Slimming World on a Budget

Following Slimming World can actually mean that as well as losing pounds along the way, you can gain some too (in the bank!)

Many diets need people to buy expensive ‘replacement meals’, shakes, juices, or even branded products – Slimming World is totally different to this. We have a big selection of Free Foods which you can eat in unlimited amounts – and they’re everyday items which you’ll find in pretty much every supermarket across the country. And it doesn’t mean that you have to swop your entire shop over – it’s possible to follow our Food Optimising plan to lose weight and still save money.

Don’t also forget to have a look through our Family Feasts on a Budget book in group – you can find some great recipes in here, from Cowboy Hotpot to Tex-Mex Chilli!

Bargain Budget Tips

Here’s some bargain budget tips which our members will be able to use:

• Try ‘downshifting’ with your food – if something costs more, it’s got to be better, right? Well, not really – it’s sometimes the marketing which pushes it as a premium product when it might have actually been sourced from the same place.
• Many shops use phrases and promotional language which makes us think that costly items are better. Looking through the packaging, the actual product you’re getting might not be very different.
• Supermarkets separate their products into different categories, such as ‘luxury’ or ‘basic’, however a number of supermarkets have their products made in the same factory as manufacturers’ brands

Supermarkets want us to spend more money – obviously, it means they get a bigger profit in the end – but they’re crafty at trying to push this on consumers. They generally use jargon in their product names and also the style of the packaging. I’d rather pay more for the food than a fancy-looking jar! But the supermarkets do play on this with their jargon:

• Premium: Implies it’s a treat – ‘finest’ or ‘extra special’
• Branded: Products like Heinz Baked Beans or Hovis Bread
• Own Brand: The supermarket’s own take on major brands
• Value: With names like ‘basic’ or ‘savers’ it suggests it’s quite simply the food it’s designed to be.

But does it really matter what the product looks like (packaging wise)? To be honest, when you’re using most products (from personal experience) in a recipe, it’s hard to tell any difference.

Take my Slimming World Slow-Cooker curry for example – I use Value Chopped Tomatoes because when it’s cooked, the tomatoes loose most of their taste due to the herbs and spices used in the recipe. Instead, the tomatoes are used to bulk out the sauce more.

Here’s a few other ideas:

Down-Shift Challenge

And if you like something like a premium brand, try the down-shift challenge! Just try for one week by swopping your brands to the supermarket non-branded item. See how much you save. Then times this by 52 for a full year – and it can really be a massive difference. Again, it doesn’t matter how it looks on the outside, it’s the food inside which counts!

Student Diet Plan

Try the Slimming World budget diet plan – available on Lifeline Online under the ‘student’ heading. It contains healthy, everyday foods but with a student theme towards simple and easy foods which everyone will enjoy!

Batch Cooking

I love this. It’s a great way to plan ahead by making freezer-friendly recipes at the weekend, or when you have time. You can then portion these up (try the local pound shop for plastic containers!) and then fill the freezer. Take them out before bed the night before, and it’ll be ready for lunch the next day – great with the cold weather which is coming in as you’d be able to enjoy a warming lunch at work courtesy of the microwave – but the food would be home cooked, and avoids the extra ingredients we find in ready meals!

What ideas can you think of?