Slimming World swaps that won’t bust the budget

This post contains affiliate links, clearly marked with *. If you click through and make a purchase, it won’t cost you any extra and I will earn a small commission.

In the past I have always found our grocery bill went up when I was aiming to lose weight. If you follow some of the plans in the numerous dieting books in circulation you end up eating all kinds of fancy, faddy and often expensive foods.

This is what I like about Slimming World. It is easy to do it without spending a fortune as you just eat ordinary food available from any supermarket. It is also very easy to exchange high calorie or high fat foods for healthier alternatives, so here are a few suggestions for Slimming World swaps that won’t bust the budget.

Budget friendly Slimming World swaps

Drinks

I think this is an easy one: swap to sugar free squash or fizzy drinks as these are completely free. I am not usually one for fizzy soda type drinks at all, but I have rediscovered a love of bitter lemon. So refreshing with lots of ice, plus a litre of supermarket own brand only costs 40-50p.

I have also substituted bitter lemon for my usual glass of white wine, although I will occasionally have a gin and slimline tonic. 4 syns as opposed to 9 or 10. Gin is obviously not that cheap, but we got ours for about a tenner in Lidl and it will last for ages and ages. It certainly works out cheaper than wine at two bottles a week!

Even better (healthier and pretty much free), drink water from your tap. I keep a glass next to me all day.

Save your dairy allowance for something else and try herbal teas instead of the usual tea or coffee with milk. I am enjoying chamomile at the moment. Tesco* sell a chamomile infusion which is syn free and very nice at £1.19 for 40 tea bags.

Crisps

Oh, I know I shouldn’t eat crisps at all when I am trying to lose weight. However, I also know that I am a snacker, so I like to be prepared for evenings when I am watching something good on TV and fancy something munchy.

One thing I found immediately was that reduced fat crisps were still often higher in calories than some of the bog standard varieties – and often more expensive. French Fries are a particularly good Slimming World swap for a snack, I think. I buy Lidl’s Snaktastic Crunchy Fries. They work out at around 3.5 syns a bag (69 calories). I can’t remember how much the multipacks are but there are 10 packs in a bag and I am pretty sure they cost less than £2.

Fried food

Obviously, fried food is a no-no on Slimming World, but I haven’t missed it at all. This is partly because I am lucky enough to have an air fryer*, which is brilliant for syn free chips and roast potatoes. I don’t use it enough really as it is pretty versatile and you can cook all sorts of food in it. I was fortunate enough to be given mine for review, but you can buy similar ones on Amazon*. Air fried rather than fat fried food makes an excellent Slimming World swap.

Chocolate

Oh Lord, I do love a bit of chocolate! Having said that, it has been easier than I expected to cut right back whilst doing Slimming World. I have also found that when I do have some, I enjoy it even more.

Best not to keep the good stuff in the house whilst I am dieting though, as I just can’t resist it for long. Instead, I have been buying small cereal bars containing chocolate chips or with a little bit of chocolate on the outside – anything around the 130 calorie mark. Something like the Tesco* salted caramel munch bars above, which are 5% fat and 133 calories. The fact that they are individually wrapped works for me. If I decided I could have, say, 3 or 4 rich tea biscuits instead I would never stop once the packet was open….

Most people crave something sweet at some point in the day, and I am certainly no different. I keep something like this in my handbag for an emergency craving when I am out and about.

Desserts

Talking of sweet cravings, sometimes it’s nice to have a dessert from time to time. Rather than buying the type of thing I would normally go for – like trifles or chocolate mousse – I have opted for low fat alternatives. I find puddings marketed as low fat tend to be far more expensive. Why should that be? Yes, the supermarkets will do their level best to make money out of every opportunity!

I do sometimes buy Asda’s low fat chocolate mousses (only around 3.5 syns), but they aren’t that great. I prefer a pot of creme caramel. It doesn’t matter which supermarket you go for, they all tend to be very similar in terms of Syns (about 5 – 6.5 syns). They are cheap too!

I also enjoy Asda’s very low fat lactose free Greek yogurt with loads of chopped up fruit on top, which is pretty much free.

Don’t feel deprived

You really can eat loads on Slimming World! With some sensible Slimming World swaps you don’t have to feel deprived and can eat a healthy, low fat diet with a few treats chucked in to help keep you motivated.

Incidentally, after a week in France I somehow still managed to lose half a pound! It must have been all the walking we did, but the Slimming World way must have permeated my brain and helped me choose sensibly in between the croissants and brie…