June 2025 Grocery Challenge

goldfinches

Welcome @themsthebreaks and @Kittymumof4 this is a great thread, full of thrifty, resourceful and helpful commenters. Do read the posts at the beginning of each month's thread to get yourselves off to a flying start.

My first spend to be counted against my June budgets is £5.20 on 72% dark chocolate in Waitflower yesterday so that makes my new Baking Budget total £5.20/£20.

LotsOfTea

I'm on board again for June. It's for 2 adults and 1 nearly-teen and I'll be attempting to use up more from stores this month so hopefully I'll finish well under target. 

£300 for me please

PipneyJane

Welcome @themsthebreaks, @Kittymumof4 and any other new starters I may have missed.

@elsiepac my apologies but please increase my budget to £165 from the £160 previously set.  

Thank you.  We had £5 leftover from May’s Grocery Challenge, which I’m rolling into June.  Since today is payday, I’ve declared on May, withdrawn the GC cash from the bank, and anything spent from tomorrow onwards will go into June’s reckoning.

I’ve done some rudimentary meal planning for the next few days.  All breakfasts are cereal and all lunches are leftovers, unless otherwise stated:

Tonight:  Chicken Kibbeh with HM tabouli salad
Saturday:  Brunch = cream cheese & prosciutto bagels.  Dinner = roast chicken with roast potatoes, roast sweet potatoes & broccoli.  (DH best mate is staying the night so I don’t expect many leftovers.)
Sunday: going out for brunch.  Dinner = tuna steaks with the last of the salad
Monday:  probably chicken risotto
Tuesday:  it depends…if there is enough chicken left from Saturday then Macaroni Chicken with mushrooms, peas, onion and a tin of tomatoes.  If not, then I’ll have to work something-else out.

- Pip

Soontobeoap

My chicken is going on forever @PipneyJane. There have been only 2 of us but Ist day roast 2nd, with salad and chips,3rd, with baked potatoes and bubble and squeek and I still have plenty left to make 2 chicken and mushroom pies for 2 and some sandwiches. Paid £5.20 for a free range one in Aldi so I am very pleased with the result

remmie

First shop of the month although I think it's not yet June. I had an appointment in town so it seemed daft not do do the shopping at the same time. I visited Ald* and Lids and got a few bargains in each. I also received a free bunch of bananas in Lids, and have a fresh punnet of nectarines and a free jar of mayo to pick up.

£87.03/£300

PipneyJane

Soontobeoap said:

My chicken is going on forever @PipneyJane. There have been only 2 of us but Ist day roast 2nd, with salad and chips,3rd, with baked potatoes and bubble and squeek and I still have plenty left to make 2 chicken and mushroom pies for 2 and some sandwiches. Paid £5.20 for a free range one in Aldi so I am very pleased with the result

Normally, it wouldn’t be an issue @Soontobeoap.  I regularly get 3-4 meals plus stock out of a large chicken.  However, tonight I’m feeding 2 men with big appetites, instead of one, since DH’s best mate is staying over.

Would love your Chicken & Mushroom Pie recipe.  Please share.

- Pip

TravelCrystal

Couple of things to report.
visit to grape tree for cereal for holiday £2.89 and Lidl today, bought things ready for holiday so I don’t have to go there next week, as every day something is happening 🤭
Free raspberries and mayonnaise. Offers on tonic water, crisps and what I call a deli meat platter. Lots of cheese to go with our wine, milk, mushrooms, eggs, yoghurt and fruit. Bread flour and toothpaste. £40.23

Total spend so far £137.72/£400

Have a good weekend everyone 

T.C

Nancydrew74

Hello 
Please can I join? It’s been a long time since I was on the forums and there have been some massive changes in my life. It’s time for me to turn my attention to money and saving again.

I’d like to budget £200 please 

carboot_karaoke

Evening everyone,  

My first spends of June to declare a total of £93.29 across tesco and asda. 

£10.21 was spent on non food items - hair conditioner,  soap, cotton buds, shower gel, toothpaste & dishwasher tabs. Another £6.50 was spent on some flowers for a friend.

The most shocking price hike award goes to Tesco's... a 750g  pack of 5% fat mince is now £6.49 it was £5.50 a few months ago. 

The month hasn't even started and I'm nearly a quarter into my budget 😱

New totals £93.29 / £446

LadyWithAPlan

 I am back £200 grocery and £20 bulk  thanks @elsiepac

This is just me plus feeding odd friends  as guests in Central London.
Hope all are well. I have been abroad and also super busy and not watching the grocery budget .. I am away for 2 months this summer so I plan to eat down the freezer and turn the fridge off - so that should stop me buying too much to freeze.

I am also on  a 'reduce my visceral fat levels'  focus after reading (and being freaked out) by Prof Roy Taylor Living Without Diabetes book. The pics of the visceral fat and the idea that we all should be fitting into the trousers we wore at  21 years of age, as (unless exceptional circumstances) all else is excess fat  (!!!) ...

His revelation (backed by science and the NHS) that we all have our own personal fat set point thats genetically driven really makes sense. Both my parents flirted with type 2 and a cousin died of diabetes complications so I have decided this menopause creep on on weight is stopping.

So last month (May) I dropped 3 kgs in weight and my visceral fat from 6 to 5 and now am eyeing up my goal of 3  (on a body scan machine).
Hence plan is to buy lots of lean protein, even more spinach (organic) and greens/salad stuff. So be interesting what it does to my grocery budget. I will continue to buy a corn fed FR chicken every 4 days as I make soup stock and get 4 meals at least out of one.
I have started whilst prepping food to eat a organic spinach salad on the side with some apple cider and balsamic vinegar.