First Shop on SW

[skinnyminnycow]

Hello All

Just started Slimming World, and really looking forward to it. I have already lost a stone myself with watching what I eat and doing Jillian Michaels DVD 5 times a week, but I wanted extra support and a solid food plan to get the rest of the weight off.

Tonight is my first shop, and I was wondering if anyone has any tips on what to buy in my first big shop. Obviously superfree, free foods, fry light and spices are a must, but is there anything that I should be getting for the cupboard that you think will come in handy that's not mentioned in the book?

 

[SallyVater]

Spend a little time making a plan of what you're going to eat during the week and then you'll be able to shop accordingly. For example my dinner plan for next week is:

Monday - Slow cooker chilli con carne with roasted squash and plantain
Tuesday - Lamb Shank madras with rice and spinach bhajee
Wednesday - Gammon, rosti and egg stack
Thursday - Pulled pork roll with chips, salad and coleslaw.

So, I can now amend my shopping list to get anything I need for dinners, same goes for lunches and breakfasts.

As I don't always stick exactly to my plan I always have a few tins of beans (eg: butterbeans, black beans, mixed bean "salad", baked beans of course!), a box of puy lentils, some cous-cous or bulgar wheat, pasta, tins of tomatoes, jars of roasted peppers, tins of tuna or crab and eggs. This means that if I really can't be faffed to cook a "proper" meal I can always whip up an omelette, make some pasta with tomato sauce or whizz up some soup.

I also keep some meat and fish in the freezer - chicken fillets and salmon usually as you can pull a pack out in the morning before work and then make something quick when you get home.

Low fat supernoodles, although pretty grim IMO, make a really quick stomach filler when mixed up with some veg and are a good cupboard stand-by. I don't bother much with mugshots these days but they were a life saver when I first started the plan.

Good luck!

 

[skinnyminnycow]

Thanks for the advice

 

[OpalLilyEats]

I agree with everything Sally said.

I would also pop down things like tupperware boxes if you haven't got many (you'll need loads for all your fruit and lunch items!), freezer bags and a pen like a sharpie to label them all.
I think it's useful too in the first few weeks to make extra of everything. I normally cook for just myself and one other but tend to cook recipes for 4 people (sometimes 6 if I bulk them out with lots of veg!) and then freeze individual or double portions so that in a few weeks down the line when I am stuck, I have a little freezer stock of a variety of meals to dip into to keep me on plan. Pulled pork, bolognese, chilli, risottos, pasta bakes, soups etc all freeze really well.

A lot of people keep a little treat tin with low syn treats in it too. With Halloween around the corner, a lot of the little variety bags with mini choc bars are on offer and can give you a little choc fix for a few syns - handy to have in case of emergencies!

Good luck with your first week! x