We’d like to introduce you to Belinda DiGiambattista, the Co-Founder + CEO of Butter Beans.

As a busy working mom of two, she understands the demands of fixing up homemade and nutritious dinners for her family. In her post, she outlines a dinner plan for the week ahead, providing you with tips, recipes and a grocery list for your family.

“What’s for dinner?”

Monday to Friday, many working parents come home after picking up their child(ren) from daycare or school and find themselves and their children asking that same question, day after day. To quote Twist from The Fresh Beat Band, “Wouldn’t it be cool if,… we had our very own personal chef come to our home every day and prepare a homemade, healthy, yummy meal that we could all sit down and enjoy at 6:15 pm every night!” Yes, that would be very cool. But outside of this fantasy, there are solutions that can help busy parents achieve that same result without the personal chef.

Starting this week, I will be your personal dinner organizer, helping you kick off the weekend with a well thought out plan to have your meals ready to go every night of the week.

I too am a busy working mom of two beautiful children 3 and 6 (almost 7) years old. I also have the added pressure of owning a healthy school lunch company so everyone expects me to do this uber-well. I, too am human and often have to figure it out at the last minute. But working at Butter Beans has certainly upped my ‘figure-it-out’ quotient and I am happy to share my secrets.

The key to smooth nightly dinners is planning ahead.

If you know what you will serve every night for Monday to Friday, you can have the easy recipes in hand, order the grocery list online from Fresh Direct or visit your local grocer and be completely prepared.

If you know in advance you have to cut up 2 onions, chop three carrots and wash the parsley, you can work it into your time already spent in the kitchen when making weekend breakfasts, lunches, etc. and you are way ahead of the game.

Not having to ‘think’ about what’s for dinner during the week will change your life.

This week, our menu is:

Monday: Salmon, succotash, garden salad, and whole grain rolls.

Tuesday – Kids’ Choice Night: Mac n cheese, broccoli, baked chicken cutlets.

Wednesday: Meatballs OR Seared Tofu with brown rice mixed with sautéed kale, carrots and tamari and sesame kale salad.

Thursday: Vegetable chili with fixins’ served with brown rice or whole grain bread.

Friday: Panini Night! Make a list of your kids’ favorite ingredients and add veggies to make a fun, healthy pressed sandwich on whole grain bread that your whole family will enjoy. Add sides that pack more colors and vitamins to leave you all satisfied. Our family’s go to panini ingredients are pesto, mozzarella cheese, tomatoes, and ciabatta bread.

Now the fun part begins, figuring out how to procure the ingredients and actually cook these items. I have created a grocery list for a family of four to get you started. Plan to have these items in the house by Saturday evening and you are ready to go. Planning – check. Groceries – check. What’s for dinner? – check.

Here is a suggested guide for the Sunday prep for the week, along with a nightly prep guide that will take the guess work out of every night.

Have fun.

Good luck.

And enjoy homemade meals every night this week!

Don’t forget to Like us on Facebook, comment on our blog, or tweet us to let us know how it went!

Photo courtesy of Manuel W.