Making sure your child has the proper amount of fruits and vegetables can be an endless up hill battle. On one side, you have the parent who is trying to be sure that his or her child eats healthy, well balanced meals. On the other side, you have the child, who simply doesn't like the taste of certain fruits and vegetables.

Thanks to famous cooking instructor and cookbook author Missy Lapine, the battle is over! Ms. Lapine is well known for her New York Times Bestseller book The Sneaky Chef published in 2007.

Fans won't be disappointed in her new cookbook, titled The Sneaky Chef to the Rescue. This contains the original purees from her first cookbook, in addition to new healthy ingredients to include in your family's meals. There are simple recipes for make ahead purees at the start of the book, along with page numbers of each recipe that uses the puree.

You'll find delicious kid friendly recipes for breakfast, lunch, dinner, sides, treats, drinks, and holidays. Each recipe features several icons at the top of the page. The icons represent various ingredients in the recipe, leaving out the guesswork. The list of icons includes: Whole Grains, Veggie, Indulge, Antioxidant Boost, Protein Boost, Low Carb, Low Sugar, Omega 3, and Healthy Fats. You'll find detailed descriptions of each icon, resulting in a quick and easy way to determine if the recipe is right for your next meal.

For example, you'll find a delicious recipe for “Monkey Pancakes” complete with three icons that indicate whole grains, veggie, and anti oxidant boost. According to nutritional analysis at the end of the recipe, Monkey Pancakes has thirty two percent less calories, fifty eight percent more potassium, and ninety four percent more fiber than the traditional pancake recipe.

Both the icons and the detailed nutritional analysis included for each recipe provides all of the proof you need that you're on the road to healthier meals for your kids.

The Sneaky Chef cookbooks are known for sneaking healthy ingredients into recipes. However, this doesn't mean the Ms. Lapine is against serving fruits and vegetables on a regular basis, or against educating your child about the benefits of eating healthy. Quite the opposite—Ms. Lapine is an advocate of stressing the benefits of fruits and vegetables to children, while realizing that not every child has a taste for them right off the bat.

One of my favorite parts of this cookbook was that it was apparent that Lapine really did listen to what her readers and fans had to say. From families of two or families of nine, you will see actual letters to Ms. Lapine in the cookbook, and her answers and recipes to their meantime battles.

Whether or not you 'sneak' the ingredients in your child's meals, or tell them what you are adding, is up to you. One thing for sure, however, is that your family will be eating healthier, tastier meals with The Sneaky Chef to the Rescue.