Your Slimming Essentials – The Weekly Pinch of Shopping 30.12
Can you believe it’s time for the final Weekly Pinch of Shopping of 2022? Whether you’re planning on celebrating the New Year with a table full of perfect party food, or you’re all about stocking up the fridge for 2023, we’ve spotted some new bits to pop in your basket.
Along with a chocolatey showstopper of a dessert, we’ve got your New Year’s Eve finger food sorted. You won’t want to miss the seriously cheesy Brie and Cranberry Bites we’ve spotted at Sainsbury’s!
Plus, we’ve added some lighter bites to the list for anyone who’s already thinking about getting back on track in the New Year. The Smoky Butternut & Bean Casserole we’ve found is going to be so handy for lunch on a busy day.
Our Family Meal Planner has everything you need to kickstart your slimming journey in January. It’s our most family-friendly food planner yet – plan meals and organise what you need to buy with our game-changing freezer tracker! You can order your copy here.
And don’t forget our NEW cookbook, Pinch of Nom: Enjoy, is out NOW! Enjoy is all about turning mealtimes into memories, and it’s brimming with 100 brand-new recipes that you’ll be excited to make, share and eat with family and friends, time and time again.
From fakeaway favourites to midweek wonders, every dish comes big on flavour without taking you off track. Put the food you love back on the menu by ordering your copy here.
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!**
Tesco Plant Chef Mini Bangers & Burgers – 68 calories per mini burger
These Plant Chef Mini Bangers and Burgers from Tesco are going to go down a treat at your New Year’s Eve party. The vegan-friendly bites come in a pack of 8, which includes 4 bread rolls filled with meat-free burgers, and 4 with pea protein sausages.
These tasty treats only need a minute or two in the microwave to heat them up right before serving. Pop them on a platter and set them out on the buffet table – we bet they’ll be all gone long before midnight!
If you need more finger food for your celebration, you can’t go wrong with a classic sausage roll. While these Vegan Sausage Rolls are completely meat-free, you could also make a batch of our original Sausage Rolls for any non-veggie guests to tuck into. Both versions are perfect for dipping, so you’ll want the ketchup and mustard close at hand!
Tesco Plant Chef Mini Bangers & Burgers are available from Tesco, priced at £6.00 for a pack of 8.
Tesco S’mores Ice Cream Cones – 200 calories per cone
Based on the snack of toasted marshmallows, chocolate and wafer, you’ll want to make some space for these S’mores Ice Cream Cones in your freezer. At 200 calories per cone, they’re an ideal slimming-friendly dessert that doesn’t require any preparation!
Each wafer cone is loaded with chocolate and marshmallow-flavoured ice creams, before being topped with chocolate sauce and crunchy biscuit pieces. Trust us, you’ll be glad to have these stashed in the freezer drawer the next time you need an emergency pudding!
If ice cream is one of your favourite sweet treats, you won’t want to miss our Sweet Tacos recipe. We’ve packed homemade chocolate and banana ice cream into baked taco shells, added slices of fresh strawberries and finished it off with melted chocolate and sprinkles. Imagine enjoying all that for just 253 calories!
Tesco S’mores Ice Cream Cones are available from Tesco, priced at £1.35 for a pack of 4.
Morrisons Nourish Strawberry Drink – 44 calories per drink
Filling your fridge with healthy snacks is an easy way to start 2023 off on the right foot, without making any big resolutions that feel overwhelming. These Morrisons Nourish Strawberry Drinks are ideal little grab-and-go treats that give you a taste of something sweet, while being low in calories and packed with cholesterol-lowering plant extracts.
The low-fat yoghurt drinks come in a couple of different flavours, so you can choose between sweet strawberry or juicy blueberry. We think they’re delicious to sip alongside your breakfast for an extra boost of goodness.
Why not try one after tucking into this easy Eggs Florentine? Topped with wilted spinach, a perfectly poached egg and our slimming-friendly cheese sauce, it’s a breakfast of champions!
Morrisons Nourish Strawberry Drink is available from Morrisons, priced at £1.95 for a pack of 6.
Morrisons Dessert Platter – 67 calories per mini brownie
If you’re hosting for New Year, this Morrisons Dessert Platter is the cheat’s way to put on a spread that’s guaranteed to impress your guests. With a whopping 43 bitesize treats in the pack, you’ll look like you’ve gone to far more effort than you really have!
The assortment includes a mixture of mini brownies, chocolate eclairs and iced cream slices, and they all come in at 67 calories or less. You’ll find these in the frozen section of the supermarket, so just remember to get them out the freezer and leave them to defrost for at least an hour before serving.
Our own little Chocolate Brownies are one of our favourite treats to hand out at a party; and they’re always a crowd-pleaser (if we do say so ourselves!). At 59 calories each, it’s almost impossible to not go back for a second square of fudgy chocolate deliciousness!
Morrisons Dessert Platter is available from Morrisons, priced at £4.99.
Tesco Smoky Butternut & Bean Casserole – 177 calories per 1/2 can
Whether you’re giving Veganuary a go, or simply stocking the cupboard with low-calorie lunch options, you might want to grab a couple of tins of this Smoky Butternut and Bean Casserole from Tesco.
The perfect warming meal for a chilly January afternoon, each can is filled with hearty vegetables in a rich, sweet and smoky tomato sauce. Just the ticket when you don’t have time to make something from scratch, this versatile casserole could be served with mashed potatoes, rice or even in a jacket spud for a super easy midweek meal.
This thrifty Slow Cooker Beef and Baked Bean Stew is just what you need in January. Bulked out with a humble tin of beans and whatever vegetables you have laying around, you can leave everything to bubble away in the slow cooker until the beef is melt-in-the-mouth tender.
Tesco Smoky Butternut & Bean Casserole is available from Tesco, priced at £1.60.
Heinz Sweet Chilli Sauce – 27 calories per serving
Ideal for dipping or drizzling, we’ve spotted this new Heinz Sweet Chilli Sauce this week – and it’s only 27 calories per serving! Sweet, spicy and sticky, it’s a handy condiment to have in the fridge, and useful for adding flavour to so many different dishes.
Pick up a bottle ahead of your New Year’s celebrations and pop it on the buffet table. From squeezing it onto burgers, to dunking in carrot sticks or tortilla chips, it’s sure to be a hit.
Psst…did you know it’s really easy (and quick!) to make your own Sweet Chilli Sauce at home? Our recipe takes just 10 minutes, and it’s seriously slimming-friendly at just 13 calories per serving. You need to try it drizzled over a salmon fillet…delicious!
Heinz Sweet Chilli Sauce is available from Morrisons, priced at £2.99 for a 400ml bottle.
Fever-Tree Pink Grapefruit Soda – 19 calories per 100ml
You can’t welcome in the New Year without a glass of fizz, but no one said it had to be boozy! This refreshingly fruity and fizzy Fever-Tree Pink Grapefruit Soda is new-in at Waitrose, and we think it’s the perfect beverage to say ‘cheers’ to 2023.
Light and bubbly, it works well as a mixer, so add in a shot of vodka or tequila if you fancy a zesty tipple. With no artificial flavours or sweeteners, and only 19 calories per 100ml, this is a lovely light option for your party.
Mixing up a New Year’s Eve cocktail? This Cranberry Fizz has just the right amount of festive flavour to get the party started! You can find even more ideas for easy cocktail recipes for New Year’s Eve right here.
Fever-Tree Pink Grapefruit Soda is available from Waitrose, priced at £2.00 for a 500ml bottle.
Morrisons Green Pesto Microwave Pasta – 303 calories per pack
Even when you’re meal planning and batch cooking, there are days when time isn’t on your side. Luckily, this Green Pesto Microwave Pasta from Morrisons can sit in the cupboard until you need a fuss-free lunch that’s ready in seconds.
Simply pop the pouch in the microwave for 90 seconds, grab a fork and tuck in! If you fancy stocking up on these handy meals, we noticed a Tomato, Garlic and Onion flavour and a Spicy Tomato and Pepper pasta too (and they’re all 303 calories or less!).
With its heavenly herby flavour, pesto is one of those ingredients that you can turn to time and time again. This Creamy Pesto Chicken is on the table in 45 minutes, and you’ll want it on your meal plan every week. Finished with crunchy green beans and tangy sundried tomatoes, you’ll wish you tried it sooner!
Morrisons Green Pesto Microwave Pasta is available from Morrisons, priced at £1.19.
Brie & Cranberry Bites – 59 calories per bite
There’s no such thing as too much cheese! Even if you’ve been grazing your way through a cheese board all Christmas, you’ll want these Brie and Cranberry Bites on your New Year’s buffet.
Each breadcrumb-coated bite is stuffed to the brim with brie, mozzarella and soft cheese, for maximum melty deliciousness when they come out of the oven. At 59 calories per bite, we bet you’ll be back to pop another one on your plate!
Add some crunch to the party snacks with these Cheese and Pickle Twists. Quick to make and just 41 calories each, they’re a dreamy flavour combination of sharp Cheddar and sweet pickle.
Brie & Cranberry Bites are available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £2.50 for a pack of 10.
Galaxy® Salted Caramel Mousse – 234 calories per serving
Nothing could top off the festive season quite like this Galaxy Salted Caramel Mousse that we’ve found at Iceland. A showstopper of a dessert, the chocolate brownie base is loaded with caramel and completely wrapped in a rich, silky mousse.
Indulgent and luxurious, you’ll be pleased to hear that there are only 234 calories in each serving. We can’t think of a better dessert to finish off a fancy New Year’s dinner party.
If the adults around the table would like an even more grown-up treat, this Espresso Martini Trifle ticks all the boxes. With layers of boozy coffee jelly, chocolatey yoghurt, brownie pieces and cream, it’s the ultimate cocktail-inspired dessert.
Galaxy Salted Caramel Mousse is available from Iceland, priced at £7.00.
REMINDER 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 reminder of this week’s Super 6 selection:
- Parsnips – 75 calories per 100g
- Potatoes – 75 calories per 100g
- Carrots – 41 calories per 100g
- Red Cabbage – 30 calories per 100g
- Swede – 38 calories per 100g
- Brussels Sprouts – 43 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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