For Nagi Maehashi, best-selling author and founder of food website RecipeTin Eats, cooking to a budget is more front of mind than ever.

“If I publish a recipe that uses a more expensive cut of meat such as lamb rack, one of the most common questions I now get is ‘How can I adapt this using something cheaper?’” she says. “I’ve never received that question more than I have lately.”

Mince and vegetarian recipes have more online traffic than a couple of years ago as people look for different ways to get their protein.“Less fish, less prawns. Certainly less gourmet roasts,” says Maehashi.

With more than 330 million online visitors a year to RecipeTin Eats, Maehashi knows a thing or two about what Australians are cooking. She’s also been writing recipes for Good Food since 2019, and today celebrates the launch of the new Good Food website with the announcement of a weekly column aimed at helping Australians cook smarter (and faster).

Maehashi might not be a household name quite like Jamie or Nigella yet, but the self-taught cook from Sydney’s Northern Beaches is fast approaching that stratosphere.

When her recipe book, Dinner, was published in October, it became the highest-selling title ever by a debut Australian author in its first week.

“It was very unexpected,” says Maehashi. “I never set out to be famous! I’m still happy just going to Woollies in my daggy outfits.”

With working families experiencing the highest cost of living rises in more than two decades, and increasing requests for more easy-to-cook meals Maehashi came up with the idea of a new “SOS” recipe series.

“We didn’t need convincing,” says Good Food national editor Ardyn Bernoth.

Maehashi’s new weekly column will feature a recipe that can feed four people for less than $20, or can be made in less than 30 minutes with fewer than 12 ingredients.

She hopes it will encourage more people to ditch overpriced heat-and-eat style dinners too.

“It’s shocking to see all those pre-prepared meals taking over fridges at my local supermarkets,” says Maehashi. “They’re horrific. I bought a couple to see what the fuss was all about, and they were even less tasty than I expected. There are so many better meals you can make in 15 minutes on a Tuesday night instead.”

The SOS Series is one of 10 regular new columns kicking off this week in Good Food as the brand launches a redesigned website, now fully integrated with The Age and the Herald, as well as the Brisbane Times and WAtoday.

Regular contributor Adam Liaw will provide game-changing tips throughout the course of a “10 dishes everyone should master” series; globetrotting chef Curtis Stone is set to update old favourites with his new “Classics with Curtis” column; and MasterChef Australia winner Emelia Jackson joins the lineup with new column Better Baking.

“We’re also very happy to report the site search function and navigation have been enhanced, and content will now be targeted to a subscriber’s location,” says Good Food digital editor Andrea McGinniss.

Bernoth notes that Good Food remains Australia’s “home of the hats” with the nation’s most respected restaurant reviews, and the Good Food Guide published annually in NSW and Victoria.

“Our expanded coverage will relate to all budgets, however, with new columns such as Everyday Eats shining a light on suburban restaurants offering two courses for $40 or less. It’s going to be a big year and a new era for Good Food. We’re thrilled.”