Slimming on a budget – shopping

One anniversary meal later, and I could still do with rediscovering my waist.

In the hope of losing pounds with spending them, I made a pilgrimage to Morrisons to stock up on suitable food. Morrisons is just my nearest big supermarket – if we had an Aldi within walking distance, I’d use it.

I’m intending to give weight loss a whirl fuelled by less expensive options and value ranges, in the belief that healthy eating really shouldn’t have to involve expensive low fat this and diet branded that.

Key items in my attempt to lose lbs without spending £s

As the main protein items to get me started, I bought a combination of meat, fish, cheese, eggs, beans and yogurt. And yes, I appreciate that tinned tomatoes aren’t protein, but they sneaked into the photo anyway.

Starting from the top left, I bought:

2 x salmon fillets, reduced, 240g                                               £1.99 

2 x kippers, reduced, 195g                                                         £0.69

Morrisons Savers cottage cheese, 300g                                     £0.64

Morrisons Savers red kidney beans, 240g drained                      £0.30

2 x Morrisons Savers chopped tomatoes, 400g                           £0.62

Morrisons Savers mature white cheddar, 826g                            £3.75

Morrisons Savers soft cheese, 200g                                           £0.52

Morrisons sardines in tomato sauce, 124g                                   £0.40

Morrisons Savers tuna chunks in brine, 120g drained                   £0.57

Morrisons 5% fat extra lean minced beef, 445g                           £4.00

Morrisons Savers smoked rindless back bacon, 300g                  £1.50

2 x Morrisons Savers mozzarella, 125g                                     £0.86

2 x Morrisons Savers low fat natural yogurt, 500g                      £0.90

2 x Morrisons free range mixed weight eggs x 6                         £1.58

Total: £18.32

As you’ll see, it’s a mix of Savers (the Morrisons value range) and supermarket own brand.

There are also Savers versions of sardines, minced beef and eggs, but on this occasion I opted to spend a bit more to get a higher proportion of sardines in the can, a lower proportion of fat in the mince (5% as opposed to a whopping 24% in Savers beef and pork mince) and higher welfare eggs.

One of the benefits of showing up at the supermarket rather than shopping online is that you can check the reduced sections. In this case, I picked up reduced salmon fillets and a bargain pack of kippers, which I have yet to work out how to cook.

These should form the basis of the meals, supplemented with fruit, veg, carbs like rice, pasta and bread, and other storecupboard staples.

Like all good intentions, we’ll have to see whether I can actually put any of it into practice.