chickpeas in Dark Chocolate are just 129 calories per portion which makes them an absolute slimming essential in our opinion.
If you prefer savoury flavours, then you can also grab these Brave Roasted Chickpeas in Sweet Chilli (134 calories per portion) and Sea Salt (136 calories per portion).
They’re all absolutely delish and you can grab them from Sainsburys or Ocado for around £2 for a 115g sharing bag.
Oh So Delish Share Bag Wasabi – 121 calories per serving
If you find yourself hunting around the kitchen for a savoury snack as the nights start to get a little darker, now’s the time to consider a change from typically high-fat crisps!
These Aldi Oh So Delish Share Bags Wasabi are a mix of corn chips and green peas with a tasty coating of flavour. They’re also available in tangy BBQ or spicy sriracha varieties, too.
They have the right amount of crunch to satisfy the craving, as well as being high in fibre and suitable for vegans.
Why not serve for snacking on a picnic table alongside Sausage Rolls and Vegetarian Scotch Eggs?
These Oh So Delish Share Bags Wasabi are available at Aldi for only 99p for a 120g sharing bag.
Vegan Mars Oat Drink – 111 calories per portion
Billed as having “the distinctive chocolate, caramel, creamy flavour” of a Mars bar but clocking in at less than half the calories, the new Vegan Mars Oat Drink is a delicious, refreshing treat.
They’re vegan and made with oat milk, and we think they’d make a cracking milkshake over ice.
With a couple of Double Choc Chip Cookies for dunking, you’d still have calories to spare compared to a Mars bar! Who needs a high calorie bar of chocolate anyway?!
At only 111 calories and with no added sugar, this is a slimming essential you don’t want to miss.
You can grab a bottle of this Vegan Mars Oat Drink at Asda, but other supermarkets stock a Bounty and Galaxy version, all priced around £1.50 each.
Food Thoughts Cacao Crunchy Nibs – 47 calories per tbsp
These Food Thoughts Cacao Crunchy Nibs are a fantastic way to add a little chocolatey hit to your breakfast or dessert without using up loads of extra calories.
Gluten free and sugar free, these cacao nibs are high in fibre and suitable for vegetarians.
They’re a great alternative to chocolate chips as you can add a chocolatey crunch without all of the extra sugar and calories.
There’s not much that we don’t love these Food Thoughts Cacao Crunchy Nibs sprinkled on top of to be honest, and at only 47 calories per tbsp, they’re definitely one of our favourite slimming essentials!
Try using them instead of sprinkles on top of our Trifles, scattering over our Tropical Rice Pudding, or even mixed into our Tiramisu Overnight Oats.
You can also use them to add a lovely crunch to your baking, as although they might taste like chocolate, they don’t melt!
You can find these Food Thoughts Cacao Crunchy Nibs at Waitrose at £3.99 for a 100g bag – which might seem a bit expensive, but 100g goes a really long way.
Propercorn Peanut Butter & Almond – 115 calories per bag
Popcorn used to be a treat reserved for cinema trips or those sugary microwave packs, but now the supermarket shelves are full of options that are lighter and still packed with taste!
A nice alternative to crisps, popcorn is an ideal mid-afternoon snack or great in lunchboxes.
Propercorn has been around for a while now, and so far the popcorn connoisseurs have perfected a low-calorie sweet, salty and even sour cream and black pepper flavour.
Propercorn Peanut Butter & Almond is another savoury smash hit: vegan, gluten free and coated in a deliciously peanut buttery powder.
Perfect for settling down on movie night. How about a serving of Banana and Peanut Muffins on the side for showtime?
This Propercorn Peanut Butter & Almond is stocked in most supermarkets at around £1.60 for a 90g share bag.
Nix & Kix Mango & Ginger – 50 calories per can
Just because a can of fizz is non-alcoholic, it doesn’t mean it can’t be full of flavour!
Nix & Kix Mango & Ginger drinks are vegan, naturally low in calories, free from artificial additives and contain a surprising ingredient in the form of a pinch of cayenne pepper.
Just a touch of heat really brings out the refreshing fruity flavours, but don’t let it put you off, it really works!
If you’d prefer to skip the cayenne for something a little more traditional, there’s also a Cucumber & Mint flavour to try.
These handy cans are perfect for popping in your slimming essentials basket, ready for a weekend BBQ alongside banging Melt-in-the-middle Bacon Cheeseburgers.
We’ve seen these Nix & Kix Mango & Ginger cans in most supermarkets for around £1.25 a can.
Lotus Biscoff Caramelised Chocolate Covered Biscuits – 37 calories per biscuit
When Paula Spencer posted on our Facebook Group to let us know about these Lotus Biscoff Caramelised Chocolate Covered Biscuits, we were SO excited!
We absolutely love Lotus Biscoff biscuits so of course the only way to make them better was to coat half of them in chocolate – our idea of heaven.
These tasty treats have no added colours or flavours, are suitable for a vegetarian diet and are just 37 calories per biscuit.
We think that these Lotus Biscoff Caramelised Chocolate Covered Biscuits are perfect when enjoyed with an afternoon cuppa, or even as a mid-morning snack.
Why not try dipping them into our Pumpkin Spiced Latte or sprinkling them over our Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries instead of a digestive?
You can grab these Lotus Biscoff Caramelised Chocolate Covered Biscuits from most supermarkets at around £1.25 for 7 packs of 3 biscuits.
Marmite Houmous – 129 calories per ¼ pack serving
You’re either a lover or a hater…
We LOVE it and this Marmite Houmous means that we can now eat Marmite for breakfast, lunch AND dinner – result!
This Marmite Houmous is the perfect blend of creamy and salty, is suitable for vegetarian diets and comes in at just 129 calories per ¼ pack serving.
Alongside some vegetable crudités, this means that you can enjoy a really tasty lunch without worrying about loads of additional calories.
If Marmite isn’t your thing then don’t worry as we have loads of hummus recipes that are perfect for a quick and light lunch or snack.
Or, if you love Marmite as much as we do, then why not try our Marmite Pasta or our Sausage and Marmite Pie? They might sound strange but they’re SOO good!
You can grab this Marmite Houmous from Tesco for £1 per 200g pot.
ASDA Low Calorie Peanut Butter Ice Cream – 177 calories per ½ tub
Some days just call for a good movie, a blanket and a tub of ice cream with a spoon – we’ve all been there!
This ASDA Low Calorie Peanut Butter Ice Cream has just 177 calories per ½ a tub which makes it the perfect choice for when you’re craving something frozen and sweet, but don’t want to load up on tons of calories.
It’s also a source of protein and is suitable for vegetarian diets which makes it a definite slimming essential in our opinion.
If you’re not a fan of peanut butter, then this range also includes Birthday Cake and Caramel Popcorn flavours which are 196 calories and 186 calories per ½ tub respectively.
You can find this ASDA Low Calorie Peanut Butter Ice Cream in Asda for £2.50 a tub which is a bit of a bargain even if we do say so ourselves.
**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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