The Butler 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 are spending an outrageous amount of money.

-Getting quite emotional about that.

-They're going undercover...

-Oh, no!

I've got to 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.

-Stupid money.

..and where, on the odd occasion,

it might be worth spending a little more.

-That's the good stuff.

-Nice.

-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.

..and giving the Great British public their say.

-That's delicious.

-No. That's not right.

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

-Ta-da!

-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-o-o!

Let's get to work.

SHEEP BLEAT

This week, we're with the Butler family in Wales...

I ain't got no packet rice.

..who have two daughters with very different diets.

-One's a meat-hungry athlete...

-Cutting like a pro.

-..the other, a vegetarian.

-Oh, oh!

Add a convenience-crazed mother into the mix...

Two minutes to cook. Fabulous!

..and you have a family whose food bills are out of control.

We could halve Angela's shopping bill if we gave her a knife.

Hey, hey, hey!

MUSIC: Sax by Fleur East

We're in Powys with a family whose food budget is in ruins.

-ALL:

-We're the Butlers!

The Butler family are 16-year-old Alice,

17-year-old Ffion,

-dad Neil...

-Smile, Dad.

-I AM smiling.

..and mum Angela.

-I'm going to put this on Facebook.

-Oh, please don't.

-I'll tag you.

Angela and Neil are both full-time teachers and met at work.

-We've been married 20 years this August.

-20 years, yes.

-August the what?

-10th. That was a test.

PHONE ALARM RINGS

The Butlers are a busy family.

Days start at 4.30 in the morning to get Ffion to her swimming session.

I'm a disability swimmer and I'm in the S9 category

because I have no limb below the left elbow.

Ffion was born with one arm.

From the first day, it certainly made no difference.

There's very few things you can think of

where her disability has stopped her.

In some ways, it's given her a steely determination to succeed

-and we're very proud of her, aren't we?

-Yes, we are.

Ffion trains twice a day for 11 hours every week

and is hoping to represent Great Britain at the 2020 Paralympics.

But feeding their athletic daughter doesn't come cheap.

She hates vegetables.

She likes lean, fat-free meat - steaks, chicken,

mainly those types of expensive meats.

But meat is the last thing 16-year-old sister Alice wants.

I'm a vegetarian.

I think that all animals sort of should have the same rights as us

and that they should be treated fairly.

I do respect Alice for her principles

but, for me, a meal isn't a meal without some sort of meat.

Which is fine for carnivore Ffion,

but not so fine for vegetarian Alice.

I get lumbered with microwaveable meals a lot.

It's sort of ironic that an eco-warrior like me

is eating out of a plastic tub that's burning up the ozone layer.

Premium veggie meals for Alice and expensive meats for Ffion

aren't the only reason

the Butlers' supermarket bills are breaking the bank.

This is ready-crushed garlic.

If there's a convenience food to be had, Angela's got to have it.

This is all you need to cook a delightful chicken surprise

in one handy pot. I love it.

Well, a lot of the problems I have with a lot of the products

is they tend to be packaged to save you time.

I don't actually think it saves a great deal of time.

When I discovered microwaveable rice, my life was complete.

And two minutes to cook. Fabulous!

But it's not just Angela's love of convenience foods

and their daughters' opposite diets that's the problem.

Angela, as soon as we're in a supermarket,

is a child in a sweet shop.

The other day, we went out for a swede and we spent £85.

Neil's head was in his hands at the till.

The Butlers hit the shops at least three times a week

with no budget in mind.

In terms of money, what's coming in is going out.

There isn't any spare cash and there should be.

I do want to change because I'm very conscious of the fact

that I waste money

and I would like to be spending it in a different way.

The Butlers aren't alone in paying to feed their family fast.

Last year, we ate more ready meals than ever before,

devouring almost 6,000 of them, spending over £3.1 billion.

And ready meals aren't the only way

supermarkets offer us a helping hand.

We're so busy now, aren't we? People have got hardly any time at all.

I think, more and more, we're relying on convenience food.

The problem is, the more convenient you make your food,

the more cut it is, the more cooked it is, the more prepared it is,

the more you are going to pay for it.

For example, buying grated cheese instead of a block

can cost over £2 more a kilo.

And a whole roast chicken can be double the price

of an uncooked chook.

Every time you remove yourself from the process,

you're putting someone else in there and that comes at a cost.

Feel free to remove yourself from the process

-whenever you want.

-That doesn't sound very convenient.

Neil and Angela have arrived at their local supermarket

to do their big weekly shop.

All right. OK, list.

But what they don't know is Chris and Gregg are incognito,

ready to spy what they put in their trolley.

-What about the iceberg lettuce?

-It's not on the list.

The boys have come to the storeroom

to scrutinise the Butlers' shopping habits,

so they can help this family get back on track.

Look, Neil's in possession of a list. That's a good start, isn't it?

-I like broccoli, Alice likes broccoli.

-Is that on the list?

-It's... Veg is on the list.

-I'm not going to fall for this again.

-Next time you put veg down, you're going to specify.

-Yes, OK.

-CHRIS LAUGHS

-I love it!

Last time, I had nice diced carrots and swede in a bag.

Hey, is that prepped veg?

-What's that?

-Diced onions.

What IS that? That is diced onion, that is shredded carrot.

Shredded carrots can be over ten times the price of loose.

Mushrooms. I haven't got any mushrooms, I don't think.

I used them the other day. Ooh, sliced ones. Even better.

-What?!

-Oh, no. Veg is literally one of the cheapest things you buy.

-We could halve Angela's shopping bill if we gave her a knife!

-Yeah.

-I do like these soups, though.

-Are they on the list?

-No, but I do like that one.

-It looks like the list is for Neil.

Angela's going to do whatever she pleases.

Grated cheese for Alice.

-Grated cheese?

-Whoa!

-Don't they have any utensils in the house?

-Should I get the Chewbacca ones?

-NEIL:

-What?

-They like Star Wars.

What's Star Wars got to do with eating cheese?

I really like Neil. What a lovely, pragmatic man.

-You pick your sausages cos you like sausages.

-Is this on the list?

-It is, yes. It says, "Stuff for..."

-"Stuff for frying."

That's not a list. That's a heading of the categories within a shop.

And under meat, in goes lamb, mince, chicken, steak and ham.

-Is that just for YOU?

-Yeah, I like sandwiches with it.

OK, half a pig.

With the carnivores catered for,

Angela hits another important section of the shop.

She wanted the meat-free chicken. That's on there.

-Meat-free ham, I thought she liked.

-No, it's not the ham.

The veg stuff they are buying is branded high-end stuff.

-Oh!

-NEIL:

-We've got loads of rice.

-No, we haven't.

We've got lots of micro-rice.

Rice, the same with veg, is one of the cheapest things you can buy,

but if you're buying it in one of those microwaveable pouches,

you are going to pay so, so much more for it.

Sometimes up to four times more.

Look at that! That's a box. What a good idea!

Eight packs of three crackers. Lush.

Oh, no! We're not buying convenience crackers as well!

I mean, that shouldn't even exist, should it?

That is a good idea, though. Whoever thought of that deserves a prize.

Yes, they're getting one!

A premium on every single cracker you're buying!

What everybody hates is a soft cracker.

-Deserves a knighthood?

-Well, I think...

I tell you what, there's less deserving people

have been given knighthoods, I'm telling you that now.

You've got premium brands and pre-prepared or processed

or convenience food throughout this whole shop.

I can't think of a way of shopping more expensively, I really can't.

Gregg and Chris have seen enough.

They're heading for the tills

and the Butlers are completely unaware of what lies in store.

-What a fascinating shop!

-Oh, my goodness me!

-Hello, hello.

-ANGELA LAUGHS

-How are you?

-Oh, my goodness me!

-Do you have a chopping board in your house?

-Yes.

-And a knife?

-Yes.

-Grater?

-Is it still in the packaging?

-No, I think... How rude!

-No, we just wondered.

-Did you enjoy that?

No, I'd rather have had my teeth pulled, if I'm honest, but, yeah...

If Neil thought the shop was torture,

how will he feel when Gregg and Chris tally it all up?

-Angela.

-Yeah.

Would it be fair to say that you're a marketer's dream?

Well, if the marketers save me time, yes.

-These mushrooms have been sliced.

-Saves me time!

Wherever I look, I see a leading brand.

Yes, because I know they're going to be nice.

Do you know how much you've spent?

-About £150.

-£150?

-GREGG:

-You've actually spent...£175.

-That's not good, is it?

-That's not good.

-So, is this your only shop?

-No, we'll have two top-up sessions, I would imagine.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Oh, dear. Top-ups on top of this.

Sounds like Gregg and Chris have got their work cut out with this one.

Thank you very much for your custom today. You spent £175.76.

-Thank you very much.

-There's your receipt, sir.

Are you OK with that receipt whole or should we charge you an extra 30p

for cutting it up into more easily handled little bits?

-That's funny.

-Shall we go?

-Yeah.

The Butlers may not know how much they're spending on food a week,

but what they DO know is they have an expensive time coming up.

We need to look at the spending, I think,

because Ffion is going to be going away to university this year

and then Alice the following year as well,

so I think it's really important we look at our budget generally,

so we can manage that situation.

With both daughters leaving home,

Angela also wants a final family holiday.

We had to cancel the last short break

cos we didn't really have the funds for it, and this summer,

we want to go away because the girls are growing up

and it may be the last time that we spend that quality time together,

so I want to save money for that.

With two very good reasons to save cash,

Gregg and Chris have decided to bare all to the Butlers

about their weekly food bill.

We've got your receipts here and we've added it up.

The average weekly food spend for a family of four in the UK is £81.40.

You are spending, in the supermarket,

with your main weekly shop and your two top-up shops, £253.81 a week.

SHE GASPS

Oh, dear!

-NEIL:

-Shocking.

-GREGG:

-Why?

Well, because we shouldn't be that much above the national average.

The Butlers are spending over three times the average,

but it doesn't end there.

Ffion and Alice also get a weekly food allowance.

If you take your supermarket shop

and the money you're giving to the girls,

it comes to £308.69 a week.

-Oh...

-OK.

Which, without wanting you to feel bad, is over £16,000 a year.

Oh.

-Oh, flipping heck.

-How do you feel about that?

Oh, I am...I am really shocked. I just never...

..imagined it was that much.

Gregg and Chris want to explore the problem

of their daughters' different diets.

Why wouldn't you all sit down and eat a vegetarian meal?

Ffion needs the protein for her swimming.

-So she needs to eat properly.

-Yes, that's right.

If she doesn't eat properly, she won't be able to compete.

As an athlete,

Ffion needs a nutritious diet that's high in protein.

What do you give her now, protein?

She has chicken every day, steak. It's all meat-based, isn't it?

Does she eat plenty of veg and fruit as well?

-Ah...

-No.

Hang on a minute... Have you got one daughter that doesn't eat meat

and another one that doesn't particularly like veg?

-That's it, really, in a nutshell.

-Welcome to our world.

-Now you've got it.

-OK.

-Now you know why we need your help!

The pressure's on for Gregg and Chris.

The biggest issue, I think, for the family are the daughters,

where they are so different.

One of them's a vegetarian, the other one is an athlete

and wants to eat meat, and mum cannot make those two ends meet.

I think there is a compromise here -

some really good, tasty, high-protein meals

that don't have meat

that, hopefully, the whole family will enjoy eating together.

Then we've got Angela and we haven't seen a shop like that -

the convenience and the short cuts that she's leaning towards.

I don't think they could have had a more expensive shop, could they?

Let's talk about the money.

I'm not as optimistic as you normally, you know that,

but this family are spending so much,

-I KNOW we're going to save them some money.

-I think I've got to go big.

-I'm going to say £100.

-You're going £100?

-100 quid.

-I'd go £75.

-Are you ready for it?

-I am, I'm looking forward to this.

-It's a big challenge, this one.

-Isn't it?

While the family were out, we took over their kitchen.

Wow, they've taped up all our cupboards!

To try and open their eyes to new varieties,

their usual foods have been replaced..

There's a large lump of ginger - real ginger!

ANGELA LAUGHS

Many are different brands, disguised in plain packaging.

-Oh, no! Everything's taped up that I like.

-Oh, popcorn!

Most are cheaper alternatives.

But how do you make popcorn without the microwave bag?

There you are. I ain't got no packet rice!

ANGELA LAUGHS

But to really put the Butlers' taste buds to the test,

some foods haven't been swapped at all.

I'll be able to tell on the first sniff.

Can you tell? No!

But I will know when I've got it in the glass.

Some foods are more expensive

-because it can be worth spending that little bit extra.

-Oh, bacon!

Getting the family out of their comfort zone isn't going to be easy.

There's no grated cheese and there's no sliced mushrooms there.

Oh, I'm going to be chopping all week!

It has been a shock seeing my kitchen like this.

I've got no labels at all. It's weird.

-It doesn't bother me at all not having the brands.

-Brown sauce?

If you haven't got your particular brown sauce, you have a hissy fit.

No matter how nice those sausages and bacon is,

if he hasn't got his particular brown sauce, it won't get eaten.

This could be an interesting few days.

The next morning, and Neil's preparing breakfast.

Ffion and Alice usually have a premium brand chocolate cereal,

but not today.

I'm not sure Ffion and Alice will like this cereal.

I don't think it's sweet enough for them for a start.

We've swapped it for supermarket malt wheats,

which have 60% less sugar

and are over £2 cheaper a box.

I'm going to put some sugar out on the table,

just in case they need to sweeten it up a bit.

-That's not the spirit, Neil.

-Girls, breakfast!

If the girls eat the swapped cereal as is,

not only would they consume less sugar,

they'd also be eating over five times more fibre and 75% more iron.

So, a whole lot healthier for you girls, if you go for it.

No pressure.

Very nice.

LAUGHTER

Would you eat that normally?

-I could.

-Have you put sugar on yours?

-No.

-No.

If I hadn't sat there and witnessed it, I wouldn't have believed it,

cos they've conned me into buying chocolate cereal for years.

As well as being healthier,

switching to this cereal could save the family £8.73 a month.

That's over £105 a year.

And the savings don't stop there.

We've swapped every item on the Butlers' breakfast table

to a cheaper alternative.

The bread isn't the same as we normally have but it's quite nice.

And if the Butlers kept all the changes,

it would save them a whopping £463 a year.

Here's hoping lunch will be as lucrative.

We've swapped Neil and Angela's usual grated cheese

and branded crackers

for a block of cheese and supermarket own-brand crackers.

That's nice, isn't it?

I think they're better. They're not as dry.

Switching to these would save £180 a year. Crackers!

However, there was one swap they didn't like.

-Bit more vinegary.

-It tastes like a watered-down version

of what we normally have.

In that sense, we'd have to say no to the pickle.

Neil's not the only one picky about his pickle.

Over one in three households buy the leading brand.

But could a cheaper one tantalise our taste buds with its fruity tang?

To find out, we've come to north-east London

to ask a group of gardeners to field-test five different pickles.

What makes a good pickle?

A good pickle is not too vinegary or acidic.

I like it in small chunks and a tangy taste.

I do normally buy Branston, actually.

I guess some things you just get used to.

Up for analysis are...

So, which pickle will get our gardeners' taste buds tingling?

First up, a supermarket own-brand pickle.

-Smells tangy.

-Nice big chunks.

-I quite like that.

-There's a nice sweetness to it

and it's got a good crunch as well.

Not bad. How about the most expensive pickle?

It's quite unusual, isn't it?

It's fruity and the addition of the spice

makes it a bit different.

A lot of flavour but too much sweetness.

A mixed response. What will they make of the cheapest pickle?

I didn't get a single chunk

-in that mouthful.

-I see this

and I'm thinking maybe cheap.

You're not getting your five a day with this.

-You're not getting your ONE a day!

-No.

Maybe the next one will do better.

It's the second priciest pickle of the bunch.

I'm not keen on that at all.

There's no crunch whatsoever.

It's got a bit of a punch.

Yeah, bit of a punch but not a crunch!

I think it's let down by the texture.

I think you're all wrong and it's good.

Last to try, the brand leader.

There's a lot of veg in there.

I reckon that this is Branston.

Tastes like it, definitely.

It's probably the nicest, but not by a long way.

So, which of our pickles did our gardeners award best-in-show?

And the winner is...

-Branston.

-Knew it!

-Yeah, we knew it.

-Classic.

-Yeah.

Our gardeners like a lot of veg in their pickle.

Top of the tree is the nation's favourite - Branston -

which is mid-range on cost but has one of the highest amounts of veg.

And close runner-up was Tesco's pickle,

which also contains a good amount of veg and was second cheapest.

So more money doesn't necessarily mean more crunch.

I've got a feeling my shopping habits may change after today.

It was nice to know that the unbranded version

was pretty much just as nice, really,

and you can actually save a lot of money.

Gregg and Chris have a huge challenge on their hands

with the Butler family, who are struggling to cater

for their daughters' very different tastes.

Today, they want to find out more about protein -

how much we need and whether it always has to come from meat.

So, they're meeting up with dietician Hala El-Shafie.

What is it about protein that's so important to us?

We require protein for the correct functioning of our muscles

and if you don't have enough,

what will happen is your body will start to break down your own muscles

and that's definitely not what you want.

How much protein should we be consuming?

Your average person would really need 50-55g per day.

Hala's measured out a variety of different protein-rich foods,

each containing 25g of protein.

So, the recommended daily intake of protein

-is two portions of any of this?

-Spot on.

Each food type on the table contains exactly the same amount of protein.

I'm amazed there's as much protein in that bowl of lentils

as there is that piece of beef.

And what's a handful of cashew nuts

compared to a chicken breast or a bit of steak.

Absolutely, and even if you're a vegan,

you can still get your requirements for protein.

Which is great news for vegetarian Alice,

but what about swimmer Ffion, whose muscles get used more than most?

Ffion's an athlete. She's training for the Paralympics.

-Will she need more protein?

-Absolutely.

She will need about 40% more than your average person.

So, for example, that would equate to about three extra eggs a day.

So, at the moment, Ffion is relying heavily on red meat,

-steaks in particular, to get her protein.

-Yeah.

-It's quite expensive as well, isn't it?

-It's quite expensive

and also red meat tends to be significantly higher in fat as well.

Any easy tips for getting a bit more protein into your diet?

Yeah, a glass of milk, beans on toast,

dipping your slices of apple into some peanut butter.

I'm going to take a photo of this on my mobile phone.

This will help remind me of how much I need.

So, there's plenty of foods we can get our protein from

that don't cost a fortune.

Great news for Ffion, who's off to university

and will need to live on a tight budget.

But at the moment, she can't cook at all.

It's a concern for dad Neil.

I'm worried she'll live off what students live off at university.

Pot Noodle I'll be living on, cos it's simple.

-Hot water - bang, it's done.

-That isn't going to cut it.

What she needs is some skills to make sure

she can actually cook for herself

what she's going to require for her swimming.

Gregg's back in Wales to give Ffion a cooking lesson.

-Hello.

-I've come to cook.

But first, he wants to show her

exactly what's in one of her favourite snack pots.

There are 7.9g of saturated fat in there.

Oh, wow, that's not good.

That's nearly 40% of an adult's recommended daily intake,

just in one pot. What about protein?

As an athlete, you really need protein.

-There's only 8.5g of protein in there.

-Wow, that's not very much.

Ffion would get nearly triple the amount of protein

from a single chicken sandwich.

High in fat, high in salt, low in protein, no fresh veg.

Oh, I'm not going to perform very well on instant noodles.

Gregg's decided to teach novice Ffion a chicken noodle dish

that will give her the nutrition she needs.

-Chicken spicy satay noodles.

-Yeah.

-How do you feel about that?

-Good, sounds nice.

First, Ffion needs to cut the chicken into strips.

Your first bit of knifework.

She may not have handled a knife or chicken before,

but Ffion makes light work of slicing it -

so much so, Gregg's decided to turn it up a notch

with the spring onions.

-Now, I'm going to teach you how to chop like a chef.

-OK.

-Finger on here.

-Mmm-hmm.

-And you want to be doing that motion.

-OK.

Cutting like a pro. Next one.

A stir-fry is a great way of packing in lots of healthy veg.

Oh, look at the speed!

Very, very impressive.

And on a tight student budget,

Ffion can use frozen veg to really cut down the cost.

Wok cooking, you fry fast and you fry high heat.

-First in is the spring onion and peanut butter.

-Bang it on the side.

The peanut butter gives the dish an extra protein boost.

One heaped tablespoon has the equivalent amount of an egg.

That's marvellous.

Next, sweet chilli sauce, reduced fat coconut milk, chicken and veg.

Get those noodles coated in sauce. There you are.

Gregg adds in some spinach.

Stir that in so all the spinach just wilts down.

Spinach is high in iron and great at restoring energy.

-That is ready.

-Phew.

A final sprinkle of protein-rich cashew nuts

and Ffion's very first home-made dish is done. So how does it taste?

-Mmm-mmm.

-It's all right, isn't it?

-Mmm-hmm.

At only £1.61 a portion, it's the perfect student supper.

I think it's simple and it's nice and it's nutritious,

so I think I definitely would make it again.

You can do this, you really can.

You've got lean protein in there, two of your five a day -

-exactly what you need.

-Mmm-hmm.

-And you cooked it.

-Thank you, yeah.

-Very well. Can we do that fist pump thing the kids do?

-Thank you.

Ffion's a bright girl. She's also, obviously, an ambitious girl.

She knows that she can't get to the Paralympics, train like that,

and eat stuff out of pots that you pour boiling water over.

She's now got a plan - cooking.

For those mealtimes when we haven't got time to cook,

a cheap way of getting one of our five a day is from a bowl of soup.

Over the last ten years, canned soup sales have dropped by 1.5%,

whereas sales of chilled soup have risen by 22%.

So, what's the difference between chilled and canned soup?

Chris has come to a Crosse & Blackwell factory in Cambridgeshire

to get the answers from manufacturing director Nick Green.

-Hi, Chris, how you doing?

-Very well, thank you.

How many cans of soup are you making here?

Within a week, we'll manufacture

-three and a half to four million cans.

-That's a lot of soup.

-How many different flavours do you make?

-About 200 different soups -

everything from vegetables to tomato based, mushrooms...

And as you can see, we're standing here

-in front of our fresh vegetables.

-Yeah.

-Just arrived this morning.

These would have come in, presumably, from a local farm?

That's correct. All our produce comes from Norfolk or Lincoln.

I think people would be genuinely surprised by that because I think,

when you get a can of soup, you probably don't think

of that provenance or using local, fresh produce.

-Can we have a look?

-Yeah, let's have a look, Chris.

The site operates 24 hours a day, producing 400 cans a minute,

which is over six cans a second.

Despite employing 450 staff,

a lot of the labour is done by machine,

including the washing, peeling and dicing.

So, what's happening here, Nick?

We've got this rather sophisticated bit of equipment here,

which actually inspects the carrots, potatoes and onions for any defects.

So, like you would at home, if you've got a bit of black

on your carrot, you might cut it out,

that's what this piece of equipment's doing here.

It's taking out the bad bits.

To make up its 200 different flavours,

the factory has several hundred ingredients.

Spices, herbs and seasoning are weighed out by hand

for each individual recipe, put into containers

and then tipped into giant sauce pots.

What we're actually doing is making up our base sauce.

We've got our herbs, spices, seasoning,

mixing that with water and some vegetable puree

and then we'll add our vegetables separately.

Is this process still the same as they'd do for making a fresh soup?

Absolutely.

They'll make the same base sauce, add the ingredients separately

and it'll go into either a carton or a plastic container.

There's a misconception about canning.

Everyone thinks it's old or sterilised or it's not fresh.

-Yeah.

-It IS fresh.

Machines add the base sauce and prepped veg to the cans,

and with three production lines,

three different soups can be made at any one time.

OK, we've seen the soup prepped and made,

it's gone in the can - what happens next?

We seal it and then we cook it.

-So you cook it once it's in the can?

-That's correct, yeah.

So, we don't have any preservatives in our products.

Because the can's sealed and then put in through this cooker

just behind us, we stop any bacteria growth.

That's cos we're cooking it to 120 degrees C.

So, am I right in saying that this is the first point

where the process differs

-from making a fresh soup to making a canned soup?

-That's correct.

And you can do that without any preservatives

-by cooking it at such a high temperature?

-That's right.

The whole process, from raw vegetable to tinned soup,

can take just a couple of hours.

With the products ready to leave the warehouse in record time,

the cans' contents could be fresher

than veg we pick up at the supermarket.

So, why is it so cheap?

So, a canned soup is generally cheaper than a fresh soup,

but there's a huge amount of cost going into this. How is it cheaper?

Because we're producing so many, we can keep our costs down.

So, a lower price doesn't necessarily mean less veg.

In fact, some varieties of tinned

provide up to three of your five a day.

Seems in this case, it definitely pays to read the label.

Nick, thank you very much. It's been really interesting.

-Or can I say, it's been "souper"?

-Absolutely, Chris.

Back in Wales, we're about to find out

if the Butlers can taste the difference

between chilled and canned soup.

These soups look very similar to the ones I usually buy.

Angela normally buys chilled soup

and, whilst she may have picked these out of the fridge,

we've sneakily given her tinned soup disguised in chilled soup packaging.

I like this type of soup compared to the tinned soups

because I think they look fresher. Well, they look like home-made soups.

From looks alone, Angela's convinced she's serving the family fresh soup.

-So, leek and potato for you to try.

-Thank you.

Broccoli and stilton for Alice to try.

But, on tasting,

will the family recognise they're eating the contents of a tin,

almost a third cheaper than their usual chilled choice,

which could offer a super saving of almost £60 a year?

They taste like home-made, don't they?

Yes, they do taste like home-made. This is very good.

I like the fact it's got big chunks of vegetables in it.

-Do you like that soup, Alice?

-I really like this soup, actually.

-It's very nice.

-I think this is fresh soup

and I also think it's worth paying extra

to have the fresh soup to a tinned soup.

But are you sure that was not out of a tin

and just poured into a plastic carton?

Yeah, it's fresh soup. You can tell.

I'm afraid, Angela, you obviously can't.

As part of the swap experiment,

we've also given the brand-loyal Butlers ingredients for a fry-up,

all to be served with Neil's favourite condiment.

Neil's a connoisseur of brown sauce.

I wouldn't have survived 20 years of marriage to Neil

if I had swapped his brown sauce.

I have tried to buy other sauces in the past

but I have a half-hour lecture, how it's made, the origins of it.

I won't get that half an hour back of my life,

so I just buy the one he likes.

Well, we've dared to swap Neil's usual leading brand

for a supermarket own brand,

which also has reduced sugar and salt.

-This is what you've been waiting for, Neil.

-Mmm-hmm.

Bacon, sausages...

-Don't shove it up your nose!

-Don't shove it up your nose!

It didn't touch my nose!

Oh, actually, the consistency looks good.

-Neil, do you think it's the same brown sauce?

-I think it's the same.

Oh, dear. Turns out Neil's not the brown sauce daddy he thought he was.

This sauce has 5% less sugar and would save them nearly £1 a bottle.

But the brown sauce wasn't the only swap.

-What do you think of the sausages?

-They're really nice.

-I like these.

Feel like they've got quite a lot of meat in them, so very good.

Gregg and Chris are all for supporting local businesses,

and these sausages and bacon come from a nearby butcher.

It's nice and thick, thick slice, and very tasty.

Even though I buy the most expensive bacon in the supermarket,

I think that's more expensive.

Spot on, Angela.

Eight rashers of this butcher's bacon was 72p dearer,

but they're thicker than their normal rashers,

putting over 40% more bacon on their breakfast plates.

Sometimes you've got to pay for quality

and I think that bacon is the nicest we've had for many years.

Other than the bacon, the rest of the fry-up came in cheaper,

and if the Butlers kept the swaps,

they could save a sizzling £85 a year.

I was surprised at that. I enjoyed it and so did everybody else.

Clean plates. Hardly anything left. No bacon left for the cat.

CAT MEOWS

Meat is important to the Butlers,

especially when it comes to giving Ffion her quota of protein.

But, with a vegetarian in the family,

Chris wants to show convenience queen Angela

that it is possible to cook one family meal,

without it taking a long time or costing a fortune.

There's going to be no short-cuts today.

No sauces in jars, no pre-prepared veg.

-'It's going to be Angela, a knife and some vegetables.'

-Come in.

So, today, we're going to be cooking a bolognese.

-Oh, right, I like a bolognese!

-You like a bolognese?

-I do, that's nice.

-You've cooked bolognese before?

Yes, I have, yeah. Well, out of a jar.

I'm not sure that technically counts, Angela.

There'll be no jar today.

-I don't wish to frighten you...

-Oh!

-ANGELA LAUGHS

I've got a jar and it's all crushed up, ready.

Pre-chopped veg isn't the only ingredient Angela's missing.

Where's the meat then? Where's my mince?

Ah, I thought you might ask me that.

-We're not going to put any mince meat in there.

-No meat at all?

-No.

-In a bolognese?

-No meat at all in a bolognese.

We're going to make a lovely bolognese

that the whole family can enjoy and we're going to make it with lentils.

OK.

Angela doesn't look convinced,

but lentils are a great substitute for minced beef.

Give them all a good wash.

They're a good sauce of protein,

they count as one of your five a day and they're much cheaper.

Have you seen one of these recently?

You got that out the back of my drawer, didn't you?

So, we're going to wash and chop some celery.

I normally buy the celery that's already pre-packed

-and cut and trimmed.

-Could I just show you something?

-Yeah.

You pay more money for someone...

-..to do that for you.

-ANGELA LAUGHS

Double the price, in fact.

Well, I suppose, if you put it like that, I can see your point.

Chris fries the veg, garlic, thyme and tomato puree,

then in go the lentils, tomatoes, stock and some balsamic vinegar.

-Just give it another depth of flavour.

-Lovely.

The sauce is left to simmer for 20 minutes.

-It's taken absolutely no time at all, has it?

-I'm surprised at that.

I did think this would take a lot longer. I can't wait to eat it now.

Imagine that - looking forward to a meal without meat in it!

Chris mixes in the spaghetti

and serves with a sprinkle of vegetarian cheese and green salad.

-Right, I hope you're all hungry.

-Oh, yes.

Alice has been a vegetarian for five years,

but this is the first meat-free meal

the whole family have ever eaten together.

So, did you ever think this day would come?

No, and I'm very glad it has!

Alice is happy, but what's the verdict from the meat-eaters?

-This is lovely. It's really nice.

-It tastes like bolognese. It's nice.

-Brilliant.

-There we are, look at that!

-That's amazing.

-You've won both of us over.

-Fantastic.

-Are you enjoying it?

-Yeah.

-He IS enjoying it.

-I've finished mine.

Angela usually spends £10.64 making her beef spaghetti bolognese.

This lentil version costs just £3.16.

That's a very impressive saving of over £7, on one meal!

I'd definitely do the dish again.

It was a fraction of the cost of what I'd normally make a dish for

and within the same timeframe, so win-win.

-Cheers.

-That was an absolute result.

Alice was absolutely delighted that she's finally,

after five years, being catered for,

and the family all sitting down for the very first time

to eat the same thing was brilliant.

Giving the Butlers affordable high-protein meals

has been a key mission for Gregg and Chris, but with Ffion leaving home,

how easy is it to do on a student budget?

The boys are back with dietician Hala to find out.

So, young Ffion is off to university.

We want a quick, tasty, easy meal that's nutritious,

packs a protein punch but is also cheap. We set you a target of £3.

-How did you get on?

-Beat it. £2.33.

-You're kidding me!

-I'm not kidding.

-And that's for four.

-No way!

-Way!

Hala's budget-busting recipe is a student classic - egg-fried rice.

-Right.

-Right, Gregg, get the wok on.

-Certainly.

-I want a teaspoon of rapeseed oil, please.

-Just a teaspoon of oil?

-Just a teaspoon.

-It doesn't seem enough, does it?

Wait and see, boys, wait and see.

Look at that! That looks like a picture of health.

When the onion and peppers start to soften, in goes the garlic,

followed by broccoli and four tablespoons of water.

-Ah!

-Here we go. This is the trick. OK, now we're actually steaming.

-That's how you can get away with such little oil.

-Exactly.

The mixture's brought to the boil, then left to simmer

until the water's almost evaporated.

So, Chris, if you can get the rice for me.

-Is this leftover rice?

-It is leftover rice.

Now, there is one thing

that we really do need to be careful with rice.

Once we've cooked it, we've got to cool it down really quickly

and then make sure that when we heat it up, it's absolutely piping hot.

When the rice is heated through, in go some peas.

Look at that colour there! You've got fibre,

you've got stacks of vitamin C with that red pepper in there.

Vitamin C is vital for our general health,

but is also good for our mental agility,

so it's a must for a student diet.

And we're about to increase that nutrition content

because I'm going to add in the protein.

Three eggs are whisked together with a tablespoon of soy sauce.

I've got some sesame seeds - really rich in vitamin E,

but also some additional protein.

A student burning the candle at both ends needs vitamin E

to boost their immune system

and it's supposed to have a positive impact on the brain too.

Beautiful! This is worth becoming a student for!

-What did that come in at, costwise?

-£2.33, to be precise.

-For four people?

-For four people. Anybody can make this dish.

It looks great, but how does it taste?

-Yeah!

-For me, that tastes really clean and fresh.

You can really taste the lack of oil in there. That's lovely.

I think Ffion's going to be delighted with this.

Not only is that delicious, it's so quick and easy to make and healthy.

-That's perfect for any student, isn't it?

-Glad you think so.

In Wales, the food swap experiment is coming to an end

and the Butlers have been trying out a whole host of foods.

-I do think it's a pretty lame crumpet.

-That's enough, thanks.

Quite disgusting.

It's a no from me. Uh-uh!

There was one snack, however, that was very "pop"-ular.

-Whoa, whoa, oh, oh!

-What?

-Oh! They're going nuts!

Swapping their premium microwave popcorn

for a supermarket do-it-yourself in a pan

saves the Butlers a whopping popping £2.88,

and it's clearly more fun too.

-Ooh!

-It was like a fireworks show, that was!

It's the last night and final meal of the swap,

and we've asked convenience food fanatic Angela

to cook up something familiar.

Basically, this is my chicken surprise that I make,

-but without my jar.

-Surprise!

We've replaced Angela's usual jar of honey and mustard sauce

with ingredients to make her own.

I don't know what to do with it!

But one thing we haven't swapped is Angela's wine.

I'm very pleased about the white wine

and that's not all going to go into the chicken surprise,

I can tell you now.

Angela is very particular with her wine

and always buys the same brand at £9.50 a pop.

Let's have a taste.

But out of its normal bottle, can Angela tell it's her usual wine?

It doesn't taste as gooseberry-ry-ry as I normally have,

so I don't think it's the same wine.

It's drinkable, though.

So, Angela's failed to recognise her favourite tipple.

Gregg and Chris are going to have a field day with that one.

Dinner prep starts with the veg.

Can you see I'm avoiding the ginger? I'm leaving that ginger until last.

You can't avoid it forever, Angela.

A thumb of ginger. I don't even know how to do that.

Have you got to peel it? Do you just slice it or what? I don't know.

Er, right, get a grip.

Angela usually buys frozen chopped ginger which costs £2 per 100g.

The same amount fresh costs just 27p.

That smells lovely.

Ginger conquered, it's time to cook.

Two dishes at once.

Tonight, there's no microwave meal for Alice.

Whilst the meat-eaters have chicken,

she's having the vegetarian cheese paneer.

I've never cooked with paneer before,

so this is going to be a first.

Paneer is low in salt and a good source of protein and calcium.

This whole lot cost only 66p.

I think she's going to really enjoy that.

Angela adds mustard and honey to veg stock, then splits between the pans.

Chicken in to simmer, it's on to the rice.

It's really hard to cook, which is why I go for my trusty packets

cos I know it's edible each time.

We've replaced Angela's usual branded microwave rice

with a supermarket easy-cook basmati.

Per kilogram, it's £4.85 cheaper.

That would cut the bills by £24 a month, nearly £300 over a year.

That's perfect rice!

I'm not surprised, I'm astounded!

For a healthier creamy sauce,

Angela adds a dollop of low-fat yoghurt to each pan

and dinner for the whole family is done.

This hasn't taken me that long. It's been quite easy to make.

I'm pleasantly surprised.

Short-cut fan Angela may have surprised herself,

but she'll be even more stunned with the saving.

Making this once a week instead of their usual chicken surprise

and veggie micro meal would save the family £3.73 a week.

That's £16 a month, nearly £200 a year.

I would love you to make this again.

I prefer it so much to the other one.

And the cheese is really nice.

Marks out of ten for your mother, Alice?

-11.

-Neil, you've been very quiet, chomping away there.

What do you think of the home-made chicken surprise?

This is very nice, almost...

Well, I would say it's like a restaurant standard. Whoohoo!

-It's very nice.

-Hey-hey-hey!

I can't believe it. Everybody really, really liked it.

Neil said it was restaurant quality.

I've never had that compliment from him in 20 years of marriage.

Well, there's only one word for it - fabulous!

It certainly is a fabulous end to the food swaps.

Morning in mid-Wales and it's the moment

Gregg and Chris have been waiting for -

to find out how the Butlers have got on.

-OK, so it's crunch time.

-I've been optimistic this week

and I thought we could save the family £75 a week.

You've gone a bit nuts, if you don't mind me saying.

-You reckon £100 a week.

-Par for the course.

Everything depends on how Angela has adapted

to the food swaps we've given her.

And this is a lady who is a big, big fan of the brands

and convenience food, so removing both of those things,

she could have struggled with that this week. We've done all we can do.

The only thing left to do is find out how they got on.

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

I'm quite excited too.

-We'll see where we were right and where we were wrong.

-Yeah.

-I know I was right about everything.

-Yeah, there we are.

There's confidence for you.

But the even bigger question is,

which food swaps will the Butlers keep?

-Hey!

-Nice to see you.

And how much will they save?

So, how did we get on with the food swaps?

-Some of them we really enjoyed, didn't we?

-Yes.

Bigger chore for me was the chopping

and the making from scratch.

It was a revelation but we're embracing it now, aren't we?

How about meals made out of veg?

The vegetarian cooking, for me, has been a real eye-opener.

Using lentils, I would never have even dreamt of that,

and that meal was lovely.

And, obviously, getting Alice included and remembered

when it comes to mealtimes is quite important

because I think five years is enough to be ostracised

by your carnivorous family, isn't it?

THEY LAUGH

-Let's bring her back in from the cold.

-Yeah.

-GREGG:

-Do you think we swapped much?

-I think so, quite a bit, yes.

-I think so.

-I think you swapped most of it.

-Shall we put you out of your misery...

-Yes, I'm dying to know.

..and show you what you've been eating.

You are a bit of a sauce connoisseur.

Like to think so.

Is it true that you've refused to stay at a hotel in the past

because they don't have your brand of sauce?

-Yes.

-Who said that?

-You do!

I never stomped out of a hotel because of a sachet of brown sauce!

Neil thought the brown sauce we gave him was his usual premium brand.

-I think it's the same.

-The same?

-I think it's the same.

But is he the connoisseur he thinks he is?

We know you love your brand of sauce.

-It was, as you say, your sauce.

-The same one?

-Yeah.

-Was it really?

-Oh!

-NEIL LAUGHS

-Flipping heck!

-Excellent! Brilliant!

Reduced sugar and salt brown sauce.

The swapped brown sauce has 5% less sugar than Neil's usual brand

-but that's not all.

-Look at the price difference.

-Ooh.

-Very good.

-That's big. That is, isn't it, yeah.

- So, we'll keep this one? - Yeah, keep that one.

GREGG SIGHS

That's more money saved towards the family holiday.

We gave you some soup. How did you get on with that?

-Broccoli and stilton soup.

-Mmm.

-Very nice. I really enjoyed it.

I think this is fresh soup.

Yeah, it tastes fresh, as opposed to just coming out of a tin.

-We gave it to you in this container.

-Fresh soup, yeah.

-And you think this was...

-It tasted like it was fresh soup, yeah.

-We, in fact, swapped it with that.

-Flipping heck!

-It's a brown sauce moment.

-And I took it out of the fridge.

-And it is a saving of that.

-NEIL:

-Whoa!

-Oh. I'd definitely keep that then.

-Yeah?

-Yeah.

Angela and Alice have soup twice a week.

By switching from fresh to tinned,

they'd knock over £59 off their annual food bill.

Now, that's canny.

During the swap days, the Butlers sampled a stack of new foods.

Look at the price difference.

-NEIL:

-Oh, my goodness.

-Flipping heck!

Keeping these five items would save another £605 a year,

and some swaps were much healthier too.

We took away the Coco Pops. We swapped it for something else.

It was this. It's got less sugar, five times the fibre

and can I show you the financial saving?

-Yeah, go on, then.

-NEIL:

-Oh, that's good!

-Flipping heck!

-Keeping it?

-Yes, definitely.

The Butlers cashed in on cereals.

Switching their favourite three takes another £280

off their yearly shopping bill.

But there were some items Angela and Neil wouldn't budge on.

-I just didn't like it very much.

-What didn't you like about it?

Didn't taste buttery.

This supermarket own-brand spread does contain 38% less butter

than the family's usual premium brand

but was lower in fat as well as price.

-This is a no?

-No.

-OK, fair enough.

-You've still got to enjoy your food.

-Yes.

Another item Angela didn't enjoy was the wine -

-her usual wine that we didn't swap.

-What do you normally drink?

-Sauvignon blanc.

-What was the matter with the one we gave you?

Didn't taste or smell the same.

If it's a lot cheaper, could you stomach it?

It would have to be a LOT cheaper, I think, wouldn't it, for you...

-No, I wouldn't have it.

-..to change your white wine?

-Fair enough, can't win 'em all. Let me show you what we gave you.

-OK.

No-o-o-o!

No!

THEY LAUGH

I have told everybody you swapped my wine!

I think the lesson here is,

it may well be worth investigating other wines.

Shopping around for an alternative

could save Angela around £2 a bottle,

and at two a week, she'd cut another £200 off her supermarket bill.

Are you willing to shop around now with your wines?

-Yes, I will try some others.

-Now, that's worth toasting.

The Butlers kept 94% of the food we gave them...

I'm definitely having those.

..including those meals Angela cooked from scratch.

Angela, you said if you could conquer ginger,

-you could conquer the world.

-Yes! Yeah.

-That is the price difference.

Ooh, look at that!

That's a surprising annual saving of £193.96.

-No more chicken surprise sauces for you!

-No, that's brilliant.

-Well done.

-Really going to go for that.

And there's plenty more money to be saved

by abolishing those short-cuts.

-No!

-£4.85.

-That was worth it.

We've added up what you would save over the course of a year

-by just boiling your rice as opposed to the microwaveable pouches.

-Yeah.

-£291.46.

-That's unbelievable, isn't it?

-Do you want to save the best part of £300 on rice?

-Yes!

Yeah, that's a no-brainer, definitely.

Taking into account the foods they liked and swapped,

including the pricier butcher's bacon...

That's not very much more at all, and it was gorgeous.

..Gregg and Chris have worked out how much the Butlers have saved.

-When we met you, your weekly food bill came to £308.69...

-Mmm.

-..which is a mammoth bill.

-It is a lot, yeah.

-What did you say you would do with the saving?

-Holiday in Cannes.

-A nice holiday before Ffion goes.

-Before Ffion goes, yeah.

OK, we did manage to save you some money.

We managed to save you £93.38 a week.

-A week?

-Per week.

-Oh, splendid.

-Flipping heck! That's brilliant!

-Which, a month, is £401.53.

That's amazing.

Which is £4,855.76 a year.

ANGELA LAUGHS

-That's a serious whack of money, guys.

-That's a lot.

You're giving yourselves back almost five grand a year.

I can't believe that. That's incredible.

Just for a few little tweaks, really.

I think that's absolutely fantastic and if we stick to this now -

-which I hope we will - it will be great.

-Yeah.

Are we on our way to a family holiday in the south of France?

-Oh, yes, I hope so!

-We'll send you a postcard.

THEY LAUGH

-NEIL:

-I didn't think we'd be able to save THAT much.

-That was very good.

-For doing small changes, really.

-Yeah.

-He's smiling. That's smiling.

-Mmm.

That's as close as you get.

-Job well done.

-But who won the bet?

I said £75 and you said £100.

-And how much did we save them?

-Over £93.

-You won the bet. Nice people, aren't they?

-Lovely, lovely.

And to see them eating together, eating some of the same meals,

including Alice, Angela cooking from scratch...

It's pretty good, isn't it? You know what I'm pleased about?

-We actually managed to teach the teachers.

-We did, didn't we?

And they said I'd amount to nothing.

Well, they might have been right with that!

Next week, a battle over brands.

-You get them and I'll get them.

-I'm not getting both.

With four kids constantly snacking,

could Gregg and Chris reunite this family...

I don't think Adie's very happy.

..potentially saving them thousands?

That is massive!