The Warner Family Eat Well for Less?

-Are you going to help us do some shopping?

-One of them?

You really shouldn't let

a three-year-old do the shopping for you.

Gregg Wallace and greengrocer Chris Bavin are on a mission

to help families get their food spending under control...

Weekly shopping over the course of a year, about £13,000.

Ah, oh, my God!

..finding out when you should save your pennies...

This is cheaper than what we usually buy

and we'll definitely buy it again.

..and when you might need to splash the cash.

I don't think the cheaper stuff tastes very nice.

They're challenging families to try new foods...

HE SHOUTS

..by transforming their kitchens...

Should I open it?

Ah-ha-ha!

It's like a science fiction set.

..and investigating everyday food.

Well, I certainly wouldn't fancy that

with some mash and onion gravy, for sure.

The great British public have their say.

That is a budget bean.

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

A healthy saving of 2.25.

If they don't like the food swaps, then it's all going to go belly up.

This week, we're with the Warner family...

-..whose shopping habits are out of control...

-Ooh, that's nice.

HE GASPS

..and their love of brands is adding up.

Branded pizza!

-I know, and...

-I love you guys!

Can Gregg and Chris rise to the challenge...

There are some serious, serious issues here.

..and break their bad habits for good?

If you keep the brands that you swapped this week,

you have saved...

No! No way!

We're in Stratford-upon-Avon

with a couple who are desperate to save money on their weekly shop,

Tim and novice cook Hannah,

who struggles as much with her baking

as she does with her shopping.

I know it's only for a six-year-old,

but I thought I could at least make a chocolate sponge.

I'm blaming the fact I've got a new oven

and I accidentally put it on the roasting tin.

-He will eat that, he'll love it.

-He will.

I just think when you cover it in enough Maltesers

and chocolate fingers,

then it doesn't really matter what it looks like.

Hannah and Tim have been married for 12 years and have a large family...

ALL: We're the Warners!

..six-year-old Seth,

nine-year-old Joe,

three-year-old Noah

and Isobel, who's ten.

You what, love?

As you can imagine, life for a family of six is pretty manic.

Right, where are my shoes? Right.

-Yeah, love you too.

-And to cap it all off,

they recently moved into a new home,

a former B&B in need of total renovation,

so you'd think they'd be watching the pennies.

Think again.

Like many of us, Hannah is easily swayed

when it comes to the family food shop.

-I spend the most on shopping.

-Just by a little bit.

But that's probably because I buy more of the meals that we have.

I'm seduced by the fact that if something's expensive,

I think, "Oh, it must be a good one."

Some of the own-label, the really low-value ones,

and the packaging says that,

it puts me off buying it.

It's not just buying brands that bumps up their bill.

With such a large family, Hannah favours convenience

and these shortcuts don't come cheap.

Right, jar's going in now,

but I do obviously make an attempt at seeming to be cooking.

This is as far as my skills go.

I can follow a recipe but I think the trouble is

I wouldn't like to cook a recipe until I'd practised it

and I never have time to practise it,

so hence I never cook anything different.

I think that's the trouble, really.

Having started a new chapter in their home life,

Hannah and Tim are determined

to get their weekly food finances under control.

We've never budgeted for food.

In my mind, I always think we should be spending about £150,

but obviously we're way, way past that, aren't we?

I'm ready for change.

Yes, I am ready for change,

but what we haven't had is we just haven't had any time, have we?

We've never had time to sit down,

cos we've been too busy surviving

to go, "Right, let's have a plan"

and we've just never done that, have we?

Yeah, I think a plan would be really good.

In the UK, the average family spends

over £5,000 a year on grocery shopping

and even with online shopping readily available,

over 95% of sales still take place on the high street,

providing a perfect opportunity for supermarkets

to show off a dizzying area of products.

The Warners have admitted they're taken in by the way things look

and when Gregg and Chris arrive,

they can see just how easy it is to be influenced by appearance.

Look, Gregg, I love this.

We've got a whole array of different colours of packaging,

some really vibrant, some more rustic and natural.

-What would entice you?

-These boxes here look a lot sexier

than these ones here,

but quite frankly,

what's the difference?

I mean, I buy pizzas for the kids

but I would pizzas for myself on what ingredients are on them.

But would you be happy with it if it came in a black box or a pink box

or a polka dot box?

It doesn't matter to me what colour box it comes in.

There are some things you cannot dress up.

It's like you - doesn't matter how you dress you up,

you're as common as muck.

Play nicely, boys.

The Warners have headed to the supermarket

unaware that Gregg and Chris are already inside.

Hopefully this trip will be the last time they shop in their old way.

Now, when you're doing a big family shop,

-it's essential to plan ahead.

-Have you got a list?

-No.

-Have you not got a list?

-It's all up there.

-All right, OK.

Ten seconds in and already a fatal mistake.

Do we need salad stuff, love?

Tomatoes and a pack of lettuce.

Where's the lettuce? Oh, it's there.

As Hannah and Tim fill their trolley,

the store's newest recruits are keeping a beady eye

on their shopping habits.

-How many bags of lettuce do we need? Just one?

-Not sure.

Nice hat, Gregg.

Fruit and veg? That looks promising,

but they've walked straight past the loose vegetables

and here's a classic shopping faux pas.

I'll just get some batons to go with the pizzas.

Pre-cut bagged carrots will cost them

more than double the loose ones.

The boys retreat to the store room for a better view.

-Here they are.

-Oh.

Here we go, Tim and Hannah.

Get some Greek-style yoghurt?

Has that got the honey in it?

-Don't you like lemon curd?

-No, I don't like lemon curd.

He's a man who likes his yoghurt.

Special offer signs are carefully positioned to grab our attention.

-There's some Pizza Express half price there.

-Is pizza on offer?

Tell you what, Hannah is drawn to a deal, isn't she?

Can you get three?

-Go for pasta sauces.

-Pasta sauce, yep.

GREGG: Oh, Hannah. Now buying tomato sauces in jars already made.

Oh, Loyd's half price.

Quite good quality

compared to supermarkets' own brand.

They're going for premium brands time after time.

I sympathise with Hannah.

If she's got to cook for four kids every evening,

I can understand her wanting to cut corners,

but the more corners you cut,

the more expensive your bills are going to be.

-TIM: What do we need cereal-wise?

-Go get some granola.

What's that one? Oh, Belgian chocolate?

GREGG GASPS

GREGG: Hannah, what are you thinking?!

Ooh, that's nice.

I think we'll go for this one.

Hannah, that's the most expensive granola on the shelf!

Supermarkets spend a lot of time and money

working out exactly how to get us to splash the cash.

One of the oldest tricks is placing products at the end of aisles

or gondolas in the hope that we'll be drawn to them

as we slow down to turn the corner.

-These are half price.

-Oh, we're at the gondola end!

-Look out! Hannah's on her way!

-These are half price as well.

-Do you like Blue Ribands?

-It's been a while since I've had one of them.

I know!

Oh, go on, they're on offer.

She's bought it anyway.

They're half price as well.

-Round it!

-Why? Why?

Do we want some prepared chicken for lunchtime to have as salads?

GREGG: Chicken, already marinated, ready just to stick in the oven.

-Buy one, get one free.

-Argh!

Get a chilli as well?

Any of those big brands that are on as special offer,

they just get an armful.

Hannah, Tim, this is an expensive way of shopping, guys.

-Is there anything we've forgotten?

-The kitchen sink?

Quick, make a break for it whilst you can.

I don't think they could have shopped

any more uneconomically than that.

Shopping completed and it's no surprise

that Hannah and Tim have fallen for every trick in the supermarket book,

from big brands to pricey convenience food,

multi-buy special offers to pre-packaged produce,

they've bought it all,

but as they unpack their trolley,

they're in for a massive shock.

It won't be the store's staff scanning their shop today.

LAUGHTER

- Hello, sir. - Gregg, good to see you.

-All right, Chris.

-Nice to meet you. Hiya.

-Hello!

We've been watching you.

Sounds fairly ominous, doesn't it,

but we've just been back there watching your shopping trip.

Very interesting.

-Is it?

-Completely normal, surely.

You're, er, very fond of a brand.

A lot of the brands we were buying, they were on offer.

-Do you think you shop economically?

-I do see a yellow sticker

and I think, "Oh, it must be cheap."

I think you are shopping creatures of habit.

So let's see how all the half-price deals have fared

-and see what the total is, shall we?

-Let's do it.

Hooray(!) Another expensive brand.

Whoa, the most expensive granola in the store(!)

I don't think the cheaper stuff tastes very nice.

Fair bit of marinated chicken.

Yeah, but I think you can't get normal, unmarinated chicken

for really any cheaper than that.

Maybe a whole chicken.

Branded pizza.

I know, and...

I love you guys, I just love you guys so much, honestly.

-Were they reduced?

-You told me they were good value.

So would you like to hazard a guess as to how much you've spent today?

-That looks like about £100-worth, Chris.

-I think 85, possibly 90.

Well, you're kind of both right in a way.

-Yeah, if you add them together!

-LAUGHTER

I want that checked!

That doesn't look right.

Here is your very large receipt and you may want to keep that safe,

cos hopefully that's going to be

-the last large receipt like that you see.

-Lovely.

I knew we'd done a big shop,

but I didn't think we'd come away with that many meals

-for it to be that much.

-Yeah, I was really surprised, obviously.

I thought it was half what it was.

It felt a bit strange, having them spying on us.

I don't know.

Did it make you feel that we should have been taking

more notice about what we...?

Gregg's made me feel like a very naughty boy.

Yeah! Yeah, me too.

After a shock at the till, now more than ever,

Hannah and Tim really need to change their shopping habits,

especially in the midst of a home renovation project.

Yeah, so this used to be the old dining area

and it's going to become our lounge.

It's gradually becoming a house again after being a guest house.

We moved in about seven months ago.

It's been full-on, building work,

the kitchen has been the big thing that we've done so far.

Since we've been married, in 12 years we've had six or seven houses,

so I'm hoping this is if not our last house,

our family home, so yeah, certainly to be able to save some money

and put it towards the house

rather than on day-to-day things would be brill.

And Tim's work situation is also forcing the family

to rethink their finances.

I left my job about five years ago

to spend a bit more time with the family.

I had five years with the same company,

working long hours, a long commute.

I really enjoyed the job,

but it just meant I didn't see the kids at all during the week

and then it was all full-on at the weekend,

so obviously Hannah needed a bit of a break as well

and I've been doing a bit of contract work since,

something which can work well for me.

I'm not sure when the next contract will be,

so with that and the house project,

I've got to watch the cash a bit more at the moment.

That's why we're looking a bit more carefully at what we're spending.

Back at the Warners' house,

Gregg and Chris want to delve into their shopping bags

to work out how to bring this brand-happy couple's spending

under control.

Let's have a good look at what you've been buying.

For a start, we are very, very brand-heavy.

Yeah, I didn't realise quite how much we were used to buying brands.

-You're completely right, yeah.

-Do you always go for the top brands?

Perhaps we're suckers for the packaging

and if it's in a really attractive package,

then the food is also going to be nice.

So one thing that's sort of jumping out at me here

is that you seem to be favouring convenience foods

or pre-prepared foods.

I'm not a confident cook.

I would never think, "Oh, I'm going to make a curry.

"Let's make the sauce from scratch."

It's going to take ages to make.

"Oh, I'm going to have to chop up the onions,

"then I'll have to do this and this.

I think, "Oh! I've only got 15 minutes,"

so jar, straight in - it's a really bad habit.

Am I still making excuses?

No, no, I'm sure there's lots of people at home

who would sympathise with that.

Especially with four little ones.

I could imagine it's borderline chaos

-the majority of the time.

-Borderline?

Oh, is it extreme chaos?

But it's not just family meals they have to think about.

Hannah and Tim love to entertain friends.

So what do you do when you have people coming round?

We'll buy premium supermarket prepared meat.

You can shove it in the oven so you can concentrate on being sociable

rather than the cooking, cos I can't do both.

How much did you spend last time you had people round?

150 quid for the weekend?

For the weekend, so a weekend shop becomes 150-200 quid.

-Oh!

-I think that's where we really spend loads of money.

If you buy all the top brands

and you buy convenience foods,

there aren't many more expensive ways to buy food.

Oh, no.

Shall we go take ourselves off and start whipping ourselves

-for our bad behaviour?

-It's not bad behaviour.

It's just no-one's shown you another way.

And you're not alone.

Hannah and Tim had a revelation at the supermarket

over the cost of their shopping,

but Gregg and Chris have been digging even deeper.

We've got here a bundle...

Are those all our receipts?

..a real bundle.

I'd like you to guess the timeframe that it took you

to amass this many shopping receipts.

You have a go.

Oh, yeah, I don't know.

Three weeks.

That is one week's worth of shopping.

See, we must have had lots of people.

Well, you say that.

But I've got here another week's.

That's 17 and I have another week...

..which is 17 individual visits...

-That's...

-..to supermarkets.

This comes to, like, 1,000 shopping trips a year.

I'm quite surprised how many that is.

I think it sounds a bit like a shopping addict.

I now need to ask you how much it is you think you're spending every week.

We think it's over £200 a week.

You are spending...

-Oh, no, it's more than that.

-..£355 a week.

That is £18,000 a year.

-That is too much.

-That is far too much.

The average for a family of six is £108.30,

so you are quite considerably over, three times.

Yeah, OK. Tell us how to change.

We are going to take your brands,

put it into neutral packaging so you can't tell

and we are going to swap some of them.

Not all of them, some of them.

TIM: Are you saying that granola

could be replaced with something cheaper?

GREGG: Maybe even your muesli.

By swapping some of the Warners' products,

the boys aren't seeking to change the way the family eat,

but they do want them to open their eyes to alternative brands

and hopefully learn to eat well for less.

I think there are lots of things

I'll definitely notice the difference.

Really, properly, definitely notice the difference.

-You think?

-Yeah, I'm quite...

-Yeah?

-Yeah, I do. I'm quite confident.

Are you up for this now?

- Do you fancy a change? - We're up for it, Gregg.

I thought we were up for it before. We're definitely up for it now.

Well, I certainly don't envy Gregg and Chris.

They've got their work cut out here.

I really like this family.

They've got issues. There are three immediate areas that need looking at.

One is the amount of times that they are shopping,

two is their addiction to the most expensive brands

and three is the lack of cookery skill.

What I find quite strange

is if you put it in a lovely box with a bow on it,

they assume that it's going to be better.

How much do you reckon we can save them?

I don't want to be that ambitious. I'm hoping for 60-70 quid a week.

I think we could easily cut this down by 100 quid.

There are some serious, serious issues here.

The amount of convenience foods they're buying, pre-made sauces -

I just think it's very difficult, this one. Very, very, difficult.

Overnight, our team have been let loose in the Warners' new kitchen

and added their own finishing touches,

making most of the cupboards off-limits.

GASPING

SHE LAUGHS

-Hey!

-Oh, my goodness!

Oh, my goodness, what do you think?

"Caution, do not enter."

"Caution, do not enter."

Remember, the Warners love a brand

and their cupboards are stuffed full of them.

Or at least, they were.

Shall we open it?

KIDS: Oooh!

So hang on, what have we got in here?

Chocolate brownies!

Oh!

Chocolate brownies!

-SHE GASPS

-Hooray!

-Granola!

-Granola!

-You like granola, don't you, Noah?

-Yeah!

-Croissants?

-Croissants!

They look the same.

Muesli.

-Muesli.

-Is that...?

-Are they...?

-Does that look...?

-I'm not sure that's the same.

That just looks like oats, doesn't it?

What do you think, Seth?

You're not sure, are you?

I'm not sure whether I like that, my love.

What's this? Kidney beans and chilli sauce

-for making chilli.

-Carrots and potatoes!

-They look nice, don't they?

-What about in the fridge?

-Oh!

-Phew! That's a relief.

Diet cola.

It was really strange not seeing the branding,

but actually, in a way, quite refreshing.

Kids' yoghurts?

Well, we weren't going to leave you out, Joe.

We've got some marinated chicken breasts.

-They...

-SHE CHUCKLES

They look a bit strange.

It was good fun opening the cupboard and seeing the type of things

and I think we'll like an awful lot of it, actually.

Just a case of, "Ooh, let's see, let's try it."

For their first de-branded dinner,

it's a family favourite, chilli con carne.

The mince we usually buy is not that colour.

Looks aren't everything, Tim.

I can't imagine what you're going to make of the rest of it.

A very plain-looking chilli sauce.

Their usual supermarket minced beef has been swapped

for meat from the local butcher at almost £2 less per kilo.

Tonight it's chilli con carne,

usually a favourite with the boys.

Izzy's not here, she's at Brownie camp,

and she's the one least keen on it,

but the boys usually wolf it down.

No pressure, then, Tim.

I don't think I've ever cooked a bad chilli before in my life,

but I've got a bad feeling about this one.

I'm not sure they'll like it with that mince and that sauce.

Oh, it smells like chilli, that's a good sign.

Their regular well-known branded chilli sauce

sets them back £3.50 a jar,

but this one's only £1.15

and the jar's 22% bigger.

And the verdict?

-Pretty good.

-Serve it up, then.

Here you go, Noah. Are you ready?

It's a bit hot, that.

-Does that look like normal chilli to you?

-Mine's all right.

-Yours is all right, is it?

-Yes.

I'm finding the basmati rice a touch hard to master,

but I feel with practise, I can make it.

I like the rice and it's not different.

Tell that to Mum, Seth. It's £2.56 cheaper per kilo.

The chilli's exactly the same as usual.

All of this meal actually tastes exactly the same.

-The same as what we usually have?

-Yeah.

-You like it?

-Yeah.

It's not the same, but I don't dislike it.

But I think the meat definitely isn't our usual meat.

It almost tastes a bit crumblier.

I'm not sure it's a good thing or a bad thing.

If you're going to pour a sauce over it, does it really matter so much?

It's not that strange to go, "Eurgh!"

The Warners eat chilli once a week.

If they were to go for the substituted mince,

chilli sauce and rice. They'd save £6.89.

That's almost £360 a year,

and would certainly help with their renovation project.

Daddy, you cooked really, really well.

There were some seconds, if anyone's interested in my seconds?

-Can you do a thumbs up?

-Fingers up.

We can't do thumbs, we'll do fingers. Wahey!

It's not just changing main meals

that will cut the Warners' food bill.

Savings on everyday snacks

and smaller items can also make a big difference.

When it comes to yoghurt,

we purchase over 5.8 billion pots every year in the UK.

Shall we get some Greek-style yoghurt? Two for £3.00.

Every week, the Warners pop

a few pounds' worth of yoghurts into their trolley.

But despite a baffling range on the shelves,

they opt for their favourite brands time after time.

And that's not just yoghurts for Hannah and Tim,

even the ones they buy for their children are top-end brands.

Back home, it's kids' yoghurts

that are being put to the test in another sneaky swap.

Do you want one that's orange-looking,

that looks like peachy...?

-Which one would you like, Noah?

-That one.

-Magic word?

-Please, Mummy.

Gregg and Chris have taken away

their regular branded yoghurt at 44p a pot...

-There we go.

-Fine.

-Right, there's yours, love.

..and swapped it with a supermarket own brand at 25p.

Seth's giving it a thorough go.

But I'm not sure he's convinced.

-I don't like the orange.

-No.

-I want the pink, Mummy!

-Do you not like that one?

-I do want the pink, Mummy.

-OK.

It's...I don't think it's normal peach.

-Let's try this one.

-Pink is so nice.

He's gone for a big mouthful to begin with, hasn't he?

-What do you think, Noah?

-Nice!

-Yay!

-Is that nice, Noah? Polished it off.

-That's fine.

I think it's a little bit worse than the normal ones we have,

but I still can eat it.

-It doesn't taste as creamy as the yoghurts you usually have.

-Mm.

It's fine. It's a bit more watery, isn't it?

-I don't like the aftertaste.

-Really?

-But it's not stopping you...

-It's not too bad.

It's not stopping you eating it.

It's not stopping me eating it.

So the yoghurts, not too keen. I'm a little bit surprised on that.

I think we ought to give it another go.

We've got some more to try again tomorrow, all right?

Not a resounding yes, but the real test will be whether Hannah

and Tim keep them at the end of the experiment.

Gregg and Chris have given the Warners a supermarket's own range,

rather than a luxury product,

which may explain why they feel it's less creamy.

But when it comes to yoghurts, with so many choices,

is it worth paying more?

Gregg's gone to meet senior dairy technologist

Derek Allen to find out.

In the UK, most of our yoghurt comes from cows.

And you're going to show me

how we get from this big beast to a pot of yoghurt?

That's what I'm going to do.

Let's move away from those cows. They're making me nervous.

COWS LOW

The yoghurt we know and love starts with the humble cow.

But cow's milk isn't thick enough to make yoghurt right away.

So some of the milk has its moisture removed

to create a concentrated powder, acting as a thickening agent.

Which is then ready to be added back to the cow's milk.

What happens here? We've got an enormous vat of skimmed milk here.

We've also put a little bit of cream in there.

In goes the skimmed milk powder.

-Wow, mate, that is a lot!

-Shut the lid.

Go on, then, turn it on.

The machines are fired up and the powder and milk mix

is passed through a whole host of tubes and pipes,

removing bad bacteria

and maintaining the yoghurt's consistency.

Who'd have thought a little pot could be so complicated?

Our milk and milk powder has now become yoghurt mix.

That's right, yes.

So no matter whether I'm buying a cheap low-fat yoghurt,

or an expensive one, that's going to be exactly the same process?

It's going to be the same process.

The processed yoghurt mix is filled into this tank.

We add culture and we stir that in whilst the tank is filling.

What's adding culture? You don't play a violin to it?

No, Gregg. Good bacteria is added to the mixture,

which convert the naturally-present sugar in the milk into lactic acid,

causing it to set into a gel.

Some manufacturers pay for exclusive use of particular

types of bacteria which may possess certain health benefits

and so command a higher price on the shelves.

Can I have a look at how jelly it is, please?

-Ew! That is thick, mate, isn't it?

-It is thick, yes.

So the basis of all yoghurts is essentially the same.

But how does the money stack up?

Well, cheaper yoghurts tend to be made with less cream,

keeping the cost down.

I tell you what, our milk's gone on quite a journey to end up here.

Right, come on, then, let's switch it on. Shall we have a look? Yay!

So here it is, here's the yoghurt coming out.

Other ingredients also have an effect on price.

When it comes to fruit yoghurts,

manufacturers often use a puree for cheaper yoghurts,

whereas higher-end versions can include whole chunks of fruit.

Gregg's hitting the high street for a taste test.

In the blue corner, a higher-priced yoghurt with pieces of fruit.

And in the red corner, the cheaper alternative made with fruit puree.

Taste these yoghurts for me, tell me which one you prefer.

-I prefer the red.

-And I prefer the blue.

-But you think the red one is more expensive?

-Definitely.

The blue one is seven times the price of the red one.

I'm a cheapskate!

THEY LAUGH

-The red one's too sweet.

-I prefer the blue one.

-I prefer the blue one.

-You've picked...?

-Blue.

-Two blue, two red.

Would you prefer the blue one if you knew it was seven times the price?

Um...no.

You both prefer the red one. Does that teach you anything?

-Well, I don't know.

-Have to get cheaper ones in the future.

William is getting so stuck in. Go on, son!

The red one would probably be in my packed lunch,

the blue one's a treat on a Sunday!

I prefer the blue because it has more bits in it.

-The blue one is seven times the price of the red one.

-Oh, is it?

Would that make a difference?

I wouldn't pay seven times the price, no.

Because it wasn't seven times nicer than the red.

68% of the people Gregg approached preferred the luxury yoghurt

with real fruit pieces.

But at 54 pence per 100 grams

versus just 7p for the value product,

you might be better off adding your own fruit pieces

to save a bit of cash.

A few people preferred the cheaper yoghurt.

A lot of people preferred the more expensive yoghurt.

But I didn't meet one person

that was prepared to pay the extra money for it.

But the Warners are often happy to spend more on premium brands,

leaving them with a current weekly food bill of over £350.

-Are we ready to try some breakfast, guys?

-Yoghurt and granola for me.

-Are you going to go for...?

-I'm going to go for some muesli.

Routines are hard to break

and they've spent years eating their favourite brands.

Oh, I'm going to get some granola.

What's that one? Oh, Belgian chocolate.

But that loyalty comes at a price.

An incredible £9.22 per kilo of granola,

almost as much as a standard salmon fillet.

Gregg and Chris have traded

the high-end granola for a mid-range one.

And while the muesli's still branded,

it's almost 20% cheaper per 100 grams.

I'm a little bit sceptical about the muesli and the granola.

I think they look like they're going to be a bit different.

Ready? Here you are.

-What do you think of your breakfast?

-I don't like the muesli.

Oh, no. Is it that bad?

I can't really describe why I don't really like it.

But now for the big test.

What will granola-connoisseur Hannah make of the swap?

Fingers crossed, everyone.

To me, it tastes like

some sugar-filled crunch, rather than granola.

I can't complain about it, I'm just not entirely sure

if there's anything healthy about it at all.

It doesn't taste healthy. That's why I really like it.

I'd be more than happy to have that breakfast every day.

It was absolutely fine.

Well, Hannah, you get through two packs a week,

so that'll save you £176 a year.

How's the muesli, Tim?

Plenty of oats and not much to it.

I can eat it, but it's not something I think I'll get used to.

I did think that was a little bit bland,

so I'm not sure I really fancy sticking that out.

I think Tim and his muesli, there are certain things where he becomes

slightly obsessive, and that is one of them.

And I knew as soon as he saw it, I knew he wouldn't like it.

As Gregg and Chris saw at the supermarket,

Hannah and Tim don't hesitate to buy ready-made sauces.

But is it worth paying more for premium brands?

Gregg and Chris have met up with dietician, Lucy Jones,

for the low-down.

So, Lucy, there's literally hundreds of different pasta sauces

on the market.

How do you navigate those and tell which ones are good to buy?

Well, you are right, there are loads available.

We're looking at three tomato and basil sauces -

a celebrity-endorsed one, a well-known brand leader

and a supermarket value range offering.

These represent a huge scale of price,

but also different tastes and also some differences in nutrition.

One ingredient that is quite interesting is the sugar.

I'm going to just show you what the brand leader has in terms of sugar.

Oh...my...

Oh, no!

-You... Really?

-Per jar?

-Per jar.

Oh, good God!

No, stop it!

You are kidding me!

Really?

-In every single jar?

-In that jar.

It's quite a lot, isn't it?

It's actually 6.4g per 100.

The celebrity-endorsed brand contains 25% less at 4.8g.

-Shall I show you the value brand by comparison?

-Yeah, definitely.

-OK.

-Don't drop it.

-Ah!

-Really?!

Eye-opening, isn't it?

-Eye-opening?! It's jaw-dropping!

-Mm.

It's only by reading the nutritional information that you find out

how much sugar per jar...

So what are the health risks of eating too much sugar?

If you're somebody that cooks pasta and tomato sauce

a lot for your children, the sugar content is something we should be

thinking about, because it could be affecting their dental health.

But, of course, it's all a matter of personal taste,

and the proof is in the eating.

First up, the value range.

-It's a tomato sauce.

-It tastes of tomato and it's sweet enough.

Let's taste the pack of sugar one.

-It's a richer, deeper tomato flavour.

-It is.

-And, actually, it doesn't taste any sweeter.

-It doesn't.

So, the acidity of the tomatoes has picked up all of that sugar.

Shall we try the end one?

And finally, the celebrity brand.

That tastes great.

But it's got nothing to do with the tomato taste.

-It tastes great because of the amount of garlic and basil.

-Mm.

It's got a lot more flavour, hasn't it?

For a, you know, pasta sauce, a tomato pasta sauce,

that one's absolutely fine.

I can't enjoy those other two now I know how much sugar is in there.

I simply cannot enjoy it.

And I think that's it.

When you get into how much sugar you're finding in these brands,

actually, for me, the best thing is to go and make your own.

Lucy combines rapeseed oil with garlic, black pepper,

dried basil, a stock cube,

passata and fresh tomatoes to make a low-fat, no added sugar sauce.

-That smells delicious, Lucy. Well done.

-Shall we have a taste?

That's the best-tasting pasta sauce. And I'm happy there's no sugar in it.

That's really lovely.

That took absolutely no time to make and is relatively inexpensive.

And there's no fear about added sugar or added salt that

you're struggling to get from the labels.

You have just saved the nation from a cup of sugar with every pasta dish.

Well done.

And better still, this home-made equivalent is nearly half

the price of the celebrity-endorsed brand.

Us Brits love our Italian food, and if we are not eating pasta,

then we're tucking in to pizza,

with over 400 million of them sold in supermarkets every year.

How many margheritas do we need?

-There's some Pizza Express half-price there.

-Can you get three?

But for the Warners, even a simple pizza meal for the kids is

another opportunity to splash out on big brands.

And for dinner tonight,

one of the most popular brands has been swapped with a value range.

Today is quite a busy day,

so it's just going to be pizza and salad for the kids.

Eagle-eyed Hannah has spotted a fundamental difference already.

We don't usually have frozen.

I always buy the premium brand chilled ones

because the children say they are nice.

So I think the children will be able to taste the difference with those.

But Gregg and Chris have also replaced the family's pre-cut

carrots with loose ones,

and it's up to cookophobe Hannah to prepare them.

Oh, dear. Honestly, I hate it.

If I do it in half, does that look more like a baton?

Yeah, that's fine.

Imagine if you were doing this for a couple of families. See, I...

SHE SIGHS

..I'd been doing this all afternoon!

I can just about manage it for the children,

but I just haven't got the time to be doing this.

It may take a few minutes, but for a family trying to save money,

a few strokes of the knife

could help to cut their yearly bill by over £37...

Right, done.

..with 400g of loose carrots costing 72p less than the pre-cut ones.

That's a quite big piece of cheese on that one.

Hmm, not great uniformity there, is there?

You wouldn't get that with my premium brand.

But you'll sure pay more for the privilege!

Right... Do you want to sit down? That's for Noah.

Right, let's see what they look like.

Still looks good enough to eat, but the big question is,

will the kids like it?

It's tea-time!

It has just come out the oven, so it is hot, hot, hot.

Compared to their top brand pizza,

this supermarket alternative would save them a whopping £415 a year.

That'll certainly help with the decorating,

so eat up, kids.

I like when the pizza is hot.

I like it.

It almost tastes like the one we usually have.

It looks different, but I think it's the same.

So, I don't know if it's been swapped or not.

I think the pizza is OK but it's not my favourite.

I think we've definitely swapped the pizza.

I think it's really different to what we usually have.

It's nice.

Well, the kids liked it,

and Hannah might be swayed when she finds out how much she'll save.

How about the carrots?

They are much nicer-tasting than the ones you buy in the packet.

I think they're pretty tasteless.

More evenly cut, the ones in the packet,

but I think these do taste nicer.

-The carrots...

-..were lovely.

-They were lovely.

Mummy chopped them herself, as she liked to make a big point of.

'They weren't as straight, but that doesn't really matter.'

I think Mummy should cut carrots more often.

I hope she hears that!

With the kids fed, it's dinner time for Hannah and Tim.

Everyone deserves a night off from the cooking sometimes,

and tonight is takeaway night.

There's the beautiful noise of cooking!

Oh, that'll be Hannah cooking for me!

Oh, I've been preparing it for hours!

They spend just over £22 a week on a takeaway for two

from their local curry house,

but the supermarket equivalent comes in at £5.50 less for the same meal.

We're having a supermarket takeaway.

I would be very surprised if it is as good as a normal takeaway.

I've got very low expectations.

Are we going to have some poppadoms while we wait?

I think that's a cracking idea.

Oh! They look more like crisps than poppadoms, I have to say.

Mmm, quite nice.

I'm really surprised by them!

I thought they were going to be rubbish.

-They looked terrible in that bag.

-Yeah, they did.

But they're nice, those.

I don't think I'd have ever picked those off the shelf,

and I bet they come in some really tacky packaging.

They just look like they would do,

but they taste perfectly fine, don't they?

It seems they are finally realising that looks aren't everything.

Onion bhajis are done now.

I'm already getting a nice waft of aroma.

-I think the flavour's very nice.

-Really flavoursome.

-Mmm.

I think they look all right.

I was ready to really turn my nose up,

but, yeah, I think they are fine.

What about the main course?

Oh, it smells nice.

I think this tastes better than some ready meal curries that I've had,

but it doesn't taste like a takeaway.

When you go for a takeaway, you get a real sloppy, oily,

-really fulfilling...

-Yeah, you're right.

..and it's not quite that, but the flavours are the same.

The only thing for me that was different was the chicken korma.

The sauce just wasn't the same.

For a treat, I don't think it'll replace our Indian takeaway,

but it wouldn't surprise me if we got that in the house

every now and again for a normal evening meal. It's nice.

Well, you might want to give it some food for thought.

If you decide you can stand the swap,

you'll save just over £287 a year.

In recent years, supermarkets have invested a lot of time and money

in producing their own low-cost alternatives to the

high street takeaway.

Chris has headed to Noon kitchen in West London

to lift the lid on what goes into our supermarket takeaways.

And who better to show him the process than head chef,

Vishal Rew, in the company's development kitchen.

-Hi, Vishal.

-Hello.

-How are you?

-Very well, thank you.

You take a traditional dish that you can buy from a takeaway

and then you try and replicate it in here?

Yes, that's right.

What we're doing today is actually a jalfrezi recipe.

What you're going to cook can't be the same as what

they're doing downstairs on a larger scale.

Surely there must be some preservatives...?

Nothing whatsoever.

What you see over here is exactly what goes into our food.

For me, what's really interesting is the fact that you're using real,

fresh ingredients in exactly the same way that you would use as if

you were in a commercial kitchen.

It's actually exactly the same as how we cook at home,

and that's how we'll cook it.

-That smells brilliant.

-Would you like to have a taste?

No, I would love to, definitely.

Oh! That's lovely.

And the fact that it's made with fresh ingredients...this is what

people are getting when they are having one of your ready meals.

Yes, they are. Although they're maybe not all your fair hands, but...

No, not by my own hands.

Once the products are signed off, it's down to the factory floor

for production on a larger scale, where Chris is getting stuck in

cooking the biggest vat of rice you've ever seen.

We've got all the rice in, now it's the powdered spices.

We're just going to add in.

-And all of these bags have been exactly weighed out?

-Yes.

That's the stock for cooking rice.

The key advantage of buying a supermarket takeaway

is you can check exactly what has gone into it.

I always assumed that mass-produced ready meals would be made

solely by machine in factories.

It has been great to see that there are real people cooking and

using only the natural ingredients, just like you would at home.

Gregg and Chris's mission with the Warners isn't just

about getting them to save money by swapping the brands they shop for.

Buying fresh ingredients for home-cooked meals rather than

pre-prepared options will save them more cash.

But you've got to know how to cook them,

and that's where Hannah needs a bit of help.

Oh, dear. Honestly, I hate it.

If I do it in half, does that look more like a baton?

Yeah, that's fine.

With guests due round at the Warners' tonight,

Gregg has come to her rescue.

Hannah really lacks confidence in the kitchen.

But, in fairness, she is busy raising four small children.

But I want to help her. I want to show that a chopping board

and a knife are nothing to be scared of.

-Yo!

-Hello! Come in.

-You know, you have a lovely kitchen.

-Oh, thank you very much.

Last time you had people round,

-you ended up spending a fortune in prepared food.

-I did, yeah.

And so what I'm going to do is show you some really simple things to do.

We're going to do some roasted chicken and veg, we're going

to do some cheese straws, and we're going to do some bruschetta.

-Brilliant.

-Use a big knife, it's easier.

-OK.

-It's all right, you can leave the seeds. Do you feel fine?

-No.

-Why?

-I feel like I'm about to cut my finger off.

-In order to get better at it...

-Got to start doing it more.

-Right, OK.

-Chuck it in. Right, a courgette.

-I like courgettes.

Now, I want you to do that.

-Imagine you're pushing the point towards the end of the board.

-Yeah.

I'm going up and coming down.

You're moving the courgette, not the knife.

And that will get faster and faster,

and soon you'll be chopping like a chef.

-It's therapeutic, you know, cooking.

-It is. Do you know...

-It can be your time.

-I know!

It doesn't have to be a chore, it can be your time.

Now, look, put it point down.

There you go. Scrape, scrape it, scrape it.

OK, I like this bit.

I almost feel like a proper chef.

Yeah! Chez Hannah, let's go!

-Right, olive oil.

-Just literally drizzle it across like this?

-Yeah.

Now, seasoning.

-Swap?

-Swap you.

Chicken thigh is juicy and value for money.

Yeah, I would always buy chicken breasts. I would never buy thighs.

-I think there's more flavour in the thighs.

-Is there not also...?

-Are they not very fatty?

-No, not very fatty.

Preheat the oven at 200 degrees...

-Right, in the oven.

-Right.

-35 minutes.

-Right.

Now, how easy was that?

Looks great.

It looks really good and yeah, it smells really nice as well.

Mm, looks delicious

and that's one dish under Hannah's belt for tonight's guests to enjoy.

But it's not just Gregg who's helping out,

Chris is on his way to meet Tim for a spot of market shopping.

I can't wait to get Tim in a market and get him hands-on with some fruit

and veg cos I think the way he's buying fruit and veg is all wrong.

At the moment, Tim and Hannah are buying pre-prepared salads,

baton carrots,

you can't buy those things if you're trying to save money.

As an award-winning grocer, Chris knows his onions.

-Hi, Chris. How you doing?

-Very well, Tim. Yourself?

And he's right at home in the bustling market atmosphere.

One of the things about buying stuff that's pre-prepared

or pre-packaged, it's been washed.

And by washing it, that really shortens the shelf life

and obviously if you're looking to make savings and looking for value,

the longer it lasts, the less likely you are to throw it away

and then have to replace it.

The difference between a natural carrot

and the pre-prepared ones is less of this has been exposed to air,

it hasn't been washed so therefore it's got a much longer life.

The presliced carrots, they go off really quickly once they're opened.

The freshness is the flavour.

The quicker it can come from the ground onto your plate,

the better it'll taste.

These are £1 a bowl, perfect.

The difference between this sort of spinach,

the baby leaf spinach you can buy in the packs is, you know,

they're like a different product.

If it can support its own weight, you can tell it's nice and fresh.

I like this holding its own weight, I can understand that.

Top tip there, Chris.

We need to make sure that we never buy more than we need.

Once you start throwing things away, everything gets very expensive.

Try a bit of that, you won't get better than that.

-Mm!

-That is delicious.

-That is.

I think the kids will devour that. Shall we take the whole one?

That's handy!

Life's hectic and the supermarkets are convenient

but if we've got a good market nearby,

definitely like to come there once a week.

Tim's taken a lot of the tips on board that I was giving him,

I think he's in a much better place to buy fresh produce from now on.

I'm sure Hannah will make use of all this fresh produce

with her newly acquired knife skills.

Back in Stratford-upon-Avon,

Gregg's got even more kitchen wisdom to share.

I'm going to show you how to make cheese straws.

Some ready-made puff pastry. Cut yourself some strips.

We are going to grate Parmesan over these, sprinkle on paprika

and stick them in the oven.

That's going to be cheaper than buying them.

I actually worked this out and making them yourself

comes in at half the price of buying them.

-Parmigiano.

-Literally just all over.

Loads of it, mate. Sprinkle the paprika.

-Now...

-Right.

-..I defy you to find anything easier than that.

That goes in the oven at 200 degrees for about 10-12 minutes.

I'd never think to make snacks like this when people came round,

I'd always get something out of a packet but that was really easy.

Yeah, that's got to be quicker to make

than it is to run to the shops and buy.

Cheese sticks in the oven, a simple bruschetta of chopped tomatoes,

seasoning and fresh basil mixed together and placed on toasted bread

tops off Hannah's trio of treats.

Three dishes, didn't take you very long at all

and this is going to be a fraction of the cost

of the way you normally shopped.

Now that I've done it once and I've done it with you,

I'm looking at them going, "Oh, OK, I could do that."

It looks a lot better than most shop-bought stuff.

Really can't wait to taste it.

I've really enjoyed making the dishes that we've done.

For me, it's all about confidence.

Once I've been shown how to do something and once I've done it once

and if it's turned out all right, I'll just run with it.

Hannah and Tim can easily spend £150 when entertaining friends

by buying pre-prepared meat platters and party food and drink

but thanks to their new-found knowledge,

this should be a thing of the past.

-To Hannah and Tim.

-To Hannah and Tim.

-Cheers.

Let's see if their guests like it.

-These are actually really nice.

-The bruschetta are amazing.

-That is lovely.

-That's the kind of thing I like.

Yeah, that's really nice.

The Warners have been at the mercy of Gregg and Chris

when it comes to mealtimes.

Some have been good...

Thumbs up, he likes it!

..and some, well, not so good.

-The chicken seemed drier than usual.

-Are you sure?

Mummy and Daddy overcooked it.

It's the final day of their food swap, time for another test.

Branding is everything to Hannah and Tim,

glossy packaging entices them in as they expect a quality product.

On the lunch menu, marinated chicken breasts

but between us here's the catch - this is no value range.

I have to say they're not the most appetizing looking

marinated chicken breasts I've ever seen.

The chicken's actually from the same top end supermarket

she currently buys from, minus the pretty packaging

and with a different marinade to throw her off the scent.

I've judged things by looks before and I've got it wrong

so I'm going to give it a try.

It's like one big marinated piece.

That just looks like...

some sort of unrecognisable meat.

I'd say it looks very budgety.

Not to be beaten by a piece of chicken, brave Hannah soldiers on.

There you go.

Chicken breast cooked, time for the all-important taste test.

I'm quite looking forward to this, it smells very nice.

I'm slightly worried about the chicken.

The chicken just doesn't look very good quality,

it doesn't even look like chicken.

I think it's been marinated for such a long time.

Not succulent,

-bit reconstituted type feel to it.

-And it...

Maybe just because it's different, might be a con

and it's actually just organically brilliant.

That is not a patch taste wise or looks wise on what we usually have.

I don't like it sitting on my plate.

TIM LAUGHS

It's annoying me just looking at it.

I didn't finish the chicken, I really didn't like it.

In fact, I couldn't really recognise what meat it was.

I am disappointed because I love marinated chicken

and it's not just one type of marinated chicken I have

because I'm quite open to all different flavours.

I just don't like that chicken.

With a yearly spend of £208 just on marinated chicken breasts,

can they justify such a cost when it seems it's the branding

rather than the food itself that's making them buy it?

The marinated chicken which I think is quite possibly

the disappointment of the whole experiment.

We're used to two chicken portions that look like two chicken portions

with nice marinades and our chicken's usually moist,

it's usually tasty and there's a lovely aftertaste,

we had none of that.

Boy, are you two in for a shock later.

Gregg and Chris are back in Stratford-upon-Avon

ready to meet the Warners for the last time.

I wonder how many things they will actually take on board.

How many things that we've substituted will they like?

We could walk into that house to find they've hated every mouthful.

What would you really, really like them to do?

Well, I think they've got to lose all preconceptions

of a product based on the packaging.

Perfect example. You look good, look fine, look premium

-but actually there's nothing inside...

-Of no substance!

CHRIS LAUGHS

Right, we like the Warners.

Do the Warners like our plan?

There's only one way to find out.

I've really enjoyed the last few days

far more than I, you know, thought I would.

We've got in really bad shopping habits,

going to the shops all the time, spending a lot on food,

always never getting the right value,

getting into the same habits all the time

and it's been really good to stop and think about what you're buying

so Hannah's well up for a change now. Crikey, I haven't seen her like this.

I'm really excited to find out what we have been eating.

At the end of the experiment, have Gregg and Chris been able

to convince the Warners to change their habits and eat well for less?

How did you get on with the food swap?

It was great trying things

and judging it just on taste rather than doing what we usually do

and going, "Oh, there's a nice packet, I think we'll have that."

Come on, boys, time to put the Warners out of their suspense.

Oh!

I'm a bit nervous.

We'll start with one of the items for the children.

The yoghurts we actually gave you were these.

-So do we think this is a cheaper alternative?

-Perhaps similar price.

-It is 75p cheaper.

-That's a lot.

That's a lot cheaper so there's no excuse not to buy them again.

-Would you like to keep?

-Keep!

-Keep.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

-We'll keep this one. Fantastic.

-Yeah.

A great start, who'd have thought those tiny pots can save £39 a year?

-You weren't at all happy with your muesli swap.

-No, that was rubbish.

-Well, we're not cheap. It's a recognised brand.

-We like that brand!

I thought it would've been some real value product.

-It's cheaper.

-That's not cheap enough, is it?

Not enough, put it back, Gregg.

Oh, well, you can't win them all.

How about your breakfast bowl?

It was perfectly acceptable but it just wasn't granola.

It was more like a pecan and maple syrup crunch.

I'm impressed with your palette BUT it's £1.70 cheaper and you liked it.

Oh, I did like it so, yes, we'll keep it.

That slashes another £176 off the yearly bill.

-How did you get on with the pizza?

-The kids loved it, didn't they?

Yeah, they did. Absolutely. They noticed no difference.

-None.

-Finished it off. What was it?

-I'm glad they liked it. Look...

it's a frozen value line.

But the saving, look at this!

That's really big.

Well, that's inexcusable to ever have anything else.

-CHRIS:

-That's not a year, that's a pizza. Per pizza!

Just think what that is over a year!

Well, Hannah, you buy three a week,

that's going to save you £415 a year.

And remember that chilli con carne Tim made?

-No!

-Mega saving!

-No way!

Changing the chilli sauce, rice and mince

gives a combined saving of £358 a year.

-Wow.

-Blimey!

There were some things you really didn't like.

Marinated chicken breasts, you weren't a fan of them.

-You didn't like those.

-I thought they were absolutely dreadful.

That is not a patch taste wise or looks wise on what we usually have.

-Well, funny enough...

-Oh, no!

..it comes from exactly the same place...

-No way!

-Really?

-..that you've always bought them.

But that didn't taste anything like anything we've had from them before.

I think it's the packaging.

-You might be right.

-Preconception before we started.

-This one's going to get binned, I take it?

-Yeah, yeah.

-You might be looking at a cheaper brand.

-Gosh, yeah.

-Good point.

What a shocker. Hannah and Tim fell for our boys' cunning little trick.

They currently spend £4 a pack on the marinated chicken

so hopefully they'll now be looking for a cheaper alternative.

From breakfast to lunch to dinner,

the Warners tried a whole host of alternative products.

-TIM WHISTLES

-That's a lot.

And substituting just these five items

saves them another £424 a year.

You OK now buying whole carrots?

Carrot batons actually don't taste very nice.

-Yeah, they go off as well, don't they?

-Yeah, they go dry.

I promise never to buy ready cut carrot batons again.

That takes another £37 off the yearly spend.

-When we met you...

-Yep.

-..not only were you shopping over 17 times a week...

-All right!

..you were spending on average £355.

Honestly, I'm cringing just to hear you saying that.

-Looking at the food that you want to keep...

-Mm-hm.

-..you've made a saving.

-Excellent.

-Oh, that's good. Phew!

Would you like to guess at how much you've saved?

-£35.

-Maybe... Yeah, yeah.

-£35.

If you keep the brands that you swapped this week...

you have saved...

£114 this week.

-No way.

-Excellent.

Which over the course of a year is very nearly £6,000.

-That's a lot of money, isn't it?

-That's a lot of money.

Oh, my goodness.

Chris and Gregg have shown that simple changes

can lead to big savings.

-Cheers, guys. Thank you.

-We've really enjoyed it.

-Well done.

I'm so embarrassed by how much we were spending and it was loads

and loads of bad habits and there's just no excuse for them

because you've just shown us how easy it is to make changes.

I'm absolutely delighted, really so pleased.

-Yeah! Happy?

-That was brilliant, wasn't it? I mean...

Did you think we could ever save that amount of money?

That's a serious amount of money, mate.

That is a serious, serious amount of money.

£6,000 a year is colossal.

I like the fact it was...

It was the fact it was a pound here, a pound there

and it's the fact that all those pounds add up.

-Happy about that?

-I'm delighted.

-That couldn't have gone any better I don't think.

-Well done, mate.

-Brilliant. Thank you very much.

-Come on, let's find another family.

Next time we're with the Stanton family

who have a fear of the freezer.

Doesn't look very appetising when it was frozen.

That's a lot of laughs...

Yeah!

..but not everything goes to plan.

-I quite like it.

-I don't.

As Gregg and Chris try to get the family back on track.

-You can do something about it...

-Yes!

-..and we can help!