Slimming down on a budget, just in time for Christmas!

2 November 2011Blog

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It’s count down to Christmas and of course we all want to look and feel good for the party season……well not to worry you’ve got lots of time to make a difference.  However, most of us need a helping hand so today we’re taking a look at Slimming Clubs Online who gives the best value for money what deals are around at the moment but most importantly is it possible to slim down on a budget?

The three main players are Slimming World, Weight Watchers and Rosemary Conley, they all claim success, however,  it comes at a price that not everyone can afford so firstly lets take a look at what else is out there,  more affordable options.

Our Supermarkets are cleverly starting to get into this very competitive market offering a cheaper online option!  Sainsburys and Tesco have started the ball rolling with their Online Diet Clubs and here’s what they’re doing.

Sainsbury’s Diets Online

A Personalised Meal Plan ‘Lose a stone in 7 weeks’.

It also includes a Food Diary Service, Recipe Club, Diet Forum and Mobile access. You can choose from the 9 meal plans which are tailored made for you, there’s a Reduced Fat Plan, No Gluten Plan, Vegetarian Plan and High Fiber Plan among others.  There’s a Diet Forum to share the up and downs with fellow dieters and also you can find a ‘Diet Buddy’ who has similar goals.   You can also get support from the Experts.  A Recipe Club with 100’s of low calorie meals and you get your own online Recipe Book to save your favourite recipes.   As a Sainsbury’s shopper you can add to those all important Nectar Points –  earn 2 points per £1 when you join Sainsbury’s Diets.

The Cost: Join before 7th Nov and save 20% on membership!!

8 weeks membership £19.20 (normally £24) 12 weeks £24.00 (normally £30)  26 weeks £40 (normally £50)

www.sainsburysdiets.co.uk

Tesco Diets Online

A Personalised Diet Plan 16 diet plans customised to suit you, similar to Sainsburys above.  Your ‘mentor’ gives personal and private advice exclusively for you contactable by email, phone and live chat whether you have a question or want some guidance.  There’s also Tesco Diets Mobile, your meal plan and recipes are at hand when and where you need it. Diet to your door…  link directly from your Tesco Diets shopping list to your Tesco.com groceries account and have all your diet plan ingredients delivered direct to your door!  And don’t forget you earn Clubcard Points when you subscribe to Tesco Diets.

The Cost:  1 month membership £12.90    3 months £29.90    6 months £49.90

www.tescodiets.com

Woman and Home Diet Club Online

Woman and home uses the Food Diary approach for weight loss which is easy and flexible.  The combination of healthy calorie counted food and sensible portions of home cooked food. Personalised goals and targets, recipe calorie calculator and 400 members recipes.  Whats great about this club is there is a 5 day online free trial so you can see if it suits your needs.

The Cost:  30 days membership £9.99    2 months £13.99   3 months £19.99  and 6 months £34.99

www.womanandhomediet.com

Weight Watchers Online

ProPoints System is their weight loss plan which is basically a balanced diet and is designed to fit around your lifestyle.   ProPoints values, according to WW, reflect the latest science that takes into account how different foods are processed by the body i.e. using protein, carbohydrate, fat and fibre to calculate the ProPoints values in our meals is a new and they claim a more accurate way to look at food !

The Cost:  Register for £1 and pay £33.85 for the first 3 months and £10.95 for each additional month after.

www.weightwatchers.co.uk

Slimming World Online

Food Optimising Plan weight loss is encouraged through a low-calorie diet, although calories aren’t counted. The emphasis is on eating low-calorie, low-fat, filling foods without having to weigh out portions.

The Cost:  3 Packages each for a period of three months: Bronze £59.95 (normally 79.95)  Silver £64.95 (normally 84.95) and Gold 79.95 (normally 99.95)

www.slimmingworld.com

Rosemary Conley Online

A Slimming Club with emphases on exercise and a choice of diet plan to suit your lifestyle.  There is an online community where you can meet other members at the ‘coffee shop’ or chat room.

The Cost:  £39.99 (1 month)    £54.99 (3 months)    £89.99 (12 months)

www.rosemaryconley.com

Do It Yourself Online and why not after all its not rocket science – healthy food and sensible portions.  Exercise of course helps even a brisk walk a few times a week will makes a difference.  You don’t need to be alone join an online forum to connect with other dieters and there’s so much Free Help, Advise and Recipes online.  Check out these:

slimmingworldforum.com(its free to join)

womanandhome.com/forum  (there’s always chats going on about diets and exercise)

Slimming Magazines even if you only buy one you’ll find advice, recipes, tips and success stories to get motivated!

Whatever you do it dosen’t have to cost a fortune so… diet wisely!

 
 

Japanese food on a budget with Yo Sushi offers

22 October 2011Blog

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Lots of good deals at Yo! Sushi at the moment so have a look there’s a deal especially for you!

Fancy something hot this winter?

From Tues 18th Oct you can enjoy five delicious hot Katsu dishes including:
Tofu Katsu – £2.90
Tilapia Katsu – £3.40
Beef & Ginger Katsu – £3.90
Softshell Crab Katsu – £5.00
Famous Chicken Katsu Curry – £3.90!

Blue Monday
Grab your £2.30 Blue Monday plates every Monday!
Come and dine at any participating restaurant every Monday and enjoy an impressive variety off the conveyor belt – exclusive to our Blue Mondays promotion – and only pay the blue plate price of £2.30 each.

25% Student Discount

Calling all hungry students – join YO! Student Club to get 25% off all year round

If you ARE NOT already a member of the YO! Love Club database then register online using the ‘register’ button below, complete all your details. Then download your Student Discount web voucher and enjoy 25% off your food bill, all year round, Tues-Fri and on Sundays, at participating YO! Sushi restaurants.

Set Priced Menus

Yo Sushi have created 6 great Set Priced Menus for you to choose from including:
‘First Timer’ ‘Best Seller’ ‘Fill Me Up’ and ‘Healthy Choice’

You can grab these yummy Set Menus at any of their UK restaurants.

Yo Sushi Vouchers

Don’t forget you can take advantage of Yo Sushi discounts all year around with our special Yo Sushi Vouchers, save money and enjoy your favourite dish.

Check out full list of participating restaurants and terms & conditions online!

 
 

Are TV Chefs fuelling Food Waste

19 October 2011Blog

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So many of us love the Cooking Shows on telly and some of us even go and buy ‘The Book’!!  We are bombarded and brainwashed by these programmes, the pressure is on for us aspiring cooks to produce something to impress. 

However these wonderful creations are not always straightforward requiring exotic and usually expensive ingredients not found in our cupboards. While us ordinary families might be inspired by our celebrity chefs and go out and buy all sort of strange and wonderful ingredients only to be used once and then left to go off and then binned. Believe it or not this is adding to to a mountain of wasted food put at 8.3 million tons a year.
Sociologist Dr. David Evans, of the University of Manchester, argues that families would be better off sticking to simple ingredients, eating their usual everyday meals. and not be so influenced by Celebrity Chefs.

 

Delia Smith made a stand, though was criticized by some, when she launched her book and TV series How to Cheat at Cooking – but we had to-hand most of the ingredients used for her meals.   There must be a balance between the two still giving us the opportunity to experiment with new receipts without getting carried away with unfamiliar (usually imported) ingredients.

So T.V Chefs lets get back to basics and still keep it exciting!!!!

 
 

Big savings on Donald Russell meal boxes

3 October 2011Blog

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Prepared by DonaldRussell.com a delicious selection of Chef-Made Meals ready to simply Heat and Serve!

A selection of versatile easy to prepare and easy to cook meals available exclusively online
. Big Discounts now until the 16th October on these great Meal Planner Boxes which are all about healthy eating with the finest ingredients.

If you haven’t used DonaldRussell.com before take advantage of these Special Offers to try something different!

The Weekly Meal Planner normally £47 now £29 a whopping saving of £18
The Skibo Selection normally £49 now £39…..  and lots more offers online today!

The Meal Planner Boxes are packed with enough essential ingredients for you to serve a new and exciting meal every day of the week.

Healthy eating with the finest ingredients ideal for Everyday Meals or Dinner Parties to help save time and effort in the kitchen.

Free delivery when you order £80 or more
Always read terms and conditions
 
 

Grocery Brands Are Getting SMALLER

2 October 2011Blog

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Have you noticed how some grocery brands are shrinking in size?

Supermarket shoppers are getting less for their money as big Brands reduce the size of their products…. consumer watchdogs warn!

The downsized grocery product still cost the same at the checkout – a tactic that has reached serious proportions.   Everyday products are subjected to the ‘grocery shrinkage’ which sees shoppers paying the same amount for an item yet receiving less.  For example one of the latest product to shrink is Fairy washing-up liquid going from 450ml to 433ml but with no drop in price!

Manufactures are putting it down to their response to increases in energy, transport and ingredients cost but this will not go down well with householders whose cost of living continues to soar while their disposable income fails to keep up.

Which Magazine say “this is an underhand way of raising prices.  If the price doesn’t change and the packaging looks identical, consumers are going to believe they’re buying the same thing”

Apart from household items…  have you noticed that a Mars bar was 62.5g and it is now 58g that’s 7.2% less in size!!! same with Snickers and a tin of Cadbury Roses was 975g is now 850g a drop of 12.8%….. its all a bit sneaky really!!!!!

 
 

Make the Most of Tesco Clubcard Points

23 September 2011Blog

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You can spend your vouchers on almost everything in store and online…
OR to really make them work for you spend them on Clubcard Rewards.  You can get even more from your vouchers by spending them on Clubcard Rewards – Tesco have over 6000 rewards to choose from – ranging from holidays to meals out, hotels to cinema tickets.

Clubcard points values are tripled when converted to Tesco Clubcard Reward Vouchers and once you’ve received your Clubcard Vouchers,  you just need to decide how to spend them!
There are hundreds of offers to choose from, ranging from holidays to meals out, hotels to cinema tickets. And look out for our special offers which change each month, but be quick, when they’re gone, they’re gone!  Check them out here:  Clubcard rewards.

Currently being offered Exclusive to Tesco Clubcard customers – 2 weeks for the price of 1 with Cosmos Holidays!
On top of being able to exchange every £10 in Clubcard vouchers for a £30 Cosmos token, you can now get a 2 week holiday for the price of 1!
This offer is available on departures in May & June 2012 to top destinations including Spain, Florida and the Caribbean.
Read about this and all the Clubcard Reward Special  http://www.tesco.com/clubcard/deals/

With Christmas just around the corner you have to make your  clubpoints work for you so be aware of all deals and offers – every little helps and it could quite a saving.

With all offers read carefully all the Terms and Conditions so you understand clearly what exactly is been offered and for what!!!

 
 

Scrap Food ‘Sell-By’ Date!!

19 September 2011Blog

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UK display till dateThe UK throws away about £12bn of edible food each year and critics say confusing packaging is partly to blame.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs says five million tonnes of edible food is discarded by UK households yearly, the equivalent of £680 for a household with children.   And recently The Government has announced their intention to scrap sell-by dates on food packaging in a drive to reduce food waste.  ‘Sell by dates‘ are going to be ditched to stop consumers throwing away food unnecessarily, packaging will now carry only ‘use by’ or ‘best before’ dates in a bid to cut the £12bn worth of food needlessly discarded every year.

New government advice says firms should include only ‘use-by’ or ‘best-beforedates and remove ‘sell-by’ and ‘display-until’ labels relating to stock control.
The advice states that ‘use by’ labels should only be used where the food could be unsafe to eat after that date, while ‘best before’ should indicate the product is no longer at its best but is still safe to consume. Foods likely to require a ‘use by’ date include soft cheese, smoked fish and ready meals while ‘best before’ date applies to biscuits, jams, pickles, crisps and tinned foods.

The idea is to end the food labelling confusion and make it clear once and for all when food is good and safe to eat.  There are products that have several dates on them: use by/ best before/ display until/sell by, which is not relevant at all by the time it’s sitting in your fridge.

There is, however, a concern that stopping of the practice could lead to less efficient stock rotation on supermarket shelves, higher prices and may, it is claimed, lead to more waste.

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman said confusion over food labelling was responsible for an estimated £750m of the £12bn edible-food wastage each year.

“We want to end the food labelling confusion and make it clear once and for all when food is good and safe to eat,” she said.

The guidance issued by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has been produced in consultation with supermarkets, food manufacturers, consumer groups, food law enforcement bodies and the Waste and Resources Action Programme (Wrap).

“This new guidance will give greater clarity to the food industry on which date mark should be used on their products while maintaining consumer protection.”

Will this change in legislation have an impact on how you purchase and consume food – are you one of those people who sticks religiously to the sell-by date?  The food in your fridge might look and smell fine, but if it’s a day out of date or even on the use-by day do you throw it straight in the bin!!   If so, you’re not alone as it is this growing obsession with perceived food freshness that is said to be behind Government plans to scrap best-before dates entirely.