Shopping list (for a dozy bloke) Essentiat SW ingredients

Every Loser Wins

Full Member
Hi,

I am looking for some inspiration as to what to buy when I next go shopping, I have just started slimming world and have been living on fresh fruit, lean meat, frozen veg, batchelors super rice/pasta and potatoes since Monday. I am looking for the "store cupboard essentials" for someone on Slimming World extra easy. I live on my own so need stuff that will not go out of date in a few days or comes in small quantities. I would also like to stock up my freezer with something other than broccoli, cauliflower and carrots! Also whats the lowest syn butter substitute?

Thanks in advance
 
Lowest syn butter substitute would be flora extra light at half a syn for a teaspoon (10g)
Cupboard staples here are beans, peas (all kinds, mushy are super speed) mug shots, smash is good if you're feeling lazy, herbs, spices, fry light, stock, bovril, umm...freezer - mushrooms, peppers, stir fry veg, Brussels, green beans, carrot and swede mix (for mash) cooked chicken (if like me you ever forget to get meat out of the freezer lol)

Will get back to you if I can think of anything else!

Good luck :)
 
My essentials would be

Chicken, I buy 5kg for £20 from Makro and portion it up and keep it in my freezer.
I like to keep a couple of Veetee Thai Jasmine microwave rice in my cupboard as these are free and great for something very quick.
Frylight is an essential,
Eggs, mushrooms, beans & tinned tomatoes
Spuds - always have a bag in.
Maltesers, they're my nightly treat and I always have a multi pack bag in the house!
Bacon - No brainer :)
Low fat sausages - either Morrisons Nume or Sainsbury's Good to yourself range
Tesco do a huge bag of stir-fry for £1 which last's a few days.
I also like to have a bag of mixed salad in the fridge
and finally...butternut squash (it's lovely roasted)

Hope that helps
 
Without planning ahead for a week of meals it is good to know that I can always fall back on the basics I like to keep in stock:.......

chicken thighs or breasts, frozen in the correct portions sizes so I can always grab one and defrost quickly to add to pasta or rice or stir fry (I don't live alone but I am the only one eating the SW way)
tinned tuna
lean mince (again frozen in the correct portion sizes)
eggs
pasta & rice
vast range of spices
frozen veg
fresh fruit and veg
potatoes
for snacking - snack-a-jack multipack

AND DON'T FORGET your fry light!

With the above list, even if I have not planned ahead, I can arrive home late from work and throw something together that is filling, satisfying and yummy. I don't like to defrost meat in the microwave but sometimes real life gets in the way and I am too busy to think ahead, so it is necessary, so it is great to have the correct portion sizes already measured out.
 
DEFINITLY Frylight!

Then I'd add:
- dried rice, pasta (preferably the brown varieties which are more filling and healthy but white is free too)
- some other interesting dried grains like couscous, bulgar wheat
- canned beans. Whatever you like, but plain, baked beans, and refried beans are all free
- canned fish. Not just tuna, you can get sardines, salmon, crab, all sorts.
- frozen spinach to stir into sauces for extra superfree
- frozen mixed berries. Leave them to defrost overnight and you can have them with yogurt for breakfast or as a snack.
- frozen sausages of the low-syn variety (I have Quorn ones for one-syn each)
- things to add flavour. Herbs and spices (I like paprika for synfree chips, caraway to cook in stews, nutmeg, dried oregano, mustard). Capers are good if you like them. Lemons last a while in the fridge and are great for making things more interesting. Lots of garlic too.
- eggs last a while
- we get through a lot of peppers, mushrooms and onions - they are versatile so you can use them before they go off
- fatfree yogurt goes with lots of things and adds calcium, likewise quark can be used for lots of creamy sauces
- some HexB options - small loaves of wholemeal bread, porridge oats, Ryvita or whatever you like to have
- Babybels are good as a HexA that lasts a bit, if you don't usually add cheese to your meals.
 
I use Quark as a butter substitute and spread it on pitta breads (WW wholemeal ones are a HeX-B) before whacking in my other stuff. I also use Quark to mash potatoes with and as a dip or filling. Quark mixed with a little garlic powder and chives makes an excellent dip. Put some chilli flakes in to stuff chicken with.

I also use a lot of eggs... either for breakfast on two slices of a 400g Hovis loaf (HeX-B) or for a lunch time omelette.

I'm making all my meals for one as well so the bread goes in the freezer. I use frozen mix veg and diced onions (was fed up with crying whilst cooking!). I look for offers on fresh veg and only buy what I know I can eat in a few days. I buy a lot of mushrooms and they go in most of my cooking.

Look out for offers on extra lean mince and freeze it. A lot of places do three packs for £10... again freeze what you won't use. I make a meal plan for the evening meals and will look at it each morning taking out what I need from the freezer if it needs to defrost. I buy my chicken from a wholesaler as I eat a lot of it but need to stick to my budget.

I have nights where I know I'll struggle to muster the energy to cook a nice meal so the night before I will make extra and have leftovers. Sometimes leftovers are the next days lunch!

Alpen light bars are a quick grab and go... I struggle with breakfast and on the days I run I only want something light so I have one before my run and one after.
 
Hi,

I am looking for some inspiration as to what to buy when I next go shopping, I have just started slimming world and have been living on fresh fruit, lean meat, frozen veg, batchelors super rice/pasta and potatoes since Monday. I am looking for the "store cupboard essentials" for someone on Slimming World extra easy. I live on my own so need stuff that will not go out of date in a few days or comes in small quantities. I would also like to stock up my freezer with something other than broccoli, cauliflower and carrots! Also whats the lowest syn butter substitute?

Thanks in advance

Have you looked at the staples shopping list in your book hun? Most of what you want will be covered there :)
 
Another vote for frylight here. Other essentials for me are tinned toms and bacon (I get mattessons turkey rashers, very low in fat and free). As regards butter substitute, I use fresh pease pudding which is free (and lovely!) but it's a geordie thing, you can't get it fresh elsewhere, only in tins in the rest of the country and it's nowhere near as nice. Failing that I'd go for extra light mayo, Aldi's is only 1/2 syn for a whole tablespoon full.
 
Thanks for all your help, after having my daughter for the weekend and dropping her back at her mum's I went shopping, bought some bits and pieces and found a new way to lose weight. Leave half your shopping in the supermarket! I absentmindedly left a bag at the self serve checkout. Its a 40 mile round trip after weigh in to pick up my shopping after weigh in tomorrow night.

What a numpty!
 
Yeah, that's not going to help... oops!

I once did a Christmas food shop, had it all packed, went to pay and only then realised I'd left the card at home! I could have cried.

What did you leave behind? Have they put it aside for you to collect tomorrow?
 
They have kept it for me,

frozen mushrooms, baked beans, tinned tomatoes, low syn morrisons sausages, extra lean bacon. All the expensive stuff from my shopping trip! Bang goes my nice breakfast tomorrow morning!
 
Frozen mushrooms! Just adding them to my list. I go through a load but sometimes get half way through a box and then they start to turn... will give frozen ones a try.

Have a fry up for tea tomorrow instead. Unless of course you have something better on the menu!

Omelette cups are nice. The recipe there is paleo but I use frylight and regular bacon with the fat cut off. I made them last night and popped in mushrooms, baby sweetcorn, chilli flakes, chives and the bacon from the tail ends I rescued from the fat. I only made two yesterday as I was low on eggs but usually I make 6, eat two and pop the other four in the fridge for the next day.
 
Another vote for frylight here. Other essentials for me are tinned toms and bacon (I get mattessons turkey rashers, very low in fat and free). As regards butter substitute, I use fresh pease pudding which is free (and lovely!) but it's a geordie thing, you can't get it fresh elsewhere, only in tins in the rest of the country and it's nowhere near as nice. Failing that I'd go for extra light mayo, Aldi's is only 1/2 syn for a whole tablespoon full.
You can get it over my way in north west cumbria too xx yum
 
its all about the condiments

by now you know what foods you can have freely and what you need to keep an eye on, so you need to be inventive with flavours and so on:-

essentials:-
sweetener
soy sauce
Worcestershire sauce
balsamic vinegar
basil/ rosemary/ oregano
salt & pepper
chili if you like it (I don't)

Then get inventive.

Tonight I cooked my (all bought frozen) broccoli, spinach, mixed peppers and green beans in a frying pan with no oil or frylight as all the moisture comes out. Sprinkled with salt and pepper and was blooming delicious. Crunchy not soggy and full of flavour. Added a dollop of philly garlic and herb to serve.

Eggs can be repetitive but if you scramble with black pepper and basil are DELISH.
You know whats even better? Making a sweet omlette- add sweetener, vanilla extract, cinnamon (whatever you have/ fancy) and voilà.

Baked beans not cutting it? Add a splash of Lea & Perrins (and some diced fried onions n mushrooms if u fancy)
Lettuce tastes like nothing without balsamic.

Just a few suggestions to spice up your life :D

(its taken me 16 weeks to realise the above!)
 
Thanks for all the suggestions. I had a great weigh in tonight and had a fantastic all.day breakfast for dinner tonight. Extra lean bacon nume sausage, beans, egg, mushrooms, tomatoes and a slice of wholesale toast (hexb)
 
Thank you for the information. I'm a pending SW USA online member, and this thread has been so helpful. The more I read about the program, the more I sway toward joining. :)
 
im a student so live on my own as well. what i do is i go shopping in the morning and then spend the afternoon/evening cooking everything and then i freeze it. my fav is soup i make 2-3 soups split it up in to single portions and then i have a weeks worth of lunch made! all you have to do is heat up in microwave from frozen.
 
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