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Hosted by Paul Evans, Registered Nutritionist (@paulthenutritionist)
Tired of the endless food fads, influencer nonsense, and TikTok nutrition “hacks”? This podcast cuts through it all.
No Forking Nonsense delivers straight-talking, science-backed nutrition advice that actually makes sense — in under 20 minutes. No fluff. No fads. Just real answers from a qualified expert who knows what works in the real world.
Each episode tackles one myth, one headline, or one common mistake — and gives you clear, practical takeaways you can apply straight away.
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Welcome to no forking nonsense. The podcast that slices through the nonsense and serves you straight talking nutrition advice that actually works. I'm Paul, a registered nutritionist and your host. And every episode, I'll be debunking diet myths, breaking down confusing food advice and giving you practical science backed tips to help you eat better, feel better and get your edge back. There'll be no fads, no shite, just real talk that makes sense.
@paulthenutritionist:Let's get stuck in. Hello, hello and welcome to another episode of No Forking Nods and today we are talking about supermarkets and shopping and ensuring that you not only get the most out of your time but your money and that when you do go in, you aren t buying things which you are probably not going to use and the best way to attack that is to make a plan. And that is not only just make a plan in terms of a list, but also make a plan of what you are going to do without food. The worst thing that you can do is go to a supermarket and go on vibes. Go in and think, well I kind of know what I want and you know I'll work out what to do.
@paulthenutritionist:Do not leave it to future you to make that decision. The best bit of advice I can tell you is if you're going to write a list anyway, which you should be doing, you might as well spend an extra five minutes working out what are you going to do with the food that you're going to buy from the supermarket. If you do that, you will not only save yourself time, but you will save yourself money as well. So this is all based on British supermarkets, so we're talking Think Aldi, Tesco, Sains, Brizazda etc. So the one thing I guess to tell you is that you have to remember that supermarkets are laid out to psychologically manipulate you into spending as much food as possible.
@paulthenutritionist:Food as possible is money as possible, that is why the most essential item is usually back right of the supermarket, so you have to do the whole loop and then you finally get to the things that you actually need. So usually milk and bread is at the back of the supermarket because they know that you're probably going to you have to pass all of these super offers and you know these big yellow and red signs saying sale or you know money off or two for one. The other thing is it's also not for instance that all the fresh food is at the front first and that is so you feel good buying the fresh healthy food and then inevitably your inhibitions will disappear the more you fill up your trolley, like it's all psychologically planned, even there's down to the flooring and you know they want you to move in a certain way and all of these things are all designed to get you to spend as much money as possible, so do not be fooled. The first thing to say is obviously protein is really fashionable right now and there are some really good and it certainly got better, but there are some really, really good protein options in most supermarkets but try not to be conned too much when it comes to protein options.
@paulthenutritionist:What I would say is the hidden protein shelves, I guess there are some options these days which I guess are more hidden than not. I would probably start with the chilled aisle when it comes to protein options. So there are these days so many great protein puddings mousses, cork, skier yoghurt that are lower in sugar than those which are screaming protein at you. Just have a look on the back and just make sure they have at least 20 grams of protein in and there isn't more than about 180 calories. Get those, they're going fill a gap, they're better than so at the moment now you've got this protein sundae that's really good, it tastes like the old Screwballs that you had as a child from the ice cream man.
@paulthenutritionist:They really do hit a spot and they've got a good proportion of protein, I think about twenty-twenty five grams. They only cost a quid. Calories I think are 175 and they do a job for an evening. Greek yogurt, absolutely great opportunity to get your protein in via yoghurts. Of the protein, protein pouches are great such as quart flavoured quart.
@paulthenutritionist:Again usually have 20 grams in 25 gram sim and usually relatively low in calories. What I don't want you to be getting is the protein smoothies, they're usually really high in sugar, they're basically just your Yop, remember those Yop yoghurt drinks? They're basically just those so probably don't waste your money on those. But yeah, like the dairy aisle, it's just natural sources of protein and then they obviously have the flavoured ones which like the protein puddings I've alluded to. So that's good place to start when it comes to protein.
@paulthenutritionist:Cheese aisles, light mature cheddar often has more protein per calorie than protein snacks. You know like protein bars often, I'm seeing some protein bars at the moment that are horrific with 16 grams of protein in and about 16 grams of sugar in so let's avoid those. You want to be having ideally foods which are actually the foods that you know and these days the cheese aisle is pretty good, again we're seeing more of an awareness of quart, cottage cheese, dairy, protein options which are obviously not supernatural but they re still relatively natural when it comes to protein options. But also what I m seeing a lot at the moment in supermarkets is there s a brand called Eat Lean which has not only lower saturated fat cheese but also higher protein, it s strained a little bit. So again you get your protein in there and also it s a little bit lower fat and it tastes just as good, certainly the grated options.
@paulthenutritionist:Lidl used to do grated cheese but they stopped doing those but they now do recently have started doing protein cheese. If you're going to have cheddar cheese and stuff you might as well, even if it's a little bit more processed by nature of it being grated, you might as well just get a little bit lower fat and higher in protein. While we're on the dairy option, you go to a mainstream supermarket, so I'm thinking Tesco, Sainsbury's, they've got a milk called Nutri it's called Nutri something and it's like triple filtered milk which is high protein, really really good, tastes amazing, really creamy and again it's a lot higher in protein and it's fantastically tasty, it's really really good. World food aisles are one of the biggest hacks I can literally tell you about, so as opposed to going to the normal tinned aisle, if you go to the world food aisle, you can get tinned lentils, chickpeas, beans and they're all much cheaper, much higher in fibre than standard tins. Same with soy sauce and other sauces, can usually get rices, pastas, you can usually get them from these world food aisles at a much cheaper rate.
@paulthenutritionist:I don't even know why people don't know about that, but that's going save you a lot of money. Often people would overspend on branded options when actually if you look at it there's not much in it. Which brings me on to looking at those basic like chopped tomatoes. I So would recommend getting chopped tomatoes with basil or chopped tomatoes and herbs as opposed to spending money on tomato sauces, they're a lot cheaper. Pissata, which is just strained tomatoes with basil and herbs are usually a lot cheaper than ready made sauces to meal sauces, taste amazing as well, you can use them in everything.
@paulthenutritionist:Microbial rices, not only are they cheaper, they're quicker to cook and you're less likely to get food poisoning if you were to like you haven't got to go through the same sensitivities when it comes to cooling the rice once it's been in the microwave because the way that they've done it is already pre cooked, microwavable rice is an absolutely no brainer. Chopped, ready made, whether you go to a mainstream supermarket and get lazy garlic and lazy chilli, lazy onion or Aldi Lidl, they've got them in the tube, so like the squeezy garlic options, squeezy ginger, squeezy chilli. Aldi also do some really good herbs and spices, not only have they got single herbs and spices, so your basil, your paprika, all of those things, but also they have this garlic and herb one, which is really really good. Keeps rages, you can add that to all of your chicken, your meat etc. On meat I would say go for chopped chicken, I don't know why you'd possibly chop your own chicken, waste time, just buy diced chicken.
@paulthenutritionist:Makes absolutely no sense not to do that, diced chicken breast I wouldn't recommend going for chicken. I think I've got chicken drum fillets now, so chicken breast is the leanest cut, chicken drum is probably the fattiest cut, chicken wings are a complete waste of time. Chicken thigh fillets are higher in fat but obviously you get more flavour with those but I wouldn't always get the five fillets, again thinking of your time you don't want to be filleting them yourself. Beef, always go for the 5% lean beef or the steak, you rarely, rarely want to be getting anything higher than that because it's just too high in saturated fats, it doesn't make you feel very good. Turkey mince or chicken mince can be used for chillies if you don't like beef.
@paulthenutritionist:These days I've seen pork, pork mince which is have ice in it at 5%, if that is the case then that's fantastic. You can get lean sausages pretty much from anywhere now, lean pork sausages which share 90% meat, not only does that mean they're lower in fat, it means there's less shit in them. Chicken sausages again, a lot leaner, turkey sausages a lot leaner. Get bacon medallions as opposed to bacon, get yourself some turkey bacon, again bacon isn't the greatest of food, but if you are going to get it, you might as well get the medallion versions. What else can I say in that aisle?
@paulthenutritionist:Sorry, I'm walking around the supermarket in my head. These days actually, going straight back to start, you can get, if you like to have squash or fruit juice, Howdy Lidl and I think Sainsbury's and Tesco, they've got vitamin drinks. Now don't get me wrong, they haven't got loads of vitamins in, but what they have got is really good flavour profiles. The orange one actually tastes like Sunny Delight, it's lower in sugar, it's about four calories per bottle and it also has a super sweet lovely flavour. Really orange, I think it's orange and mango, tastes like a J2O and they say they've added vitamins to it, I mean I wouldn't get it for that reason but if you're somebody who likes a sweet drink I wouldn't you know waste money on you know fruit juices which are just literally sugar, you're better off getting these bottles which are really really nice.
@paulthenutritionist:Recently as well Jim's Kitchen have got into the Tesco and the Sainsbury's and the Asda food to go aisle, so they've got some higher protein wraps which I recommend for food on the go and Audi have got their own higher protein versions, Lidl also do. With regards to I'm just still walking around the supermarket in my mind, don't want to get to Fraser yet. So in the bread aisle, Aldi, Lidl, they've all got high protein wraps which are lower in calories than your normal wrap, they've also got high protein bagels which I recommend they're lower in calories than normal bagels. Aldi currently have a high protein sourdough which is amazing, tastes great, low in calories, be careful of bread. Often wholemeal breads are about two-two 50 per slice, which is crazy when you think about it.
@paulthenutritionist:Once you've made your sandwich, you're looking at a 700 calorie meal. So be mindful of that. Best ones usually you want to be in for about less than 100 calories per slice, so like brown bread ideally, but again the high protein ones are usually if they're higher in protein and higher in fibre, that means you'll slow the absorption of any sugars within that bread, so again you're not going to get that glucose spike, you're probably going to feel much more full for longer. But yeah, high protein wraps are fantastic in all of those supermarkets. High protein flats, if you're in a mainstream soup mainstream a branded supermarket Warburton's have high protein, Pittas Hand high protein, what are they called, the pitts, like pitta pockets, they're those, they're really really nice.
@paulthenutritionist:LDE currently have flatbreads which were amazing. Again, kind with calories, taste amazing, keep for a long time, really doughy, recommend those. There are some high protein crumpets which aren't amazing, but again if you're a crumpet person you might as well get those with a little bit higher protein in. So that's it I think in terms of the veg, if you are someone who likes to have a crunch with your meal I recommend getting specially selected gourmet salted crackers. They're not too dry, they usually got a little bit of rock salt on and they're really nice dipping lower calorie cheese, like light cheese and you can have those in a nice little snack.
@paulthenutritionist:Light baby bows, five grams of protein per portion, but the crackers are only two, they're literally 20 calories each, so you can have five of those under calories really hit spot. Rice cake, the rice cake tier list, so Aldi have just fucked theirs up, but they were really good. I'd say salt and vinegar wise, Aldi and Tesco are on par. Sweet chilli rice, Aldis have ruined theirs, so don't get those, I would go either Tesco or Waitrose have the best salt and vinegar ones. Kaleo are okay but they're a little bit drier.
@paulthenutritionist:Aldi do have really good salt and vinegar, ham, sour cream and onion. Rice cakes, highly recommend those. If you like crisps then always go for crisps under 100 calories, I always talk about pom pears, think those lentil crisps are really good, they hit the spot. I'm purposely avoiding fruit and veg, it's a no brainer to obviously make sure you're getting stocked on. I tend to get apples, raspberries, blueberries, I always get a salad regardless, like a salad bag because you can add that to anything.
@paulthenutritionist:If you don't like to have frozen, which we haven't talked about but we will do in a second, then Aldi currently do and I think Tesco and Sainsbury's currently do chopped onions which you can have, so you haven't got to chop your own onions. I am someone who wants convenience, I'm never chopping my own onions, never chopping my own peppers, I always buy them frozen. Which brings me on to the frozen aisle. So frozen chopped onions, frozen chopped garlic, frozen chopped peppers, frozen chopped think frozen chopped sweet potatoes, Tesco do insane sprays do, frozen chopped everything, going to the freezer on a bike to keep for ages. What you can also do, if you're buying spinach, because they come in ridiculously big bags, I would recommend buying spinach, using what you need and then putting the rest in the freezer and then you can just reach in and pull it out.
@paulthenutritionist:You can get microwavable rice and grains, it's not as good but it's portion control. Frozen veg packs are an absolute no brainer, so every supermarket does these, so they're basically veg packs that you shove in the microwave for four minutes, job done. Back in the meat actually, thinking about most supermarkets have salmon whereby you can just shove it in the microwave and it's usually seasoned so it kind of steams quite nicely, so if you're in a rush get those. You could get, I'm not a fan, but if you're on a budget and you like the convenience, these days all supermarkets have frozen cooked chicken strips which have a bit of flavouring and they're not great, I've never bought them but it's protein without any prep or commitment because obviously most poor food choices come from that decision, so you could get those frozen foods. These days as well, every supermarket has higher protein ready meals.
@paulthenutritionist:They're not amazing but if you're in an absolute rush and don't know what to do, you can get the Jim's Kitchen ones, Aldi have their own brand, they'll have their own brand. Sainsbury's and Aster have their own brand, Mark Spencer have their own brands, they're high protein. The Mark and Spencer ones are higher in fibre as well, but getting those, shove them in the microwave, know, you're getting a good they're usually under about 500 calories which is sensible from main. You're getting a good 30 grams of fibre in, maybe add some veg to it for even more fibre. But yeah, can be really really helpful.
@paulthenutritionist:Upgrading foods, would say as opposed to getting normal yoghurt, go for a protein yoghurt just because it's strained, lowering sugar, again you want to kind of try and maximise your protein for many different reasons, probably because you're not eating enough. As opposed to getting normal cheese, as I say, get higher protein or lighter cheese. Never get white bread, it's literally a point in this next year in athletes to get the higher fibre, high protein breads. Squash, If you're a squash drinker, no problem with that, haven't got a problem with it. But I would probably get squash with sparkling water because it just kind of fills you up a little more, makes you feel a little bit more sophisticated when you're drinking it and it just kind of stacks that quality without you feeling deprived.
@paulthenutritionist:Also, I'm not against getting zero sugar fizzy drinks. I don't want you drinking it forever but it can be a nice, it's not going to impact you, there's very little evidence that the sweeteners are going to bother you, any long term implications on that. So I tend to have a caffeine free Pepsi Max every few days. Sprite Zero I'm a big fan of. The only thing that it's bad for is your teeth, your dentist won't like the amount of acid in there but again if you sweat it out with some water or you drink it with water you can't go wrong.
@paulthenutritionist:But just watch your caffeine intake if it's closer to bedtime. What else have we got here? Ensuring that, so what you could do is if you're someone who is in an absolute rush, getting yourself some, or you're training quite hard getting yourself some protein ready to drink milks, so Milkshades, Aldi Lidl, Sainsbury's, Tesco, they all do them, but like you know a good snack, 20 grams of protein minimum. There's going to be sugars in there because it's milk, but what you don't want is loads of sugars, you don't want added sugars to check the back of those. And then with regards to treats, the problem isn't chocolate, it's just the kind of unbuffered chocolate, so having like a biscuit with a protein yoghurt or a chocolate bar with an apple or popcorn and a protein permeatite, all these things, idea is the protein and the fibre will slow down the blood sugar spikes, so what that will do is it will stop that kind of one biscuit becoming six biscuits because you'll feel hopefully that you're more kind of filled up if you like.
@paulthenutritionist:Meal deals, so meal deals aren't necessarily bad but often they become quite unstructured so always look for a protein heavy main, a carb snack and then maybe some fruit, or obviously avoid kind of double carb like pasta and crisps. Look for that protein, twenty-twenty five grams of protein minimum. Add the protein side if you can't get it from the main, so I mean I'm not a fan of this, boiled eggs, but protein yoghurts, protein drinks. This matters because meal deals fail usually on the protein and the fibre, so that tiny twink is just going to make it a functional meal. Always buy, when you're in a supermarket, a zero effort dinner, zero effort lunch, number one emergency snack bundle also.
@paulthenutritionist:Perhaps a rotisserie chicken with microbial rice and a veg pouch or salad, perhaps a protein wrap and a salad bag ready to go, perhaps a protein bar and popcorn. Just so you've got something ready to go, the protein ready meals which I've said if you buy them you've them in the fridge for an emergency. Most overeating happens because people just rely on that motivation and that is, you know, we want to try and remove that, so just get prepped in. It's a bit of a hack for you, so portion control without you having to consider things too much, I often say you want to have a palm of protein, fist of carbs, two fists of veg and you should be good to go to veg or salad. But like really really simply, I would say in the supermarket, microbial rice packs are simple, protein yoghurt, protein pouches, single serve snacks, so when you're snacking try and get like smaller, fine to have little chocolate bars but just make sure you're having it after a main meal or with a source of protein and just have one.
@paulthenutritionist:So if you're having a little chocolate bar it's fine, no problem, Usually they're under 100 calories, not going to touch high, don't worry about it. But just try and make sure you don't have two of them, so if they're portioned, you're less likely to. What we want to do with snacks is we just want to ensure that it has a protein anchor, whether that is post meal or you pair it with a source of protein. Every sweet snack needs to have fibre or volume every savoury snack needs to just have a stop point to portion it out, so as I said protein, yoghurt and fruit, cheese and grapes, crisps with ham roll ups. Grazing is, you know, rarely hunger, it's usually blood sugar instability or just you're in a habit.
@paulthenutritionist:Final final point, protein bars are fine, but just make sure they've at least 20 grams of protein in, and have it with an apple as well, just so it becomes more of a complete meal. Make sure it's under 200 calories and that you're not relying on them every day. You certainly don't have more than one a day. It's still technically a chocolate bar, it's just got a little bit more protein in to remember that. Make sure you make a plan.
@paulthenutritionist:As I say, your frozen idol as much as possible. Make sure you go in with a proper list of what you're going to use, try and make sure I've covered everything and yeah, I think that's it. So yeah, if you need anything else let me know, hope that makes sense, Loads more information and bits coming up in future. There is a weekend survival guide that you can have which is going to really help you to attack the weekend this weekend, then nutritionistuk.com/weekend, you can download that for completely free. Any questions let me know and I should be due.
@paulthenutritionist:That's it for this episode of no talking nonsense where the fluff gets binned and the facts get served. If you found this helpful, share it with someone who could do with some clarity from an expert. That's me by the way. And make sure you hit follow so you don't miss what's coming next. And if you want more straight talking, no nonsense nutrition advice, come and find me on Instagram Paul, the nutritionist.
@paulthenutritionist:Until next time, eat smart, feel human again and stop falling for the forking nonsense. See you next time.