Your Slimming Essentials – The Weekly Pinch of Shopping 31.03.23
Get ready to brighten up your shopping basket with a NEW Weekly Pinch of Shopping! This week’s list is brimming with sweet and savoury snacks, easy lunches and delicious dinner ideas.
If you can’t resist a bit of Itsu, you’ll want to try the newest addition to their range. It’s filling, tasty and ideal when you fancy something a little bit different for lunch.
Plus, we’ve found something Forrero Rocher fanatics will be obsessed with! We’ll give you a few hints: they’re frozen and loaded with a creamy, hazelnut centre…
Our upcoming paperback cookbook, Pinch of Nom: Budget, is available to pre-order NOW! It’s filled with 75 recipes (50 brand-new dishes and 25 fan-favourites!) that cut down on costs, without compromising on the Nom flavours you know and love.
Split into two chapters, dinners and desserts, this book is all about turning budget-friendly ingredients and store cupboard staples into food that the whole family will love.
Pre-order your copy today and you won’t pay a penny until it’s dispatched. Pinch of Nom Budget is out on the 22nd of June…we’re counting down the days already!
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. There’s a fresh selection this week, so scroll down to find out what’s included, along with some ideas on how to make the most of the ingredients.
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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!**
Belvita Baked Bar Dark Chocolate & Orange – 157 calories per bar
You can always rely on these Belvita Baked Bar Dark Chocolate and Orange Bars to keep you going when you hit a lull in your day. They’re made with a satisfying, crunchy combination of wholegrains, milk chocolate chips and zesty, orange flavouring. Take them on-the-go to nip your sweet cravings in the bud at a moment’s notice, for only 157 calories per bar.
Sometimes the simplest recipes are the best recipes, and that’s definitely true with our Chocolate Orange Brownies. We’ve made the most of one of our favourite flavour combinations with these gooey little chocolate wonders, by adding orange zest and reduced-sugar, chocolate-orange syrup to the mixture.
The best brownies are always slightly undercooked when leaving the oven. Keep an eye on them until they’re risen (for around 16 minutes), and leave them to cool in the tin – they’ll continue to bake until they’re gooey-in-the-middle gorgeous!
Belvita Baked Bars in Dark Chocolate & Orange are available from Asda, priced at £1.75 for a pack of 4 bars.
Morrisons Butternut Sweet Potato & Chilli Soup – 138 calories per 1/2 pot
When you’ve not had time to prepare a batch of your favourite slimming-friendly soup, Morrisons’ Butternut Sweet Potato & Chilli Soup is a life-saver. A low-calorie, high-fibre lunch option, it’ll warm you up with a hearty combination of butternut squash, sweet potato, lemongrass, silky coconut cream and a mild hint of chilli. Simply pop your portion in the microwave and wait for the ping!
A surprisingly versatile veg, butternut squash works deliciously well as a substitute for dough in our Squash Pizza Slices recipe. It’s a great way to get extra veggies by the fussiest eaters in the family, and you can always experiment with different toppings (just be sure to keep track of extra calories, if you’re counting!).
We’ve got even more Italian-inspired recipes for pizza lovers here.
Morrisons Butternut Sweet Potato & Chilli Soup is available from Morrisons, priced at £1.99 per pot.
Boundless Gut Happy Snacking Sour Cream & Onion Flavour Chips – 95 calories per 1/4 bag (1 serving)
When you’ve got a hankering for a crunchy, savoury snack, Boundless Gut Happy Snacking Sour Cream & Onion Flavour Chips are just the ticket. Made with a plant-based blend of natural ingredients, these sour cream and onion infused chips are filling, tasty and totally gluten-free.
While we’ve added sour cream to our basket, you can also pick up smoky bacon flavoured chips or mixed-nut snack bags from the same, gut-healthy range, if you’d prefer.
Once you swap out the quark for a dairy-free alternative, our Hummus-style Dip is ready to take vegan snack times up a notch. A silky side dish that’ll make chips or pitta feel extra-indulgent (for only 177 calories per serving), why not try taking finely-sliced sticks of leftover carrots, leeks or peppers for a dip too?
Boundless Gut Happy Snacking Sour Cream & Onion Flavour Chips are available from Asda, priced at £2.00 per sharing bag.
Itsu Greens & Chilli Stuffed Pancakes – 193 calories per 2 pancakes
You can always rely on Itsu to keep lunchtimes interesting, and these Itsu Greens & Chilli Stuffed Pancakes are no exception. Inspired by the Korean staple, they’ve loaded up flattened Asian-style dumplings with sautéed vegetables, glass noodles and aromatic spices.
Ready in 10 minutes whether you bake or shallow-fry them, they’re well worth trying as a snack or light lunch – they’ll also go down a storm at dinnertime with a side of steamed veggies and noodles.
There’s no need to go out for brunch when you can make a scrummy, savoury stack at home! Our budget-friendly Cheesy Courgette Pancakes will brighten up any pancake menu, for only 261 calories per fluffy serving.
We’ve gathered all of our favourite pancake-topping ideas in one place for you here.
Itsu Greens & Chilli Stuffed Pancakes are available from Tesco, priced at £4.50.
Sainsbury’s Flourish Red Thai Style Vegetable Curry – 309 calories per pack
Sainsbury’s Flourish Red Thai Style Vegetable Curry has all the aromatic, Thai-inspired coconut, chilli and lime flavours you’d expect, in a quick, simple microwave-meal package. A surefire way to get two of your 5-a-day, the crunchy combination of red peppers, soya beans and carrots is ready in minutes.
The definition of convenience, you don’t need to worry about preparing accompaniments – it comes ready-served on a bed of filling, fluffy brown rice.
If you love a fragrant fakeaway, you need to work our Thai-style Creamy Red Curry into your meal plan! We’ve kept the calories down by preparing our mildly-spiced curry paste from scratch, and made our indulgent-seeming sauce thick and velvety using dairy-free coconut milk and low-fat cream cheese.
Sainsbury’s Flourish Red Thai Style Vegetable Curry is available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £2.00 per pack.
Plant Menu Lemon & Herb No Fish Burgers – 219 calories per burger
Flavoursome and affordable, these Plant Menu Lemon & Herb No Fish Burgers are well worth trying on your meat-free Monday menu. Simply bake them in the oven for 25-30 minutes, turning halfway through, until the breadcrumb coating is irresistible crispy.
For a pub-grub inspired burger night fakeaway, serve with a side of Homemade Oven Chips and mushy peas.
When you prepare the salmon patties and breadcrumb mixture in advance, making our Salmon Burgers is just as quick and convenient as shop-bought versions. We pile ours high with salad on a wholemeal roll, with tangy, home-mixed tartare sauce.
We’ve had lots of fun making our favourite burger recipes slimming friendly – you can find plenty of ideas for your next family burger night here.
Plant Menu Lemon & Herb No Fish Burgers are available from Aldi, priced at £1.99 for a pack of 2.
Iceland Ready Cooked Salt and Chilli Chicken Breast Skewers – 104 calories per skewer (oven-baked)
When you’re in the mood for a kebab-style dinner, try popping these Iceland Ready Cooked Salt and Chilli Chicken Breast Skewers in the air fryer. Ready in less than 15 minutes, the takeaway-style salt and chilli glazed chicken pieces are sure to liven up your lunchtime salad, or you can make them heartier with a side of rice or mashed potatoes.
Just like Iceland’s skewers, our Parmesan Pork Skewers are both air fryer and oven friendly. We leave our pork to soak in the garlicky, herby marinade overnight, so that the flavours lock in.
Before cooking, you’ll want to soak your bamboo skewers in water – it helps prevent catching and burning while the juicy pork pieces are tenderising.
Iceland Ready Cooked Salt and Chilli Chicken Breast Skewers are available from Iceland, priced at £4.00.
Old El Paso Large Extra Thin 100 Calorie Tortilla Wraps – 96 calories per unfilled tortilla
When you don’t fancy your usual salad, soup or sandwich, wraps are a lunchtime game-changer. Old El Paso’s brand-new, Large Extra Thin 100 Calorie Tortilla Wraps bundle-up your favourite fillings in a slimming-friendly tortilla, without compromising on deliciousness.
An easy substitute for bread or pastry, there are many different ways to cook with wraps. You can even use Old El Paso’s extra-thin wraps as the crispy base for our Mexican-style Tostadas.
Topped with refried beans, zingy lime salsa, poached eggs and cheese, they’re a lunch break fiesta. There’s nothing to stop you getting creative with different toppings, if you’d prefer – try them with cooked chicken, ham or tuna (just be sure to take note of additional calories!).
Old El Paso Large Extra Thin 100 Calorie Tortilla Wraps are available from Ocado, priced at £2.15 for a pack of 6.
Village Bakery Jaffa Flavoured Hot Cross Buns – 178 calories per hot cross bun
Easter’s getting closer, and it’d be rude not to notice the fun, spring-time treats appearing on supermarket shelves. These brand-new Village Bakery Jaffa Flavoured Hot Cross Buns we spotted in Aldi put a unique spin on a seasonal staple. Infused with zesty, Jaffa Cake inspired flavouring and dark-chocolate chips, they’re the perfect excuse to put the kettle on.
Speaking of Jaffa Cakes, if you’ve not tried our slimming-friendly version of everyone’s favourite biscuit-style cake, now’s the time to change that!
Ready to set in the fridge after just 20 minutes of prep, we’ve given them their gooey, orangey centre using sugar-free orange jelly crystals. Don’t forget to finish them with a delicate drizzle of dark chocolate.
Village Bakery Jaffa Flavoured Hot Cross Buns are available from Aldi, priced at £1.29 for a pack of 6.
Ferrero Rocher Classic Milk Chocolate & Hazelnut Ice Cream Sticks – 195 calories per ice cream stick
We were so excited to spot Ferrero Rocher Classic Milk Chocolate & Hazelnut Ice Cream Sticks in the freezer aisle at Sainsbury’s! A frozen twist on a chocolate box classic, it’s tough to say no to velvety hazelnut ice cream in a crunchy shell of milk chocolate and roasted hazelnuts.
Are you on Team Raffaello? There’s a Raffaello-inspired ice cream stick in the same range, for 170 calories per creamy, coconut-coated serving.
There’s no denying that nuts and chocolate are a match made in heaven, and that’s what makes our Choco Nut Lava Cakes too good to miss. These hot, spongey little puddings are so rich and fudgy, you won’t believe they’re only 181 calories each!
You can find the full recipe on pages 263-264 of our fourth cookbook, Pinch of Nom: Comfort Food.
Ferrero Rocher Classic Milk Chocolate & Hazelnut Ice Cream Sticks are available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £5.00 for a pack of 4.
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:
- Royal Gala Apples – 52 calories per 100g
- Closed Cup Mushrooms – 17 calories per 100g
- Seedless Red Grapes – 69 calories per 100g
- Pineapple – 50 calories per 100g
- Red Onions – 41 calories per 100g
- Tenderstem Broccoli – 40 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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