Can I Feed My Family of Ten on $100/week?

I totaled up my receipts from last month and was quite discouraged.
Last month my OOP expenses for Groceries, Health and Beauty items, Cleaning Supplies and Diapers/wipes for a family of ten was $1,120 or about $280/week. I thought I was doing better than that. :o(

I have decided one of my biggest problems is that I don't meal plan. I have freezers filled with meats, cheeses and veggies that I'm not making good use of. I hate to meal plan. It stresses me out. I look at Frugal Momma's menu and don't think it is possible for me to cook such great meals every night. We also have very crazy evenings here with swimming, color guard and soccer. Also, in the past I've always failed at sticking to any plan that I created.

I'm going to give it another try. Hopefully I will have a simle, if unimpressive, menu to post this coming Monday along with Frugal Momma's. I've decided to keep it simple and stick to meals from our stockpile. I realize it's more important that I begin planning than having a fancy menu I won't stick to.

My goal for the month of May is to keep my spending to LESS than $100/week. This $100 will include groceries for 10, health & beauty items for 10, cleaning supplies for our home and diapers/wipes. I really think I can do this.

The first week of May looked like this:On May 1, I had not yet totaled my receipts so I was still oblivious to the damage in April. I spent $63.72 that day on groceries. :o(May 4, I spent $4.81, May 5 $37.38, May 6 $5.35.So, this first week of May my OOP expenses for the four catagories I am tracking: Groceries, H&B, Cleaning Supplies and Diapers/wipes was $111.26. An improvement, but more than I would have liked it to have been.

I hope to drop this to about $25-$40/week for the rest of May, only because I won't be buying any meats, cheeses or vegetables. I will use May as a make-up month for last month's overspending. In June I will attempt to figure out what we reallistically need to spend in these categories. Then, I will be able to determine what a realistic goal is. I know I will have to shop for milk, eggs, bread and produce this month, but I intend to rely upon the stored items for the rest.