The Weekly Pinch of Shopping: Slimming-friendly Fakeaway Finds 14.03.25
Hello and welcome to a FAKEAWAY edition of your Weekly Pinch of Shopping! Today we’re filling your shopping trolley with goodies inspired by your favourite cuisines – and they’re all far better for you and your budget than reaching for a takeaway menu.
We’ll tell you exactly where to find a mouthwatering box of Aromatic Chilli Sesame Chicken with Noodles; it’s ready in minutes for a fraction of the restaurant calories.
Plus, if you love Solero Ice Lollies, we’ve found a whole tub of ice cream that has the same vibrant, refreshingly tangy-sweet flavours by the scoop!
EXCITING NEWS (in case you missed it last week): You can now find our Pinch of Nom x Flava It! Collection Boxes in the herbs and spices aisle at Morrisons across the UK – they’ll be rolling out gradually over the next few weeks, so you might just need to be patient with your local store!
In the meantime, both boxes are available to order online NOW from Morrisons’ website by tapping here or the image below.
Spotted any yummy-looking, slimming-friendly products at the supermarket lately? Share them with us – they might feature in our next article! You can also join the discussion in our Facebook group here.
Our Weekly Pinch of Shopping highlights budget-friendly, slimming-friendly products available in local supermarkets and online. We include calorie information and RRP, though prices may vary.
Each week, we also feature Aldi’s Super 6 deals – a fortnightly selection of discounted fruits and vegetables – along with recipe ideas to help you make the most of them. 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!**
1. M&S Hot Chilli Con Carne Cooking Paste – 82 calories per pack (approx.)
It’s impossible to get bored of chilli con carne, especially when there are so many different ways to serve it. This tasty M&S Hot Chilli Con Carne Cooking Paste is handy for busier evenings where you want the spice mix to be ready and made for you.
Simply stir together with your choice of protein – we tend to go for reduced-fat beef mince.
The truth is, our Slow Cooker Chilli Con Carne is the most convenient recipe to follow for chilli night. Pop everything in the pot and leave your trusty kitchen gadget to do its thing!
We like our chilli hot, since you can always cool things down with a sprinkling of reduced-fat cheese, or a dollop of sour cream.
M&S Hot Chilli Con Carne Cooking Paste is available from Ocado and M&S, priced at £1.25 per pack.
2. M&S Bolognese Bites – 109 calories per bite
If you’re a fan of the classic flavours in Spaghetti Bolognese, prepare to fall in love with these M&S Bolognese Bites. These Italian-inspired balls are filled with a cooked pasta, juicy beef and smoked bacon ragu, stirred through with gooey mozzarella cheese and herbs – and yes, all of that is wrapped in breadcrumbs!
If you’ve not tried our Bolognese and Garlic Swirl Pie yet, where have you been? It’s been a smash hit with our Facebook group from the day we first shared it on our website.
Just look at this gorgeous photo from Claire in Doncaster. Thank you so much for sharing your photo in our Gallery, Claire!
M&S Bolognese Bites are available from Ocado and M&S, priced at £3.75 for a pack of 4 bites.
3. Jacob’s Mini Cheddars Cheddar & Red Onion Baked Snacks Multipack – 310 calories per pack (microwaved)
We’re always in the market for satisfying savoury snacks, and Jacob’s brand-new Cheddar and Red Onion Baked Mini Cheddars definitely tick that box. While you’d expect Mini Cheddars to be packed with the cheesiness, punchy red onion takes these baked biscuits up a notch.
Bold statement – we might even prefer these to the original! You can also pick up Cream Cheese Garlic and Herb flavoured multipacks.
It’s well worth baking up our Air Fryer Cheese and Onion Bakes recipe next time you fancy a cheesy snack. For our gooey centre, we’ve filled our ‘pastry’ (sandwich thins) with a heavenly combo of reduced-fat Cheddar and onion.
Turn to page 162-163 in our Air Fryer book for the full recipe.
Jacob’s Mini Cheddars Cheddar & Red Onion Baked Snacks Multipack is available from Sainsbury’s, priced at £1.85 (or £1.50 with a Nectar card) for a pack with 6 mini bags.
4. Morrisons Mexican-Style Chicken Mini Fillets – 155 calories per 1/2 pack
These Morrisons Mexican-Style Chicken Mini Fillets are a quick, fuss-free fiesta for dinnertime. After you’ve baked them for 15 minutes in the oven, you’ll take them out briefly to top with the provided sachet of fajita-flavoured sauce.
We’ve got no choice but to serve them with a golden, fluffy portion of our Nando’s Spicy Rice. It’s really easy for us because we’ve always got leftovers on standby, ready to reheat in a flash.
The spices in our rice and the chicken’s lipsmacking glaze will go together like a dream. For more slimming-friendly Mexican fakeaway night inspiration, have a scroll through our blog.
Morrisons Mexican-Style Chicken Mini Fillets are available from Morrisons, priced at £5.00 for a pack of 2 fillets.
5. Bramwells Peri-Peri Sauce & Marinade – 32 calories per 15g serving
You could be fooled into thinking this Bramwells Peri-peri Sauce and Marinade is from a famous Portuguese restaurant. We went for ‘medium-spice’, but there’s nothing to stop you grabbing ‘garlic’, ‘lemon and herb’ or even the hottest one while you’re in Aldi.
Add a punchy flavour boost to peri-peri wraps, salads or pasta bowls with a quick drizzle.
If you follow us on Instagram, you’ll know we’ve been celebrating how delicious orzo is all week. This Piri Piri Chicken Orzo is beautifully simple and full of flavour for an indulgent family pasta night. You can also cook it once and enjoy it twice, since it’s freezable too.
Bramwells Peri-Peri Sauce & Marinade is available from Aldi, priced at £1.25 per jar.
6. Pepsi Cream Soda Soft Drink Cans – 2 calories per can
If you’ve got an American-style burger night planned, these Pepsi Cream Soda Soft Drink Cans should be part of your spread. The creamy, vanilla flavouring really hits the spot if you’ve got a sweet tooth – and it’s even more thirst-quenching in a glass with ice.
Are you Team Pepsi or Team Coke? You can’t lose with our Diet Coke/Pepsi Max Chicken on the table; it tastes just as good as takeaway versions either way.
We actually prefer to use Pepsi Max as we think it thickens better than Diet Coke. You could even use the Pepsi Max Ginger for a more concentrated zing.
Pepsi Cream Soda Soft Drink Cans are available from Tesco, priced at £3.99 (or £3.50 with a Clubcard) for a pack of 8 cans.
7. Quorn Takeaway Salt and Pepper Tenders – 225 calories per 2 tenders
With these Quorn Takeaway Salt and Pepper Tenders in the freezer, you’re only 15 minutes in the oven (or 10 in the air fryer!) away from plating up a veggie-friendly salt and pepper feast.
You could even try them with a side of our fuss-free Flava It! Salt and Pepper Chips – if that’s not too much salt and pepper for you!
Whether you’re following a vegan diet or not, these Air Fryer Vegan Nuggets are a yummy way to sneak more veggies into your day. We’ve not just cut the calories with a flourless coating of panko breadcrumbs, we’ve made our delectable dip too.
Quorn Takeaway Salt and Pepper Tenders are available from Waitrose, priced at £2.75.
8. Morrisons Nourish Spiced Chicken Biryani – 383 calories per pack
When you’ve got no time or energy to make dinner, it’s tempting to reach for the takeaway menu. With this Morrisons Nourish Spiced Chicken Biryani on standby, you can serve up a dinner full of Indian-style flavours for next to no effort.
We’re talking spiced brown rice, lots of colourful chopped veg, chargrilled chicken and aromatic spices, all ready in minutes!
If you fancy making your own biryani, turn to page 72 of our Comfort Food book. Our Garlic Mushroom Biryani is one of those ‘you have to try it at least once!’ Pinch of Nom recipes.
While a traditional biryani can be a complicated, time-consuming dish to prepare, we’ve found a way to cook everything up in one simple pot.
Morrisons Nourish Spiced Chicken Biryani is available from Morrisons, priced at £3.75 per pack.
9. Kitchen Joy Spicy Sesame Chicken Aromatic Chilli with Noodles – 404 calories per pack (microwaved)
As soon as we saw the rave reviews for Kitchen Joy Spicy Sesame Chicken Aromatic Chilli Noodles, we knew we had to hunt down a box. A fusion of Thai and Korean flavours, this ‘meal for one’ fits nicely in your freezer, ready to grab at a moment’s notice.
We’re not kidding when we say this fork-twirling combo of noodles and fiery chicken tastes just like it’s from a restaurant, but be warning…it does have a three-chilli rating!
You can always serve it plated up with a side of Sesame Chicken Toasts, if you’re feeling extra hungry – or you fancy something with a crunch!
Baking instead of deep-frying means we’ve kept our squares down to just 22 calories each.
Kitchen Joy Spicy Sesame Chicken Aromatic Chilli with Noodles packs are available from Tesco, priced at £2.75.
10. Carte D’or Les Desserts Solero Ice Cream Exotic Vanilla – 167 calories per 100g
We’ve already found the taste of summer: Carte D’or Les Desserts Solero Exotic Vanilla Ice Cream Exotic Vanilla. It’s a heavenly team-up of creamy Carte D’or ice cream and fruity Solero ice lolly flavours.
In every scoop, you get velvety ice cream, tart sorbet and a sweet sauce, swirled with a tropical medley of mango, pineapple and passionfruit – now’s your cue to run to Tesco!
We love creating frozen, lower-calorie creations at PON HQ. Our Raspberry Sorbet transforms raspberries, syrup and a squeeze of lemon into an irresistible after-dinner treat.
Turn to pages 220-221 in our Express cookbook for the full recipe.
Carte D’or Les Desserts Solero Ice Cream Exotic Vanilla tubs are available from Tesco, priced at £4.50 (or £3.00 with a Clubcard).
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:
- Carrots – 41 calories per 100g
- Salad Potatoes – 75 calories per 100g
- Kiwi – 16 calories per 100g
- Oranges – 47 calories per 100g
- Spring Onions – 32 calories per 100g
- Mini Apples – 53 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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