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The increasing costs of grocery items has been a big talking point this year.
But for those struggling with food bills, help is at hand in the form of a new series of Eat Well For Less NZ.
Once again Michael Van de Elzen and Ganesh Raj are visiting households to offer advice on food choices which won’t break the bank. They are also encouraging people to adopt healthier eating habits.
But given that New Zealand is experiencing a cost of living crisis, will there be anything different about Eat Well For Less NZ this year?
“We haven’t really changed our tune in what we do,” says Van de Elzen. “Whether it be this season coming up or the season from three or four years ago, our intention was to save as much money as we possibly could.
“It’s probably just made our job just a little bit more important if anything.”
Interestingly, there is no supermarket sponsor this time around and whereas last season had 10 episodes, this year there are only six.
Michael Van de Elzen says some houses had three pantries.
As in previous years, Eat Well For Less NZ viewers can expect to watch Van de Elzen and Raj examining the contents of fridges and pantries to see what people have been buying.
When asked if anything stood out for him during this process, Van de Elzen says, “They are all very different, which kind of makes the show a little bit better.”
But while not all store cupboards were overloaded with convenience or junk food, some were overstocked, with one household boasting enough food to last up to six months.
Van de Elzen wonders if Covid lockdowns have changed the way people think about hoarding food.
“We found that a couple of times, I would say, some of the houses we’ve been into, I would hate to know how much money they were holding in their pantry,” he says.
“Some houses had three pantries.
“We don’t need to hoard food. We’ve learnt that the supermarkets aren’t going to close tomorrow.
“We’re not going to run out of food. Yes, we might run low on certain items, but we’re not going to run out.”
At the other end of the spectrum there were pantries which had hardly any food.
Michael Van de Elzen and Ganesh Raj from Eat Well For Less NZ
“We had to switch from, ‘You’re wasting money on food by having too much of it’ to, ‘What can you afford to buy? Can we give you some really good tips around filling your kids’ bellies with food that doesn’t cost the Earth?’ ” says Van de Elzen.
Speaking of good tips, Van de Elzen, who is married with two daughters, aged nine and 11, talks about the value of household members dining together rather than eating while watching a screen.
“I can only use myself as an example,” he says.
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Michael Van De Elzen and Ganesh Raj advise households how to trim their grocery bills and prepare healthy meals in a new season of Eat Well For Less.
“We’ll sit down in front of the TV on Sunday (which) is TV night. We can put a movie on (and sit) in front of the TV and that’s super.
“But if it’s a weeknight, then you know, we try our absolute best not to.
“Last night we sat down and had dinner at the table. There are multiple reasons.
“The first reason is that you get an appreciation of the food that you’re eating.
“You talk about the food. It’s like, ‘Oh this is delicious’ or ‘How did you do that steak?’ and you get involved in what you’re eating.
“You get the kids thinking about what they’re eating. It’s not something where they sit in front of a screen and they are turned off to what they’re eating. They are turned on. They are like, ‘Ooh I really like this steak. This steak is delicious’ or ‘These potatoes are really nice. Dad, how did you cook those?’.
“So you’re talking about the food. You’re getting the kids interested in the food that they’re eating. It’s not just fuel.
“The second thing is, you become far more social as a family. You know, ‘What did you do today?’ ‘Oh I went swimming’ or whatever.
“You talk about things. You don’t do that in front of a TV.”
Eat Well For less, TVNZ 1, Tuesday, September 5
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