Your Slimming Essentials – The Weekly Pinch of Shopping 25.08.23
Woop! Just in time for your long weekend…a cracking, all-new edition of the Weekly Pinch of Shopping is here! We’ve got a couple of surprises on this week’s list, including Propercorn’s collaboration with KFC. You might have tried Popcorn Chicken, but have you ever tried chicken-flavoured popcorn? Keep scrolling to give it a try…
You might not be setting an alarm over the bank holiday, but Quaker Oat So Simple Caramelised Biscuit Porridge Sachets are the perfect excuse to jump right out of bed! They’re luxuriously creamy and satisfying, with gorgeous Biscoff-style caramelised spices stirred through.
Plus, Ferrero Raffaelo fans will be obsessed with their brand spanking new chocolate bar. They’ve recreated familiar flavours with a crunchy, almond cream filling, covered in silky white chocolate. Fancy a piece?
Our new cookbook Pinch of Nom: Budget is out now! We’re absolutely loving seeing everybody’s photos and posts. Don’t forget to tag us when you’re sharing them, we don’t want to miss a single one!
From Meatball Mash Bake to Veggie Quesadillas, there is something for everyone in our first-ever paperback cookbook (if you’ve not got yours yet, you can order here!).
You’ll get 50 brand-new recipes and 25 fan-favourites dishes that cut down on costs, without compromising on the Nom flavours you know and love.
Split into two chapters, dinners and desserts, ‘Budget’ is all about turning affordable ingredients and store cupboard staples into food that the whole family will love.
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. 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!**
Biocol Cholesterol Reducing Skimmed Milk – 92 calories per 250ml
Biocol’s Cholesterol Reducing Skimmed Milk comes with a higher percentage of plant sterols in every sip, an ingredient that’s scientifically proven to lower blood cholesterol. There’s 0.54g of plant sterol in one 250ml serving of Biocol’s skimmed milk, which should be plenty to start your day right (more than 3g per day is not recommended).
Low in fat, high in protein and every bit as silky as typical milk, it’ll seamlessly blend into your breakfast-time cuppa and porridge routine.
Milk is one of those ingredients that’s useful for a number of dishes, including our light and airy Mini Yorkshire Puddings. Don’t be fooled by their tiny shape – these 18-calorie puds steal the show on any roast dinner plate!
Follow our top tips on how to rustle up the ultimate slimming-friendly roast dinner here.
Biocol Cholesterol Reducing Skimmed Milk is available from Morrisons, priced at £1.69 per 1-litre carton.
Taste Shack Punchy Peas – 134 calories per 1/2 pack
There’s nothing boring about Tesco’s Taste Shack Punchy Peas. They come coated in a parsley, mint and chilli-infused dressing that’s too good to say no to, especially at just 134 calories per serving (half of a pack).
Even better, they’ll be ready to serve after just 2 minutes in the microwave. Talk about spea-dy!
If you’re looking for a slimming-friendly dinner that’ll go down a treat with punchy peas, look no further than our Cajun Spiced Stuffed Chicken.
With a melty, cheesy, Louisiana-inspired middle, you won’t believe each breast comes in at just 232 calories each. Plate it up with a fluffy serving of basmati rice for a new-favourite midweek dinner.
Taste Shack Punchy Peas are available from Tesco, priced at £2.25 per pack.
Quorn Mini Sausage Rolls – 123 calories per 4 sausage rolls
Sausage rolls aren’t typically slimming friendly, and that’s exactly why we couldn’t ignore Quorn’s Mini Sausage Rolls. At 123 calories for 4, you can enjoy a warm, freshly-baked handful (and take them for a dip in your favourite sauce), without going too far off track.
With an oniony mycoprotein ‘sausage’ filling, wrapped in a moreish layer of puff pastry, there’s no harm in sampling them on your snacktime rota – vegetarian or not!
To make our own Vegan Sausage Rolls just as yummy as bakery-bought versions, for a fraction of the calories, we’ve swapped out full-fat puff pastry for a crispy low-calorie tortilla wrap.
The perfect picnic bite, they’re always scrummy whether you serve them hot or cold. If you need them hot, make sure you reheat them in the oven (NOT the microwave) – no one has time for soggy rolls!
Quorn Mini Sausage Rolls are available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £2.50 per pack (or £2.00 with a Nectar card).
Specially Selected Korean Style BBQ Beef With Brown Rice – 226 calories per pack
It’s lunchtime and you want something quick and easy to tuck into. That’s your cue to nip to Aldi for their Specially Selected Korean Style BBQ Beef With Brown Rice.
This mildly-spiced pot combines shredded beef, filling brown rice and a medley of crispy vegetables, including a garnish of crunchy spring onions. While you can eat this one cold, we’d say the zingy Korean-style dressing tastes even better warmed from the microwave.
When you’ve had your fill of chicken for lunch, try slow-cooked beef instead with our Spicy Braised Beef Salad. Marinated for 1 hour and simmered to fall-off-the-fork perfection for around 3 hours, nothing brings our beef’s fragrant flavours to life like a handful of fresh, aromatic salad leaves.
It’s ready to serve when your sauce is thick, rich with spices and you can’t bear to wait any longer…
Specially Selected Korean Style BBQ Beef With Brown Rice is available from Aldi, priced at £2.69 per pack.
The Gym Kitchen Sweet & Sour Lentil & Beans – 312 calories per pack (microwaved)
If you’re looking to eat less meat or following a vegetarian diet completely, give The Gym Kitchen’s Sweet and Sour Lentil and Beans a whirl. High in fibre and protein, each powerful pouch of lentils, chickpeas and beans comes ready-mixed with a sweet and sour sauce, so you can serve up an extra filling fakeaway-style meal.
Just imagine how tasty it would be if it were scooped into a jacket potato…
Speaking of lentils, it’d be rude not to mention our Sausages with Creamy Lentils recipe. Rain or shine, it’ll always deliver just the right amount of comfort, with peppery lentils, juicy sausages and sweet hints of syrupy cooked apple.
If you’re feeling extra hungry, add a dollop of pickled beetroot to your plate and wipe any leftover juices clean with a crusty wholemeal bread roll.
The Gym Kitchen Sweet and Sour Lentil and Beans are available from Asda, priced at £2.00 per pack.
Happiee! Vegan Lamb Shawarma – 167 calories per 100g serving
For meat-free Mondays, Happiee! Vegan Lamb Shawarma is a must-try. To recreate the slow-roasted tenderness of traditional marinated shawarma meat, Happiee!’s recipe uses soy, potato and wheat proteins, thickened in a low-fat blend of herbs and spices.
For a heartier Middle Eastern style feast, try scooping your shawarma onto a warm flatbread with hummus – our Hummus-Style Dip would work a treat!
Why not take your spread to the next level with a side of Za’atar Fries? It’s surprisingly easy to prepare the spice mix for this recipe, using fresh oregano, thyme and zesty sumac.
If you make more spice mix than you need, it’ll keep for at least a year in the fridge in an airtight container. Use it to add new depths of flavour to roasted vegetables in a flash!
Happiee! Vegan Lamb Shawarma is available from Ocado, priced at £2.62 per pack.
Tilda Cajun Jambalaya Rice – 157 calories per 1/2 sachet
Bring fun to your plate in minutes with Tilda Cajun Jambalaya Rice. Inspired by the staple dish from Louisiana (just like our very own Jambalaya recipe), you’ll find a crossover of French, Spanish, African and Caribbean influence in every bite.
That leaves the flavours in each rice pouch bold and exciting enough to complement all kinds of mains, including chorizo, chicken, halloumi and fish.
For a quick and easy midweek dinner, try mildly-spiced long grain rice with our Jerk-Seasoned Chicken. To make each juicy chicken thigh taste like Caribbean sunshine on a plate, you’ll marinate them with a garlicky, honey-sweetened glaze of jerk seasoning and soy sauce.
Too delicious to eat once, there’s nothing to stop you batch-cooking extras for the freezer – ready to brighten up duller days!
Tilda Cajun Jambalaya Rice is available from Asda, priced at £1.25 per pack.
Quaker Oat So Simple Caramelised Biscuit Porridge – 210 calories per sachet (with 180ml of semi-skimmed milk)
A velvety balance of Biscoff-style deep spices and caramel sweetness, we’d say Quaker Oat So Simple Caramelised Biscuit Porridge is just right. It’s 210 calories per sachet (including 180ml of semi-skimmed milk), or you can make your bowl even lighter by stirring your oats with boiling water instead.
We can’t say no to any dish that tastes like Biscoff, which is why we’ve got a whole roundup of Things to Make with Biscoff that you can have a scroll through.
If you’ve not got almonds to hand, a crumbled Biscoff biscuit would add an extra-indulgent crunch to our homely Apple Pie Porridge recipe (just be sure to count the extra calories, if you’re keeping track).
We like to keep the skin on our golden pan-fried apple wedges; it leaves them all the more nutritious and with a crispy-sweet edge.
Quaker Oat So Simple Caramelised Biscuit Porridge are available from Tesco, priced at £3.50 for a box of 10 sachets or £1.30 for a grab-and-go porridge pot.
Ferrero Raffaello White Chocolate with Coconut-Almond Filling – 108 calories per 18g serving
This one’s for Ferrero fans! If the deliciousness of Ferrerro Raffaello pralines is anything to go by, you know you’re in for a treat with Ferrero Raffaello White Chocolate with Coconut-Almond Filling.
To recreate familiar flavours from Ferrero’s bite-sized, wafer-coated snacks, each smooth white chocolate square has a centre of cream, crunchy almond pieces and crispy coconut flakes. Need we say more?
Cream with nutty flavours is a match made in heaven, especially if we’re talking about Piña Colada Ice Cream. Using fresh pineapple, low-fat Greek yoghurt and coconut rum, we’ve taken your go-to cocktail order and transformed it into a fun, fruity (grown-ups only!) dessert.
Be sure to stir in low-fat yoghurt rather than a fat-free version – it’ll keep every scoop delightful thick and creamy, for only 140 calories per bowl.
Ferrero Raffaello White Chocolate with Coconut-Almond Filling is available from Tesco, priced at £2.20 per 90g bar.
Proper x KFC Popcorn Chicken – 90 calories per 20g serving
We couldn’t quite believe our eyes when we spotted Proper x KFC Popcorn Chicken in Sainsbury’s. An unexpected collaboration, these grab-and-go bags are limited edition, so you’ll want to hurry to the shops if you fancy giving them a try.
While there’s no doubt the herby, chicken-seasoned kernels are finger lickin’ worthy, you can be the judge of whether it’s ‘good’ (let us know your review in the Facebook group!).
Now it’s on our mind, there’s no getting away from making Popcorn Chicken tonight. A long-time favourite in our house, some of you might recognise the recipe from pages 56-57 of our second cookbook, Pinch of Nom: Everyday Light.
We’ve added a kick of spice, but there’s nothing to stop you making things milder, if you’re not a fan. You can also mellow out the crispy coating with a dollop of homemade Ketchup (our brand-new recipe is only 8 calories per tablespoon)!
Proper x KFC Popcorn Chicken is available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £1.90 per 70g bag.
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:
- Sweetcorn – 86 calories per 100g
- Salad Potatoes – 75 calories per 100g
- Regal Vine Tomatoes – 18 calories per 100g
- Pink Lady Apples – 52 calories per 100g
- Garlic – 5 calories per clove
- Blueberries – 57 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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