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Parents know that dinnertime with young children can sometimes seem more like a war than a peaceful time to be together as a family. Getting picky eaters to eat their vegetables and try new things can be an uphill battle. Missy Chase Lapine had this exact problem with her two daughters, and in a struggle to help them eat more nutritious foods, The Sneaky Chef was born. After chasing her daughter, Emily, now 9, around the kitchen in order to get her to take her antibiotic, Lapine mixed the medicine into chocolate pudding; Emily gladly gobbled up the treat. This was the first of Lapine's many Sneaky tricks.

Lapine's The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids' Favorite Meals (Running Press), is full of recipes that hide important fruits, vegetables and proteins in kid-friendly foods like grilled cheese and brownies. The Sneaky Chef employs several different-colored purees and juices of healthy foods such as blueberries, cauliflower, baby spinach and white beans. As long as the healthy foods are completely pureed, kids will never know the difference. As Anastassios Koumbourlis, M.D. says in the introduction, children "make decisions based on perceptions rather than experience." and thus, if the food looks like something that kids like-for example chicken noodle soup and chocolate chip cookies-then the child will happily comply when its time to eat. Armed with a food processor and this cookbook, parents everywhere will be allowing kids to eat the things they know and love while providing them with the proper nutrition and diet. That said, Lapine is not proposing that kids should never try new things or learn to expand their food horizons. "America is in crisis" she says, "Kids are overfed and undernourished. This is a simple solution you can do tonight."

The Sneaky Chef's popularity has been increasing since the day it hit shelves. Mothers and fathers alike have found it is indeed a solution to the daily dinnertime battle. It's hit the New York Times Best Seller List and on April 2nd, Lapine appeared on NBC's The Today Show and demonstrated one of her recipes. Lapine's book has been featured in parenting magazines and websites as a great, new way get kids to eat healthy. Lapine has recently teamed with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, which stems from the American Heart Association and the William J. Clinton Foundation, in an effort to help bring healthier foods to schools and homes for the youth of America.

In addition to being a concerned parent of two young daughters, Missy Chase Lapine, 43, former publisher of Eating Well magazine, teaches culinary arts classes at The New School in New York City and gives private lessons and workshops as The Sneaky Chef. Missy Chase Lapine lives outside of the city in Westchester with her family. -Luci Cambria

www.thesneakychef.com