Your Slimming Essentials – The Weekly Pinch of Shopping 28.01
It’s a whole new week which means we’ve got a whole new Weekly Pinch of Shopping for you! We’ve got some easy, slimming friendly meal ideas that’ll see you through to the January finish line. Anyone fancy a creamy, veggie-filled chicken dinner?
We’ve also got some gooey 58 calorie halloumi sticks you NEED to try – they’re a light, spice-dipped nibble.
Have you got a sweet tooth? We’ve found a Butterscotch Angel Delight ice cream that’ll take you right back to school dinner puddings. Trust us, you’ll want it ALL!
Pssst…did you know that our NEW cookbook Pinch of Nom Comfort Food is out NOW! If you haven’t got your hands on a copy yet, it’s FULL of hearty, wholesome, home cooked dishes including Sweet Potato Chilli, Stuffed Pasta Bolognese and Millionaire’s Shortbread. Do we need to say any more?! Get your copy here.
We’ve also dropped in the details of the brand new Super 6. Every fortnight Aldi discounts a selection of fresh fruit and vegetables, so we’re giving you the rundown of this week’s selection.
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.
Make sure that you make a note of your favourite products so that you can pick them up with your weekly shopping. Our new Quick & Easy food planner is perfect for this as it will really help you to plan out your meals and keep track of exactly what you’re eating or need to buy.
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.
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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!**
Ribena Pineapple & Passion Fruit Squash – 5 calories per 250ml
This refreshing Pineapple and Passion Fruit Squash from Ribena will give your day a fruity boost. For only 5 calories per glass (diluted with water), you can wash down your lunch or dinner with oh-so-sweet passion fruit flavour.
Fancy some taste bud popping midday flavour? Pineapple zest doesn’t just have to be for summertime. Our Pork Carnitas with Pineapple and Mango Salsa recipe brings vibrance to your lunch box at any time of year.
Each carnita is only 346 calories, so there’s room to make them heartier with a portion of fluffy rice or potatoes – just be sure to work out the extra calories if you’re counting!
Ribena Pineapple & Passion Fruit Squash is available at Ocado, priced at £2.49 for an 850ml bottle.
Bio & Me Strawberry Gut Loving Prebiotic Yoghurt – 131 calories per serving
Good for your gut and super tasty too, this Bio & Me Strawberry Gut loving Prebiotic Yoghurt will be a great addition to your fridge. Packed full of gut-loving vitamins and high in protein, it’s a surprisingly filling yog that’ll keep you going all day.
With a pot in the fridge, you’re only a spoonful away from combining it with your granola in the morning, or try it with a few pieces of fruit as a light pudding.
If strawberries are the key to your heart, our Strawberry and Vanilla Waffles are a breakfast you’ll love. Bake them in the oven for 15–20 minutes until they’re crisp on the outside and fluffy inside. We think an added dollop of Bio & Me strawberry yoghurt would go down a treat on the side!
Bio & Me Strawberry Gut Loving Prebiotic Yoghurt is available from Sainsbury’s, priced at 1.80 for a 350g pot.
Ape Chocolate Coconut Bites – 159 calories per pack
These Ape Chocolate Coconut Bites are a handy grab-and-go sweet treat. For only 159 calories per pack, you can snack on these chocolate-covered bites all day long. They’re also entirely plant-based and high in fibre, so the all-natural, coconutty flavours will leave you feeling full too.
Can’t get enough coconut flavours? Our Vegetable Coconut Curry is a surprisingly light recipe, at only 121 calories per serving. It’s a mildly spicy dish that’s packed with veggies, so the flavours will keep the whole family happy on Fakeaway night.
To get our curry nice and creamy, we’ve used low fat cheese and coconut milk alternatives – you’d never taste the difference!
Ape Chocolate Coconut Bites are available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £1.00 per bag.
M&S BBQ Ranch Salad Kit – 106 calories per serving
This mild and buttery M&S BBQ Ranch Salad Kit comes washed and ready to eat – simply add the fresh, crunchy ingredients to a bowl and drizzle with the tangy ranch dressing. With lettuce, sweetcorn, carrots, crispy onions and BBQ sauce included in the mixed bag, there’s no shortage of flavour for your money.
Stretch the bag into 4 lunches with some added protein (roast chicken pieces would be so tasty!), or serve it as a side dish with a winning family favourite like our Air Fryer BBQ Chicken Nuggets recipe. By marinating your chicken chunks in advance, you’ll have so much more smoky flavour inside your crispy, breadcrumb-coated nugs. You can freeze them too, so you can have a few portions ready to go when you’re short on time. Nuggets, chips and salad for dinner tonight, anyone?
M&S BBQ Ranch Salad Kit is available from Ocado, priced at £2.50 per bag.
Morrisons Nourish Creamy Chicken & Green Vegetables – 359 calories per pack
Creamy recipes are always a winner, so we had to put this Nourish Creamy Chicken & Green Vegetables from Morrisons in our basket for you. With plenty of green veggies, broccoli and long grain rice, you can rely on this fibre-filled chicken dinner to fill you up on busier evenings. Simply pop it in the microwave and enjoy it in minutes!
We can’t talk about creamy chicken dinners without talking about our Creamy Garlic Chicken recipe. This recipe has been a winner since day one over in our Facebook group, and it’s not hard to understand why – it’s quick to make, rich in flavour and SO light on calories (only 260!).
The indulgent, creamy sauce works well with any side you can think of; whether you choose rice, chips or roasties to go with your side of veg, it’s guaranteed to be delicious!
If you’d like more ready meal inspired dinners without the calories, we’ve got plenty of inspiration for you here.
Morrisons Nourish Creamy Chicken & Green Vegetables is available at Morrisons, priced at £2.50 per pack.
Birds Eye 2 Seeded Crust Fish Fillets with Linseeds and Sunflower Seeds – 232 calories per fillet
How’s your new year’s resolution to eat a little more fish going? These Seeded Crust Fish Fillets with Linseeds and Sunflower Seeds from Birds Eye have an irresistibly crunchy coating you’ll LOVE! Oven bake these high protein, white fish fillets straight from the freezer until they’re golden on the outside and flaky in the middle.
If you fancy serving these fillets up with something a bit different from chips or roasties, why not try them with a side of home-cooked rice? Our Nando’s Spicy Rice recipe tastes just as good as the restaurant alternative, and you can store it by the batch load for when you fancy it! With fragrant spices and plenty of veg (including crunchy peppers!) thrown in, the medley of peri-peri flavour brings any midweek dinner to life.
Birds Eye 2 Seeded Crust Fish Fillets with Linseeds and Sunflower Seeds are available from ASDA, priced at £2.79 per pack.
Beyond Meat Plant-Based Meatballs – 249 calories per serving
These Beyond Meat Plant-Based Meatballs come premixed with Italian-inspired herbs, including basil, rosemary, oregano and garlic. Packed with flavour and pea protein, they’re a super convenient option you can oven cook or shallow fry to create tasty, meatball-based dishes at home – without the meat! Whether you’re vegan or not, they’re a convenient, low calorie ingredient you can rely on to make a meal.
Our Vegan Spaghetti and Meatballs recipe is a tribute to one of our favourite family dinners, without an ounce of meat in sight.
Using a nifty, slimming friendly mixture of oats, beans and veggies, we create our own home-rolled balls to go with our rich pasta sauce. The flavours are so worth getting your hands dirty!
Beyond Meat Plant-Based Meatballs are available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £3.00 per pack.
Chiquito® Halloumi Sticks and Jalapeño Dip – 56 calories per stick (oven baked)
We’re already obsessed with these Chiquito Halloumi Sticks from Iceland. As if the gooey, melty halloumi middles aren’t enough, these crispy-coated sticks were made for dipping in the sweet chilli and jalapeńo chutney that’s included. It would be rude not to!
Who doesn’t love Mexican-inspired flavours? Our Beef and Bean Burrito Bake is a twist on the best of burrito flavours: filled with spiced meat and veg in a spicy tomato and garlic sauce. Oh, and don’t forget the cheesy topping!
Why not whip this up as a special spread for the whole family, with halloumi sticks on the side – for an additional 56 calories per stick? (Worth it!)
Chiquito Halloumi Sticks and Jalapeño Dip are available from Iceland, priced at £4.00 per pack.
Mr Kipling 5 Lemon & Raspberry Mini Batts – 131 calories per cake
Someone put the kettle on! It’s officially the time of year where Easter-inspired treats start hitting the shop shelves. These Lemon & Raspberry Mini Batts from Mr Kipling combine a lemon-flavoured pink and yellow sponge with a fruity raspberry paste. At only 131 calories, these mini battenberg cakes will sweeten your day without taking you off track.
We love a good lemon sponge, and our Lemon Drizzle Cake recipe has the perfect balance of zesty flavour. Each light, airy slice comes in at 73 calories per slice, so it’s well worth parking up in front of the telly with a plateful and a cuppa.
Mr Kipling 5 Lemon & Raspberry Mini Batts are available from Iceland, priced at £1.00 for a pack of 5.
Angel Delight Soft Serve Ice Cream Butterscotch Flavour – 189 calories per portion
Nostalgia alert! Who fancies a scoop of Butterscotch Flavour Angel Delight Ice Cream? For only 189 calories per serving, the flavours in this soft serve tub from Iceland will take you right back! There’s even a strawberry version available too. With all the fluffy and light texture of classic Angel Delight, the kids won’t be the only ones obsessed with this new freezer favourite.
If you’ve not had enough of old school nostalgia, why not try out our Butterscotch Tarts recipe? Inspired by school dinner desserts, we’ve thrown a twist in by using tortilla wraps instead of pastry for the base – so even novice bakers can get involved!
Angel Delight Soft Serve Ice Cream Butterscotch Flavour is available from Iceland, priced at £3.00 per tub.
NEW Aldi Super 6 Fruit and Veg Selection
We love Aldi’s Super 6 selection of fresh fruit and veggies. Each fortnight they choose six different items for a special offer where you can pick them up for much less than the normal price.
Here’s our rundown of this fortnight’s selection, plus a little inspiration for how you could use each ingredient:
Baby plum tomatoes – 18 calories per 100g
Sweet and oh-so-juicy, baby plum tomatoes are always good to have on hand. Chop them and use them to give your dishes a refreshing lift.
They work so well in our Indian Fried Rice recipe because they add a sweet bite amongst the spice. By using ready cooked rice, you can prep and serve this recipe in less than 20 minutes (so much quicker than ordering a takeaway version).
Sugar snap peas – 34 calories per 100g
Sugar snap peas are a quick, easy source of vitamins and fibre you can munch on after just a few minutes in the pan. Enjoy them raw as a crunchy, light snack, use them to bulk out a salad or throw them into a stir-fry – they’re so versatile.
Why not use them to cook up our Honey Soy Salmon with Seaweed Salad recipe and give your day a zingy boost? The sugar snap peas add an irresistible crunch!
Brown onions – 40 calories per 100g
Even if they make us cry, onions are a low calorie way to add a boost of flavour to countless dishes. Whether you prefer them raw in a salad, fried in a curry or baked in a pie, they’re full of health benefits (and flavour).
Brown onions are a key ingredient in our warming Cheese Onion and Potato Pie recipe. Bake it in the oven until the cheesy top is golden and firm – delish!
Kiwis – 61 calories per 100g
Full of sweet, tangy flavour, kiwis are a juicy pick-me-up fruit you can enjoy at any time of day. Good for digestion and full of immune-boosting vitamins, they’re well worth having in the fridge – whether you’re a skin eater or a flesh scooper!
Why not swap out berries for kiwi on the side of your next stack of Oat Pancakes? Trust us, it really works…
Pak choi – 13 calories per 100g
Pak choi is a low calorie cabbage with a spinach-like flavour to it. You can add this leafy green, vitamin C-filled veggie to a broth, grill it, roast it or steam it.
We like to enjoy it in a fiery, saucy dish like our Chinese-inspired Sticky Chilli Chicken with Noodles recipe. With vibrant, colourful veggies and tender spiced chicken, it’s perfect to cook up for a special occasion (or even CNY!).
Little gem lettuce – 16 calories per 100g
Crisp and fresh, little gem lettuce is a versatile, leafy ingredient. Slice it, grill it, pan-fry it or use it to scoop up other tasty ingredients –it holds its shape really well, so it works as a ‘cup’ or even as a ‘spoon’!.
Drizzled in sauce and layered with salad, transform little gem lettuce into a feast with our Katsu Curry Burgers recipe. You’ll be obsessed with our homemade katsu sauce.
**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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