The Brook Family Eat Well for Less?

Holy guacamole!

Gregg Wallace and Chris Bavin are back and more determined than ever.

-Look at this.

-Whoa!

She's just gone crazy in the confectionery aisle.

To help families rein in their spending...

-We've been watching everything.

-No!

-Oh my god!

-This is a really funny way of shopping.

..they're taking over kitchens.

It's like the aubergine emoji.

She's traumatised by that.

Boosting nutrition...

Apple and carrot don't go together.

Oh, yes, they do!

Scrutinising popular food and drink...

That's vastly superior.

I like that texture. And also it's a lot thicker,

so you can get more on your toast.

..and giving the great British public their say.

I think this is the nicest out of all of them.

-Yeah.

-No, definitely not!

On their mission to show us how we can eat well for less.

-My God!

-I'm laughing because if I don't laugh, I'll cry.

-Yeah, they've got a fair bit of work to do.

-Let's go.

Tonight...

-Oh no!

-..a family who urgently need to break some bad habits...

The aisle of sin.

..cut back on sugar...

-Rosie.

-We're going to starve.

..and start eating healthily...

Apple and carrot don't go together.

Oh, yes, they do!

..as saving money...

Lies, lies, it's all lies!

..really is critical.

Every single penny counts more for them than any family I've met before.

This week we're in Nottingham,

with a family who urgently need to rein in their spending.

ALL: We are the Brook family.

Part-time tourism lecturer Janine and marketing manager Paul have been

married for ten years.

So we met in Zanzibar about 15 years ago.

"We met in Zanzibar," that sounds exotic.

We met in the nightclub Zanzibar.

The nightclub was called Zanzibar. It was in Derby!

The couple have two children, Sophia, ten, and Rosie, seven.

It is a bit full-on being surrounded by noisy women.

Come on then, time to go.

-Do you want some tea?

-I'm dizzy.

There's never a dull moment.

A busy household means the family have developed some bad habits.

Can we have some snacks?

What would you like, an apple?

-No!

-The children come home from school,

they're hungry and they want something now.

Slow down, one packet only.

We either want cakes, crisps, biscuits, all that sort of stuff.

To try and curb the snacking,

Janine will make the girls a quick meal as soon as she can.

Girls, tea.

What that means is later on they're hungry again,

but it's constant snacking right through until bedtime.

But the girls aren't the only ones with the constant munchies.

I've always been a snacker.

I feel hypocritical if I'm telling the girls they can't have snacks if

-I'm doing it myself.

-Come half nine, ten o'clock at night,

he might get a packet of crisps, nuts, crackers and cheese.

With snack boxes in the garage and cupboards full of sugary treats,

temptation is never far away.

-If there was crisps or fruit, I would choose crisps.

-Yeah.

Girls, breakfast.

And it's not just the constant snacking Janine's concerned about.

Certainly the amount of sugar that they're consuming,

it's getting out of control.

I'm starving!

I have actually given up cakes and biscuits and a lot of sugary items.

I would love my family to follow in those footsteps.

Easier said than done.

My mum tries to make us eat fruit and veg, but I'm quite fussy,

with my veg especially.

If it's got vegetables mixed in it, they won't tend to eat them.

So finding a meal that we all eat is really challenging.

In a week, on average, we'd eat out one night,

we'd have a takeaway one night,

we'll have a microwave meal one night,

and then the other four nights we'd be preparing something.

Having to make two separate meals

every evening means Janine relies on convenience food,

and the same old quick teas she knows the girls will eat.

Curry is my favourite meal.

When I go shopping, I feel like I'm on autopilot,

where I kind of throw in the same things and it's getting quite boring.

I'm going to sound like a right one, aren't I?!

Autopilot means she often buys what she's already got,

lining the shelves with family favourites.

There are certain big brands that we really love,

definitely because of quality and taste.

This family really need to save money,

and have slashed all their household bills bar one.

We don't think we've got a particularly extravagant lifestyle,

but the one area that we haven't kept an eye on is food

and if we can cut back on that expenditure,

I think that could probably add up to a sizeable amount.

Fortunately for the Brooks, Gregg and Chris have come to the rescue.

Right, better get to work, eh?

-Here we go again.

-Hot on their heels,

Janine and Paul have arrived to tackle the weekly shop.

What they don't know is that this shop is being watched.

-Oh, they're big, massive ones, aren't they?

-They're nice, aren't they?

-Do we need any mushrooms?

-No.

-That one looks nice.

To get an even closer look at what's going in that trolley,

Gregg and Chris are going to watch from a safe distance.

Right, let's see what Janine and Paul have got in store for us.

Trying to get Sophia to eat carrots...

No, she won't, she won't eat carrots.

The girls won't eat kale, but we'll have it with our tea, won't we?

-Find something else for them.

-Do they eat cabbage?

-No.

We might have a couple of fussy eaters on our hands here.

Only a third of us in the UK are eating our five a day,

so it's crucial to get as much variety into your trolley as possible.

I need a salad for work.

Oh no!

I'll have that one tomorrow at work.

So we've just bought a load of lovely fruit and veg,

and now we're buying premade salad pots.

-Some fajitas.

-Yeah, but I don't want them really spicy.

-Scorching - you won't want that one, then...

-Gosh, no, please don't!

It's not uncommon for one person to like it spicy and one not,

so buy one that's not spicy, then add some spice.

-Well, I normally buy Old El Paso.

-I know we normally buy it, yeah.

I get the impression it's Janine that does the cooking.

I also get the impression that Janine's ultimately in charge of the

-shopping as well.

-Smoked basa, what's that?

I don't know. I normally stick with what I know, like salmon.

Janine is definitely a creature of habit.

"I like to stick with what I know."

Maybe salmon, maybe salmon...

I like salmon a lot.

-Yeah, I get fed up of it.

-I'll have a fiver with you they buy salmon.

OK... That one?

Is she hypnotising him?

Oh, my goodness.

These are normally quite good, these.

What's this, premade curry now?

Pilau rice, naan bread, and onion bhajis.

I could eat that.

In the UK we spend over £12 million on ready meals

every day, but it's not a cost-effective way of feeding a family.

What about the girls?

We'll get these, because they've got the rice with them.

Oh, OK, pick three of those.

This is turning into a big shop.

And I think a lot of the stuff that's in there,

is because they're catering for different tastes.

-Snack a Jacks.

-The aisle of sin.

It's your favourite, isn't it?

Is Paul a secret snacker?

-Wow, look at all them.

-You'll eat those and the girls will eat those ones.

That's fine, yeah, pop those in.

The UK munches through nearly £3 billion worth of crisps,

nuts and snacks a year.

Flapjacks and brownies.

Wow, I tell you what, this family are consuming a lot of sugar.

We'd best go and get them before they buy some more sweet treats.

Let's go get 'em.

Nothing too spicy in there, is there?

I sincerely hope not.

-Hi.

-Hello.

-Nice to meet you.

-We've been watching everything.

-No!

Absolutely everything.

-Oh, no.

-It's an interesting shop. It's going to be quite an expensive shop.

-Shall we get this through the till?

-I think we should, yes, definitely.

To find out how much Janine and Paul have spent on this shop,

Gregg and Chris are taking over the till.

It was a bit of a tale of two shops, wasn't it?

You started off buying sort of whole ingredients, fruit and veg,

and then your reliance on convenience started coming through, didn't it?

Well, sometimes we've got time to prepare meals,

and then other times you literally want something you cook in 10-15 minutes.

Why do need it to be done quickly?

Because the children want their tea when they come in from school at

-half past three, quarter to four.

-Have you ever done a meal plan?

-No.

-Do you set a budget?

No, I just come once a week and I'll just see what we need.

-But we don't ever discuss how much money we're actually spending on food each week.

-OK.

Have you got any idea how much you've spent in here today?

I'd guess at 150.

I'd say about 135.

The pair of you are pretty accurate. Look, you've spend £149.

-6p out, I was.

-Crikey!

It's a lot of money, isn't it, 150 quid?

-Yeah.

-Too much.

-Anyway, we've got plenty of food, loads to snack on.

-Yeah.

-Let's get back home, shall we?

-It takes some pushing, that, doesn't it?

It was a bit of an ordeal, wasn't it?

-Yeah.

-I feel a bit guilty now.

The cost shocked me. I shop totally wrong.

Yeah, we do need some help.

For Janine and Paul this help is critical,

as they need to save every penny they can.

2010, I was just 32 and I was diagnosed with primary breast cancer.

After a mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiotherapy,

the following year in 2011 I was diagnosed with secondary breast cancer,

which is treatable but incurable.

When you're told the devastating news that your cancer's returned,

it's a mixture of emotions.

And you basically need to do everything you can to stay here

for your family for longer.

Janine's a fighter. She will do everything within her power to keep going.

The girls are our life and the thought of losing your mum at that age,

-it's heartbreaking.

-Quick, quick as you can.

We don't know how much time I actually do have left,

so we have to live in the now,

and as a family we need to cherish these times together.

After a second mastectomy and further treatment,

Janine's exhausted her options on the NHS,

and will need to have fund any more targeted drugs herself.

We're talking thousands and thousands of pounds,

so we've got to look at every item of expenditure.

Every pound that we're able to save, in any way possible,

really makes a difference.

And before I get really poorly and deteriorate,

I want to be able to teach my children good habits.

If I can make these changes now, I know that I've made a difference.

To help them save on their food bills,

Gregg and Chris need to dig a little deeper,

so are having a quick snoop before Janine and Paul return.

A quick peek about in the kitchen, do you think, mate?

Yeah. So what are we expecting to find, do you think?

-Sugar!

-Wow, look at that.

-Look, look, look.

-Snack city.

What's that, what we got there? Puddings?

-Yogurt pots.

-Custard.

-We bought some of them, didn't we?

-We did buy, yeah.

More sugary puddings. Much more sugary puddings.

-Oh look.

-They bought these as well, didn't they?

They bought these earlier.

-But there's more...

-Yeah, look.

This whole rack is full of tins.

Tomatoes, beans, soup.

Right, look, there's five tins of custard here.

-Some in the cupboard out there.

-And then we bought some more.

This isn't full of food as well is it, surely?

Look, look at the snacks.

No way!

Look at that, look. We bought these, didn't we?

-Look.

-Yeah, we did.

Yeah, we did.

Time for Janine and Paul to face the extent of their spending.

Right, we've laid out all your food that you bought today on the table.

Interestingly, 40% of your bill today was fresh fruit, veg and meat,

which is really good. 42% was made up of snacks and convenience foods.

Gosh. It's kind of hitting home that that is a huge issue.

So how often do you sit down and eat a meal all together as a family?

Probably once a week.

Probably once a week, yeah.

There are meals that you cook that everybody enjoys, are there?

A few, a handful.

We have Sunday dinner, so roast chicken.

Spaghetti bolognese.

-Rosie's not keen on that.

-Do you think your girls are fussy?

Yes. This is why every week I'll go shopping and I'll buy the same things,

because I know that's what they'll eat.

You definitely are buying the same things.

Do you know how many tins of custard you might have?

Maybe one or two.

Before today, you already had five tins of custard.

What do you think, in monetary terms,

you might be holding in your fridge and cupboards?

-150.

-I'd go nearer 300.

649 quid's worth.

-OK.

-I always say there's too much stuff in there.

Sorry!

Do you know how much you're spending in the supermarket every week?

About £130, £140 a week.

Well, we've got some of your receipts here.

You actually spent £123.17.

Right. 'That might be better than they thought,

'but it's still one and a half times the national average for a family of

'four and it doesn't stop there.'

The takeaways, the eating out and Paul, your lunches and snacks,

average at another £83 a week.

-Gosh.

-83 a week?

That comes to a weekly total of £206.17.

-Wow.

-Well, we've got to bring back down, haven't we?

I'm shocked at that.

That's an annual spend of over £10,500.

Ooh.

Janine, we're fully aware of your situation.

How much are these drugs going to cost you?

Every three weeks, we're looking at about £1,700,

so every penny that we can save will go towards that.

-OK.

-It's heartbreaking, really, but I want to think that

after I've gone, that the children carry on good eating habits,

exercise, and look after themselves as well.

So, save some money...

-Yeah.

-..eat healthier, and give the kids a good food education.

-Yeah.

-Yes.

-Sounds pretty sound to me.

-Are you up for it?

-Absolutely.

-Right.

-Sounds great.

-Let's go, come on.

Gregg and Chris urgently need to think about the changes that will

save the Brook family serious cash.

So we've got a lovely family here, haven't we?

But it's tragic, isn't it, that they face such an uncertain future?

Every single penny counts more for them

than any family I've met before.

They've got themselves in a rut. Janine's having to cook two meals,

which is double the workload, isn't it?

So if we could just reduce that, you're reducing her workload by 50%.

We also know they are buying a lot of snacks.

So what I'd like to do is show them how much sugar is in some of these

snacks that they're using and then try and suggest some

-healthier alternatives.

-Getting them to all sit round the table,

eat the meal, and quality family time, that's our A1 priority, right?

But it would also be really lovely to get them eating healthier, and,

-of course, save them some money.

-Yeah.

If we get this right, how much can we save them?

70? £70? I think we can get 70 quid.

I'm going to go slightly safe, and I'm going to go 50 quid.

OK, so we know what we need to do.

-Yeah, we've got a fair bit of work to do.

-Let's go.

Whilst the Brooks are out, we've been in...

Gosh, look at all the cupboards taped up.

..and swapped many of their favourite branded products

for cheaper, healthier alternatives.

OK. Love it!

-But some items haven't been swapped...

-Oh, look at that.

..to see if they really can tell the difference

between their branded and non-branded items.

It doesn't smell as spicy as HP, that, I don't think.

We've also introduced a few new things for them to try

-and hopefully enjoy together.

-Cucumber.

Oh, my goodness. No, look, look, look.

That's all just veg and fruit.

I'm not eating that.

The fridge contents have been drastically reduced,

but what about the snacks?

Wow. My goodness.

We've hardly got any bags of crisps in there at all.

What are we going to do?

-What you mean what are we going to do?

-We're going to starve.

I don't think you'll go that far.

Do you think we can make this last all week?

-Yes.

-Yeah, OK,

so let's put the lid on it, and you're not allowed in this box

without permission from Daddy or myself.

All right, let's go.

It's day one, and the Brooks are straight in at the deep end.

The family love their branded cereals...

They don't... They don't look or smell the same as my normal cereal.

..but will they recognise what's been swapped, or not?

Let's see if it tastes the same.

First up, Janine's taking the plunge.

These definitely are not my normal brand.

She's right - this is a supermarket own brand

that's nearly £1.80 cheaper than her favourite.

It's OK. I would possibly contemplate swapping to it.

-That enough?

-Now for the girls.

-They tasty?

-Yeah.

-Thumbs up.

-I think they're the same.

They're not, but a switch to this one could be another £1.50 saved.

And finally, what about Paul's muesli?

Yes, looks like the sweepings from a pigeon loft.

All right, you don't need to go that far!

But it's £1.32 cheaper than your branded one, Paul.

What do you think?

I am pretty confident that is not my usual brand.

Is there any fruit in there? Hello, fruit?

By swapping all three cereals,

they could save a staggering 240 quid a year.

-Who wants some muesli?

-Not me!

Maybe Rosie will be a little more positive about their new squash.

That's not the same one we have in the cupboard, but I like it better.

That's good, as unlike their usual squash,

this own brand has no added sugar, and is 60p cheaper.

Like so many families, there's one meal everyone does enjoy together -

fish fingers, sweet potato chips, and beans.

-Taste all right?

-Yeah, they're fine.

-They're nice.

-I don't think they're the usual ones.

-No, I don't think they're the normal beans.

-I do like the beans.

I think the fish fingers we've got now are definitely not our usual,

but I do like them.

And what about those sweet potato chips,

which can be counted towards your five a day?

They're really tasty. They're really, really nice.

All their big brands have been swapped for cheaper alternatives,

which could save them £1.15. That's nearly £60 a year.

-I would definitely eat it again.

-Great.

-Even the ketchup's a hit.

That's quite nice, actually.

It's got a bit more of a spicy, vinegary flavour.

Yeah. I think it was a more expensive one,

-because it was, like, better quality, and it's thicker.

-Yeah.

So, the ketchup tastes expensive, but it's £1 cheaper

than their favourite brand and contains 75% less sugar.

Last year, over 160,000 tonnes of tomato ketchup was sold in the UK,

but with varying amounts of tomatoes, sugar and salt

in each product, does price reflect taste?

We've asked this group of chip shop employees to get saucy and put

five different ketchups to the test.

I wouldn't change the brand of ketchup I buy, no.

What makes a good ketchup, I would say, would be tomatoes,

how sweet it is.

Not too much sugar, not too much vinegar, and not too much salt -

that is basic ketchup.

They'll be tasting top end brand Daylesford Organic

at £1.80 per 100g...

..another premium brand, Stokes, 83p,

market leader, Heinz, at 35p...

..next, Tesco's own brand, costing 11p...

..and finally, our cheapest option from Asda,

at just under 8p per 100g.

Chips at the ready - let's get dipping.

First up, the most expensive and organic sauce.

That one's very tomatoey, that one is.

More flavour in this one, I think.

That's nice. That's very, very tomatoey.

Next, the market leader.

Very vinegary, that one.

I think it's quite sour compared to the other ones.

That's my least favourite so far.

And how does the budget own brand compare?

That is definitely vinegary.

It is, yes, I think so, yes.

-Nice though.

-Nice texture, very smooth.

Having tested all five,

which will our ketchup connoisseurs rate the tastiest?

And the winner is...

Daylesford.

-Wow. Organic.

-OK.

-That's a surprise.

The priciest red sauce won, containing additional spices,

apples, and onions, but also the least salt.

But just behind was our budget option,

and with both the highest salt and sugar content,

the nation's favourite didn't impress.

I would always go for the brand leader,

but now I think I'll probably swap over to Asda.

So, next time you're buying your red sauce, look around,

as you might find one you prefer that's better on your wallet.

In Nottingham, Gregg's determined to expand the number of meals

the Brooks can eat together.

If I can get the whole family to sit down and enjoy a meal

that's flavoursome and cheap, well, I'll have cracked it.

-He wants to get Paul on board.

-Hello.

-Hey!

-How you doing?

And where better to start than with Paul's favourite dish?

Right, Paul. Tell me about the family and curry.

Janine doesn't like them hot.

Sophia likes curry and she has even had hot ones, but Rosie,

she's not a big fan of saucy dishes.

And do you cook them from scratch?

I used to do.

They say I make them too spicy.

Gregg's got a simple curry recipe up his sleeve

he hopes will appeal to everyone.

Can you give me a tip for cutting onions?

Yeah, I'll show you. Skin off, and then you go in here...

In there.

And then, holding it together, you go down.

And then...

So the next one...

-Is mine.

-..is yours!

-Right.

There you go. And now you've got to hold it together and cut down it.

-That way?

-That's it.

You handle a knife all right, mate.

-That's how to properly chop an onion.

-Right.

Onion prepped, they make a garlic paste and add chopped chilli,

grated ginger...

I think it smells absolutely delicious.

..and dried spices.

That is your spice mix.

Before making the curry, they need to brown the chicken.

If you get your shopping well-organised,

you could do this and Janine won't have to cook.

Yeah, and what I'm wanting to do is get the girls

involved in cooking more. On certain days when Janine's having her chemo,

it wipes her out, so if me and the girls can take over

and give her a nice, tasty meal, then it gives her a bit of a break.

Good plan, great plan!

Having softened the chopped onion, they add the spice mix.

Wow, smell that, big hit of garlic and ginger!

The chicken and tomatoes are added, followed by red lentils.

Packed with fibre, they also count towards your five a day.

As they break down and almost become part of the sauce,

this is why they're good for thickening sauces, thickening soups.

Hopefully by thickening the sauce, Rosie will like it.

That's enough.

Once cooked through, they add some natural sweetness...

Take a spoon of honey, chef.

I've never heard of putting honey in curry.

..before tossing in some spinach, and dinner...

It's ready! Girls, in you come.

..is served.

There you are.

Paul's spicing his up with dried chilli,

but will the rest of the family like his mild curry?

I don't like spinach.

I don't like onion.

Not a great start.

At least Sophia's tucking in.

You seem quite happy with it. Do you like it?

It's actually really nice.

Aww. Your dad's a good cook, isn't he?

Yeah.

-Not too spicy?

-Not spicy at all.

Good consistency, good flavour.

Even Rosie's come round.

-Is there honey in it?

-There's honey in it.

You are brilliant.

Not only are the girls eating their veg,

but Gregg spent just under £4 on this entire meal,

as most of the ingredients were already in the Brooks' cupboards.

I'm proud of you guys, really proud of you.

Sophia, why is it better having dinner all together?

Because sometimes it's a bit boring, just sat there, just the two of us.

It's nicer to be with my mum and dad.

We probably don't have enough family time, you know, busy lives...

So to make time to sit down together I think is valuable

-for us, isn't it?

-Yeah, it's precious.

Aww, I'm really pleased about that.

Paul managed to get a curry that he likes that was spicy,

Janine and the girls got one that was mild, and, more importantly,

all four of them as a family sat down and ate it together.

It makes it so much easier when the food's liked by everyone,

because if you cook a meal and then the kids are moaning and they don't

eat it, you think, "Why have I bothered?"

But no, that was very rewarding, wasn't it?

This is what cooking is all about -

feeding and sharing a meal with the people you love.

The Brooks must be braver with the girls' food

to reduce their £200 a week food spend

and save as much cash as they can.

Everything I'm doing is for them.

Everything that I want to put into place - cutting down on sugar,

helping them save money, helping them eat better -

it's what I need right now,

to help me be focused and to give us a direction.

Janine's grabbing this opportunity to change everyone's eating habits,

and today she's cooking chicken fajitas without a branded kit,

but it's a meal the girls don't normally have

because they're so fussy.

Janine's coating the chicken in a mixture of spices and lime juice.

It's not that much longer than using a packet.

Hopefully this is going to be a meal that everyone's going to eat.

So yeah, let's see.

She's even braving it with fresh guacamole.

That is absolutely delicious.

But will the rest of the family agree?

That looks fantastic.

So, what do you think to the fajita?

-Good.

-Really good?

I'll definitely have this again.

I'll definitely have it again.

Well, that was easy.

It's actually so nice, I didn't think I would like it.

These fajitas are also good on the wallet, costing under £3 a person.

Definitely my kind of food, this.

Eating the same meals will save them money,

but they've got to reduce their weekly spending on snacks.

So we've given them less and swapped some for cheaper alternatives.

They're our normal ones.

They're our normal crisps, yeah.

-We really know our crisps.

-Yeah.

Well, you might think you know your crisps, girls,

but these aren't your normal brand.

But they are 46p cheaper.

I could eat them all day.

Rosie won't be caught out on her favourite jelly, though, surely?

That's my usual brand.

-Sure?

-Definitely.

Well done, Rosie, it is your brand,

but you haven't noticed that this jelly has no added sugar.

I would be very happy if Mummy kept on buying this one.

In the UK, four- to ten-year-olds are consuming

over double their recommended daily sugar allowance.

Gregg and Chris are hoping dietician Hala El Shafie will explain just how

much sugar we should be eating.

Lately, everybody, quite rightly,

seems very concerned about the amount of sugars in their food.

What should we be looking out for?

So we can really split sugars into two categories.

Sugar that's added, so that's processed sugars,

or what we call free sugars,

and those that are found naturally occurring,

such as in dairy and fruit.

Why is one OK and the other not?

So, basically, with added sugars, we have absolutely

no nutritional benefit to it, but the sugar that you get in fruit,

for example, you have fibre in there,

you also have vitamins and minerals.

How much added sugar are we allowed a day?

It's 30 grams, which is about seven teaspoons.

Well, if you're having a sugar in your tea or coffee...

And then put some on your cereal in the morning,

you've probably done that.

One teaspoon is about four grams,

so check the ingredients and total sugars listed on product labels.

Hala's using flavoured and natural yoghurt to show the boys

what to look for.

So, as you can see here,

under the section where it says "of which sugars", it says 5g.

But there's no other ingredients other than the natural yoghurt

in this product, so we know that this is from natural sugars.

Gotcha.

The contrast really is when you're looking at sweetened yoghurts.

So, here, a whopping 15.1g of it.

So if we take the 5g of natural sugar out,

they've added an extra 10g of added sugar.

That means 10% of this tub is sugar.

Indeed.

Now for a challenge.

I've got some stir-fry sauce here,

I've got some drinks, sold as health drinks,

and I've also got some instant porridge with golden syrup.

Hala's averaged the amount of sugar per portion

for each of these groups,

but which do the boys think contains the most?

Do you know what, I think it's the porridge, and I think people eat

that considering the flavoured porridges to be a healthy breakfast,

which on the one hand they are, but I think they contain

a lot of sugar as well. I'm going with that.

Those drinks scare me. I think they're packed full of sugar.

OK, so I think you're going to be really amazed,

because on average they contain about the same amount of sugar,

and that amount is actually about half our daily recommended intake.

-Wow, wow.

-So just to show you what it looks like.

I think you'll probably both be pretty surprised,

as would most people.

It's the equivalent of two and a half doughnuts.

-No way!

-No way!

-Who would have ever thought that?

-That's startling, isn't it?

Astonishingly, the average sugar content across all three groups

is 16.5g - that's almost two and a half doughnuts.

The issue I have is if you eat a doughnut,

you go into it with your eyes wide open.

The same cannot be said for that, that or that.

So the bottom line is, basically, make sure that

you're shopping smart, read the labels, choose the

reduced sugar options and cook from scratch.

Sage advice.

Back in Nottingham,

Chris has come to talk about the sweet stuff

with Janine and the girls.

I think Sophia and Rosie are eating too many unhealthy snacks and too

much sugar, so what I want to do

today is get the girls making a healthier treat

that's still tasty, but ultimately better for you.

Having set up his tearoom,

Chris is ready for his unsuspecting customers.

-Hello.

-Hello!

Welcome to my tearoom.

-Come on in.

-This is nice.

It is nice, isn't it? I just decorated this morning.

How much sugar do you think a seven- to ten-year-old should be having,

the maximum amount of sugar every day?

-I don't know.

-I don't know.

It's six teaspoons of sugar.

That's 24g of added sugar a day.

I think we do go over that.

-Regularly?

-Yes.

Well, look, don't worry - they're certainly not alone,

so we just need to find little ways of reducing that.

To show them how much hidden sugar is in some of their snacks,

Chris has brought one of Rosie's usual jellies.

So Janine, would you like to spoon out how many teaspoons of sugar

you think are in one of these?

You think that's it?

-Three, yeah.

-Well, there is in actual fact another one,

four teaspoons of sugar in just one of these.

-Gosh.

-So that's two-thirds of their daily allowance already,

before you've had cereal, squash, sauce, anything.

-Are you surprised by that?

-Very!

I thought it would only have about two or one.

But it's not all bad news.

Today we're going to make what I'm told is one of your favourite snacks.

-It's a muffin.

-Ooh, nice.

Yeah, you like muffins, don't you?

Yeah, but are we putting carrots in the muffin?

-Yeah.

-Sounds good.

-Apple and carrot don't go together.

Oh, yes, they do!

-Wait.

-I don't like carrots.

-Oh, yes, they do.

-Oh, no, they don't!

-I could find a thousand horses that would disagree with you!

Chris wants the girls to swap some of their sugary snacks for

healthier, more filling, sweet vegetable muffins,

and it's all hands to the deck.

So the reason we grated it was so it cooks quicker

and you get more of the flavour throughout the whole muffin,

but it'll still have that sweet taste, because you're getting a lot of sweetness from the vegetables,

and you'll get some sweetness from honey.

They also throw in a little dried fruit and chopped walnuts.

Look at that, you're like a professional baker, aren't you?

Yeah.

Once honey, eggs and yoghurt have been added,

the girls stir in the dry ingredients.

All of that flour. That's it, now stir it in.

So girls, apart from now putting it in the cases and putting it in the

oven, that's it. How easy was that?

-Easy.

-Quite easy.

-Yeah?

-Yeah, quite simple.

But will sweet vegetable muffins take the biscuit?

-Are we hungry?

-Wow.

-Yeah.

-Look good?

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

Is it nice?

Mm.

I actually think these taste really sweet, so it definitely works.

-You like it?

-It's OK.

OK. It's not for you, is it?

I do not like it.

You do not like it.

I don't know, it's just I don't like carrot.

Fair enough. The great thing about cooking something from scratch

is you can literally tailor it to their personal taste.

So hopefully you can find something that everyone can enjoy.

In terms of cost, the whole 12 just cost £3.12.

-OK.

-So I think that's reasonably inexpensive.

-That's good.

You can take the rest of these homes if you want.

-No, thanks.

-I'm OK!

OK, so that might not have been the recipe for them,

but hopefully what it has shown them is that you can still have snacks

without having all that sugar.

I was really shocked to find out how much sugar the girls at their age

should be eating per day and going forwards,

I need to reduce that heavily.

So I think this is going to be a long process,

but I think today we may have taken the first step down that road.

Desperate to reduce the family's sugar intake,

Janine has to cook from scratch,

and so is trying a new dessert that she hopes can replace the

branded sugar-packed puds the girls love.

So I'm going to be making a layered yoghurt bombe,

the sort of thing that I've never even thought about making before.

After whizzing up blueberries, honey and natural yoghurt,

Janine freezes the mixture and repeats the process with some mango.

Right, into the freezer.

An hour and a half later...

It looks really interesting.

I wasn't really sure what to expect.

You can use old or frozen fruit for this low-fat colourful pud

packed with vitamins, minerals and nutrients,

but will it get the thumbs-up

from the sweet-toothed members of the family?

Ugh!

-Oh, dear!

-Yeah...

It...doesn't really look that appetising.

Not sure what the girls are going to think now.

Well, there's only one way to find out, Janine.

What do you think?

What is it?!

What in the name of all that is holy...?!

It looks like something out of Star Trek.

Despite initial reactions, will they like it?

This is actually quite nice, and the appearance as good as well.

Success.

I do like the bottom bit.

Really, really pleased we found something as a family

we can actually eat a dessert that everyone likes.

The Brooks' battle to try new things continues.

-OK, have a try.

-What are they?

Have a try and see what you think.

What is it?

A breakfast burrito.

-Try it.

-You might like it.

I like the egg.

It looks delicious. Is it nice?

Yeah? Tasty.

Paul's also testing the brown sauce.

This could get messy.

It tastes like the stuff that you get in cafes,

when they're not using the main brand.

I don't think he likes it.

I'm not going to swap to that brown sauce, I'm sticking with HP.

That's a shame, as it IS your favourite brand, Paul.

Will Janine's mayonnaise get a better reaction?

I don't think that's our normal type of mayonnaise.

I mean, it tastes all right.

If there was a saving, I would consider swapping to this.

At £2.13 less than her usual brand,

this could be another £55 a year towards their savings total.

Gregg and Chris are returning to see Hala,

hoping she might have an idea that

will encourage the Brooks to continue eating together.

What we want is a recipe that is quick,

that the whole family can enjoy, and not expensive.

So, I've got the perfect recipe for this family.

This dish is called quick pork pockets.

They come in at £3.18 for the family.

So, a family of four for £3.18?

-That's still good value.

-I think so.

First up, the boys start by frying pork shoulder steaks.

We don't need to use any oil for this.

-Really?

-Yeah, because we've got quite a bit of fat on there anyway.

Browned on one side...

-You got enough colour there?

-Yeah, perfect.

..the pork is flipped over and goes straight into the oven

to cook through for 20 minutes...

..whilst Hala puts Gregg and Chris to work preparing the salad.

Love it.

Right, Gregg, I think that pork is done.

Whoa, look at them.

-Wonderful.

-By cooking it in the oven,

the meat stays really tender and,

also, I'm going to use the pork juices to make the easiest sauce.

So, you wouldn't have got so much juice out of the pork had you just

cooked it off on the frying pan?

No. Exactly - it would have just dried out.

So, I'm putting about three tablespoons of brown sauce in.

I'm a big fan of brown sauce.

And the same of reduced-sugar ketchup.

-Very good.

-And some apple juice.

Do we want to reduce that down?

No, we just want to make sure it's all mixed together.

-So, that's it, then?

-Yeah, that's it.

And now we're actually going to place the meat back into the pan.

Ah, OK. Very good.

-Nice.

-I tell you what,

already you can see this recipe is going to be absolutely packed

full of flavour, can't you?

Once the sauce has coated the pork and heated through, it's ready.

It's great for families, cos you can eat it with your fingers,

everybody can get involved.

Get in there.

But what's the verdict?

-That's fantastic.

-That's lovely.

And the great thing about this sauce is, it just comes from the staples

that most people have in their cupboards.

True. Very true.

Result. Quick pork pockets not only look and taste delicious,

at £3.18 for four people,

they're only 80p a portion, so great value, too.

-They're really good, aren't they?

-Mm.

So, do you think this is a dish that the Brook family would all enjoy together?

Without a shadow of a doubt.

It's cheap, it's easy to do, and the children will have fun making it.

Job done, then.

And back at the Brooks',

Janine is putting Hala's pork pockets to the test.

Smells nice.

But will the girls enjoy them?

Mum! This is delicious!

Oh, that's brilliant.

-I will definitely have this again, cos it's really nice.

-Good.

This quick-cook recipe is another meal they can all enjoy together.

And the girls are even eating salad!

To see you having extra salad is amazing.

So, do you think that this meal is a success?

-Yes.

-Lovely.

Wholesome meals means less snacking, but when they do,

Janine's keeping them as healthy as possible.

These own-brand rice cakes contain 99% less salt than the girls' usual

ones, and come with a 65p saving.

I think it's really nice.

-Good.

-I think I would be able to have this every day after school,

cos it's really nice.

Mummy, please may I have another one?

Even Paul's trying to snack less.

These aren't as good as my usual brand, I'm afraid.

Not quite as tasty.

But they're probably slightly less sweet.

So... I guess that's probably a good thing.

These biscuits do contain less sugar than his top-end ones,

and could save him £1.90 a pack.

That's nearly 100 quid a year.

And to go with Paul's biscuits, a nice cuppa.

Janine's adding a little honey to Paul's, to start weaning him off his

usual heaped spoon of sugar.

That's not as bad as I thought, actually.

You can taste a slight bit of honey, but...it's OK.

And what do they think of the tea?

I think it's our normal tea.

Yeah, I think that could well be our normal tea.

They're wrong, but if they swap to this supermarket own brand,

they'll make a tidy £2.20 saving on every box.

Honey is a natural sweetener found in most kitchen cupboards,

but how and why do honeys vary so much in taste?

Chris has come to west Wales to meet Sam Cooper,

owner of New Quay Honey Farm, to find out.

-Morning.

-Morning, how we doing?

Yeah, good.

So, what's good about this area?

Because you believe that this gives you a unique flavour,

or a unique honey. Why?

It does give us a unique honey.

It is basically to do with the diversity of the flowers.

So, does the flower that the bee

gets its nectar from really influence the flavour that much?

Yeah. So, for example, the hawthorn is very dark and almost caramelly.

-OK.

-So, if you managed to isolate that, and get that into a jar,

it's really, really dark, and it has its own distinct flavour,

but the bigger the diversity, the better.

-Brilliant. Well, look, I think we should go and meet the bees, shall we?

-Let's do it.

The farm has around 500 hives,

each containing between 20 to 100,000 bees,

depending on the time of year.

Wow, this is cool, isn't it?

The hive is made up of layers of frames in which the bees build wax

honeycombs to store honey

and home eggs and larvae laid by the queen bee.

And...there's the queen.

-Oh, wow.

-She's the slightly bigger one, by the way.

So, she can lay up to 2,500 eggs a day,

and she is the mother of every bee in the colony.

All of these bees?

All of these 20 or 30,000 bees are one bee's offspring?

-That's it.

-Wow. What an incredible woman!

The process of actually gathering honey -

they fly off to a plant or flower, they get the nectar and the pollen,

-then what happens?

-So, when they bring the nectar back to the colony,

they deposit it in the nearest cell,

and it's mixed with an enzyme from their mouth,

and that turns it into honey.

Wow.

So, the taste of the honey entirely depends on where the bees collect

their nectar and pollen.

In this case, the local Welsh wild flowers.

So, you're telling me we'll be able to taste this area in your honey?

-Basically, yeah.

-Well, I think we should go and try some, shall we?

-Let's do it.

-British producers account for just 10% of the UK honey

market, harvesting mainly between May and July.

So, what have we got here? We've got the...

So, this is heather honey.

So, heather flowers late in the year.

It's got a specific taste.

Mm. That is a really different flavour.

Yeah. And then compare it to the wild flower honey.

So, this is a blended honey, so it's like a broad taste spectrum.

Wow. They could almost be different products, couldn't they?

Yeah, I mean, effectively, they are.

They taste incredibly different.

Yes. Now, compare that to set wild flower.

Yeah, different again.

Your tongue is tasting the honey in stages

as the granulation melts on to your tongue.

Over time, the sugar in honey crystallises,

a natural process that gives us set honey.

If your honey granulates, that's a good thing.

It kind of indicates that it's a fairly pure honey.

Right, OK. Do you know what, I really like the granulation.

I like that texture. I think it gives it something else.

Yeah, it's a change in texture, and also...

it's a lot thicker, so you can get more on your toast!

But UK honey farms are dependent on our unpredictable British climate,

making it more expensive to produce.

Local honey does cost a bit more,

but with it, you're guaranteed a unique flavour.

So, if you want a taste of the British countryside on your toast,

give it a go.

In Nottingham, the Brooks' money-saving,

sugar-reducing swap week is drawing to a close.

Some items have been a success, like this own-brand custard,

30p cheaper per tin than the girls' usual top-end one.

Would you swap to this custard?

Yes, if it was going to save you money, because it is nice.

It's still OK, is it?

To replace their pricey, pre-packed salads,

this home-made lentil and roasted veg

could save Janine and Paul £3 on two lunches alone.

Tastes really, really nice.

Compared to my shop-bought salad, I actually prefer this.

At work, what does Paul think?

Yeah, often when I buy a salad from the supermarket,

I'm sort of hungry again 45 minutes later.

This does look quite substantial.

Yeah, if this could save us money,

I'd definitely be interested in having this regularly.

However, not everything has been a hit...

..like Janine's fruit rolls made from pureed apples,

frozen strawberries and lemon juice, and then baked for several hours.

It's too sour.

Janine's not giving up.

The final meal is going to be the ultimate challenge

for the veggie-phobic girls.

It's a ratatouille lasagne

containing five different vegetables.

So, I wouldn't have picked vegetable lasagne to cook for the girls,

with them being quite fussy in the types of vegetables

that they actually eat.

Could this be the girls' first flat refusal?

But they do like pasta, they like cheese.

This is just another take on that,

so all together, it's going to be quite interesting

to see what they say.

Covering the lasagne sheets with low-fat cottage cheese

instead of white sauce

makes this a healthier option

to the ready meals the girls are often given.

They've never eaten cottage cheese before.

When I've had it, they've gone, "Eurgh, that looks horrible".

Yeah, it's going to be different to see what it actually looks like.

Why did you give me a giant piece?

It's got onions in.

Uh-oh.

It's hot.

I really like this.

That cheese thing on the top is really nice.

You don't think you're going to like it, but then it's nice.

-Really nice.

-Wow!

This is a meal Janine and Paul would never have dreamt the girls would

eat, and at under £2 a head,

including salad and sweetcorn,

it's cheap as well as healthy.

I really liked the lasagne, and I was quite surprised as well,

because I didn't think I would like all the veg,

and I actually did like it.

This week has been a complete breakthrough for the whole family.

Looking at things in a different way, cutting back on sugar,

eating together, and actually,

I'm going to take each and every one of those things forward.

The boys are back in town to find out how the Brooks have got on.

So what were the challenges we faced?

The family weren't eating together,

which meant that Janine was cooking two meals a night,

Paul and the girls were snacking,

and not a particularly adventurous repertoire of meals being cooked.

There was lots of little things that needed sorting out.

If they've managed all of them as a family together,

-it's going to be a big success story.

-Yeah. What did we say we wanted to save them?

I said £50,

but I think we were being hopeful and wanted to push it to £70,

weren't we? Some very, very important issues at stake,

and there's only one way to find out whether we've been successful.

Let's go and have a look, shall we?

I'm really, really keen to know how much, you know,

money going forwards we could actually save,

and how we can slash our food bills.

Well, Janine and Paul, you're about to find out.

-Hello!

-Hello, how are you?

Good, thank you.

So, how have we got on this week?

-Very good, thank you.

-Yeah?

-Yeah, definitely.

-Highlights?

Cutting down on snacks.

-No way.

-Yeah.

-And you?

-Yeah.

Eating as a family.

Yeah, seeing the girls trying food that I never even thought they would

-attempt.

-You would feed them when they came from school...

-Yes.

-And you would feed you two when you'd finished work.

What have you done? Squeezed it at both ends and met in the middle?

Yes. Exactly that.

So, how has it felt, cooking home-made meals from scratch,

as opposed to relying on sort of convenience foods?

I've really, really enjoyed it. I've always loved cooking.

It's kind of made me feel more excited about food again.

So, would you like to see what it is you've been eating?

-Yes, please.

-The wait is finally over.

Talk to me about ketchup.

That's quite nice, actually.

It's got a bit more of a spicy, vinegary flavour.

-Yeah.

-It did taste more luxurious,

it tasted like it should be more expensive.

-Yeah.

-Look at this.

-No!

-Is that what it was?

-My goodness.

-Well, good.

And look at that.

-Wow.

-Great.

'Don't forget, it has 75% less sugar.'

Yeah, we need to keep that.

That's a super saving on ketchup.

Right, tell me about the brown sauce. You weren't that fond of it, were you?

It just wasn't quite as spicy.

It didn't have quite the kick of the usual brand.

Paul's normal brown sauce, I can't stand the smell of.

Let me get this right, Janine.

You don't like the one Paul normally has?

-No!

-And you didn't like the one we swapped?

You're going to tell us it was the same one!

Lies! Lies!

-It's all lies!

-This happens with every family at least once.

I think I might actually go for a supermarket shop and look for an

-alternative and see if he can tell.

-That's it!

-Muesli?

-Hm, muesli.

Disaster. Yes.

Looks like the sweepings from a pigeon loft.

All right, you don't need to go that far.

We had swapped it...for that.

-Yeah.

-So, that's the saving.

-No.

-No?

-You're not swapping, are you?

-You sure? Fair enough.

Next up, crisps.

-They're our normal ones.

-They're our normal crisps, yeah.

-We had swapped them.

-OK.

Slightly different price tag.

Keep those. I mean, they're having less of them anyway, aren't they?

-Yeah.

-And what about those baked beans?

How did you get on with the ones we gave you?

They were OK, but you definitely swapped them.

-You're sure?

-100%.

Well, look at this.

Yeah, see.

That's the saving, but these have 20% less sugar.

-Win-win, right?

-Definitely.

Definitely, we'll stick with that.

-Well done.

-OK.

In fact, despite a view definite "no"s...

-What about your Marmite?

-Not for an 11p saving, it's not worth it.

Smoothie!

-Hmmm... No.

-There's your breakfast biscuits.

-What about that?

-No. They were just dry and tasteless.

..Janine and Paul decided to keep 72% of our swaps.

That's a lot!

So, how much will they save to go towards Janine's cancer drugs?

Money is really, really important, obviously.

We've managed to get your shopping bill down

with the swaps you've made,

and some of the positive choices you've made,

by £65 a week.

Wow.

Which, over the course of a year, comes to £3,400.

Yeah. It's huge.

-Huge.

-But, it's not just that, is it?

Your whole family has changed.

Well, we were determined to do it,

and this was just the kick-start we needed to make sure that we did.

And going forwards, yeah, we're going to keep it up.

That, I think, is brilliant.

-Yeah.

-I think that is absolutely brilliant. Group hug? Yeah!

I'm really pleased about saving £65 a week.

It's a great start.

-Happy?

-Yeah, I am.

I think that was really, really good, wasn't it?

They're all working together as a family, eating together,

they're reducing the amount they're snacking,

-and we've managed to save them some money as well.

-Undoubtedly,

this family have got some tough times coming up,

but the stress has been taken away from Janine at meal time.

We don't know what the future holds,

but what we do know is we've really enjoyed pulling together as a family

this week, and this is the start of the new Brooks.

-Come on, team Brooks!

-Yay! Team Brook!

Chris, this might be the best day's work you've ever done. I'm proud of you.

-Ah, thank you very much.

-And you won the bet, didn't you?

-Yeah, you helped me out a bit.

-And I think you're all right.

-Thank you very much.

-Next time...

-Hello?

-Excuse me?

-..our biggest family yet.

Oh, my word, girls!

-Wow!

-'Will a little kitchen confidence...'

-Wow.

-Have I got to fill that?

Yes, of course we're going to fill it up. What's the matter with you?

'..help this busy mum of five rein in her spending?'

I don't think I want to hear this.