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00:00Hey, hey!
00:02Suzanne and I are back together.
00:04Lead the way, Professor Batch.
00:05Helping families up and down the country
00:07get control of their meal times.
00:10It is chaotic.
00:12That is an insane amount of snacks.
00:16As a dad of six kids, I know getting good healthy food
00:19on the table fast can be a nightmare.
00:21Grub is up!
00:23Like feeding the three bears, innit?
00:25With my Batching tips and tricks,
00:27we're going to make those dreaded dinner times
00:29a thing of the past.
00:30Three minutes, your dinner is done.
00:32No fuss.
00:34We'll help struggling households.
00:36Oh!
00:37Could you eat that and not die?
00:39Who find feeding the family stressful.
00:41That chicken's off.
00:43We'll analyse what they eat.
00:45You're only getting a balanced diet
00:4720% of the time.
00:50And what they spend.
00:52I thought that was a month.
00:53And thanks to some clever hacks
00:55and easy to follow recipes.
00:57Well done, mate!
00:58It is!
00:59We'll save them time.
01:00When in life does someone give you
01:01three weeks of your life back?
01:03And money.
01:04That's a good holiday, isn't it?
01:06Revolutionising their meal times.
01:08What do we think, boys?
01:09Amazing.
01:10Can we have this tomorrow?
01:12If you can't beat it, batch it.
01:15I can't see us ever going back.
01:18It's life changing, isn't it?
01:19Definitely.
01:19It's a hug and a ball.
01:21Oh, come here.
01:28Today I'm meeting Suzanne in the Yorkshire Dalles.
01:31Hi, Joe.
01:32Hello, Suzanne.
01:32This is stunning.
01:34Isn't it just?
01:35Welcome to Nidderdale.
01:37They reckon this place has been occupied
01:39for over 6,000 years.
01:40What do you think?
01:41They were batch cooking back then?
01:42Oh, yeah.
01:43They had a meal planner on every hut wall.
01:44But I'm assuming there's not a lot of batching
01:47going on today, so who are we here to see?
01:48Suzanne, we're here to meet the Long family.
01:50Working mum Fiona, she's living in chaos
01:53with the older kids in and out,
01:55struggling with ferocious appetite,
01:57skyrocketing supermarket bills.
01:59So she's got a lot on her plate.
02:00Let's get to work, shall we?
02:01When you need a team with a plan,
02:03you call Joe and Suzanne.
02:05Oh, stop it.
02:06How long have you been working on that one for?
02:13Oh, my God.
02:15That was way off.
02:18That was awful.
02:2053-year-old Fiona is a charter surveyor.
02:23Oh.
02:24She's also mum to 21-year-old Lucy,
02:2720-year-old Finn and 19-year-old Archie.
02:30We're a very tight family.
02:32We're very close to our mum.
02:33We're all one year apart, all of the children,
02:35so it's hard not to be very close, you know?
02:37The kids are all students at nearby universities.
02:41They're home more than they're away,
02:43so some nights they'll be me,
02:44but other nights it could be another one,
02:46it could be another two,
02:47it could be another six.
02:49And I've won.
02:50Well, you did just get absolutely destroyed.
02:53That's all.
02:55Fiona recently divorced.
02:57She and the kids moved into her childhood home
03:00and she's also had to switch to full-time work
03:02to make ends meet.
03:05Even though they're at university and getting a student loan,
03:08you're still supporting them.
03:10Her work loan's increased.
03:11She doesn't have time like she did before.
03:14Fiona's long hours have left her struggling to plan
03:17and make family meals.
03:19And as a result, the kitchen's become a free-for-all.
03:23Cooking in the house is hard to do most of the time.
03:26Jesus, why is everyone in my way?
03:29Because someone's already cooking
03:31or someone's eaten the food you want to cook.
03:34You could have waited.
03:36You simply just could have waited, couldn't you?
03:38Everyone's just all over the place
03:39and we haven't kind of got an arrhythm at all.
03:42The boys are keen rugby players
03:44in favour of red meat rich diet for the protein,
03:47adding further pressure to Fiona's wallet.
03:49They eat a large quantity.
03:51The pack of mince for me,
03:52I might have made it feed four people.
03:54They've managed to eat it between two of them.
03:57Meanwhile, the fruit and veg gets ignored.
04:00These boys try and eat as much as they can all the time,
04:03but vegetables usually go untouched.
04:06Here you go, darling.
04:07Carrots go to the dogs.
04:08Carrots go to the dogs.
04:10And what doesn't go to the dogs is going in the bin.
04:13I hate waste.
04:15I hate having to throw things out.
04:16That's not something we can afford to be doing.
04:19Because we all make different meals at different times,
04:21we don't necessarily use up everything.
04:24It's not cream anymore.
04:25It's like butter.
04:26Oh, right.
04:27Put it in the bin.
04:28Fiona's long working hours make it difficult to break the cycle.
04:33The lack of planning means you're shopping more
04:37and then potentially wasting more.
04:39And with so many pressures on her time,
04:42she's not caring for herself.
04:45Nowadays, I would potentially skip meals
04:46and have a couple of biscuits, basically, yeah.
04:51Go to tidy something up and then find something
04:53that needs to put in the way and then you go to another room
04:55and then by the time you come back to the first room,
04:57you've forgotten what you do in the first place.
04:59I think that's what life is like when you get to my age.
05:03We've been told females going through, you know, menopause,
05:07we should be eating more protein and things like that.
05:09So then I've always got that on the back of my mind.
05:11I'm thinking about what other jobs need to do,
05:13about work that need to turn around, food.
05:16On the list of priorities is going down
05:18as other things take precedence.
05:24It sounds like Fiona's giving up
05:26and urgently needs our help to get back on track.
05:30But first, we're going to take advantage of an empty house
05:33to have a little snoop and try to understand the chaos.
05:37I love a traditional farmhouse.
05:39I feel right at home in one of these.
05:41This is what I imagine your house being like.
05:45Look at that table!
05:46That's a rustic table.
05:47That is a table that tells many stories, I bet you.
05:49Oh, what's your step?
05:53Oh, it's comedy, Jim!
05:55Oh, it's comedy!
05:56Is this everything you expect from, like, a farm kitchen?
06:00It's a great size, but literally the prep space
06:02is, like, the size of this chopping board.
06:05The kitchen has potential, though,
06:07which is more than I can say for this fruit.
06:10But what's the rules with these?
06:11Want a banana?
06:12This colour, you can't eat them.
06:13You could eat them.
06:14They're just not very nice.
06:15And that look, look how wrinkled that is.
06:17It needs Botox.
06:20Kiwis last longer if they're kept in the fridge.
06:23But even in the fridge, everything has a best before.
06:27How old do you reckon that is?
06:28I'd say a good few days, if not a bit more.
06:32Again, look, we've got a similar.
06:34I'd say that was probably from Sunday Roast.
06:36You need to sniff it to see, Joe.
06:38It's definitely got... I think it's matured.
06:42Leaving leftovers open to the fridge here
06:44won't just make them dry up.
06:46It'll make other food go off quicker, too.
06:50What have we got here?
06:51Kimchi.
06:53Oh.
06:54There's fermented, and then there's, like...
06:56I've turned into penicillin, that has.
06:59Oh!
06:59I'm not even going to put it...
07:00I can't put it back.
07:01I can't put it back in a fridge.
07:03The fridge looks like that.
07:04I dare think what the fridge freezer looks like.
07:07Well, where is it?
07:09I can't see where the freezer would have been.
07:10Maybe it's in another room.
07:14Here we go.
07:16The whole new fridge as well.
07:17Shall we, er...
07:19Oh!
07:20This must be the drinks fridge.
07:22I love a drinks fridge.
07:23What's down the bottom?
07:25Oh, here we go.
07:27Right, I'll let you open that.
07:29Go on.
07:30Go on.
07:33Oh!
07:35Oh, my lordy lord.
07:37That's got to have been in there for months.
07:39Could you eat that and not die?
07:41What is it?
07:42Looks like there's peas in there.
07:43Well, I don't know if...
07:44I don't think that's peas.
07:45I think that's the mould growing on it.
07:47No, there's too many bits.
07:48That's got to be peas.
07:49Time to meet the family for some answers.
07:52We'll take this with us, shall we?
07:54Oh, yeah, Joel.
07:55You could have that for your dinner.
07:56We'll chuck it on the argon and see what it looks like, shall we?
08:03Hello!
08:04Hello, everyone.
08:05Hello.
08:06How are yous?
08:07Good.
08:08Don't even lift, I live.
08:10Oh!
08:12What is it?
08:13It's mashed potato, isn't it?
08:14It's furry.
08:15I'll leave this with you, if that's all right.
08:17If you don't mind, we're going to have a little conversation with mum
08:20and we'll catch up with yous, like, in a little while.
08:21Yeah.
08:22OK.
08:22See you in a little while.
08:23Enjoy.
08:25To understand just how disjointed the long family's mealtimes have become...
08:29Might just have crumble for dinner.
08:32We've installed cameras in the family kitchen
08:34and we've been watching their every move.
08:38Turn this s*** up.
08:39We will.
08:39Now, hoping that's what's going to f*** away.
08:42Right, are we ready to see what's been happening in your kitchen?
08:45Not really, though.
08:49Is this the sort of breakfast you have quite a lot?
08:51Yeah, there's no cooking involved, Jo.
08:53Protein yoghurt.
08:54Yeah.
08:55Menopause.
08:56You're kind of supposed to make sure your protein's a good level.
09:00We're of similar age and ilk.
09:03We're of certain age.
09:03Mm-hm.
09:03For your longevity, isn't it?
09:05It's a healthy start, but with no planning to mealtimes,
09:08the rest of the day has no structure.
09:10And Fiona's just grabbing whatever's handy to eat.
09:14So, jacket potatoes, are they a go-to for you?
09:17Yeah.
09:17Yeah, no.
09:18The kids will say, I don't really cook anymore.
09:22The boys, on the other hand, are cooking.
09:24And in seven days, they ate no less than a dozen sausages,
09:27three packets of mince, a packet of bacon and 12 burgers.
09:31You must spend quite a bit of money on meat.
09:33Yeah.
09:34Does he want a bit of burger with that sauce?
09:37Protein, is it really important to them?
09:39Yes, yeah.
09:40We've got more meat, just not any veggies.
09:42So, in seven days, there was only one day
09:44that they wasn't eating red or processed meat.
09:48Despite the boys' huge appetites,
09:50the family throw out an average of £40 worth of food every month.
09:56That chicken's off.
09:59No.
10:00Throw that away.
10:01No.
10:01It stinks!
10:02You're going to poison me, woman!
10:05Is that a common occurrence, would you say, now?
10:08Yeah, definitely.
10:09And it's quite frustrating.
10:10And it's just money, isn't it?
10:12It's just costing you money in this cycle.
10:14Yeah.
10:15Our analysis of their shopping and cooking found
10:18that there was no routine or consistency
10:20and they're all eaten as individuals rather than as a family.
10:25Right.
10:26The reality is...
10:28Oh, my goodness.
10:29Although Fiona's average spend was £192,
10:33there was over £200 difference between her shops from week to week.
10:38Sometimes you're spending £300 a week,
10:41other times you're spending £80 a week.
10:44Is that the way it goes?
10:45There's no planning.
10:46And are you doing the shopping or is everybody doing the shopping?
10:49Yeah, yeah.
10:49So I'm doing the shopping.
10:50They're doing the eating.
10:52Exactly.
10:53And with no consistency in the family's approach,
10:56it's not just food that's being wasted.
10:59The time that you're spending cooking, preparing and shopping
11:04is 15 hours and 11 minutes per week.
11:08You're doing the shopping.
11:10You're doing the cleaning.
11:11Oh, my God.
11:13It was quite shocking to see how much I spend on a weekly basis,
11:17how much time I spend,
11:19because I don't feel like I actually cook very much.
11:23You personally are hitting a balanced diet 70% of the time,
11:26but with the boys, they drag you down.
11:28Hitting a balanced diet just 30% of the time.
11:31In one of the weeks that we looked at,
11:33the boys had four kilograms of red or processed meat.
11:37Now, that is four times as much as the government recommendation.
11:41While protein is important,
11:43eating over 500 grams of red or processed meat every week
11:48means you could be more likely to develop health issues like bowel cancer.
11:53And you can get the same amount of protein from much healthier sources.
11:58I'm providing it, aren't I?
12:00So, actually, if I bought other things,
12:01they'd have to eat other things, wouldn't they?
12:04Seeing how much mince was being eaten,
12:07it's quite shocking in terms of, yeah, they're not eating much else.
12:10Eggs, mince, kind of the staple diet, which really doesn't...
12:14It's not good for you, is it?
12:15Her kids are getting older, so they're getting more independent
12:18and they're off doing their own things.
12:20It's less like a family and more like motorway services.
12:24Get in there, get what we need, get out of there, get back on the road.
12:26None of it is joined up.
12:29I'm sure the family hasn't always been like this, though.
12:32So, before we start batching,
12:34I'd like to see what Fiona thinks is the root of the problem.
12:39You are a chartered surveyor, is that right?
12:41That's right.
12:42How long have you been full-time?
12:43About 18 months, yeah.
12:45Financially, I just needed to provide more for the kids.
12:48So, did that coincide with you getting divorced,
12:51moving back to the family farm?
12:53Yeah, yeah.
12:54Wow, so you've had a lot on your plate.
12:56Yeah, you put it like that.
12:57And how much, like, if you don't mind me asking,
13:00did the divorce affect you in terms of changing everything in your life?
13:04It does, though, doesn't it?
13:06It's not something that, you know, you...
13:08Well, I just didn't see it coming.
13:10And then you've got children that are going through it as well,
13:14so you've got to be really strong for them.
13:16That's your purpose.
13:18Well, you've done a great job, cos your kids are lovely.
13:20They really are.
13:21I'm going to get to step them now.
13:22Oh!
13:27Oh, you really have, though.
13:28I'm so sorry.
13:29You really have.
13:31I feel for her.
13:32You know, there's a reason when we get to the age that we're at
13:35with what's going on with kids or family,
13:37that it can be hard and things do happen in life like this
13:40that knock all your basics off
13:42and it's just about rebuilding those back up again.
13:45It would be that question, what's for tea?
13:48And if I then say, I'm not sure,
13:51then they go, fine, I'll get my own.
13:53Yeah.
13:53So it's about actually thinking about each other and planning
13:56and, you know, it's just good to have that time together, I think.
14:00Yeah.
14:00OK, then I think, based on what you've said,
14:03then we just easy plan.
14:05Let's get three or four quite healthy meals
14:08but that everybody can make and everybody can sit round the table,
14:11but they also still work individually.
14:14Flexibility.
14:15If you happen to be home alone.
14:16Definitely.
14:16Shall we give it a go?
14:17Yes, please.
14:30We're in Nidderdale, North Yorkshire,
14:32where Mum Fiona's new full-time job means that family meal times
14:36have gone out the window
14:37and she struggles to manage a chaotic kitchen.
14:39I think I spend more time in the kitchen cleaning and tidying up
14:44than I do doing food prep these days.
14:47Right, OK, so I'll clean this pan up, shall I?
14:49Cooking for themselves,
14:51the boys are eating unhealthy quantities of expensive red meat
14:54and Fiona's lack of planning for meal times
14:57means lots of other foods are going to waste.
14:59You go back to the fridge a couple of days later and go,
15:01what's that smell in the fridge?
15:03It was custard that had gone like a rainbow colour.
15:06How long's that been in there? I don't even know.
15:08There's something random that's been there a little while
15:10that you've never used.
15:12It's quite annoying, really. Yeah.
15:16Before we bring order to the family's meal times,
15:19I need to bring some to their kitchen.
15:21So I've enlisted the help of Fiona's daughter, Lucy.
15:25We're going to clear it out and get rid of the stuff that's out of date.
15:28How long ago did you make this?
15:30I think two weeks.
15:32This is the type of thing we could definitely get out of the fridge now,
15:35I would say.
15:36Yeah.
15:36It's going to be out with the old and in with the new.
15:39And that's not just new food.
15:41Right, here we go.
15:42Fiona also needs to pick up new shopping habits
15:45if she's going to stem the food waste.
15:47This is the way forward.
15:50The famous Suzanne shopping list.
15:53Brilliant.
15:54Shall we do it? Let's go.
15:55Yeah, great.
15:55In the UK, we waste over £15 billion worth of food every year.
16:01And it's fresh fruit and veg that gets chucked out the most.
16:05Now I feel like this could be the answer to your prayers.
16:09I reckon frozen fruit and veg is ideal to get this family hitting the fire of a day.
16:15Because it's frozen, you're in no rush to use it.
16:17Yeah.
16:17There's going to be less waste.
16:19And what I feel like we need to do is try and get the boys on board.
16:21Okay.
16:22So let's make it super easy for them with some mixed veg.
16:26Everything that the boys need.
16:27Right.
16:27There's no stress.
16:28It's convenient.
16:30They just chuck it in the microwave.
16:31Job done.
16:34Another brilliant freezer staple is fish.
16:36And it's a great alternative source of protein for the boys.
16:41A lot of the fresh fish has already been frozen and they're frosted.
16:44Okay.
16:45So with this stuff, it's just as healthy.
16:47It's got just as many nutrients in it.
16:49Heaps longer, doesn't it?
16:50Less waste.
16:51Yeah, I like the idea, Jo.
16:52Brilliant.
16:53Let's get on.
16:56The boys' red meat consumption isn't just bad for their health.
16:59It's also pushing up Fiona's shopping bill.
17:02It's the speeds you can cook mince though, isn't it?
17:04That's what they like.
17:06Chicken mince is a healthier replacement and much cheaper.
17:09I know that Suzanne's got a great recipe using this.
17:12Perfect.
17:12So shall we get a few of them?
17:14Yeah, yeah.
17:14One's not going to do it, is it?
17:16Especially with your boys.
17:17We're having a few more than one.
17:18Exactly.
17:19Come on.
17:20Right, keep your eyes open for lentils.
17:23Lentils are a super food.
17:24They're high in fibre and class as one of your five a day.
17:29Also, it's a great way of like beefing up a meal, you know?
17:32Yeah, yeah.
17:33Or de-beefing, Jo, which makes them ideal for the boys.
17:37These have also got phytoestrogen inside, which is really good for ladies that are going through the menopause.
17:42Brilliant.
17:42It's not that I'm saying that you are.
17:44I am.
17:45Could do with that.
17:45Right, let's move on.
17:49Right, let's bag this up, shall we?
17:52Excellent.
17:53Now we're armed with all the good food we need to turn this family's fortunes around.
17:58Right, let's get back to the house, shall we?
18:00Excellent.
18:01Hopefully, Suzanne and Lucy have finished sorting out the kitchen.
18:05I bet they didn't do a better job than meeting you.
18:07Do you reckon?
18:09Hello, you lot.
18:10Hello, hello.
18:11I've got to say, it looks beautiful in here.
18:14I feel like there's more work service here to do something with, to do some more preparation of food.
18:19Yeah.
18:20Exactly.
18:20And you can have two people working at the same time when we get the family all in the kitchen.
18:27I'm confident batching is the way to get this family cooking and eating together more often.
18:33But they also need flexible meals that Fiona can grab on the go when she's working late or the kids
18:39are away at uni.
18:40So this carrot and sweet potato dal is perfect for every eventuality.
18:49It's a high protein meal that's not red meat.
18:53So not only is it good for the boys, they're going to try something else.
18:57Yeah.
18:57It's good for you.
18:59It's really good on your wallet.
19:01And it's also really simple to make.
19:03First chop up onions and sweet potato and grate the carrots.
19:07We're already on three veg.
19:10That's three weeks worth of veg for your boys, isn't it?
19:14So if you ever want to hide veg in food, grating is a great thing to do with that.
19:23Gently fry the onions in olive oil along with some garlic.
19:26I use pureed to save chopping.
19:29You can give that a good stir around.
19:31Add paprika and curry powder, then pile in your carrots, sweet potato, coconut milk and dry red lentils.
19:39How's it looking?
19:40Orange.
19:41Oh, it is.
19:43Orange and curry-ish.
19:44It's looking good.
19:45Excellent.
19:46Right, now we're on to stock cubes.
19:49No need to boil a kettle though.
19:51My time and energy saving hack is grate the stock cube straight into the saucepan.
19:57I like this.
19:59Then just add cold water.
20:00My other top tip is to fill up these because you're going to wash them out to put them in
20:06the recycling.
20:06Yes.
20:06They're 400ml so we need three of these.
20:09This dal just takes 20 minutes to cook and makes eight portions.
20:14Enough for a family meal plus four individual grab-and-cook bags for the freezer.
20:20You're being your own future friend, Fiona.
20:23Excellent.
20:24And it's something that's not a baked potato.
20:27Okay, while that's cooking, we're going to talk about paneer.
20:31Do you know what paneer is?
20:32Have you ever used it before?
20:33I've never used it, no.
20:34Okay, it is a type of cheese.
20:35Packed with protein, packed with calcium.
20:38Yep.
20:38Slice the paneer into one centimetre blocks and pan fry for a couple of minutes on each side.
20:44There, that's perfect.
20:46That's a golden colour, aren't they?
20:48I'm saving uncooked slices for the freezer.
20:51And as we're making flexible portions, they need to be frozen flat so they don't all clump together.
20:57The final ingredient for the dal is some fresh, iron-rich spinach.
21:02For you and I, of a certain age, leafy greens are very good for us.
21:10With the spinach wilted, our dal is ready to be divided up for our grab-and-cook freezer bags.
21:16Once it's cooled, we can just seal up the bag and freeze it flat beside our paneer, and then they
21:21can just grab out as many slices as they want to go with this.
21:25Yeah.
21:26This dal's packed with lentils and topped with paneer.
21:29Hello.
21:30I've got a bit of naan.
21:32Lovely.
21:32A bit of dal.
21:33And a serving contains over 30 grams of protein.
21:38That's even more than the average portion of beef mince.
21:41It is a protein-packed dish for you boys.
21:46And protein-packed without any red meat.
21:49What?
21:52My mum's dal was actually really good.
21:54I really liked the flavour and the cheese was a good addition to it.
21:58I don't think I've ever seen this much colour on my plate before.
22:01It was nice to just sit down together and eat, because we haven't done that in a while.
22:06Fiona, what do you think of the food?
22:08Full of flavour, isn't it? It was easy to make.
22:10Yeah.
22:11One cooking, one pot, so many meals in it. It'd be great.
22:14If this was in the fridge, I'd grab this out straight away.
22:17But it's not.
22:18At the moment?
22:19At the moment, yeah. Not yet, mate.
22:21I reckon we just need to move on to the family-wide batch cooking.
22:25I can try.
22:25You might be my favourite child right now.
22:27Oh, stop it!
22:30Fiona knows exactly what she wants to achieve, but it's just sometimes you get stuck in a rut and you
22:35almost need a reset.
22:36We've batched the first recipe, she's seen how easy it is, and she's like,
22:39of course, I know what I'm doing, I should be doing this all the time.
22:46As Fiona knows, buying food for the family can be expensive, especially when it goes to waste.
22:53In my house, it's the bread that often ends up in the wrong bin.
22:57You're not alone, Joe. Over one million loafs are wasted every day in the UK.
23:03But in my test kitchen, I've got some great hacks to help stop that.
23:09There's always that, the suspect bread at the bottom in the bread bin that's been there a little bit too
23:13long.
23:13What I like to do is just store it in the freezer and then you can just blitz it into
23:18breadcrumbs.
23:19So these are all the nog-ends, innit?
23:20I know, what do you call them?
23:21What do you call it? I call it a nog-
23:23You call it the heel.
23:23The heel? I call it a nog-end.
23:25My kids are like, Dad, don't give me the nog-end.
23:28Does it not make the bread slightly wet and damp?
23:30It just depends how you freeze it.
23:32So you should never freeze bread products in the bag that they come in.
23:35You should always transfer them to a freezer bag and then take all the air out and make sure it's
23:39airtight.
23:40Leftover wraps can be tricky to freeze, but I've got a great natural recipe to use them up.
23:46Are you a sweet man, savoury man?
23:48Well, I'm a sweet guy, but I prefer savoury. You know what I mean?
23:53OK, then you're on the savoury ones, OK?
23:55Cut each wrap into eight pieces, then spread across two baking trays.
24:00You don't want them overlapping too much because you want them to cook and go crispy.
24:06Brush your savoury pieces with oil and your sweet ones with butter.
24:11You're getting your painting skills going here, Joe.
24:15Don't tell Stacey, whatever you do.
24:17I spent the years trying to convince her that I can't paint.
24:21Add any flavourings you want. I'm using sugar and cinnamon.
24:25I'm going to go with salt and paprika.
24:28Look at your sprinkling. Would you like it?
24:32There we go. I'm all done.
24:34Is that a chef's sprinkle? Is that what that is?
24:35That's a swashy sprinkle.
24:38Put the trays in the oven for about ten minutes until the naturals crisp up.
24:44Look at these, Joe.
24:45Wow, they look incredible.
24:47A delicious snack made from wraps that could have ended up in the bin.
24:51And these will keep fresh for at least a week.
24:53Do you want to give them a go? I've given you some savoury dips.
24:56Oh, I'll give a little bit of guac.
24:59That's a really nice quantity to get on those, isn't it?
25:01Do you know what I'm going to do?
25:02Go on. Oh, stop it, you.
25:05OK, I know it's not very healthy, but for an occasional treat...
25:09I've got completely opposite tastes.
25:12Do you like squirty cream?
25:13I can't think of anything worse. No way.
25:15No way.
25:16No way.
25:18No way.
25:19No way.
25:24Recently, Fiona's life has been turned upside down.
25:27Divorce meant moving house and taking on full-time work.
25:31And as a result, Fiona's been struggling to find time to cook for herself and her family.
25:38I know where I'm going wrong, basically, but I'm just still not sorting myself out.
25:42Really, really not trying to sort myself out at all.
25:46But our cameras show that her grown-up kids know how to cook the basics.
25:51Right, Finn, are you ready to get whooped?
25:53I hope you are.
25:55Don't be silly, mate.
25:57So, I want to find out from 20-year-old Finn why they're not all working together to make family
26:01meals.
26:03Do you have good memories, happy memories of eating together as a family?
26:06Yeah, yeah. I mean, before we moved, we'd eat together all the time.
26:09Yeah.
26:10But now it's just, I think, just got out of the habit of it.
26:13Do you think it's something that your mum misses?
26:15Definitely. I mean, well, she's always been the cook of the house.
26:18So, I think that is part of it for her.
26:20She just wants to look after us.
26:21Yeah. As if we're still, you know, children.
26:23But we're growing up.
26:26That was a very...
26:27That was pure skill.
26:28Oh, don't give it a rest. Pure skill.
26:30Do you feel like there's maybe more that you and your brother and your sister could be doing?
26:33Definitely, yeah.
26:34I think we could help her out more than we do.
26:38Erm, but...
26:38But what? Why are you not helping your mum out more, eh? Come on.
26:42We're just so busy and I think we just don't know how.
26:45Well, that's why we're here, mate. We'll show you...
26:47That's why you're here, yeah.
26:48We'll show you the lighter batch cooking, I'm telling you.
26:51I think that's my cue for another batching recipe.
26:55And if Finn's struggling to know how to help his mum,
26:58I've got just the dish to get him cooking for the family.
27:02Chicken koftas and fruity couscous.
27:05Have you ever used chicken mince before?
27:07No, I've never used chicken mince before.
27:10Only the red stuff.
27:11This is a good alternative.
27:13Chicken mince is leaner than beef mince, but has just as much protein, so it's ideal for both Fiona and
27:20the boys.
27:21In true batching style, we like to double the recipe, so we need two packs of this into the bowl.
27:27Next, add feta cheese and egg.
27:30You know how to crack an egg, you're good at this.
27:33Spicy harissa paste will give the koftas some bite.
27:36We're going to add a nice pinch of salt.
27:39And I've finely chopped some coriander.
27:42Get your hands in and mush it all around, so that all the feta goes through the mince.
27:46I'm glad you got that job, Finn.
27:48And not me.
27:50Split the mixture equally and form into small little sausage shapes.
27:55Joe, you're sort of like making them a sausage shape on the board.
27:57You probably need to hold them up, roll them.
28:00No, like in your hands.
28:01I feel like I've found a better way of doing it, Suzanne.
28:04It's not going to go on the kebab.
28:06It will go on the kebab.
28:07If you lift that up, is it going to fall off, Joe?
28:09No, no, we'll be fine. Look.
28:15Because it's such a nice day, we're cooking on a barbecue.
28:18But you can just pop the koftas into an air fryer or on a baking tray in the oven.
28:24We are going to cook Joe's ones, unfortunately, but we're going to put your ones in the freezer for another
28:30time.
28:31OK.
28:32Now, I've seen stuff in your freezer. Have you ever labelled anything?
28:35No.
28:35No.
28:36No.
28:36You're just going to take it out and pray.
28:39A bit like I'm doing that.
28:41This is the dodgy one, Suzanne.
28:42Yeah.
28:43What that one is, the dodgy one, is it?
28:48Lovely.
28:49Next, we're going to batch some flavoured couscous that can be whipped up in minutes with a bit of boiling
28:54water.
28:55You know those individual packets that you get that are all different flavours?
28:59Yeah.
28:59They're quite expensive. This is cheaper per portion.
29:02Perfect.
29:03To flavour the couscous, add paprika, cumin, garlic granules, parsley and any dried fruit. We're using sultanas.
29:12This is Joe's job. Go for it, Joe.
29:14Oh!
29:20There you go. Fantastic stuff.
29:22That's enough couscous for 20 servings.
29:25That can live in your store cupboard now. The key is you never put anything that's wet in there.
29:30OK? It's a dried ingredient, so you just want to keep it as dry as possible.
29:35These chicken koftas are perfect for the whole family.
29:39Plenty of protein to improve Fiona's levels and help with menopause, but a healthier form of mince for the boys.
29:46And they're so quick and easy to make.
29:48Mother!
29:49So there's no excuse for him not to make them for the whole family.
29:53And he's already got a head start with eight ready to freeze for another day.
29:57Looks great.
29:59I won't be offended that I only got one and he got two. Cheers, guys.
30:04The chicken mince was a good alternative. I didn't think I would like it.
30:08Definitely make it again. And really easy.
30:10What do you think in terms of not eating red meats? Is this one that could pass muster?
30:16Yeah, this could replace it. Definitely.
30:18Well done.
30:19I feel like we've seen a little glimmer of hope in Finn.
30:23If we give him the right tools and confidence to move forward in the kitchen, through him the others might
30:28get inspired.
30:40In Yorkshire, we've been helping mum Fiona, who's had a difficult couple of years.
30:45The pressure's just increased. She doesn't have time like she did before.
30:49Since her recent divorce, she's struggled to balance a full-time job and grown-up kids with planning meals.
30:56The kids will say, I don't really cook anymore.
30:59Her kids were all cooking for themselves, but making quick and often unhealthy meals.
31:05While lots of good food was going bad.
31:08I turned into penicillin, that has.
31:10The key to stopping the food waste is quick and easy batched meals that any of the family can make.
31:17So, my final recipe is a fish tray bake that takes just five minutes to prepare, but it's full of
31:23veggies and healthy protein, so it still ticks all the boxes.
31:29So, in true batching style, you're going to make one that's going on the tray.
31:33OK.
31:33I am going to make one that's going in the bag, ready for the freezer at another time.
31:38Nice.
31:38So, you don't eat a lot of fish, do you, at the moment?
31:41No, no.
31:41No, no.
31:41Fish fingers?
31:43They're always going on a sandwich, aren't they?
31:44Lovely on a sandwich.
31:47No breadcrumbs in this recipe though.
31:50Start by making the marinade with olive oil, oregano and paprika.
31:55I love this.
31:57Now, don't worry, look, I've still got this in the spoon, so I don't need to panic.
32:01Just going to put that back, because at least that other one went in there.
32:05For this recipe, I'm using tinned potatoes, as fresh ones would need to be parboiled first.
32:11These are great for your kids.
32:14Quick, easy.
32:15Yeah.
32:15Open the tin, throw it in.
32:17They cook really quick.
32:19We've not had to sit and peel them.
32:22Add some diced chorizo, tender stem broccoli and cherry tomatoes.
32:28Right, give it a mix around.
32:30The best thing you can do in a bag, if you want to mix it all around, is seal it
32:34up, like that, and almost tip it around.
32:37Just give it a shake and use your hands.
32:40For the one going in the oven, tip everything onto a large baking tray, then add your frozen fish fillets
32:46on top.
32:47I'm using Pollock. It's cheaper than using something like cod, so it's going to keep your costs low, especially if
32:53you've got kids that are eating a lot.
32:55Okay.
32:55For the batched tray bake, it's best to keep the frozen fish in a separate bag next to the veg.
33:01You don't need to stick to this exact recipe. You can add different fish, you can do ones with chicken.
33:06No, it smells nice.
33:08Hello.
33:09Oh, that looks brilliant, doesn't it?
33:11Do you like to always arrive as the hard work has been completed?
33:14Well, no, because I was thinking you might want a nice aioli sauce to go with it, so I might
33:18knock one of those up while you put it in the oven.
33:20The tray bake takes 20 minutes to cook, more than enough time to make the aioli.
33:26So, one egg into a jar, and the reason I'm using a jar is because I'm such a dirty cook
33:31at home, so I find if I do it all in a jar, I make less mess.
33:35Next, add mustard, lemon juice, garlic and vegetable oil.
33:41Some people make a big faff of making mayonnaise and stuff like that. It really ain't. It's as easy as
33:45this.
33:46I don't know whether I should have started that after I've showed you how I've made it, because I might
33:50sound a little bit too confident there.
33:52The jewellery's still out. Okay, ready?
33:54Okay, yeah.
33:58See, it's slowly coming together.
34:00Yeah, yeah.
34:01And just like magic, give it a little shake.
34:08Is that your swashy's aioli?
34:10Swashy's garlicky mayonnaise-y.
34:13The beauty of it being in the jar is you just pop the lid back on it, stick it in
34:17the fridge, and it'll last you a couple of weeks.
34:19Nice.
34:19I'll put it on the table, and you two can maybe do your magic.
34:24Oh, yeah. Don't worry about us. We'll clear up.
34:26Thanks, Jo.
34:27Thanks.
34:29This tray bake is so simple, and with lots of variations, Fiona can do it time and time again without
34:35it getting boring.
34:37Here we go.
34:39Fiona's tray bake.
34:40Well done, Fiona.
34:43And with one already in the freezer, it's something that kids could easily grab and cook for everyone.
34:49Are we going to get to try your mayo, or is it just for you?
34:53It's so rude of me. I'm so sorry.
34:55Oh, oh, oh, thank you. Wow.
34:59So, boys, first impressions?
35:01They're good, actually, yeah.
35:02That was good.
35:02Thanks, son.
35:03Thanks, Suzanne.
35:05That's all right, guys. The mayonnaise was no problem.
35:07And the mayo's good as well.
35:09Thank you very much.
35:10Did you pay him to say that?
35:14It was beautiful, and you know what was nice? The boys really enjoyed it.
35:18And for Fiona, I mean, she was so proud of herself.
35:21So, all round, I feel like the tray bake was a real success.
35:25Those tray bake ideas are definitely a winner, because it's just so speedy.
35:30Right, well, I think we did the cooking, so we needed to leave you boys with the washing up.
35:36Yeah.
35:37Great idea.
35:37I did the AO leave, so good luck, boys.
35:46Batching's the perfect way for this family to get speedy homemade dinners that avoid food waste.
35:52But we noticed that when this family made desserts, they were often ending up in the bin too.
35:58How old do you reckon that is?
35:59Oh, a good few days, if not a bit more.
36:02In my test kitchen, I've got a crumble recipe that should solve that.
36:08Today, we're going to do pear and cherry.
36:10Okay.
36:11Happy with that?
36:11Yeah, I'm happy with that. What do you want me to do?
36:13Excellent. So, I'm going to do the crumble.
36:14Right.
36:14You're going to do the filling.
36:16Okay.
36:16While Joe peels and chops the pears, I'm going to get my hands dirty, rubbing butter into the flour.
36:23The biggest tip with the crumble is have your butter really cold, and cold hands as well.
36:29Otherwise, you're going to end up with a big mush.
36:32Cold hands, warm heart.
36:35As the crumble comes together, add in oats, sugar and cinnamon and mix well.
36:40How's the pears looking?
36:42Your pears are all done.
36:43Perfect.
36:45Covering the pears in lemon juice will stop them going brown.
36:48Then add sugar and corn flour.
36:51Again, mix that around.
36:53Give it a mix around.
36:55Preparing fresh cherries is really messy, so I recommend using frozen ones.
37:00We've got a freezer bag here for the filling.
37:03And as long as you work quick, you can put them straight back in.
37:07Putting your batch crumble and filling in separate bags will take up less room in the freezer.
37:11We've got our filling.
37:13We've got our crumble.
37:14And means you can make up individual portions or a family dessert.
37:19Brilliant. And we'll make one now, yeah?
37:21Yeah.
37:23Perfect. And then in the bottom...
37:24I lost a cherry. Five second rule.
37:29To make, simply put the fruit into a dish.
37:32I'm just giving up saying gently now, Joe.
37:35Top with the crumble.
37:37Perfect. Look at that.
37:39And pop it in the oven.
37:43Joe, are you ready?
37:44I was born ready. Let's do this.
37:47Lovely jubbly.
37:48Oh, look at that.
37:52Mmm.
37:53Do you know what it is?
37:54Go on.
37:55It's a hug in a bowl.
37:56Oh, come here.
37:58That was beautiful.
37:59Thank you very much.
38:05Before we arrived, Fiona wasn't cooking much.
38:08The boys were eating tons of red meat and lots of food was being wasted.
38:13That chicken's off.
38:16But we've managed to bring back some order and got them eating together again.
38:21I don't think I've ever seen this much colour on my plate.
38:25Planning was the thing Fiona found most difficult.
38:29So to keep the family on track once we're gone, I've created a 28-day meal plan.
38:35It's got batching included.
38:37So whether you are home alone or whether you have a house full,
38:40you can still feed everybody and meet everybody's needs.
38:43And we've still left lots of things that you love to eat as a family
38:47because you don't want to change everything.
38:49So the burgers are still in there, don't worry.
38:50But we've just mixed it up with some of the dishes that I've shown you how to cook as well.
38:55By batching hake parcels in week two to have with couscous,
38:59there's a second lot in the freezer to have with new potatoes for week four.
39:04Are you confident with moving forward that you'll be able to maintain this?
39:08Yeah. It just demonstrates how easy it should be with a bit of planning, isn't it?
39:14Fiona gave me a nice positive reaction.
39:16I could see that she liked what was on the board.
39:18She liked the variety, the fact that someone else had thought about it for her.
39:23It's new ideas, isn't it?
39:24It's new recipes, it's new things to try, but also saving us time in the process.
39:28Great.
39:29It's going to be such a life changer to be able to go to the freezer
39:32and have three or four meals there to choose from.
39:36Fiona needs to kind of get a grip of the reins,
39:38pull it in slightly and sort of dinner times out.
39:50When we first met the Long family, Mum Fiona was at her wit's end.
39:55It does my head in, like seeing all this stuff everywhere.
39:58Everyone was eating separate meals at different times
40:00and the family's food waste was shocking.
40:03Oh!
40:05Could you eat that and not die?
40:07To help get their meal times back on track, we created a 28-day plan.
40:12Whether you're at home alone or whether you have a house full,
40:16you can still feed everybody and meet everybody's needs.
40:19Perfect.
40:20If Fiona can stick to it, she'll reap the rewards.
40:24Ah!
40:24That's amazing, isn't it?
40:26That's a lot of money to do some nice things with.
40:32What do you want?
40:33Fajitas, mate.
40:34See if I can find them first.
40:37There you are, look.
40:38Perfect.
40:39It's two weeks into the new regime.
40:42Right, what, just slap them in there?
40:44Add some oil first.
40:46The boys are cooking for the family with veggies.
40:50I don't think this is fitting in the pan, aren't I?
40:52What they don't tell you about batch cooking is that you need a massive fan.
40:58Using frozen peppers means any excess isn't ending up in the bin.
41:05And the family's new shopping habits are saving on waste too.
41:10Let's go shopping loose.
41:12Previously, Fiona's shopping was haphazard with no consistent budget and no planning.
41:17OK, so we need red onions and broccoli.
41:21But doing one organised shop is also reducing the food waste.
41:25So we need 100 grams for the recipe.
41:28But are we going to double this recipe as well?
41:30Yes.
41:31Sounds like they've really taken to batching.
41:33That's 250 in each bag.
41:35Don't get that in.
41:36We don't need waste.
41:37We don't need waste, Liz.
41:39Exactly, Fiona.
41:40Only buy fresh what you know you'll use.
41:43Some spinach for women of a certain age.
41:46Good for you, isn't it?
41:47Thanks, cheers, Liz.
41:48I feel like I'm doing the food shop.
41:50I feel like I'm in charge.
41:51That's OK.
41:52Healthy eating is now more of a priority.
41:55Should we get the boys the lean chicken mince?
41:57Because we're using that now more than we're using the red meat, aren't we?
42:01Better for their gut health.
42:02Better for their win.
42:05Fiona's buying alternative sources of protein.
42:07OK, so frozen fish, because that hits longer.
42:10And remembering our top tips.
42:12We're getting good meals, good healthy meals, though, too, aren't we?
42:15Exactly.
42:15Boys are getting their protein in.
42:17Yeah.
42:18No waste.
42:19Easy recipes.
42:19Nothing mouldy in the fridge anymore.
42:21Thanks for that.
42:23And it's not just food waste being safe.
42:26That's £81.50, don't we?
42:28Perfect.
42:28That's less than half her previous average weekly spend.
42:32That is so much less.
42:34That is so much less.
42:35That is so much less.
42:35Yeah, yeah.
42:35Brilliant.
42:41Hey, Mum.
42:42Nice to get up.
42:43As well as wasting food and money, Fiona was spending 15 hours a week in the kitchen,
42:49mostly cleaning rather than cooking.
42:51What do we have them fit in?
42:52I was thinking this one takes like five minutes to prep.
42:58Mediterranean hate parcels.
43:00Yeah.
43:00That sounds lovely.
43:01That's the one.
43:02My hate parcels are individually portioned, giving the family total flexibility.
43:07OK, we need one courgette.
43:09But this is for four, isn't it?
43:10But we need to double it.
43:10We need to double it, don't we?
43:12They've got plenty of healthy protein and veg.
43:15Two down.
43:16Six to go.
43:17And after a family meal, there's four grab-and-cook parcels left over for the freezer.
43:23I've basically had more head space, I think, so that's enabled me to do other things.
43:29It's a bit of impetus, isn't it?
43:30It's a bit of a fresh start and it's just so much easier and there's so little waste.
43:39I want to make sure that Fiona keeps up with this great start.
43:44So when we first got here, you know, Fiona, she was living in chaos.
43:47There was no structure to dinner times.
43:49The diet was all over the place, so her back was up against it.
43:53But with our meal plans working a treat so far, I want to show Fiona how much it will pay
43:58to stay organised.
44:01Ah, nice to see you. How are you?
44:03How are you?
44:04I'm alright, you?
44:04I'm alright, thank you.
44:06Are you ready to see the new stats?
44:07Yeah.
44:08I'm excited.
44:10No.
44:11So, each year, if you continue on the batch cooking journey, you should expect to save £4,470 a year.
44:20Wow.
44:21Well, that's a good holiday, isn't it?
44:23Leave the kids at home.
44:23Yeah, I mean, you tied you up.
44:25I'm off.
44:26Your dinner's in the freezer.
44:27See you later.
44:27Exactly.
44:28Now, talking of holidays and saving time, if I remember rightly, you was wasting 15 hours and 11 minutes per
44:37week, shopping, cooking, preparing and cleaning.
44:40If you continue on this journey, you should expect to save 274 hours, which is 11 days and 10 hours.
44:48That's a lot of time, isn't it?
44:50That's so much time that you could be spending doing better things.
44:53Totally, isn't it?
44:54Absolutely.
44:55And that's, you can't put a price on that.
44:59Previously, Fiona's boys were only getting a balanced diet 30% of the time.
45:04So, as a family, you're going to be getting a nutritionally balanced diet, plus, especially the boys, you're going to
45:10be eating 60% less red and processed meat.
45:13That's good, isn't it?
45:14That's amazing.
45:15And I think it's so good that we've shown them that there's other ways of getting protein.
45:20That's it.
45:21It's a batch cooking.
45:22Hey!
45:23Thanks, Joe.
45:24Good luck.
45:24I'll put this in the sink.
45:26See you later.
45:29What a result.
45:30I really feel like batch cooking is going to help this family.
45:32You know, the thing was that all the fundamentals were there.
45:35I feel like we just needed to sort of, like, tinker with it a little bit.
45:39But I am really positive that it's really going to make a difference to their lives.
45:44We've learnt loads of new things, haven't we?
45:46To help us out as well, which is great, and help each other.
45:48If we save all that money and we have loads more time and are healthier, yeah, it's life changing, isn't
45:53it?
45:54Definitely.
45:59Next time.
46:00Bon appetit.
46:01We meet a busy, blended family.
46:03Can we have Chinese noodles?
46:05No.
46:05The noodles have Wheaton.
46:06Where Becky's juggling more than just her baby.
46:10The mentally has definitely added more stress.
46:13Cooking multiple meals from scratch every day.
46:16You're spending 19 hours cooking, preparing and eating food.
46:20That's a lot.
46:27Denise Van Outen's stifling a yawn to find out why we're all so tired.
46:32How to sleep better this Friday at 8.
46:35But tuck yourself in for a new factual drama starting next as David Thewlis and Jason Watkins uncover the sick
46:42truth behind Britain's sewage scandal in Dirty Business.
46:45You're looking for good news.
46:47If you've covered a new deal just as all, please.
46:49If you've covered all these things, please.
46:49You and everyone are welcome.
46:50For more information, please.
46:50You're speaking there on the street.
46:50If you've ever wondered by the fact that we'recciones to on my own.
46:51You're looking for a newhouse.
46:51You're looking for a new surface.
46:51That's not least.
46:51A new life!
46:53You're looking for a new place.
46:54You're looking for me, I'm looking for a new Sahis.
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