Your Slimming Essentials – The Weekly Pinch of Shopping 22.03.24
We’re BACK with a brand-new Weekly Pinch of Shopping for you to feast your eyes on! We know a word that’ll get your attention…BISCOFF! The Trek bars we’ve spotted will give you a mid-afternoon boost that’s filling and packed with caramelised deliciousness.
Plus, we’ve got plenty of bits and bobs for your midweek menu, like Young’s Limited Edition Chilli, Lime and Ginger Breaded Fish Fillets. It’s up to you whether you bake them to perfection in your oven or your air fryer!
Oh and there’s no way we can ignore the fact that Easter’s around the corner. We’ve skipped the chocolate and gone for a pack of M&S’ Extremely Caramely Hot Cross Buns instead! Just wait until you taste how heavenly they are with a cuppa…
There are NO WORDS for how excited we are that our most-requested cookbook ever, PINCH OF NOM: AIR FRYER, is finally happening!! We’re still overwhelmed by your reaction on Instagram and in our Facebook group and we just have to say THANK YOU SO MUCH if you’ve already pre-ordered your copy.
Your lovely comments are the reason we do what we do! We can’t wait for all 75 scrummy, slimming-friendly air fryer recipes to be with you on the 20th of June (pre-order a copy here!).
In the meantime, we shared a sneaky look at the first recipe from our air fryer cookbook over the weekend. Watch the video for our PIZZA TURKEY BURGERS recipe below or on our Instagram page (just be warned, it’ll make you hungry!).
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You can learn more about our first-ever air fryer cookbook 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! 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. 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!**
Alpro Plant High Protein Mango & Banana Yoghurt Alternative – 16 calories per 100ml
Let’s start things off with a light, fruity snack. You can grab Alpro Plant High Protein Mango and Banana Yoghurt Alternative from Waitrose for just one pound!
There’s 15 grams of protein in every pot, so it’ll satisfy your sweet tooth with spoonfuls of silky banana and mango flavours, and leave you feeling fuller for longer.
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.
For an even more special adults-only treat, you can even add a drop of rum (trust us on this one!).
Alpro Plant High Protein Mango & Banana Yoghurt Alternative is available from Waitrose, priced at £1.00 per pot.
Tropicana Fruit Sensation Peach & Raspberry Juice Drink – 19 calories per 100ml
Tropicana Fruit Sensation Peach and Raspberry Juice Drink has arrived just in time for more blue sky days…hopefully! You can also pick up Orange and Mango or Apple, Cucumber and Lemon Fruit Sensation flavours, if you’d prefer.
Make sure you shake the bottle well before serving for maximum fruity flavour and smoothness.
Nothing leaves us feeling refreshed quite like our Pink Sangria. With chilled rose wine, Peach Schnapps and freshly sliced oranges and peaches, there’s no shortage of juicy, summertime flavours involved.
With or without sunny weather, it’s the ideal excuse to crack out your favourite pitcher over next week’s Bank Holiday Weekend.
Tropicana Fruit Sensation Peach & Raspberry Juice Drink is available from Tesco, priced at £1.75 per bottle.
Trek Power Lotus Biscoff – 191 calories per bar
There’s no way we could ignore Trek Power Lotus Biscoff bars at the shops. They’re jam-packed with protein to fuel your day, coupled with caramelised biscuit spread and a chocolate-flavoured coating.
The vegan recipe keeps things plant-based without any artificial sweeteners, so they’re a gorgeous treat to pause with while you’re popping the kettle on.
If ‘Biscoff’ is all you need to hear to get involved, our Biscoff Blondies recipe should steal your heart in no time. To keep each delightful little square moist and gooey, we’ve swirled white chocolate chunks into our slimming-friendly blondie mix.
This is your cue to grab your copy of Pinch of Nom: Comfort Food and turn to pages 274-275 to find the full recipe.
Trek Power Lotus Biscoff are available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £4.75 for a pack of 3 bars (or £3.75 with a Nectar card).
Chicken, Bacon & Sweetcorn Pasta Salad – 368 calories per pack
Stop scrolling if you love a pasta salad! Brimming with plenty of sweet, crunchy veggies, you’ll easily spot this Chicken, Bacon and Sweetcorn Pasta Salad with the salad bowls at Morrisons.
The penne pasta is stirred into a velvety mayo sauce with cooked chicken slices and salty bits of bacon cutting through, for less than 400 calories.
When you’re short on time and craving pasta, look no further than our BLT Pasta Salad. This easy-peasy lunch (or light evening meal) makes the most of lower-calorie ingredients, including lean bacon medallions and a silky helping of natural fat-free yoghurt.
You’ll never regret stashing the leftovers in tupperware for a rainy day (just make sure to save a bit of extra yoghurt to stir in, in case your sauce dries out slightly).
Chicken, Bacon & Sweetcorn Pasta Salad is available from Morrisons, priced at £2.75 per pot.
M&S Plant Kitchen More Than Mince – 188 calories per 100g
If you’re taking a break from meat, or just looking to get more vegetables into your diet, it’s well worth picking up M&S Plant Kitchen More Than Mince. It’s jam-packed with plant-based protein and fibre from lots of different healthy, natural sources, including sunflower and pumpkin seeds, red peppers, broccoli and carrots.
You can treat it just as the same as normal mince by shallow-frying it in a pan until it’s evenly browned and cooked through.
Mince…what mince? There’s none in sight for our show-stopping Chilli Bean Lasagne. We’ve swapped a traditional meaty filling for a tasty combination of chopped vegetables and mixed beans in a lip-smacking herby sauce.
As if you’re not already drooling, wait until you hear it’s all topped off with a low-fat cheese sauce, melty mozzarella and a handful of tangy sliced jalapeños.
M&S Plant Kitchen More Than Mince is available from Ocado and M&S, priced at £3.75 per pack.
Deli Kitchen Garlic Tear And Share Flatbread – 185 calories per 1/4 flatbread
Great for dipping, this Deli Kitchen Garlic Tear And Share Flatbread transforms any Italian-style meal into a fancier spread. While some tear-and-share breads are stuffed with cheese, this one’s totally vegan-friendly and covered with garlic and parsley.
As crispy-golden centrepieces go, we can guarantee it won’t last long once you’ve put it out to share (it’s also good to know that Deli Kitchen donates 10p to humanitarian causes in Ukraine for every product sold).
To make our very own Tear and Share Cheesy Garlic Dough Balls slimming friendly, we’ve made our garlic ‘butter’ with reduced-fat spread, and stuffed each ball with reduced-fat mozzarella cheese.
It’s all the tearable, shareable fun you’d expect for just 74 calories per portion!
Deli Kitchen Garlic Tear And Share Flatbread is available from Morrisons, priced at £2.20.
Supergood! Bakery Plant-Based Egg Replacer – 14 calories per 100ml
We know lots of you are trying to eat vegan, and it’s something we like to try in our household where we can, so we thought we’d give a carton of Supergood! Bakery Plant-Based Egg Replacer a whirl.
A ready-to-pour aquafaba mixture made from water and chickpea extract, it acts as egg whites when you’re baking treats like pancakes, meringues or mousse, without piling on the calories.
Now that we’ve mentioned the word ‘pancake’, we’re gonna be dreaming about our Banana and Chocolate Pancakes recipe for the rest of the day. This stackable breakfast piles in the flavour with layers of chocolate spread, banana slices and a reduced-sugar chocolate drizzle.
Supergood! Bakery Plant-Based Egg Replacer is available from Morrisons, priced at £1.85 per pack.
Ashfields Piri Piri Chicken Breast Fillets – 172 calories per chicken breast
Aldi have done most of the hard work for you with these Ashfields Piri Piri Chicken Breast Fillets. They come ready-glazed in a punchy Piri Piri marinade, so all that’s left to do is pop them in the oven until it’s time to add the sachet of mango and lime sauce.
There’s nothing to stop you pairing them with our Nando’s Spicy Rice for a full on fakeaway-inspired spread. Ready in half an hour, we’ve packed this restaurant recreation with lots of colourful veg to make it even more filling.
Once you’ve tried it, you’ll never want to go back to plain boiled rice. Our top tip is to make some room in your freezer – it’s always a good idea to keep extra portions!
Ashfields Piri Piri Chicken Breast Fillets are available from Aldi, priced at £2.99 per pack.
Young’s Limited Edition Gastro Chilli, Lime & Ginger Breaded Fish Fillets – 262 calories per oven-baked fillet
We love it when we find something a little bit different to pop in the freezer. These Young’s Limited Edition Gastro Chilli, Lime and Ginger Breaded Fish Fillets are ready-coated in a fiery layer of golden breadcrumbs, and make serving a Thai-style fakeaway so quick and easy.
You can make them in the oven, but we think they’re best served fresh from your air fryer basket (that could also be because we’ve got air-frying on the brain).
If it swims, it slims, and our aromatic Chilli and Lime Baked Salmon is no exception. Ready in 15 minutes for only 334 calories, this flaky fish dish is fantastic for any midweek menu.
To make it even more zingy, why not add a dollop of our Pineapple Salsa to your plate too?
Young’s Limited Edition Gastro Chilli, Lime & Ginger Breaded Fish Fillets are available from Iceland, priced at £2.25 on a half-price deal.
M&S Extremely Caramely Hot Cross Buns – 172 calories per bun
One a penny, two a penny! We had to try these M&S Extremely Caramely Hot Cross Buns. An indulgent break from traditional iced buns filled with raisins, currants or dried fruits, you’ll bite into salted caramel fudge pieces instead.
Toast them and pair them with a cuppa for a lovely little Easter-themed tea break.
There are lots of tempting treats around at this time of year but one thing’s for sure: our Chocolate Creme Egg Cakes are utterly scrumptious for a fraction of the calories you’d expect.
We’ve used icing and a few drops of yellow food colouring to give each egg its impressive little ‘creme’ centre.
M&S Extremely Caramely Hot Cross Buns are available from Iceland, priced at £1.84 for a pack of 4.
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:
- Conference pears – 64 calories per 100g
- Closed cup mushrooms – 17 calories per 100g
- Red seedless grapes – 69 calories per 100g
- Easy peelers – 35 calories per 100g
- Limes – 30 calories per 100g
- Mini apples – 53 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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