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00:00Chef Michael van der Elsen and restaurateur Ganesh Raj are here to
00:04challenge our biggest spenders. You ready? Oh Jesus. Transforming kitchens and boosting
00:13nutrition. I got some spice. I didn't put any in there. All to save our hard-earned cash.
00:18Two trolleys. Come on people. We get revealing expert health. It's actually a
00:23myth that sugar is linked to hyperactivity. How can you just say that with a straight face?
00:27And even let you guys in on the act. Nothing to really blow your socks off. I don't mind that at
00:32all. It's time we all learned to eat well for less. Where do we start? We'll show you. These
00:36cheeky girls are shopping up big. Look at it. It's chaos. Mum's lost her way in the kitchen so they
00:43eat out five nights a week. We don't have any food budget for the wait. Totally freestyle.
00:49Can Ganesh and Mike get this house in order?
00:57Time to meet successful Auckland cafe owners Matt and Shannon Liu. How's it going? We're running
01:13out the salmon. Running out? The food must be really good.
01:17Matt moved here from China 13 years ago with Shannon following a few years later. The wheelie
01:29wonders are daughters, nine-year-old Nicky and Melody, who's six. I come here only because
01:34I marry him. That's the only reason. And he go anywhere in the world, I just go.
01:41Matt and Shannon met playing competition table tennis as kids. Both of us used to be table tennis
01:48pros. Pretty much we grew up in the same team. Until recently, Shannon's parents lived with them
01:54and took care of cooking and chores. They're sorely missed because Shannon has never learned to cook.
01:59I don't really need to learn because my parents lived me like a whole life and spoil me and spoil the kids.
02:06Now like they went back to China and we tried to do the same thing but like really I couldn't work.
02:14We really miss them.
02:18Perhaps because they spend their day around food, Shannon and Matt rarely cook at home.
02:28I just feel like none of the food is better than my grandma's food.
02:33If Shannon learned how to cook, that would make our life much easier.
02:37But, um, mom is learning. Mom's getting there.
02:41In spite of Nicky's optimism, Shannon's few cooking attempts have become family folklore.
02:47I don't want to burn the pot again because I've been doing that twice before and I really try and make dinner for the kids but give up.
02:56For the safety.
02:59And also I don't want to look at her and hold the knife cutting stuff, just like make you nervous.
03:08And even in her own cafe, she knows to leave it to the pros.
03:12She tried to help sometimes but, you know, the chef just said, oh, we're good, Shannon.
03:17Thanks.
03:18Until Shannon gets her confidence up, it's restaurant dinners only for the Liu's.
03:22But surprisingly, all this eating out hasn't lowered their weekly supermarket bill.
03:26We don't have any food budget for the wait. Totally free style. Free shopping style.
03:35And this lack of planning means there's lots of wasteful and nutritionally poor choices going on.
03:40So we always buy a lot of fruit. I think the kids will eat that.
03:45We cannot really finish them before they go off. So, yeah, it's always ended up in the bin.
03:52Oh, my gosh. You always know that she loves these. Sour, squishy, gummy worms.
04:00I don't think we eat healthy because all the takeaway food, I don't think it's really healthy for them.
04:07So there's no shopping list and no meal plan. But Shannon and Matt aren't convinced they'll save by eating more at home.
04:13I don't think we will, like, save a lot of money if we eat home rather than, like, eat out.
04:20Time, then, to put Matt's theory to the test.
04:23Going to countdown.
04:25As the Liu's start their weekly shop, Chef Michael van der Elzen and restaurateur Ganesh Raj have snuck in and set up behind the scenes observing what's going on.
04:34Given the Liu's eat out five times a week, this should be a quick and easy shop.
04:38How about some ham?
04:39I only eat beehive ham.
04:41Okay. How about some sausage?
04:44Yucky.
04:45Wow. The whole family, eh?
04:46That's it. Kids, be interested to see how this one goes.
04:49Well, hopefully that works out because it's nice to have everyone, you know, you find out what they want.
04:53She's in plastic tube.
04:55No, come on.
04:56We bought before and then, like, you just never eat it.
04:59No list?
05:00But there's no list here.
05:02They've all gone off in different directions. They're doing their own thing.
05:05Ooh, mangoes are good for you.
05:08Halloumi, halloumi. Which one? Shannon?
05:10Yeah.
05:11Which one did you get last time?
05:13Look at it. It's chaos.
05:14The parents are doing their own thing. The kids are doing their own thing.
05:17Who's shopping, do you think?
05:18You want to do that?
05:19Yes, yes, yes.
05:20No, no, no, no.
05:22Already it looks like the girls have taken control.
05:27Ha-ha.
05:29They won't notice because their eyes are not good enough.
05:32These guys are miles away from each other.
05:34I want snapper.
05:35Me too.
05:36You want snapper?
05:37Yes, okay.
05:39Snapper.
05:40Look at the price per kilo.
05:42That has to be the most expensive fish there, right?
05:45Look, that's three types of lettuce.
05:50What do you do with three types of lettuce?
05:52This is nothing.
05:53It's just a bag of soap.
05:55So it's usable.
05:56This is my favourite.
05:58Use, use, use, use.
06:00That's like five different types of chips.
06:02And now the biscuits get in on the act.
06:04I can't see a meal.
06:05Melody.
06:06Huh?
06:07You like this one?
06:08She's actually encouraging them to go to the...
06:11Don't do that.
06:12Don't do that.
06:13Don't draw them to that.
06:14Ha-ha.
06:15Ha-ha.
06:16Ha-ha.
06:17These secret squirrels are old hands in the tricks department.
06:20Wait, did you take the orange ones?
06:30Hey, no more.
06:31No more.
06:32They don't care that mum said no.
06:33Look at them.
06:34Hold on.
06:35No.
06:36I love this place.
06:38These kids are having the best time.
06:40You guys want this one?
06:41Yes.
06:42You want this?
06:43Yes.
06:44You want this?
06:45Yes.
06:46Can't have mush.
06:47Sir, guys.
06:48No more ice cream, okay?
06:49We have, like, ten ice creams.
06:51Ten different ice creams in the fridge.
06:53Look at their face.
06:54Genius.
06:55Well, at least Dad put his foot down.
06:57Oh, drinking water.
06:58Good girl.
06:59All the water.
07:00Expensive.
07:01One H.
07:02Do they need it?
07:03Do you want to try this?
07:04Yeah.
07:05But I think they've got, you know, too much chocolate.
07:07I'll take some chocolate out.
07:09And then get some more chocolate in.
07:11Okay.
07:12Crafty.
07:13Who's ruling this roost?
07:14I don't know.
07:15Who's the one?
07:16The red one.
07:17The red one.
07:18The red one.
07:19So she's asking them, yeah, which one do you want?
07:21How about neither?
07:22Exactly.
07:23Let's go sort these guys out.
07:24Okay.
07:25Let's do it.
07:26Hello.
07:27Hello, kids.
07:28Hello.
07:29How are we?
07:30Hello.
07:31Hello, how are you?
07:32What's your name?
07:33Shannon.
07:34Shannon, I'm Michael.
07:35Pleasure to meet you.
07:36Good to meet you.
07:37So who went shopping today?
07:38You two or your mum and dad?
07:39Mostly us two.
07:40Oh.
07:41Okay.
07:42That's quite dangerous.
07:43Okay.
07:44And there's no list.
07:45Very dangerous.
07:46There's no list.
07:47No list.
07:48So have we actually got a meal in here, kids?
07:50Yes.
07:51Where?
07:52Show me the meal.
07:53Show me dinner.
07:54Where's dinner?
07:55There you go.
07:56Dinner.
07:57That's a part of a dinner.
07:58Where's dinner?
07:59Okay, let's go.
08:00Find out how much all this is.
08:01Okay.
08:03Okay, here we go.
08:04Hey.
08:05We're starting with water.
08:06We're starting to good.
08:07Let's see if it continues.
08:08I'm into that.
08:09We're on a good roll.
08:10What have we got here?
08:11We've got some chips.
08:12And there it goes.
08:13And it's just gone pear-shaped.
08:15There it is.
08:17Guys, all I've seen is chips and cookies and chocolates.
08:20Is there anything else here?
08:21There's something fresh.
08:23It's a potato.
08:24Wait.
08:25I'm not ready for this.
08:26What's this?
08:27Meat.
08:28Meat.
08:29And there's a lot of lettuce there.
08:31So I think we've found our first meal maybe?
08:34So, any bananas at home?
08:36Yeah.
08:37Yeah.
08:38There is?
08:39How many bananas do you have at home?
08:41Another bunch like that?
08:43Who loves the halloumi?
08:44I love halloumi.
08:45Alright.
08:46How much is that halloumi?
08:48Eight dollars.
08:49Oh no.
08:50It's delicious cheese though, isn't it?
08:51Hey Ganesh, look at this.
08:52Snapper fillets.
08:53Potentially two fillets.
08:54Oh.
08:55Forty-five dollars a kilo.
08:57Holy smokes.
08:58Beautiful fish.
08:59But.
09:00But.
09:01So expensive.
09:02The kids only like snapper.
09:04They don't know the difference.
09:05These are some fruit chicks.
09:07I'm so confused.
09:08I've seen so many things that I've never seen before.
09:10Microwave popcorn.
09:11So when you shop by yourselves, you don't buy all this stuff.
09:14No.
09:15Only like one box or two boxes.
09:17But not as much as.
09:18Not that much.
09:19Right.
09:20Things are making sense to me.
09:21That is correct sir.
09:22Do you see many supermarket owned brands?
09:24No none.
09:25Okay people.
09:26That's everything.
09:27We've come to the end.
09:28Parents.
09:29How much do you think you've spent?
09:31300 or something.
09:32I think the kids would probably know more than the parents.
09:35That's fine.
09:36I feel like they would.
09:37What do you think?
09:38450.
09:39Right.
09:40450.
09:41So we've got like a.
09:42What do you think?
09:43400 and.
09:44We'll call it two 450s.
09:48Are we ready to see?
09:49Okay.
09:50Let's see.
09:51I don't want to see it.
09:52You spent $447.
09:53What?
09:54Oh my goodness.
09:57How does it feel to know that your kids were closer to the number?
10:02It's almost like they did the shop.
10:04Yeah.
10:05Well done kids.
10:06You guys pick up like most of stuff there?
10:10Yeah.
10:11Will the kids pick up the bill do you think?
10:14The cost that we have spending which is like let's say 400, 500 is our supermarket.
10:21And then for like we have to eat out for like another like five days.
10:27So I cannot imagine the total cost.
10:31Before the Liu's get home with their shopping.
10:33Michael and Ganesh run ahead to get a snapshot of what's in the family's pantry and fridge already.
10:38Let's do it Ganesh.
10:39Let's do it Ganesh.
10:40Ooh.
10:41Hello.
10:42Wait a minute.
10:43Wait a minute.
10:44Can we just.
10:45How sweet is this family?
10:46Okay.
10:47Let's get into this little biscuit issue.
10:49After me just buy some.
10:50Look at this.
10:51And some lollies.
10:52One.
10:53And some more biscuits.
10:54Two.
10:55And some more biscuits.
10:56Three.
10:57Four.
10:58Five.
10:59I'm just gonna put my hand in there.
11:01And just see what the.
11:04Okay.
11:06Cheese flavoured balls and honey.
11:09We bought two boxes of these.
11:11Alright.
11:12And they just keep going back.
11:13Yeah.
11:14It's just rubbish and brands and nothing that can really make.
11:18A meal.
11:19No.
11:20Let's have a look in the fridge.
11:21Alright.
11:22Alright.
11:23Woah.
11:24There's some green.
11:26This is different family.
11:27Look at it all.
11:28There's some broccoli.
11:29There's some Chinese.
11:30Beautiful greens.
11:31Herbs.
11:32There's lots of fresh ingredients in here.
11:33But look at the amount though.
11:35There's lots of fruit there.
11:36And then there's lots of fruit over there.
11:39I wonder if they get through that though.
11:40Cause you look at those bananas.
11:41No.
11:42Look at those bananas.
11:43More bananas.
11:44Which means they're throwing bananas away.
11:46And over here.
11:47We've got fresh ingredients that they're gonna throw away too.
11:49Cause there's no way of using all this up.
11:50Maybe.
11:51I kind of get the feeling that they put it in there.
11:52And then it dies there.
11:53It stays there.
11:54That's right.
11:55It's time for Matt and Shannon to see the reality of Nicky and Melody's weekly shop.
12:01Well, well, well.
12:02Look at this Ganesh.
12:03Hey.
12:04How much of what you're seeing here you didn't even know was in your trolley?
12:07What do you think?
12:08That would be like a cocktail of the product.
12:10You've got salts down the centre.
12:13Sugar in the front.
12:15Sugar there.
12:16This is quite good here.
12:18Little bit of green.
12:19What I don't see here though is a meal.
12:22The potatoes.
12:23Yeah.
12:24Yeah.
12:25Just potatoes.
12:26But potatoes by themselves.
12:27There's probably one meal.
12:28So that's one meal.
12:29One meal.
12:30We can't go to the supermarket and come back with one meal.
12:32How much did they spend today?
12:34You spent $447.
12:37Four for seven.
12:38Yeah.
12:39The average Kiwi family of your size spends $295 a week.
12:46On top of that money that you spent today, $370 for eating out.
12:53So that's your weekly total of $817.
12:57Yeah.
12:58That's a total of $42,500 a year.
13:0242?
13:0342,500.
13:04Wow.
13:05It's like one person's income.
13:07You've spent a lot of money on food.
13:09A lot of money.
13:10But it's the wrong food and then you're going out and you're buying food in.
13:13Yeah.
13:14So what we need to do is help you get rid of some of that.
13:16All of that.
13:17Yep.
13:18Totally.
13:19Cut it out.
13:20Cut it out all together.
13:21And then with your supermarket shop, we need to make that better food and swap them out
13:24for meals and planning.
13:25And also getting rid of this.
13:27You know, it's bad for your kids.
13:29It's bad habits that they've got into.
13:31Are you worried about their health because of the amount of sugar that you see?
13:35Yeah.
13:36It's a lot of sugar.
13:38A kiss.
13:39Love sugar.
13:40Before we're doing this, I thought we did pretty good control of sugar for them.
13:45Really?
13:46But like, no.
13:47Not really.
13:50They can still have some sugar as a treat.
13:53I think what's happening here is they're having it so often that it's not a special thing
13:58anymore, right?
13:59Yeah.
14:00And it's addictive.
14:01The more you give them, the more they're going to want.
14:03They want.
14:04I think that's what's happening now.
14:05Yeah.
14:06We're here to help you.
14:07To show you a better way of shopping and eating for you and your kids.
14:12That's great.
14:13But you're going to need to want to do it as well.
14:15Sounds good.
14:16I'm willing to do that.
14:17You're in?
14:18Yeah.
14:19All right.
14:20Let's check on that.
14:21That's it.
14:22It's a deal.
14:23Deal, deal.
14:24I feel pretty bad.
14:25A lot of money.
14:26Yeah.
14:27We just really spend a lot of money.
14:29Like, yeah.
14:30Which we didn't expect.
14:33Okay, so basically what we're dealing with is a house full of snacks and no meals.
14:37Absolutely.
14:38And the only way to fix that is for the whole family to come together.
14:41Support Shannon.
14:42Totally.
14:43Take on some meals.
14:45Agree to shop with a list.
14:46Yep.
14:47Agree not to buy, you know, treat food.
14:49Yep.
14:50And plan better.
14:51And give Shannon some confidence in the kitchen.
14:53Now look, so I've been thinking about it.
14:54How much can we actually save this family, right?
14:57And those kids have so much power in the house.
15:01Yep.
15:02I'm not sure how Shannon's going to cope with that.
15:03So I'm going to go with $120.
15:05That's all I think they can save.
15:07I'm going to smash it out.
15:09I'm going to go 170 because I think this house, we can save some serious money.
15:15All right.
15:16Well, let's get into it.
15:17Okay.
15:18Snack food is banished and will Shannon's meal impress the girls?
15:21No.
15:22No.
15:28While the Liu's are at school and work, the Eat Well for Less team have purged the packets
15:32and pots from the pantry and fridge.
15:36Let's go have a look at what we've got here.
15:42What's happening here?
15:43Oh my goodness.
15:44Not allowed.
15:45I can't eat any treats.
15:47Have you guys ever had this before?
15:49No.
15:50Wrong rice?
15:51No.
15:52We have nothing to put in our lunch boxes.
15:55Except for fruit jelly.
15:56Come on.
15:57Many of the girls' favourite brand foods are now gone or in plain packaging.
16:01Let's have a look in the fridge.
16:02Hopefully it's not the same.
16:03Okay.
16:04It's not the same.
16:05What's happening?
16:06How are we supposed to get pizza or anything?
16:07Blocked.
16:08Blocked.
16:09Blocked.
16:10Blocked.
16:11Blocked.
16:12Where's my plain yogurt?
16:13There.
16:14Vanilla yogurt.
16:15Vanilla?
16:16So, what do you guys think about the fridge now?
16:17Bad.
16:18No?
16:19Bad?
16:20Bad?
16:21Bad?
16:22Tomatoes.
16:23Apples.
16:24How are we supposed to eat at home like that?
16:25All of them we cannot eat.
16:26We don't like.
16:27Okay, Luke's upset.
16:28It's probably difficult in the beginning, but like I believe once we get used to it, we
16:45probably work better.
16:46Are you girls willing to give a try this week?
16:50Come on, it won't be that difficult.
16:55No.
16:56No.
16:57Scary.
16:58Mum and Dad will be with you, okay?
17:02Shannon's a total novice in the kitchen, but Ganesha's keen to teach her it's not going
17:06to be so hard to make tasty and healthy food for her family.
17:10Shannon, welcome to the kitchen.
17:12Wow, I'm quite nervous actually.
17:15Don't be nervous.
17:16I think you're very brave.
17:17Okay.
17:18Now, from what I understand, you never learned to cook as a young person?
17:21Yes, because I'm a professional table tennis in China and we're quite busy training.
17:26All right, well, we're going to do something about that today.
17:29And we're going to cook.
17:30We call them potstickers, but they're basically dumplings.
17:33Okay.
17:34Yeah.
17:35Do you like dumplings?
17:36I love dumplings.
17:37Does the family love dumplings?
17:38Yes.
17:39Okay.
17:40So, let's do this together, but I'm going to let you do the first part.
17:43And the first part is very simple.
17:45Just mix the pork, sesame oil and soy sauce together.
17:48Go.
17:49Go.
17:50Go.
17:51Hara.
17:52There you go.
17:53To chop the garlic, Coach Ganesh has some special advice for knife technique.
17:56Table tennis.
17:57Same grip.
17:58Kind of.
17:59Like everything else is practice, right?
18:01How much did you practice table tennis when you were young?
18:04How many hours a day?
18:05Seven.
18:06Look at that.
18:07Seven hours a day, right?
18:08That's a lot of practice and that's how you got really good.
18:10Cooking is exactly like that.
18:12The more you do it, the better you get.
18:14Okay.
18:15Okay.
18:16In goes the garlic, ginger and white pepper.
18:18Please mix that up.
18:19Yeah.
18:20Okay, we're getting to the fun bit now.
18:22Next thing we're going to do, we're going to put them into the little dumplings.
18:25Throw down a bit of flour, spoon some of the pork mix into a dumpling wrapper and we're
18:30ready to roll.
18:31Pick it up in your hand like a little parcel.
18:32There you go.
18:33So we're going to start.
18:34I'll show you.
18:35Pinch.
18:36Fold over.
18:38You try.
18:39Pinch.
18:41Yes.
18:42Look at you.
18:43With the dumplings all prepped and some veggie oil spread thinly around the pan, it's
18:47time to fry.
18:48So let's lay these out.
18:50I can hear this all.
18:51There we go.
18:52That's what we're looking for, right?
18:54This is such a healthy meal.
18:56Mm-hmm.
18:57So we used a little bit of oil, not much at all.
18:59Yeah.
19:00And then we're going to use steam to cook the whole thing.
19:02So it's really healthy for the kids and for the family.
19:05After steaming in the pan, it's time to do a chef taste test.
19:09Look at that.
19:11Mmm.
19:12Yeah.
19:13Oh, yeah.
19:14That's good.
19:15That's good.
19:16Nice.
19:17That's good.
19:18With the dumplings cooked to perfection, it's time to give them the presentation they deserve.
19:23We want to make it so when the family comes, you know how you eat with your eyes when something's
19:27beautiful, you feel hungry?
19:28Yeah.
19:29We have to do that, right?
19:30Yeah.
19:31Isn't it amazing how you're learning to cook a little bit of Chinese food from an Indian
19:36guy?
19:38Is that okay?
19:39Yeah.
19:40We're sharing, right?
19:41Yeah.
19:42We're sharing.
19:43We're having a good time.
19:44So who cares?
19:45I can cook.
19:46I can show you I can cook a curry.
19:48Finally, I will learn.
19:50Garnish with chopped spring onions and mix up a dipping sauce made with soy, sesame oil
19:55and oyster sauce.
19:56A final grind of pepper and it's time to summon the judges.
19:59Yes.
20:00Have you been wanting dumplings?
20:01Yes.
20:02Especially from whom?
20:03Mom.
20:04Yeah.
20:05From mom, eh?
20:06You want her?
20:07And she's so good.
20:08She made all those dumplings.
20:09You sure?
20:10Yeah.
20:11Are you sure?
20:12I'm really, really sure.
20:13I'm really, really sure.
20:14Are you proud of her though?
20:16Yes.
20:17Then give her a little high five.
20:18Come on, you guys.
20:19Give her a high five.
20:20You come and if you make, like, I'm going to have a CCTV there to see, okay?
20:27You want proof?
20:28Things are going well.
20:29That's good.
20:30Perhaps too well.
20:31There we go.
20:32Ah, so peppery.
20:35Oh, it's too peppery.
20:38Their usual dip makes a swift appearance.
20:40All right, look.
20:41That's good.
20:42Here you go.
20:43Soy sauce.
20:44Yay.
20:45Yay.
20:46Let's try with the soy sauce, eh?
20:48I think this is the perfect combination right now.
20:51Yes!
20:52High five, ladies.
20:53Much better.
20:54Much better.
20:55High five, ladies.
20:56Dad, are you proud of Shannon?
20:59Very good.
21:00That was out of my mind.
21:03Really.
21:04And if you keep this up, you know, with the recipes that Mike and I are both showing you,
21:08that's just a start for you guys.
21:10That's so simple to make.
21:11Yeah.
21:12A little bit of time.
21:13That's it.
21:14Yeah.
21:15And would you like to take this to school for lunch?
21:17Yeah.
21:18There you go.
21:19That would be good.
21:20How good would that be for school lunch?
21:21Your friends would be so jealous.
21:22But where'd you get the dumplings for me?
21:23And you can say?
21:24Mummy.
21:25The supermarkets are awash with oil, so no wonder we get confused.
21:29But which one does Angela recommend?
21:32Get ready for an MOR, a major oil revelation.
21:35So Angela, probably the number one question both Ganesh and I get asked is what oil should
21:41we use for what?
21:42When it comes to your choice of cooking oil, you really need to pick the right oil for
21:46the job.
21:47Because they have different chemical structures and essentially if you're heating some oils,
21:52they can become really unstable.
21:54So the ones we want to use for our cooking and heating are what we call predominantly monounsaturated
22:01oils.
22:02So that's things like your olive oil, your canola oil and your rice bran oil.
22:06Whereas your polyunsaturated oils like sesame oil are really better kept at room temperature
22:12to use safer likes of salad dressings.
22:14So you don't cook with sesame seed oil?
22:16No, you don't.
22:17You use that as your salad dressing.
22:18And so if you use sesame seed oil and you cook with it, what happens to that in your body?
22:23So essentially what happens is when it gets heated, it creates some toxic chemicals like
22:27aldehydes, which really can impact on our health if we're having them over the long term.
22:32We want to look for oils that have a really high smoke point and those are the ones that
22:36are not creating those toxic chemicals for our body.
22:39And the oil that I'd probably recommend that we all cook with is extra virgin olive oil.
22:43It can be obviously a little bit more expensive, but the reason I'd recommend it is it's got
22:48a lot of antioxidants in there.
22:50It's got a really high smoke point.
22:52So it means it's going to stay nice and stable at those higher cooking temperatures.
22:55And it also doesn't have many of the free fatty acids in it as well.
22:59So that's a really, really good one to cook with.
23:01Obviously it comes at a price.
23:03That's it.
23:04So in those instances where price really is key, you'd be looking for a canola oil.
23:09And how about our trendy favourite coconut oil?
23:12Look, to be honest, I think the fact that it is solid sitting there in that jar says it all.
23:18The rest of these oils are all liquid and that's because the majority of what we call our unsaturated fats.
23:23So they're the ones that are really good for our heart.
23:25The fact this is solid means it's actually got more saturated fat in there.
23:29And saturated fat is the one that is linked to cholesterol and increasing our risk of heart disease.
23:33So if you're going to use that, use it sparingly.
23:36Use it sparingly for the flavour, but pick something else as your main oil of choice.
23:40Okay.
23:41Shannon's beloved squeaky cheese halloumi is our first swap test.
23:46So do you reckon you will tell the difference if you say, you know, it's your favourite cheese?
23:52I will.
23:53What do you think?
23:55That's same.
23:56Same?
23:57Same.
23:58So you're pretty happy with that?
23:59Yeah, it's really same.
24:00Because I'm not sure if it's the same brand or no.
24:01So I don't know.
24:02Are you happy with that?
24:03Absolutely.
24:04I will buy the cheaper one.
24:05And it's much cheaper.
24:06This swapped halloumi is half the price of Shannon's usual brand.
24:07Which cornflake got this reaction from our testers?
24:08It's bland.
24:09It's like...
24:10Expired.
24:11Ganesh has come up with a restaurant-style Italian dinner for newly confident Shannon to cook
24:36with the girls.
24:37You get to lick pasta?
24:38Yeah.
24:39Favourite, eh?
24:40You want to have one?
24:41Yeah.
24:42Both of you?
24:43Yeah.
24:44Okay.
24:45First, chop the bacon.
24:46Yeah, maybe I'll cut this part.
24:51Okay, it's so hard.
24:53I know.
24:54Once the bacon has been sliced into small pieces, then get that pasta into boiling salted
24:59water.
25:00Next, chop the onion.
25:01Why aren't you peeling it?
25:04Huh?
25:05Nikki's right.
25:06Remove the skin first.
25:08Then it's onto the garlic.
25:09You might cut your finger, Mama.
25:10I won't.
25:11You know why?
25:12Because you're a professional now.
25:13Because Ganesh tell me yesterday how to cut the garlic.
25:22Cook the bacon until crisp, then set aside.
25:25Next, add the onion and garlic to the pan.
25:27Can you help me set up the table?
25:30Okay.
25:31Good girl.
25:32Go there.
25:33Little helpers can grate the cheese.
25:35Well done, Nikki.
25:36When are you done?
25:38Be patient.
25:39Nearly there.
25:40It's time to add spinach and cream to the pan.
25:43Then bring to the boil, take off the heat and throw in the bacon, cheese and chopped parsley.
25:48It smells good.
25:49Thank you, Melody.
25:50Combine with the cooked pasta and you've got a dish to savour for under $5 a person.
25:57It's yummy?
25:58Wow, it's yummy.
26:01I will cook you guys every day.
26:04How about that?
26:05Mmm.
26:06Thank you guys for helping me.
26:09That's fine.
26:10How about next time?
26:11We can cook it together again.
26:13Yay.
26:14Thank you, Ganesh.
26:17For the good recipe.
26:20The next food test may take a bit more convincing.
26:23It's the girls favourite chocolate flavoured breakfast cereal.
26:26This looks different.
26:31Maybe.
26:32No, I'm tasting this one individually.
26:40It is not Coco Puffs.
26:42Doesn't look like it.
26:47No, no, no, it's not.
26:49I'm going to taste it with milk.
26:55It tastes so weird.
26:56It tastes so different because it's like, you can see white parts on it.
27:01Yeah.
27:02But it's not as yummy as Coco Puffs.
27:04Mm-hmm.
27:05Mm-mm.
27:06I wouldn't really eat it because it's not really yum.
27:09Yeah.
27:11Tastes like those rice crackers.
27:13I don't think I might eat it again.
27:15I don't think so, but like, we can't put this in the drain and wash it.
27:21Because we have to eat our breakfast.
27:23Yeah, at least.
27:24I'm hungry.
27:25Mm-hmm.
27:26These girls know their breakfast cereals.
27:28If they can be convinced to swap, it'll save 51 cents a box and it's also free from refined sugar.
27:34It's group test time and we're at St. Joseph's School in Graylin, Auckland to put cornflakes under scrutiny.
27:39And when it comes to cereal, these girls are just as discerning as Nikki and Melody.
27:44I think cornflakes should be like a bright colour.
27:49The crunchiness makes the cornflake.
27:52I like it when my cornflakes go soggy.
27:55So which bowl of crunch is best of the bunch?
27:58First up, a supermarket-owned brand.
28:00Kellogg's, the granddad of cornflakes, is next.
28:03Kiwi bestseller Sanitarium Skippy bounces in at three.
28:06A gluten-free option from Hubbard's is next.
28:09And organic gluten-free and our most expensive Nature's Path is last.
28:18There's the bell.
28:19Class is in session and first on the spoon is Nature's Path.
28:24I like it because the flakes are bigger than usual.
28:31I like how it's crunchy.
28:33I like it because it's filling.
28:38I would be happy to have this for breakfast again.
28:41It was a little bit sweet, which is good, and the crunch was good.
28:48A promising start.
28:50How does the supermarket-owned brand stack up?
28:53I think this is better.
28:54I like the other one better.
28:55I like this one better.
28:56I like this one better.
28:57I like this one better.
28:58Yeah.
28:59I disagree.
29:00This one?
29:01This guy's sogier than the other one.
29:02Very easily.
29:03I like them soggy.
29:04Now for the Hubbards gluten-free.
29:05This is disgusting.
29:06They're terrible.
29:07They're terrible.
29:08They're terrible.
29:09They taste dry.
29:10Tastes bland.
29:11It's like expired.
29:12Clearly not impressed with that one.
29:13Let's see if the Skippy brand goes down better.
29:19Average.
29:20It's not up to my expectations.
29:21This tastes like when I'm at home.
29:22I like it.
29:23I like it.
29:24I like it.
29:25I like it.
29:26I like it.
29:27I like it.
29:28I like it.
29:29I like it.
29:30I like it.
29:31I like it.
29:32I like it.
29:33I like it.
29:34I like it.
29:35I like it.
29:36I like it.
29:37I like it.
29:38It's not up to my expectations.
29:41It tastes like when I'm at home.
29:44I like that.
29:45I'll chuck it in the bin.
29:47I'll chuck it in the bin and last up is Kellogg's
30:07Time to show and tell I've got the winner you ready you ready you ready
30:17Countdown's own brand which was the cheapest cornflake was the favorite
30:21best seller Skippy hopped into second place and the gluten-free Hubbard's
30:25option came last if you want to be bowled over there's no need to pay top
30:29dollar for cornflakes find out what Angela claims is living in us and weighs
30:33about 2 kgs
30:42Matt's far more comfortable in the kitchen than Shannon but with takeaway pizzas too
30:46often on their takeout menu it's time to give cheaper homemade a go instead might
30:51give us a pizza recipe so we're gonna start making a pizza for dinner let's
30:56just do the pizza dough first right that's a yeast looks like a medicine put yeast
31:05into a bowl with warm water add sugar and leave to ferment in a second bowl combine
31:15wholemeal and high-grade flour and some salt by now the yeast should have started fermenting
31:19add the yeast to the flour mix then a good splash of oil then mix together with the end of a wooden
31:30spoon so it should work like a team yeah it's getting tough right let me do this part
31:39are you saying you have big muscles of course I do have big muscles though you do next it's
31:46time to use those muscles and knead the dough you're playing with it place dough in a clean bowl and
31:53cover all right guys we start doing the pizza sauce while it rests get the sauce going chop onion garlic and
32:00rosemary add to a can of tinned tomatoes then bring to a simmer mix in a bit of honey to taste let's just
32:09let the sauce simmer and then during the meantime i'll show you something magic okay look at this
32:17that's the dough we did before yeah yeah you see the difference yeah what's so different it's going
32:23a lot it's almost like double size like this roll the dough into equal sized balls while it rests
32:29again get your family's favorite toppings prepped it's called skill that's why
32:39roll out the pizza base and then let the fun begin do you guys want to do the filling yes yes
32:45matt and the girls have added cheese pineapple and ham and then pop these five dollar wonders
32:50into a preheated oven wow let's try that out oh it's nice yummy yummy so next time when we have pizza
33:06who wants to order out or who wants to make home let's vote it what's that mean home home home
33:15all right go you guys can make a dinner for me yeah
33:22the lius buy their kids probiotics every week but what's in them angela's had a gutsful
33:27probiotics they're just sugary yogurt drinks right are they look probiotics
33:35by definition are the live good bugs that actually provide us with a health benefit
33:40and while you can find them in some fermented dairy products you can also find them in other
33:45fermented foods as well so we've got them in the likes of potentially sauerkraut miso kimchi kefir
33:53yogurt and also possibly kombucha as well and is this the type of food that you recommend everyone has
33:59every week every day with probiotics essentially it's hard to know whether or not some of these
34:04foods do have probiotic activity so by definition they have to survive going all the way down through
34:10the digestive tract and in that really acidic environment into where they can colonize the
34:15lower part of the gut down here in the colon and in the colons where we've got a whole combination
34:20of good and bad bacteria there's about 10 trillions of bacteria in here over a thousand different
34:27species of bacteria weighing approximately about two kgs of bugs that we've got in here and there
34:35and what and what do those bugs do what is their main role they've got lots of different roles and
34:41the thing with probiotics is it is strange specific so different strains of probiotics are going to have
34:46different health benefits and you might need different amounts of those probiotics in order
34:51to have the health benefit it can do anything from helping to support and protect our immunity
34:56to actually prevent toxins from affecting us also it can help with nutrient absorption and there's more
35:02emerging research to show that what we have on the bacteria in our gut can affect things like our mood
35:07depression and anxiety as well wow so is it a simple thing to say try and have a little bit of
35:13yogurt in your diet every week a little bit of yogurt fermented foods yeah definitely where you can
35:18look for ones that have talked about colony forming units or saying that they've got live probiotic
35:24cultures on pack because then you can be guaranteed that the product does contain probiotics have you ever
35:31dealt with a whole chicken no have you ever cooked a whole chicken no an ambitious chicken dish is next
35:39on shannon's cooking lesson list you can hold the leg if you want to it's not going to run away
35:44first step how to break up a whole chicken so now when you see a whole chicken you can now break it
35:49down into these parts so you don't need to go and buy all the individual parts next it's time to start
35:54cooking but first season the chook you are salt i am pepper okay we're a good partnership
36:01yeah with seasoning done it's time to see it so we're going to brown the outside of the chicken
36:08not cook it through just brown it get that flavor on the outside of it so it's quite a big pan so we
36:14could potentially probably get the whole chicken into this in a few minutes the chicken will start
36:18to caramelize and so now we add the rest of the ingredients start with michael's favorite dijon mustard
36:25i would put this all over my body and i would go to sleep sounds good and i'd be happy how about your
36:31wife she will be happy maybe not next in a tin of drained brown lentils you sprinkle those over the
36:40top chicken stock and fragrant bay leaves are next origami lesson time now to create a cartouche
36:49that's a paper lid if you don't speak chef can you see that that allows you to push it down into the
36:55center like so oh and what this does is it protects the chicken stops the chicken from drying out but
37:04also lets the steam come out and so this stock here that's boiling it's going to reduce down and it's
37:11going to become more flavorsome with a fancy paper hat on it's into the oven for 30 minutes
37:15should we go play some table tennis table tennis what do you think i will beat you
37:23would you like to finish this okay a little bit of parsley a little bit of parmesan sprinkle
37:28sprinkle be generous okay remember parsley is flavor review time for this dish that costs under
37:366.50 a portion dinner is served kids chicken made by mum made by mum and you only a little bit by me
37:48now kids would you like a thigh a drum or a breast or a wing a thigh a thigh a thigh
37:56a thigh has lots of delicious flavors in it because it's from down here your bum no
38:09it's really yummy isn't it lovely yeah it's really yummy you see what i mean how that the flavor of the
38:15dijon yeah gets into the chicken and penetrates it and gives it heaps of flavor you didn't matter before
38:22you like it no how about this time yes all right just all right yeah i think all right is pass and
38:32then we can work on all right yeah we will try i think all right is all right how's our cooking been
38:37this week oh i'm so happy actually are you yeah i feel like a little bit confident in the kitchen now
38:45like a scary playing in the park is always thirsty work but we've ditched their usual plastic bottles
38:52and got something new to try girls water time yeah hold this car hold this car that looks different just try
39:04just try yes lemon is a different it's lemon water it's lemon water yeah you have a try okay okay
39:24see lemon water it's not a little water it's so like juicy and yummy on another cup so you just like this
39:34water i love it i don't like it i love it okay thank you i don't know how but i think some of the water
39:45tastes better than the other ones but um i still don't know how because i'm not a water scientist
39:53all righty so this is going to be a challenge well it is you know all i want to see is i want to see
39:58shannon in the kitchen cooking because she needs some confidence hey kids hello team how are you
40:06so how's it been being in the kitchen cooking dishes for your family i'm feeling like more confident now
40:13i'm quite happy that's good yeah time for the reveal here we go
40:18cool so what do the kids think of their cocoa pop swap ah they didn't like it really yeah they made
40:27their face that face they make yeah it is not cocoa puffs no no no it's not well i see the kids leading
40:36here again they are leading but they did know their stuff right so that's what we swapped their brand
40:42out for okay yep still not convinced oh god what about if we saved you that much the kids are not
40:51paying for this remember that's right you guys are you are paying for this up to you is this a swap or
40:56shall i just put this back into my bag no we can swap it i guess i mean like let's just take time
41:02shannon you don't you don't look convinced yeah i don't think we can swap because of the kids
41:06if we don't like if we buy the whole box it's with more money she makes another good they go back
41:12in all right so maybe that's something that stays what about the uh lovely halloumi cheese
41:18halloumi cheese was successful she's pretty happy with that yeah it's really same oh did we swap it
41:24did we i don't know michael did we swap it let's find out yes we did okay we swapped your brand
41:32for the supermarket home brand that's absolutely the same that's good news that's good news because
41:37if you swapped which we did you would save four dollar seventy for one for the block for the whole
41:43block so that's a keeper keeper keeper excellent excellent good news so we took the girls down to
41:50the park yes right and they had some water what do they think of the water just tell me the water
41:58really nice it has like a lemon it's so like juicy and yummy i want another cup i tell you what's
42:04amazing yeah is that the water they had was from the tap just tap water it was just tap water and they
42:14loved it what do you think about that lovely why are we spending money on the bottom of water and that's
42:21how much you're gonna say fair enough so uh should we swap for tap yes yes so do you remember how much
42:29your shop was from the very beginning was that 470 something close 447 yeah so just by going with
42:37supermarket owned brands we were able to bring that down from 447 to 292. that's a saving of 155 a
42:44week that's 8 000 a week that's 8 000 a year that's a lot it's a lot of money that's a lot of money
42:52there's more do you recognize what this is yes i did pasta it's yummy guess how much that meal was
43:02per person for your family how much that cost per person per person eight to ten i'm happy to tell you
43:09that it was only 493 per person and how much would that meal be if you went to a restaurant 25 dollars
43:18per person and and with the restaurant so you eat out as a family a lot if you made that a treat you
43:26could cut a whopping 15 000 a year out of your spend yep that's so much money and then you add that to your
43:35right yeah and there's 23 000 just there future is bright yes yes it is maybe in the future we can
43:47swap around as like you know five or six days cooking home and then one day or two days go eat out as a
43:54treat you know the kids will be happy as well girls look at that you remember the water you you guys tell
44:01me it's like a lemon strawberry a honey guess where they come from the world the world from our cup
44:09water what what about that huh well done you sir that was really good Shannon in that kitchen well
44:18done us that was good she is good i think she's gonna be fine though but how about the what what about
44:23the water we took those kids i i smell lovely honey and i can taste lemon and watermelon and mint and
44:29all these flavors and we turn on a tap and this water comes out oh magical water
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