In this special super-size launch show, Susanna and Matt show a family how they could save thousands of pounds by demonstrating how to make five delicious family meals for under a fiver, including a sumptuous Indian banquet. Susanna uncovers the truth about super cheap food, while Matt wages war on waste and road tests some revolutionary new ways to reduce waste, saving lots of money in the process.
In this Easter special, Susanna Reid and chef Matt Tebbutt come to the aid of a family who are getting ready for a busy Easter weekend and in need of some delicious inspiration on a budget. The team transforms their long weekend of indulgence with some thrifty but very tasty recipes, including maple-glazed gammon for under two pounds a person and a whole slow cooked lamb roast for just over two pounds a pop. Along the way there are plenty of money-saving tricks and savvy cooking tips designed to allow you to eat well without breaking the bank.
The Austin family have lost track of their weekly spend which is leading to a large amount of weekly food waste. Mum Nicky gets lured in by expensive looking packaging and loves a posh ready-made pie. The team parachute in to highlight just how much this family are wasting and spending to help them convert their bad habits into smart cooking and savvy saving. Matt will show them how to make simple meals for a super low cost including a crispy bacon and mustard tortilla for just over a pound a head including a salad he foraged from the bin and an impressive Japanese feast for the whole family for under £5.
In this edition, the Smith family's phobia of freezer food and habits of overspending and throwing lots away are tackled by the team, as Matt shows how to create dishes like smoked haddock fishcakes for just over a pound a head and a US-style banquet for under a fiver. Susanna reveals which cheddar cheese comes out on top in the super-cheap taste test, and shares the secret of getting the most value for money from frozen food.
This edition features Paula and Ian Laycock and their four sons, who seem stuck in an expensive addiction to online meals. Enter Matt and Susanna, who are determined to change all that. Matt is making foot-long pizza planks for the family which cost just 60 pence a head. He includes some vegetables he has rescued from their bin, and constructs a complete Thai feast for less than five pounds that will feed all six of them. Susanna gets to the bottom of whether online shopping is good or bad for the bank balance and puts three brands of strawberry jam to the super cheap test.
This edition features the Harveys in Nottingham, who have lost control of their weekly spend. Mum tends to go overboard on portion size by catering for what seems like 40 people rather than her family of four. Dad feels that leftovers are unappealing, meaning that this family could potentially save themselves a lot of money. Matt cooks the Harveys a delicious fish curry and a Mexican feast - both for under five pounds. Susanna sees how the luxury end of super-cheap food fares by taste testing prosciutto.
The final episode of the series features the Wilkinsons in North London, a family of fifteen whose food spend is a whopping 632 pounds a week. Aside from their 13 children, eating different meals in multiple shifts is sending their food bill sky high. Matt cooks the family a tasty chicken in tarragon sauce with hasselback potatoes for just 90p per person, as well as helping tackle lunchboxes and party food. Meanwhile, Susanna finds out how shopping habits are changing and puts the country's favourite condiment to the super cheap taste test.
This week Susanna and Matt are in Wolverhampton to raid the kitchen of takeaway lovers the Cookes.With five daughters Mum and Dad are so busy that they often reach for the phone rather than cooking from scratch.So Matt has to deliver dishes fabulous enough to rival their beloved takeouts. With a healthier homemade fish and chips meal coming in at under a pound a head and a Chinese feast to rival their favourite takeaway for just over 7 pounds for the whole family! Susanna is at Billingsgate Fish Market to see how a few changes to our fish shopping habits could mean big savings and we put shortbread to the supercheap taste test- how will the budget biscuit stand up to famous brand Walkers?
This week Susanna and Matt are in Surrey with the Dhillons. This family love cooking but they throw most of their leftovers in the bin. Matt takes on the challenge to get them loving their leftovers, using them to create delicious new meals to save them money. The Thai vegetable curry can be reinvented the following night with meat – and the leftover rice is used for a clever pudding! The final feast of Moroccan tagine is a taste sensation that will taste even better the next day. The Dhillons do a lot of top up shops at local convenience stores so Susanna is finding out how we can all shop smarter when we use the smaller shops - and as it's the run up to Christmas we are testing the nation's favourite tipple – red wine.
This week we are in Scarborough and we are road testing Christmas. Matt is challenged to save money on the biggest and most expensive meal of the year. He will be raiding the kitchen to find treats to create homemade party food- and then he will be making a three course traditional Christmas feast for less than five pounds a head!. Susanna is finding out how we can get the best value for money when we buy wine to go with our Christmas feast and we will be taste testing mince pies to find out which of the budget buys tastes best.
This week they are in Essex with the Evans family, who rely on ready-made sauces and packets for their meals and make nothing from scratch. Desperate to save money and take their children on holiday, Matt shows them some fantastic family favourites - each for under a pound a head - to get them cooking and saving. With a classic fish pie and a delicious chicken curry the Evans' cooking habits are transformed. Susanna is taste testing cola, pitting a super-cheap brand against Coke to see which shoppers prefer. Also, as many favourite snacks seem to have fallen victim to 'shrinkflation' - being charged the same amount for smaller packets, Susanna investigates how we can fight back and beat the shrink.
In this episode, Susanna and Matt join the Puri family in Kent. Stuck in a rut of cooking the same things week in week out, this family need some inspiration in the kitchen. Matt takes on the challenge to broaden their culinary horizons with light, bright and low-cost dishes; meanwhile, Susanna finds out which supercheap instant coffee shoppers prefer before putting the winner up against a market leader. Susanna also investigates how we could save hundreds of pounds in our weekly meat shop.