Great British Bake Off's Nadiya Hussain says her "frugal" childhood helped inspire her new show, Cook Once, Eat Twice.
The show, with a premise centred around reducing food waste in the kitchen, was influenced by Hussain's parents.
"Being frugal and trying to save money is something that I've always done, because that's how my parents did it," Hussain told Digital Spy during an exclusive interview.
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"They're immigrants, and when they came to this country, they lived from wage to wage, and when they bought an ingredient, it never, ever went to waste. The little that they did need to be thrown away ended up in the garden, in the compost. Everything had a purpose.
"I think I was lucky that I grew up around that, because it's taught me so much in my life."
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Hussain shared how this lifestyle has benefitted her family.
"After having children, I realised that as much as I love cooking, if I spent all my time cooking, I'd never, actually spend any time with my kids," she said.
"I started to cook big batches. I used to make my own ready meals so that I could cook now and then know that I've got meals in the freezer or in the fridge for later."
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The Bake Off winner now hopes to inspire others with her 'cook once, eat twice' ethos.
"With the cost of living crisis and people trying to save more and make their meals last longer, stretching ingredients, I can see people are wanting to do that more," she said.
"But I can also understand that if this isn't a lifestyle that you've done or something that you're used to doing, then it would be really hard. Where do you start?
"I kind of wanted to write the book and do the cookery show in the hope that for people who don't know how to start, this will give them the inspiration to [do so]."
Nadiya's Cook Once, Eat Twice airs on Tuesday, September 17 at 7.30pm on BBC2 and BBC iPlayer.
TV writer, Digital Spy Janet completed her Masters degree in Magazine Journalism in 2013 and has continued to grow professionally within the industry ever since. For six years she honed her analytical reviewing skills at the Good Housekeeping institute eventually becoming Acting Head of Food testing. She also freelanced in the field of film and TV journalism from 2013-2020, when she interviewed A-List stars such as Samuel L Jackson, Colin Firth and Scarlett Johansson. In 2021 she joined Digital Spy as TV writer where she gets to delve into more of what she loves, watching copious amounts of telly all in the name of work. Since taking on the role she has conducted red carpet interviews with the cast of Bridgerton, covered the BAFTAs and been interviewed by BBC Radio and London Live. In her spare time she also moonlights as a published author, the book Gothic Angel.
