The Haynes Family Eat Well for Less?

-Ooh, Creme Eggs. Ooh, Maltesers. Ooh!

-The "ooh" theory to shopping.

Gregg Wallace and greengrocer Chris Bavin are back

for their biggest challenge yet...

I like my food, but this is embarrassing.

That doesn't bother you, does it?

..to help families slash their weekly food bills.

This family is spending an outrageous amount of money.

Getting quite emotional about that.

They're going undercover...

-Oh, no.

-I've got to go and do a top-up shop anyway, so...

You're already planning to do a top-up shop in the middle of a shop!

..and taking over kitchens...

-I ain't having this.

-What is that?

Where's my stuff?

..to find out where we can spend less...

-Just under six grand.

-It's stupid money.

..and where, on the odd occasion,

it might be worth spending a little more.

-That's the good stuff.

-That is.

-Restaurant standard.

-They'll be checking out the country's

most popular food and drink...

My co-presenter tries to get me to do this

-after a long shoot day, actually.

-Three, go!

..and giving the Great British public their say.

-Yeah, that was delicious.

-No, that's not right.

They'll be conjuring up cut-price recipes...

-Ta-dah!

-Anybody can make this dish.

-And it was less than £2.50.

..but at the end of the day,

will Gregg and Chris prove that you really can eat well for less?

-SHE GASPS

-This is all about breaking habits

and learning something new.

-No!

-SHE LAUGHS

Let's get to work.

-Three for a fiver.

-Yeah, but I like having my own bottle.

This week, we're with Rob and Jodie...

Oh, my goodness me. They can't even drink the same bottle of beer.

..who can't agree on their family food shop.

I'd rather you eat what I cook, though.

I think we've just got different tastes, at the end of the day.

Divided by dinners, dad Rob does his own daily trolley dash.

Some tapas. It's probably only me that's going to eat it.

But all this extra shopping means a lot of wasted food.

Nearly £1,500 a year is going in the bin.

Can Gregg and Chris fix this spiralling food bill?

-Are you committed to making a change?

-100%.

-Yeah, absolutely.

This week, we're in Hampshire.

-ALL:

-We're the Haynes family!

And the Haynes are four-year-old Hattie,

-18-month-old Pippa, dad Rob and mum Jodie.

-Cheese!

Rob and Jodie got together 17 years ago.

We met at a company at the airport,

and Rob came into the office and caught my eye.

And the rest, as they say, is history.

-Yes.

-SHE LAUGHS

And with marriage and the arrival of their little girls,

they are one happy family,

except when it comes to food.

-We argue about shopping.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-Yeah, cos...

What you've bought, what I've bought.

One problem is Jodie's work.

As a part-time childminder,

she has a lot of mouths to feed in little time,

and this has made cooking a chore.

Feeding up to six children every evening is quite hard work.

They all like different things.

It would be really nice to go in the kitchen

and spend two or three hours cooking a lovely dinner,

but I don't have the time.

Really, food is quite mundane and boring for me

because I have to get everybody fed, basically, by a certain time.

But the kids aren't the only tricky mouths to feed.

There's also Rob.

Working long hours at Heathrow Airport

means he's often late home and picky when he gets there.

-Smells nice.

-Don't fancy it, though?

-Sorry, babe.

Most of the time, Rob rejects Jodie's home-cooked dinners.

-I'm the awkward one.

-HE CHUCKLES

If I've spent all day cooking it

and then he comes in and he may or may not eat it,

that's quite disheartening.

To put it bluntly, Rob finds Jodie's child-friendly meals just too bland.

Jodie's style of cooking would probably be traditionally British.

I sound really snobby here, but I like different flavours.

So, Rob really likes Thai stuff, Oriental stuff,

stuff with chilli that's got a kick to it or a spice.

She might not want to eat what I want to eat,

so, again, that's probably the root of the problem.

And I'm kind of like, "OK, what do I do?"

You know, it's a bit difficult to keep everybody happy

and I don't have time to keep everyone happy.

Failing to find one meal to suit all means that, after work,

Rob often stops off at the supermarket.

Some tapas.

Well, I quite like tapas. Three for £5.

Having said that, it's probably only me that's going to eat it.

Or not eat it.

With Rob buying more food than he needs

and Jodie cooking meals Rob won't eat,

a lot of food ends up being chucked out.

I think we're wasting probably about £30 to £40 worth of food a week,

which is a lot, and it is annoying, really,

just because we haven't planned things properly.

It's come to a point, though,

where I think we're both realising that we do lead sort of separate...

-Lives.

-..lives in the evening.

-Yeah.

And we both need to try and find something that works for both of us.

The money that we're wasting,

the food that we're wasting, we can't really...

-And plan.

-We just need some help.

-Yeah.

-SHE LAUGHS

You certainly do.

Good job Gregg and Chris are up for the challenge.

Jodie and Rob have arrived at their local supermarket.

-Are you pushing?

-You're pushing.

Usually, Jodie does the family shop on her own,

but to see where their differences really lie,

today, we've asked them to do it together.

And they've no idea Gregg and Chris are in store, ready to spy.

Straight down here?

For a better view, it's back to a storeroom for our detectives.

Here we go. Right.

That's what I want to get.

SHE LAUGHS

-Er...

-Cos you can get two of them for one of them.

-No, no, no.

Get that one, please.

Ooh! Hold on. Has Jodie got a list?

-GREGG: Has she?

-I wanted to get some more of that cos it's cracking.

-Why?

-That's that one that I like, so...

-Yeah, but you like it.

-Yeah, that's right.

-I don't like it.

Oh, right. Well, don't eat it, then.

-BOTH:

-Ooh!

-That was throwing down the gauntlet, wasn't it?

HE LAUGHS Ooh!

These will do them all week.

And the brands have started going in now. Big-brand yoghurt.

-That'll do.

-Branded butter.

'With so many young mouths to feed,

'childminder Jodie's filling the trolley with products and brands

'she knows the kids will eat, but it's not what Rob wants.'

-That looks nice.

-Paella?

-Paella.

Frozen paella?

Ribs? Go on, then. You do your bit here.

All right, let's have a look. "Mini sticky..."

What are we going to have with them?

-What do you mean "we"?

-HE LAUGHS

Right, OK.

Hang on a minute.

I'd rather you eat what I cook, though.

You can make a nice Thai green curry, then.

No, I don't want Thai green curry.

OK, there's a real conflict here.

Rob made a suggestion of something that he might like to eat

and she said no.

Yeah.

'And the taste divide doesn't stop there.

'Who's for a beer?'

-Three for a fiver.

-Yeah, but I like having my own bottle.

Yeah, you can. That's what I'm saying.

-No, I don't want one that big.

-Three for a fiver.

Oh, my goodness me. They can't even drink the same bottle of beer.

-Just drink it out of a glass.

-Oh, no, but it's not the same.

-Course it is.

-No, it's not.

The issue seems to be here that the pair of them simply cannot agree

on what it is they should eat and drink together.

No, I completely agree. Shall we go and have a chat?

Yeah, yeah, come on, let's go.

'As they hit the snack aisle,

'Jodie and Rob have no idea they are about to be rumbled.'

I do like them.

-Now, about the size of this bottle of beer.

-Oh, my God!

Can you even agree on what supermarket to come to?

-We never shop together.

-We never shop together.

-It doesn't show.

It's probably just as well. I don't think you'd be married much longer.

-Are you done, do you think?

-I think so.

Shall we get this through the till?

So, I know you find it difficult to agree

on a few things on the way round, but who's in charge of the shop?

-Me, me. I'm in charge.

-Are you?

-Yes.

-Cos she goes shopping on her own.

-SHE LAUGHS

-What are these things for?

-Eating. They're for me. They're snacks.

-OK.

So, you just want a snack when you come in from work, don't you?

-You don't want a dinner.

-No. It's an expensive way of shopping.

-You don't eat the same things?

-No.

-ROB LAUGHS

Rob likes spicy, picky,

those kind of things when he gets in from work,

whereas I'm thinking, "Dinner. Dinner for the children."

-Functional.

-Functional.

-But you're cooking for functionality and practicality.

-Yeah, yes.

-You're purely driven by flavour...

-Yes.

-..and snacking.

-You like to pick at things. You don't want a big meal.

-That's it.

And you don't believe those two things can be found in one meal.

-Yeah, that's the problem.

-They can.

-Right, OK. That's fine.

-We're in. It's good.

-SHE LAUGHS

'So, the big question is - what did this trip cost them?'

So, we've got one shop here.

-That's not all the shopping cos you're going to shop again.

-Yeah.

So, how much do you think you've spent here?

-No idea.

-I don't know. 100.

You've actually spent...

-..109.

-Ah, not bad.

'Well, it wouldn't be if this was

'Rob and Jodie's only shop of the week.

'But this is just a fraction of the Haynes' weekly food shop,

'and Gregg and Chris have a month's worth of receipts to prove it.'

So, how many times do you guys think you're going shopping every week?

Er, I'd probably go three or four times a week.

I probably go three or four times a week.

-SHE LAUGHS

-OK, well, you're right.

You're going four times a week, on average.

You're, in fact, going an average of seven times...

-SHE GASPS

-..a week.

So, collectively, you're going to the shop

11 times every single week.

That's outrageous.

'So, what sort of damage is 11 supermarket trips a week

'doing to the family's bank balance?'

Well, we've got your receipts here.

Jodie, you're spending £92.63 a week

on feeding you, the kids

-and occasionally you...

-SHE LAUGHS

..which, actually, I think is quite reasonable.

'Not bad at all.

'The national average food spend for a family of four is £81.40,

'but there's still Rob's receipts to come.'

-THEY LAUGH

-Rob...

-..you're spending £94.50 a week...

-SHE GASPS

-..on feeding yourself and occasionally you.

-Oh.

'Rob's daily supermarket sprees means the Haynes are spending

'over double the national average - enough to feed two families.'

Your total food bill annually

is £9,730 and a few pence a year.

-That's shocking.

-Yeah, that's...

That's nearly my part-time wage for childminding.

-Nearly ten grand.

-Ten grand a year.

-Mm-hm.

That's stupid money.

-So, you're working just...

-For food.

-For food.

-..for food.

-And nearly five grand of that is you.

-Ooh!

That's a mega food bill. 200 quid a week is a mega food bill.

-It's outrageous. Just on food. It's got to change.

-Yeah.

-I'm lost for words. I really am.

-Yeah.

Are you committed to making a change?

-100%.

-Yeah, absolutely.

-100%.

'Shocked by the sums, the Haynes are ready for change.

'Now Gregg and Chris need to cook up a plan.'

We definitely need to see more cooperation in the kitchen

with these two, don't we?

-Oh, they've got to work together to get over this issue.

-Hmm.

What I'd really like to do is show Jodie some quick,

really easy recipes that Rob would like and the kids would eat.

There must be loads, mustn't there?

I'd like to sit with Rob and show him how a few simple ingredients

that you've already got in stock can give him that flavour

and variety that he wants.

If Rob can eat dinners that he really enjoys,

-he'll stop spending the money.

-Yeah.

-It's as easy as that.

-Yeah.

Another issue we have is the waste.

This family are wasting over double

-the national average of food at the moment.

-Is that right?

But if we manage to do all those things, what can we save them?

-75.

-75?

-£75 a week, I reckon.

-That's quite big for you, actually.

You've gone quite heavy there, haven't you?

I'm going to say we can cut their food bill straight down the middle.

We're going to save them 90 quid. 90 quid a week.

They look like they're ready to give it a go.

Well, something needs to change, doesn't it?

-Your shirt.

-HE LAUGHS

Getting Rob and Jodie to eat together is going to be tough,

but to get the ball rolling,

we've overhauled the family's kitchen.

THEY CHUCKLE

Oh, my goodness. What have they done?

SHE GASPS

All the family's favourite food and drink

has been replaced by items in plain packaging.

But to truly test their taste buds,

not every single item has been swapped.

That looks like it might be a different colour salad cream.

Most of our alternatives are cheaper than Jodie and Rob's usual buys,

but a few cost more because, sometimes,

it's worth spending the extra pennies.

-That's nice ham. That's definitely nice...

-That is nice ham, yeah.

That is definitely nice ham. That's not your dodgy value ham.

-SHE GASPS

-Rob!

-No!

-Oh, my goodness.

-SHE LAUGHS

Where's our stuff? That's worrying.

-Why?

-Cos it's got no brand on it.

-Yeah, there you go.

-I'm a tuna snob!

And it's not just tuna Jodie's particular about.

I think I would know if certain brands were swapped,

-and I think Hattie would probably tell us, as well.

-Yeah.

-We've tried to pull the wool over her eyes before...

-Yeah.

-..and she sussed it out.

-Yeah.

Well, we'll see, shall we?

The swap experiment has begun, and with Rob at work,

it's bangers and mash on the menu for the little ones.

I'm a bit of a snob when it comes to sausages

because I think you pay for what you get in them.

I think the more expensive the sausage,

the more meat or herbs, things like that, in them.

Normally, this self-confessed sausage snob

spends £2.50 on a pack of chipolatas,

but we've given her a healthier alternative

which contains almost 75% less fat

and are £1 cheaper.

OK, Hattie and Ben, dinner time!

And it's not just the bangers on trial.

-'It's good.'

-Yes? Yes, please.

-The beans are the same.

-Are they?

Sorry, Hattie, they're not.

Jodie usually buys branded baked beans, but today,

the kids are having a supermarket own brand

which contain less sugar, less salt and are nearly 45p cheaper a can.

And as these little eaters go through two tins a week,

that's a possible saving of over £45 a year.

Do you think it's the thumbs up or a thumbs down for the whole dinner?

-What do you think?

-Thumbs up.

-Good. Thumbs up.

What do you think, Pippy? Yay!

Good girl, Pippa.

Well, that's got the kids' vote, and the grown-ups win, too,

to the tune of nearly £100 saving a year.

Scrummy. Good boy, Ben.

And for pudding, it's one of the children's favourites - jelly.

Jodie always buys a premium brand,

but today, we've given her a value one

that's almost half the price.

Very summery and very fruity, so, yeah, they look really good.

Jodie's adding fresh fruit to the jelly for a vitamin boost.

OK, so, what do you think of the jelly?

Yay!

Looks like the little ones haven't spotted the swap,

and as they get through three packs a week,

Jodie could be looking at a saving of nearly £40 a year just on jelly.

Nice.

OK, darling.

But it's not just kids who enjoy this wobbly pud.

In the UK, sales are up,

with people of all ages having jelly as a fat-free,

low-calorie sweet snack.

So, today, we've shimmied to the Southwest

to ask a teenage dance troupe

what sets a good jelly apart from the rest.

If I were to have jelly at home,

my mum would probably buy a branded one.

I do think, with processed foods,

it's worth spending a little bit more money

because I just think you get a better quality, really.

But do you?

Well, we're about to find out,

as these dancers are going to blind test

five different strawberry jellies.

The cheapest is by Aldi.

There's brand leader Hartley's.

The most expensive -

a vegetarian jelly.

A sugar-free version from Asda.

And finally, another sugar-free jelly from Morrisons.

First up, a well-known brand and the most calorific on the table.

-It smells like Hartley's.

-So sweet.

-Yeah, that's Hartley's.

It tastes cheap. Like, you could probably find something better.

That's not Hartley's. I told you that's not Hartley's.

Now the veggie one, which uses seaweed extract

to set the jelly instead of animal gelatine.

-No.

-SHE LAUGHS

It looks good, but it tastes savoury.

-Like, it's not sweet at all.

-Yeah.

This one actually contains the most amount of sugar.

If this was party food at a party,

I'd be very disappointed and sad.

I think it's the expensive one.

Will the girls prefer the sugar-free jellies,

which are both supermarket own brands?

-SHE LAUGHS

-This one's nice.

-I like this one.

-There wasn't much flavour again.

-No.

No, I like that one.

Last to try, a discount supermarket's,

which has less sugar and calories than the brand leader.

I think this is my favourite one out of all of them.

It's OK, but it literally just dissolves in your mouth

and you can't bite into it or anything.

So, which jelly did our dancers give the standing ovation?

And the winner is...

..Aldi.

-Aldi?!

-What?

-No!

-Aldi?

That was nice. That was nice.

-It was better than all the others.

-Yeah.

Getting our judges' highest score

was the cheapest offering from a discount supermarket.

The market leader, which has the most calories,

shares second place with a low-calorie supermarket own brand,

proving tasty jelly can be as easy on the wallet as the waistline.

I was shocked by the fact that it was Aldi.

I thought it was going to be Hartley's

because it's a well-known brand.

I thought it was going to be really easy

to pick out my usual jelly, but it wasn't.

Back in Hampshire, Jodie's brand loyalty

is being put to the test in the food swap experiment.

I do always stick to a certain brand of tuna,

and it's quite a popular thing in our house.

We have tuna sandwiches, tuna pasta.

Tuna is a versatile food cupboard staple

for busy mum and childminder Jodie,

but does she think this tuna is her usual fishy friend?

It's nice. God, I'm not sure.

Now we've got you thinking.

-I'm really confused.

-SHE LAUGHS

Well, Jodie, it is a swap,

and could save you a very respectable 65p a can

on your premium brand.

But it's not just brand loyalty that's costing the Haynes a fortune.

With so many mouths to feed,

childminder Jodie is struggling to find quick,

easy meals that will appeal to the kids and to husband Rob.

I do have my, you know, ten favourite dishes that I cook,

but he literally will come in and say,

"I don't fancy that. I don't want that."

We tend to repeat meals rather than do things differently.

But Rob's solution of buying his own snacky dinner every night

is wasteful and expensive,

so Gregg's come over armed with a quick, simple tapas recipe

that he reckons will cater to everyone's taste buds.

I mean, come on. We are all guilty of cooking the same things

all the time because we find them easy.

It's just a fresh approach. That's all it is.

-Hello.

-Hello. Hi.

-Want to do some cooking?

-I do.

OK.

Tell me about you and cooking.

I love cooking, but when I cook these days,

it's purely to feed lots of children

that just want kind of plain, normal food that they're used to.

So, my passion and my love for cooking is there,

but I don't get to do it all the time.

It seems to me that you associate different flavours

-with lots of man hours.

-Taking ages, yeah.

-That just isn't true.

What if we could add some other things

that would appeal to Rob, that would become so easy,

they'd become part of your normal...?

Yes, yes. That's what I need.

We're going to cook with fish cos I know that Rob loves fish

-because that freezer is full of it.

-Yeah.

White fish is fantastic for a quick, tasty meal,

taking no time to cook,

and it can also be seasoned and flavoured

to suit very different palates.

That is a piece of sustainable cod.

There are loads of white fish. Pollock is cheaper.

-Hake's pretty good.

-Yeah.

Frozen fish. It really wouldn't matter.

All white fish is low in fat and high in protein,

so not only is this recipe adaptable,

it's healthy, too.

All you're going to do is take the skin off

-and then just cut it into chunks...

-OK.

-..and then you can wrap bacon.

-So, basically, like fish finger shapes.

-OK.

So, it's a quick lesson in de-skinning for Jodie.

That's it. Well done.

Keep the fish pressed down. Pull the skin off. There you are.

Yeah! There you go.

And she's already looking like a pro.

These cod fingers are going to be wrapped in bacon,

but for the grown-ups' fish,

Gregg wants Jodie to make a tapenade -

basically, an olive-based paste.

-Olives.

-It's not my favourite thing, but Rob likes them.

-Are you all right with anchovies?

-Hmm.

Come on, Jodie. For you and Rob to eat the same evening meal,

there's going to have to be some compromise.

-What we can do is we can play around with this.

-OK.

-All right?

And you can find a balance that you think you would like,

-Rob would like.

-OK.

-I would start off with sun-dried tomatoes.

-Yeah.

Right, you're going to make a paste,

and all you're going to do is add things...

-Yeah.

-..but I'm going to get you some teaspoons

and you're going to keep on tasting.

Let's put a couple of them in there, then.

Yeah, yeah, I can handle that. That's fine.

# Lovely! #

Jodie wasn't sure about the ingredients to begin with,

but she's already added in olives and capers.

Good on you, girl. And Gregg's not done yet.

I think it could do with a little bit of salt by way of an anchovy.

SHE LAUGHS Is that nervous laughter, Jodie?

-It's really nice.

-It is nice, isn't it?

-It's really nice.

-It's really...

-Something herby, fresh.

Well, flat parsley? All right, you can if you like, actually.

Do you want to chop up...? Actually, let's do it.

Now, I don't know about you,

but, I mean, we are completely freestyling this.

-Yeah.

-We're playing.

-It's looking good.

But also now you're just making your own sauces here.

With some hand-holding from Gregg,

Jodie's mastered her first-ever tapenade

and is really enjoying anchovies and olives.

-Happy?

-Happy.

-Good.

-It's really nice.

-I'm happy, too.

Today, I've learned to be a bit more adventurous, I think,

and Gregg's taught me to sort of taste things as I'm going along,

which I probably wouldn't normally do.

-I'm really proud of myself.

-SHE LAUGHS

Jodie adds her invention to the grown-ups' fish,

then wraps all the cod pieces in bacon.

I'm going to put a little bit of oil on there, all right?

-And I want you to brush the fish with the oil.

-OK.

-I've picked rapeseed oil.

-Is it better for you than, like,

sunflower oil or vegetable oil?

-Yes.

-OK.

It's got less saturated fat than olive oil.

-Mm-hm.

-It's a good product.

All oiled and ready to bake.

-Now, this took us a bit of time...

-Mm.

-..cos we were inventing the sauce.

-Yeah.

If I asked you to do this again,

-I reckon you would do it in under ten minutes.

-Yeah, probably.

What's more, the fish only takes ten minutes in a hot oven -

just enough time to cook some veg.

This really is a super speedy, adaptable meal,

perfect for busy Jodie,

but will it satisfy the very different tastes

of Rob and the kids?

-Who's going to go first?

-I think Pippa's already gone first.

-Ready? On the count of three.

-BOTH:

-One, two, three!

-Four!

SHE LAUGHS

-I like that.

-Different flavours.

-Really nice.

-HATTIE: Yummy, yummy.

Have you used anchovies?

-Wow! Hello! That's my kind of food.

-Yeah, and me.

-Did you like it, Hattie?

-Yeah.

-Why did you like it?

-Because I like the fish with...

-With the bacon?

-Yeah.

-Oh, yummy.

-So, you'd have it again? Yeah?

-Baby Pip?

-THEY LAUGH

-Pip, Pip! Is it good, Pip?

-Yay!

-Yay!

I think you have proved that you can play around and experiment

-and it doesn't have to take all night.

-Yeah.

I think I need to be a bit braver and just go for it.

That went so brilliantly well,

not just for Jodie, but for all of them.

They all just tore into it.

They all munched the living daylights out of it.

That was fantastic.

If I can work on cooking little things like that,

it will actually stop Rob hopefully going in the supermarket.

Fingers crossed, Jodie.

Another big issue for the Haynes has been food waste,

at a cost of £60 a week, and they're not alone.

In the UK, households throw away

7 million tonnes of food and drink every year,

and more than half of this is perfectly edible.

So, Gregg and Chris have come to nutritionist Hala El-Shafie

for ideas on how to turn our food scraps

into cut-price, tasty dinners.

So, we set you the challenge of utilising leftovers.

We also set you the challenge of getting it in under £3.

-How did you get on?

-Not bad. Close to the mark. £2.94.

I'm making pork tacos, so I'm using leftover pork.

In fact, you can reheat any leftover meat.

-Just make sure you do it thoroughly.

-And all the bits and pieces

that most people have got in their fridge.

I suppose everyone's got half a lettuce

and a cucumber in their fridge, haven't they?

The lettuce just needs shredding, along with the pork,

before frying up a clove of garlic.

Onions and peppers get a sizzle, too.

This is a brilliant way of maxing out those vegetables.

If you're looking in your fridge and you're thinking,

"Gosh, that iceberg lettuce is looking a little bit sad, wilted,"

shred it, as you have done, and no more food wastage.

-Lovely.

-OK, I'm also adding here half a teaspoon of chilli, but...

-Half a teaspoon?

-Would you like a little bit more?

-Go on.

-What about you?

-Yeah. Yeah, chuck it in. Why not?

-Right, OK.

-Just a little bit more.

-That's it.

-A little bit of spi...

Cheeky.

And then I've got some cumin and coriander, as well. Brown coriander.

Listen, everyone's got spices they haven't used up in their cupboard.

-Everybody.

-Everybody.

If you just want to get a bit of flavour, you can use any spice.

It's really down to personal taste, isn't it?

-I like cumin, yeah.

-I love that.

This recipe's so versatile,

you could use any meat or veg you've got left over, couldn't you?

Absolutely. I mean, this lends itself really well to chicken also.

Whatever you've got.

Don't be frightened to get a little bit experimental.

-Who's good at building?

-I'll do it.

-All right. OK.

Do you know what I love about things like this?

You can get the whole family involved, can't you?

And I think the more interactive a meal,

the more likely children are to eat it.

-The taste test.

-I might go for a bigger bit.

-Are you going to have the whole lot?

-Yeah. Why not?

That smells great, doesn't it?

-Mm. That's nice.

-It's good, huh?

-Mm.

Do you know what? I might actually do this.

-You've always got a bit of leftover meat after a roast dinner.

-Mm.

Raid the fridge, stir it all through, bit of spice.

It's a brilliant way to use up your leftovers

and at only £2.94, it's an absolute bargain.

Beautiful.

We all love a bargain, but there are times we just want to splash out...

-Whoo!

-Cheers.

..and Rob and Jodie are no exception.

We like entertaining.

Rob and I usually have friends or family over for dinner.

Tonight, mates Katie and Mark are joining them.

Normally, Rob and Jodie would blow the budget on bubbles

and buy £9 a pop Italian prosecco.

So, we've replaced their usual fizz with Spanish cava,

-but will they spot the swap?

-Mm.

-It's nice.

-Yeah, really nice.

-Yeah, I like that.

-It's not prosecco.

This tastes definitely like champagne.

-It tastes really expensive.

-Expensive champagne, you say?

Actually, this cava costs under a fiver a bottle.

But should we feel any less special drinking a cheaper fizz,

and how does it differ to champers?

To find out, Chris has come to Catalonia in Spain,

the main production region for cava, to meet with Xavier Gramona,

whose family have run a vineyard here for over 150 years.

I'm a bit of a novice when it comes to cava.

-Can you just explain to me what it actually is?

-Of course, yes.

Cava's a sparkling wine of Spain made in the same way as champagne.

Champagne has to be grown in a particular area

-and it's the same for cava?

-Exactly.

More than 95% of the grapes are planted in this area we are now,

very close to Barcelona.

Native to Spain,

cava uses a different variety of grapes to French champagne,

but like champagne, it's still produced in the traditional way.

Once the grapes have been harvested,

they're moved to the cellar to be transformed into cava,

overseen by wine expert Linda Diaz.

These are the vats where the first fermentation takes place.

You get natural juice in the skin of each grape

that begin to eat the sugar and that produces alcohol.

And there you are, you have a wine.

And how many fermentation processes are there?

For a sparkling wine in the traditional method,

you will have this first fermentation

and then the second fermentation inside the bottle.

It's this second fermentation inside the bottle

that turns the wine into cava.

-Here is where the magic happens.

-Wow.

Carbon dioxide is naturally produced and trapped, creating the fizz.

This is called methode champenoise.

So, the bubbles are formed individually

-in each bottle, are they?

-That's it.

That's how cava is made.

-So, are these bottles OK to drink?

-No. No, no, no.

We still have there the yeast and they need to be removed.

The yeast that's fallen to the bottle's neck is removed

using the traditional method of manual de-gorging.

Here, the pressure inside the bottle

forces the yeast to get out.

-THEY LAUGH

-Wow.

And you have to do every single bottle by hand?

-That's it.

-That's quite a job, isn't it?

-Si.

The skill is to remove the sediment completely

without wasting a drop of cava.

-Do you think I could have a go?

-Yeah, sure. Please.

-SHE LAUGHS

-Finger on top, yeah?

-OK.

You have to really grab the cork with your finger.

-Like, you will feel the pressure.

-Yeah.

-Mas?

-Mas.

-HE LAUGHS

-I think you've...

-THEY LAUGH

Show me the level of...

OK, well, if you were working in Gramona...

-I'd be fired?

-Yeah.

-HE LAUGHS

Yeah, perhaps don't give up the day job, Chris.

With Spanish cava produced in pretty much the same way

as upmarket French champagne,

Chris is keen to see if he can taste any difference.

The cava has a slightly softer feel to it

and, actually, is slightly more enjoyable,

but there's not a huge amount of difference between the two.

And Cava, you have this affordable price

with huge quality.

-Well, I'm sticking with the cava. Salud!

-Salud!

For Chris, the taste is such a close call,

he's opting for the more affordable fizz

because, on average, cava's around 75% cheaper a bottle.

-Cheers!

-THEY LAUGH

So, maybe it's worth giving it a go. If we like it,

we can all break out the bubbly without breaking the bank.

Back in Hampshire, the swapped cava's going down nicely

with the Haynes and their dinner guests,

but it's not just the fizz we've swapped.

For a dinner party,

Jodie and Rob usually splash out on fillet steaks at a fiver each.

But tonight, we've given them bavette steak,

which costs just over £2 a head.

This would cut the price of the meal by over £10.

If they like it, that is.

It feels like really nice steak

because it feels like it's quite aged,

so it should be easy to cut and quite tender,

I think, when it's cooked.

So, will anyone clock that they're eating a cheaper cut?

That looks like a proper lump of meat. It's really good.

I think the steak tastes like something you'd get

-from a butcher rather than a supermarket brand.

-Yeah.

The steak's gone down a storm,

and dessert hasn't cost any extra pennies.

By using the jelly and fruit she already had in for the kids,

Jodie's made a grown-up version by adding a generous slug of alcohol.

She's used Pimm's this time,

but similar drinks sitting in the cupboard could work just as well.

The fun's in the trying.

I'd like to sit in the garden and eat it on a really hot summer's day.

Yeah, I think it would be really nice.

-It's like picnic stuff, right?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

-A picnic pudding.

-A picnic pudding.

-There you go.

So, the jelly went down, I think, quite well,

and I enjoyed making it and I'd make it again.

The dinner's been a huge success, and seeing grown-ups enjoy her food

has shown Jodie she doesn't need to spend an age,

or a heap of money, to make tasty, adult meals.

My cooking is always a chore, isn't it?

-It's been really nice...

-To do something different.

-..for me to do something different.

-There you go.

Next morning, and it's Rob's turn in the kitchen.

On the menu, bacon sarnies, but not as they know them.

Oh, dear.

I think I've destroyed some of the bacon, but, hey.

Except it's not bacon.

As part of the swap experiment,

we've replaced the Haynes' usual branded bacon

for a slightly pricier but much leaner alternative.

I don't think that tastes like bacon. I like it, but...

I don't know... I don't... I don't know what it is.

The meat baffling Rob is turkey.

These rashers have half the calories of their usual bacon

and a whopping 95% less fat.

But will they be a hit with the Haynes?

The chef's made it a bit crispy.

-Not convinced it's bacon bacon.

-Do you like that?

-Is it nice?

-Thumbs up.

-Yeah, thumbs up!

-SHE LAUGHS

-Thumbs up. I like this.

I don't think I'd swap it, though.

-It's not...

-Not for you?

-..my cup of tea. No, not really.

So, the turkey's a yes from Pippa and Rob and a no from Jodie.

Don't lick the jam. Bite the toast.

For her breakfast, Hattie's having strawberry jam.

-Mm-mm-mm!

-Is that good?

-Mm-hm.

-Do you think this is the jam that we normally buy?

-Mm-hm.

-It's the same jam, but in a...

-Different pot.

-..in a different pot.

Sorry, Hattie. It's a swap.

Like the turkey bacon, it costs a little more,

but is healthier, with 16% less sugar.

You want another four slices? Wow!

Well, that jam does look delicious.

With the swap week in full swing, Chris is paying a visit.

-Hello.

-Hello, mate.

-How are you?

-Very well. Come in.

-Thank you.

He's got a plan

to stop Rob's expensive solo trips to the supermarket

by using ingredients they already have

to make the quick, tasty food Rob loves.

If this goes well, it'll save on waste as well as money.

Do you know, in your cupboard and freezer,

you've got over £270 worth of food.

-HE CHUCKLES

-Really?

-I mean, that's a lot, isn't it?

-That's a lot, yeah.

So, in amongst that, there must be enough ingredients

that you can put together

and make a healthy recipe that you'll enjoy eating.

I would certainly hope so.

So, what we're going to make today is chickpea burgers.

Chickpeas are packed with protein and fibre.

Plus, they can be stored for ages

without losing any of their nutritional goodness.

In Chris's recipe,

they're joined by another store cupboard staple - sweetcorn.

We're going to mash these.

You could do this in a food processor or a blender,

but actually, it's just as easy, and quicker,

to do it with just a normal potato masher.

-So, if you just get into that.

-Yeah.

-Give that a real good mash up.

And this is so quick and easy.

You can make this when you get home from work.

-The kids will love them, I'm sure.

-Yeah.

So, to give you the heat and the flavour,

we've got some dried spices and herbs here. They're so versatile.

You can make lots of different recipes with them

and they don't go off.

-So, we've got some paprika there.

-Lovely.

-Some onion granules here.

-In with them.

What you could do is you could start off like this

without putting too much spice in it,

make a batch, take it out,

-use that for the kids and then...

-Add to it.

-..put loads of chilli

-or different flavours in for yours and Jodie's.

-Yeah.

OK, so, we're going to put a little bit of lemon juice in.

One of these chickpea burgers counts as two of your five a day

-and it has over 70% less fat than a beefburger.

-There we go.

So, now we'll add a little bit of flour to bind it together.

-We're using chickpea flour...

-OK.

..cos you can never have too many chickpeas in your recipe, can you?

-Of course. No.

-HE LAUGHS

Chickpea flour gives the best result

and is readily available in supermarkets,

but you can use any flour that's sitting in your cupboard.

Right, OK. So, if you just grab a little bit,

make that into a nice, compact little patty.

Look at that.

We'll just brush a little bit of oil over the top of these.

Look at that.

-Looking forward to trying one of these?

-Yeah, let's have a go.

They look really good, as well.

-Shall we get in?

-Yeah, why not?

-I like that.

-That's lovely, isn't it?

-Nice. Really good.

And to think we've made that

just out of stuff that was already in your cupboards.

-And the kids will go for that, as well.

-Yeah?

-Mm.

They're so quick and easy to make, as well.

-They're great, yeah.

-And they cost 73p each.

-That's really cheap.

-That's amazing value, isn't it?

-That's really cheap, yeah.

Absolute bargain.

Hopefully, I've managed to convince him

that there are so many great ingredients already in his cupboards

that he doesn't have to go to the shop every day

to buy ingredients that then end up in the bin.

Chris has successfully curbed Rob's reliance on ready-made titbits,

but on those occasions when we feel we need

to buy packaged, snacky food, how do we buy wisely?

Gregg and Chris have come to nutritionist Hala to find out.

In all our foods that are packaged, we have a labelling system.

Here - fat, saturates, sugars and salt.

But how do we know...?

-I don't know whether 13g of fat is good or bad or indifferent.

-Yeah.

OK, so, that's why the Food Standards Agency

have brought out a traffic light system.

So, as you can see here, which is much clearer,

what we really should be looking at in our shopping trolleys

-is foods that are mostly in the greens, OK?

-Right, OK.

Moderate amounts in the amber and only a few items in the red.

So, green means it's low in the calories, fat, sugar or salt,

amber - medium, and red - high.

Well, that's easy to understand.

-But reading this, this says for the 90g portion.

-Yeah.

Is that the whole container?

Those numbers relate to the portion size, but not the whole pack.

For example, here, you've got these olives

-and the label is referring to only a fifth of the pack.

-Oh, yeah.

-Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. I see.

-Now, with something such as olives,

it's very easy to eat a lot more than just a fifth of that pack.

So, it's important to remember

the traffic light system usually relates to the portion size

printed on the pack, not the whole pack.

Here is a brilliant example.

That is amber, that fat, and it's 13%,

but that's for a quarter of the pack.

So, if you ate the whole pack,

-that would be 52% of your guideline for the day.

-Yes.

-52...

Over half the fat intake for the day in that platter,

yet that looks amber.

-Yeah.

-Who are these numbers actually based on?

So, they're based on an average woman having moderate activity.

It's based on a woman? I thought it would be based on a bloke.

I didn't realise it was based on a woman. So...

That's interesting, isn't it? I mean, it is confusing,

but I think what is very clear is you should be reading the pack,

taking note of the information that they've given you

-and working it out from there.

-Absolutely.

Well, that's cleared that up.

Back in Hampshire, it's the final meal of the swap.

Time-conscious Jodie is being brave

and, on her own, making an evening meal

that's way off her usual meat and two veg

in a bid to get Rob and her eating together again.

In an ideal world,

I'd like to eat a meal with Rob and for him to enjoy it.

Before this week, Jodie assumed that

to make anything a little more adventurous would take an age,

but after cooking with Gregg,

she's realising tasty food can be simple and quick.

On tonight's menu,

mini Spanish omelettes with stuffed peppers and mushrooms.

I'm excited about this recipe, actually.

I've made a big sort of tortilla before -

a frittata or whatever they're called -

but not little ones.

Jodie's filling a muffin tin with diced, fried potatoes and onions

topped with cooked peas.

I hope this will satisfy Rob's need for exotic foods.

He does like a lot of spice and things like that,

but he does appreciate

different, you know, Mediterranean food, as well,

so I hope that he does like it.

And the fact that I've gone

to all the trouble of cooking it,

it's, you know...

He better eat it.

We'll soon find out.

Once the eggs have been added,

these savoury delights just need around ten minutes in a hot oven.

For the peppers, Jodie stuffs in garlic, basil

and halved cherry tomatoes, then puts in the oven to roast.

Simple.

Next, Jodie fries the mushrooms in garlic and butter

and seasons with lemon juice and parsley.

I like the fresh herbs in it.

That's kind of up my street, so...

And Rob's, too, so I think he'll like that.

And they only take five minutes to do. Perfect.

I've actually outdone myself on this one, I think. It looks really nice.

It looks like really nice, professional kind of tapas.

Which is just the kind of food

picky Rob's been spending a fortune on.

So, after years of Rob coming home and rejecting Jodie's dinners,

-could this be the night that marks a brand-new start?

-Yum.

-Yum.

-It looks good.

-It does look good, if I say so myself.

-It's nice.

-It's good, yeah?

-They're great.

-Yeah.

They are really good.

-It's really fresh flavours.

-Yeah.

-It's lovely.

-Yeah.

-Hats off to you. Well done.

-Thanks.

Well done indeed.

And to top it off, Jodie's tapas-style dinner

costs a fiver less than Rob's usual shop-bought version,

potentially saving them nearly £300 a year.

Overall, that's a real pleasant change.

It's a real surprise, to be honest with you.

Very light, nice flavours.

Different to the norm, what we would usually have.

I would be definitely happy

for that to be thrown in the meal plan once a week.

With the experiment finished,

Gregg and Chris are back to find out if their master plan worked.

So, how do we think they've got on this week?

The key to this is Rob enjoying the food that Jodie's cooking.

-That is pivotal.

-Yeah. Because there were some big issues.

Their waste figure was enormous,

and poor Jodie, you know, felt completely un-validated

by cooking meals that weren't getting eaten,

and Rob felt hard done by

because he felt he was being catered for

and he had to go to the shop every day to buy his own food.

-I mean...

-It was not a happy scenario, was it?

-No.

I mean, Jodie was doing quite a thrifty shop,

but Rob was spending more than Jodie

buying things that he wanted to eat.

I said I thought we could save them £75 a week.

Yeah. And I said 90, didn't I?

Oof! Well, I suppose there's only one way to find out, isn't there?

They may have been separate at the start of the swap,

but now Rob and Jodie are very much reunited.

I've learnt, over the whole process,

that you don't need to spend ridiculous amounts of money

to have good food on the table at home.

And also, using the stuff out of the cupboards, as well.

It's been a big learning curve.

But how big are the savings?

-Hello.

-Hello.

-Hi.

-How are you?

-Hello. Come in.

-Thank you very much.

-So, how have we got on?

-Bit nervous at first, but...

-It's made all the difference, hasn't it?

-Yes.

-Yeah, it's been really good.

-What were you nervous of?

-Just the unknown, I think.

-Were you nervous, Rob?

No, not at all, to be honest with you.

-It's been an opportunity to try different things.

-Yeah.

Obviously, you've done most of the cooking this week, different meals.

I think that's why I was more nervous -

cos it had a bit more of an impact on me, I think.

We got some flavours back.

Has your workload increased because of it?

-No.

-SHE LAUGHS

I thought it was going to. I'm quite disappointed

-that it hasn't.

-THEY LAUGH

-I, however...

-I wasn't right.

-SHE LAUGHS

Rob, anything you found particularly challenging?

No, not really.

-I mean, I've been keeping away from the supermarket.

-Yeah.

-Have you missed it?

-No.

How nice is it, though,

the pair of you sitting down to a meal that you're both enjoying?

-Cos this hasn't happened in a while?

-It hasn't, no.

-No, it's never happened before. Ever.

-No.

-Apart from this last couple of weeks.

-It's been brilliant.

Is there a new-found feeling of cooperation?

-Yes.

-Yeah, definitely.

We seriously used to have serious bickering arguments about this.

SHE LAUGHS

-How is it different now?

-I think we consult each other a bit more...

-Yeah.

-..and communicate a bit...

-We talk.

-Yeah.

-THEY LAUGH

Would you like to see what it is you've really been eating?

-Yes.

-Yeah.

-Tuna?

-It looked really nice, so...

-And it went down the same.

-The kids enjoyed it.

-Yeah, it was nice.

Well, we did, in fact, swap it.

-HE LAUGHS

-Oh, good Lord.

-OK. Wow.

You wouldn't notice the difference.

-No, and I would never pick that up.

-Have a look at that.

-Stop it.

-You stop it.

-Really?

-Oh, my gosh.

-Per can?

-Yeah.

-Oh, my God.

-Wow.

And not only that, it's MSC certified,

pole and line caught,

so, perfectly ethically, sustainably sourced,

and this is 25% bigger.

That's a massive keeper.

'So, that little swap would save them over 60 quid a year.

'But what about Jodie's triumphant tapas-style tea?'

-You made your own tapas, didn't you?

-Yes.

-We usually just buy it prepared.

-Yeah.

-How did they go down?

-Brilliant.

-Really nice. Really liked that.

-Everybody liked them?

-Yeah.

-Yes. And the little frittata things,

-the kids quite like those, as well.

-Yeah.

'But what's the saving compared to buying tapas ready-made?'

-HE LAUGHS

-Really?

-That's a lot.

-That's a lot of money.

-Yeah.

-One meal.

-Yes.

-Good Lord.

If you made your own tapas once every two weeks,

you would save about £132 a year.

Oh, my goodness.

-Shall we carry on making our own tapas?

-Yes.

-Yeah, having that.

'Fantastic.

'Now, what sort of savings do they stand to make

'on their dinner party steak?'

-Really good.

-Yeah, loved it.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

Yeah. Our guests liked it, as well, didn't they?

-Really, really nice.

-Yeah.

-That was, like, one of the best steaks we've ever had.

-Yeah.

-Was it really?

-Yeah, absolutely.

-We usually spend money on, like...

-Yeah, fillet steak.

OK, well, we did, in fact, swap it for this -

a slightly different cut.

-This is bavette steak.

-That's...

-It was great.

-Look at that. SHE GASPS

Serving up this steak to four people will save Rob and Jodie over £10.

And even though you're only having this once a month, roughly...

-Aren't you?

-Yeah.

..by going to a cheaper cut of meat, over the course of a year,

-that could save you £138.24.

-Oh, my goodness.

-It's...

It's just going straight in the bag as a keeper.

'In fact, there were only a few swaps

'that the Haynes turned down flat.

'The bacon that wasn't bacon was a bit of a turkey.'

-Would you have it again? Cos if not...

-No, I wouldn't.

-OK.

-Well, then, we're...

-We're going to dump it?

'Luckily, most were a winner,

'like this cava at less than a fiver a bottle,

'which Jodie and her friend thought might be costly champagne.'

Spanish cava.

-SHE GASPS

-What?!

-HE LAUGHS

-Oh, Lord.

-No way.

'In the end, Rob and Jodie accepted three quarters of our swaps,

'saving themselves more than £280 a year

'on just these four items alone.'

-That's a lovely sausage.

-You liked those, didn't you?

-They're all right, yeah.

-Good, I'm pleased. Cos look.

-Wow.

'So, what did the pair make of the pricier swaps?'

We gave you this. Strawberry jam.

This actually cost 14p more,

but the reason we gave you this is it's 16% less sugar.

-Wow.

-Yeah.

-And it's got more fruit.

-Yes.

-That's better.

-We're getting healthier and healthier, aren't we?

-Yeah.

-Yeah, that's great.

-That's a definite swap, then.

-Definite, yeah.

'So, how much money have they saved?'

So, when we first met you at the supermarket,

you were spending £187.13 a week.

That's devastating.

£94.50 of that was you, Rob.

Okey doke. Yeah.

So, we've actually managed to save you £91.04 a week.

HE LAUGHS

-Good Lord.

-That's your...your whole...

-That's my shop.

-SHE LAUGHS

-It's not far away.

-That's brilliant.

-Oh, my goodness.

-That is brilliant.

And the food's been great. It's not like we've missed out on anything.

-We haven't.

-Over the course of a year,

if you stick to this, you will save

£4,734 and a few pence.

-We're going to stick to it.

-Can't believe that.

-So much money.

-It's a lot of money.

-Continue the good work.

-No looking back.

That's the way we're going to live now.

-Congratulations. Well done.

-Thank you.

-Well done.

-Thank you.

There's going to be a lot of changes in the house -

-less waste, eating healthily.

-We've already started, haven't we?

We didn't work together before

and now we're working together rather than...

Yes, that's a big thing for us, isn't it?

-It's a first.

-Yeah.

-SHE LAUGHS

-Hey!

-Well, I think we done that, didn't we?

Oh, I think we did really well. They did amazingly well.

They're eating healthier, they're working together

-and yes, of course, they have saved money.

-Their food waste is down

and Rob's not going to the supermarket every day.

That was a clean sweep, wasn't it?

-How much did you say you would save them?

-£90.

-You got it bang on, didn't you?

-I think I was about a pound out.

-Does it hurt to always be right?

-Well, I don't know.

You should give it a go, see what you think.

-Next time...

-There's nothing in that trolley that needs cooking.

-..a family in trouble.

-Are you OK?

With high emotions and a high food bill...

I've got your receipts here.

-..can Chris and Gregg deliver?

-Are you nuts?