Your Slimming Essentials – The Weekly Pinch of Shopping 25.09
We’re taking things up a notch in this week’s Weekly Pinch of Shopping with an extra spicy hot sauce made from the world’s hottest chilli pepper – yum!
Autumn’s just around the corner so we’ve also found some seasonal treats, as well as some low calorie alternatives to some higher calories drinks.
We’ve also found a vegan alternative to chicken that tastes just like the real thing and a low calorie, gluten free swap for spaghetti.
Lots of these products have been talked about over on our Facebook Group, so if you’re not a member then make sure that you click here to join now so that you don’t miss out (and don’t forget to share any delicious new products that you come across).
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!**
Müller Light Crunch Toffee Flavour Yoghurt & Biscuit Crumble – 98 calories per pot
Cheesecake is one of our favourite desserts and we’re always on the lookout for ways to enjoy it on our slimming journey.
These Müller Light Crunch Toffee Flavour Yoghurts & Biscuit Crumbles mean that you can enjoy all of the flavours of a toffee cheesecake, but without the additional calories!
Just 98 calories per pot, low fat, and a source of protein, these yoghurts are great for enjoying at lunchtime or as a mid-afternoon snack.
If you love cheesecake as much as we do then don’t forget about our Cheesecake Stuffed Strawberries or our Raspberry and Blueberry Baked Cheesecake!
We’ve seen these Müller Light Crunch Toffee Flavour Yoghurts & Biscuit Crumbles in Asda, Iceland and Morrisons at around £2 for a pack of 6.
Tropicana Lean Citrus Fruit Juice – 40 calories per serving
No breakfast is complete without a tasty glass of refreshing fruit juice, but traditional juices are often quite high in sugars and calories.
Tropicana’s new Lean Citrus Fruit Juice has, on average, 40% less sugar and calories than other fruit juices which means it’s only 40 calories per serving.
A delicious blend of orange, clementine, peach and lemon, this Tropicana Lean Citrus Fruit Juice is guaranteed to get your day off to a great start.
The best part is that this juice is so full of flavour that you’d never guess it was so low on calories which makes it a real slimming essential in our opinion!
If citrus fruits aren’t your thing, or you just fancy a bit of a change then this lean fruit juice is also available in Mixed Berries – a blend of apple, strawberry, raspberry and grape.
You can grab both flavours from Asda or Tesco for around £2.75 a bottle.
Fuel Banana and Chocolate Oat Muffin – 218 calories per muffin
We LOVE a mug cake because there’s something so satisfying about popping some simple ingredients into the microwave and ending up with a delicious dessert ready in seconds!
Our Chocolate Lava Mug Cake is the perfect example, but if you need something even quicker then we’ve got you covered.
High in fibre and packed full of protein, these Fuel10K Banana and Oat Muffins will keep you full right through until lunchtime! They’re ready-mixed in a pot, so you just need to add water and pop in the microwave for only 45 seconds for a hot, warming muffin.
Available in banana and oat and double chocolate flavour, these pots are so handy to have in the cupboard for a speedy breakfast that sets you up for the day.
A similar muffin picked up at a coffee shop on the go could set you back more than 450 calories, so these are a cracking choice for your basket of slimming essentials!
We’ve spotted these Fuel10K Banana and Oat Muffins at most supermarkets for around 85p a pot.
Off The Eaten Path Caramelised Onion & Vinegar Rice & Pea Chips – 124 calories per ¼ bag
Crisps are an obvious choice when you’re looking for a savoury snack, but many of them are fried in sunflower oil and don’t usually have much in terms of additional nutritional value!
Off The Eaten Path Caramelised Onion & Vinegar Rice & Pea Chips are a surprisingly tasty alternative to potato crisps that are made with wholesome ingredients and are packed full of filling fibre.
Made with a mix of pinto beans, green pea, and white bean potato sticks, these savoury snacks contain 30% less fat than traditional crisps, and they’re free from artificial colours and preservatives too.
We also love that the packaging is made from fully recyclable cardboard, and we can definitely get behind using less plastic packaging!
A share bag of these vegetarian-friendly snacks is ideal for movie nights or popping in a bowl as part of an upgraded buffet dinner.
You can pick up a 100g share bag of Off The Eaten Path Caramelised Onion & Vinegar Rice & Pea Chips for around £2.25 at most supermarkets.
Tesco Swoodles – 10 calories per portion
We love when people share new slimming essentials they’ve found over on our Facebook Group!
Tracy Trace spotted these Tesco Swoodles and they’re the perfect low carb, low calorie alternative to pasta.
It may look like spaghetti, but these Tesco Swoodles are actually made from swede which means that they’re also a great choice for anyone following a gluten free diet.
We love to use them in our Chicken Milanese with Spaghetti Pomodoro or our Spaghetti Bolognese, but you can use them in any pasta dish you like.
Each portion counts as one of your 5 a day and has just 10 calories – now that sounds like a slimming essential to us!
You can find these Tesco Swoodles in Tesco at 75p for a 250g bag (that’s three portions worth).
This Isn’t Chicken Plant-Based Sea Salt & Black Pepper Pieces – 152 calories per ½ pack
Whether you want to try and eat less meat or you’re following a vegan diet, finding meat substitutes that don’t taste awful can sometimes feel like an impossible task.
This Isn’t Chicken Plant-Based Sea Salt & Black Pepper Pieces are different. Described as being ‘plant-based food for meat lovers’, these pieces replicate not only the appearance of chicken, but the texture and taste too.
In fact, we’d go so far as to say that if you didn’t know what you were eating, you’d never guess that these pieces were vegan!
This Isn’t Chicken Plant-Based Sea Salt & Black Pepper Pieces are high in protein, low in salt and fat, and are a great source of vitamins and iron.
They’re also super versatile and can be used as a chicken substitute in everything from salads and sandwiches, to stir frys and pasta.
Why not try it instead of chicken in our Mushy Pea Curry or our Chicken Chow Mein?
You can find This Isn’t Chicken Plant-Based Sea Salt & Black Pepper Pieces in most supermarkets for around £3.50.
Voortman Bakery Sugar Free! Fudge Brownie Chocolate Chip Cookies – 92 calories per biscuit
What’s better than a sugar free chocolate chip cookie? A chocolate chip cookie combined with a fudge brownie, of course!
Voortman Bakery Sugar Free! Fudge Brownie Chocolate Chip Cookies have all the sweetness and crunch of a biscuit, with the added bonus of a fudgy flavour on top!
These biscuits contain no added sugar and are free from artificial colours or flavourings too, which means they’re a winner in our book.
If fudge brownie isn’t your thing, Voortman Bakery has a whole range of sugar free treats including chocolate wafers, vanilla wafers and choc chip cookies, so you can enjoy a range of sugar free snacks in whatever flavour you fancy.
Ideal for dunking in a cuppa or enjoying alongside a Pumpkin Spice Latte, these chocolatey treats will satisfy your biscuit cravings without splurging on calories!
Voortman Bakery Sugar Free! Fudge Brownie Chocolate Chip Cookies are available at Asda for around £1.99 a pack
Kopparberg Hard Seltzer Black Cherry – 93 calories per can
Who’d have thought Kopparberg would have featured on a list of slimming essentials?!
It’s no secret that alcohol can contain ’empty calories’, especially when you consider how quickly pints of lager or cider can add up!
It’s often one of the first areas to look at when you’re starting a slimming plan or calorie counting diet, but luckily we’ve seen an explosion in tasty, alcoholic seltzers recently!
Now, you can enjoy a Kopparberg Hard Seltzer Black Cherry for only 93 calories per can!
Vegan, gluten free and containing only natural flavours, these are the perfect choice for a boozy picnic or a cosy Saturday night in front of the TV.
You can pick up Kopparberg Hard Seltzer Black Cherry at Tesco where they’re currently on a 4 for the price of 3 offer, or £2.20 per can.
Cadburys Fire Logs – 125 calories per log
With a light orange sponge and a sweet honeycomb flavour filling, these Cadbury Mini Bonfire Logs are the perfect bite-sized treat!
As we move into autumn, you may find yourself reaching for something comforting and chocolatey as a mid-afternoon pick me up, and these definitely hit the spot!
If you like the normal Cadbury Mini Rolls, these are a deliciously different twist that are well worth a try, and suitable for vegetarians too.
These slimming essentials are around half the calories of a full size chocolate bar but will still satisfy your cravings.
They’re individually wrapped, so they’re ideal for a packed lunch or to pop in your bag for a snack on the go.
If you’d prefer to make a bigger dessert for after dinner, our Tiramisu Swiss Roll is ideal for larger families and looks fab on the dinner table, too!
You can find Cadbury Mini Bonfire Logs at Sainsbury’s for £1 for a pack of five.
Bull’s-Eye Carolina Reaper Extra Hot Sauce – 11 calories per tbsp
Everyone knows that we love our food with a nice, spicy kick and so we’re always on the lookout for delicious hot sauces to try.
This Bull’s-Eye Carolina Reaper Extra Hot Sauce may just be the hottest sauce we’ve tried yet and it’s definitely not for the faint hearted!
It’s made with the Carolina Reaper chilli pepper which is the world’s hottest chilli at 2.2m Scoville units.
The red or green chilli peppers that you can buy in the supermarket are around 20,000 Scoville units, while a Jalapeño is just 8,000 Scoville units – so if you’re not a big spice fan then beware!
This Bull’s-Eye Carolina Reaper Extra Hot Sauce combines the extra hot chilli with earthy black garlic, to create a sauce that’s full of flavour and doesn’t have that vingery taste that you can sometimes find in hot sauces.
You can either enjoy this sauce as a condiment on recipes like our Turkey Burgers or you could also use it in place of hot sauce in your cooking to bring an extra level of heat to dishes like our Buffalo Coleslaw.
We’ve seen this Bull’s-Eye Carolina Reaper Extra Hot Sauce in Morrisons or Tesco at around £2.
**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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