What Are Free Foods?
Free foods are an essential part of the Slimming World plan. They should always make up the main bulk of your weekly plan. Free foods mean they do not hold a Syn* value and we can eat unlimited amounts until we are full.
Most of your meals should be made up using Free foods first. Healthy filling free plates of food are what will help you to lose weight.
The rules to follow regarding Free Foods:
- Eat unlimited amounts until full at any time.
- No need to weigh or measure.
An example of a healthy evening meal using free foods
1 x Chicken Breast
4 Large New Potatoes
Half the plate full of fresh vegetables
Dairy
Dairy is an excellent source of calcium and perfect to create and add to meals. Try mixing Quark into cooked pasta or making a delicious mushroom omelette for a healthy filling lunch.
Examples of Free Foods from the Dairy category:
- Eggs
- Fat free natural fromage frais
- Fat free natural yogurt
- Low fat cottage cheese
- Plain Quark
Drinks
Free also includes some drinks and it is really important to stay hydrated. YES you really can grab yourself a Pepsi Max for free!! Just remember to stick to low calorie drinks and if you add sugar or milk to your hot drinks you must allow for this in your Healthy extra A choices or Syns.
Examples of Free Drinks:
- Coffee Black (all varieties)
- Cordial/squash (no added sugar)
- Low calorie/sugar free fizzy drinks
- Water Plain (still or sparkling)
- Sugar free fizzy water
- Tea Black or herbal infusions (all varieties)
Fruit
Almost all fresh and frozen fruit is Free and it is a perfect addition to any meal especially breakfast. Top your cereal with berries to keep you fuller for longer. The best thing about this list is I hadn’t heard of some of these before joining Slimming World! Note that fruit must be fresh or frozen, tinned fruit is not Free.
Examples of Free Foods from the Fruit category:
- Apples
- Apricots
- Bananas
- Blackcurrants
- Blackberries
- Blueberries
- Cherries
- Clementines
- Cranberries
- Custard Apples
- Damsons
- Dragon Fruit
- Figs
- Gooseberries
- Grapefruit
- Grapes
- Greengages
- Guava
- Kiwi
- Kumquats
- Lemons
- Limes
- Loganberries
- Loquats
- Lychees
- Mandarins
- Mango
- Mangosteen
- Melon
- Mixed Berries
- Nectarines
- Oranges
- Papaya
- Passion Fruit
- Peaches
- Pears
- Physalis (Cape Gooseberries)
- Pineapple
- Plums
- Pomegranates
- Pomelo
- Prickly Pears
- Rambutan
- Raspberries
- Redcurrants
- Rhubarb (raw)
- Satsumas
- Sharon Fruit
- Star Fruit
- Strawberries
- Tangerines
- Ugli Fruit
- White currants
Meat/Poultry
Lean or trimmed cuts of meat are usually classed as free. Packed full of protein and a necessary for any healthy diet. Use these to make filling and healthy meals such as spaghetti bolognese and chicken casserole.
Examples of Free Foods from the Meat/poultry category:
- Bacon (back/very lean/fat removed)
- Beef
- Beef mince (lean, 5% fat or less)
- Chicken (Skinless)
- Duck
- Gammon
- Goat
- Grouse
- Guinea Fowl
- Ham
- Hare
- Heart
- Kidney
- Lamb
- Liver
- Oxtail
- Partridge
- Pheasant
- Pigeon
- Pork
- Pork mince (lean, 5% fat or less)
- Quail
- Rabbit
- Turkey
- Turkey mince (lean, 5% fat or less)
- Veal
- Venison
Plant based proteins
Slimming World is even vegan friendly and the perfect way to help you lose weight. Have you every tried a Quorn curry? It’s divine!!
Examples of Free Foods from the Plant based protein category:
- Quorn Mince & Pieces
- Textured vegetable protein or soya protein (made with defatted soya)
- Tofu (naturally smoked and plain)
Rice/grain/pasta
These are only free if used as intended. If any products are ground to use as coating or flour they contain Syn values. Please be careful when choosing your product, some microwave rice pouches hold a Syn value.
Examples of Free Foods from the Rice/pasta/grain category:
- Buckwheat
- Bulger Wheat
- Couscous
- Dried Noodles Plain
- Dried Pasta (All varieties)
- Fresh Pasta
- Pearl Barley
- Quinoa
- Rice
Seafood
Fish and shellfish supply the nutrients, vitamins and omega 3s essential for strong bones, brain development, and healthy heart and immune system.
Examples of Free Foods from the seafood category:
- Bream
- Cod (Plain or Smoked)
- Coley
- Dab
- Dover Sole
- Flounder
- Haddock, Plain or Smoked
- Hake
- Halibut
- Hoki
- John Dory
- Lemon Sole
- Monkfish
- Mullet
- Plaice
- Pollock
- Red Snapper
- River Cobbler
- Sea Bass
- Tilapia
- Turbot
- Whiting
- Carp
- Herrings
- Kippers
- Mackerel (Unsmoked)
- Pilchards, canned in brine/tomato sauce
- Rollmop Herring
- Salmon, fresh/canned/smoked
- Sardines, canned in brine/tomato sauce
- Sardines, Fresh
- Sprats
- Trout, Fresh or Smoked
- Tuna, canned in brine or spring water
- Tuna, Fresh
- Abalone
- Clams
- Cockles
- Crab, Canned or Fresh
- Crayfish
- Cuttlefish
- Lobster
- Mussels
- Octopus
- Oysters
- Prawns
- Scallops
- Squid
- Whelks
- Winkles
- Caviar
- Cod Roe
- Herring Roe
- Seafood or Crab Sticks
Beans/peas/lentils
These are a brilliant way to bulk out main meals without adding extra calories.
Examples of Free Foods are:
- Aduki Beans
- Baked Beans, Canned
- Black Eye Beans
- Borlotti Beans
- Broad Beans
- Butter Beans
- Cannellini Beans
- Chickpeas
- Edamame beans
- Eddoes
- Flageolet beans
- Haricot beans
- Lentils, green/brown
- Lentils, red
- Mung Beans
- Peas, canned/fresh/frozen
- Peas, Marrowfat
- Peas, Mushy
- Peas, Petit Pois
- Peas, Processed
- Pinto Beans
- Red Kidney Beans
- Split Peas
- Taro
Stocks/dressings/condiments/sauces
No cupboard would be complete without some of these essentials!
Examples of Free Foods are:
- Fat free dressing, French/Italian/vinaigrette
- Herbs & Spices, Dry
- Low Calorie Cooking Spray (Frylight etc)
- Mustard Powder
- Oyster Sauce
- Ready to use stock, all varieties
- Salt & Pepper
- Soy Sauce
- Stock cubes & bouillon powder, all varieties
- Stock pots/melts/gels, all varieties
- Sweetener, drops & tablets
- Tomato puree (no added oil)
- Vinegar, all varieties
Vegetables
Fresh, frozen, canned or pickled… most vegetables are free. Use these to bulk out your meals such as grated carrot in bolognese.
Examples of Free Foods from the Vegetable category:
- Alfalfa sprouts
- Amaranth leaves
- Artichokes
- Asparagus
- Aubergine
- Baby sweetcorn
- Bamboo shoots
- Bean sprouts
- Beetroot
- Bitter gourd (kerala)
- Broccoli
- Brussels sprouts
- Butternut squash
- Cabbage
- Capers
- Carrots
- Cassava
- Cauliflower
- Celeriac
- Celery
- Chard
- Chicory
- Chillies
- Chinese leaf
- Courgettes
- Cucumber
- Endive
- Fennel
- Green beans
- Garlic
- Gherkins
- Herbs
- Kale
- Leeks
- Lettuce
- Mangetout
- Marrow
- Mixed Salad Leaves
- Mushrooms
- Okra
- Onion
- Pak choi
- Parsnips
- Peppers
- Plantain
- Potatoes
- Pumpkin
- Purple sprouting broccoli
- Radicchio
- Radishes
- Rocket
- Runner beans
- Samphire
- Shallots
- Spinach
- Spring greens
- Spring onions
- Sugar snap peas
- Swede
- Sweet potatoes
- Sweetcorn, On the cob
- Sweetcorn, Kernels
- Tomatoes
- Turnip
- Vine leaves
- Watercress
- Water chestnuts
- Yams
Iceland food range
Last but not least.. Iceland now stock an extensive range of Slimming World branded free foods. Check out their range here. These include curries, soups and even chips!
If you are struggling with meal plans or ideas on what to eat using free foods. Please see my recipes using free foods only here.