Customer Reviews

The Sneaky Chef to the Rescue: 101 All-New Recipes and "Sneaky" Tricks for Creating Healthy Meals Kids Will Love

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

To say that the Sneaky Chef has revolutionized how I feed my family would be an understatement. To say that everyone I know, now knows about her books, is an understatement. To say that my freezer is stocked full with mini glass jars, full of green, purple, orange, and white purees, is an understatement.


I came across the "kid's favorites" book right around the holidays. I was looking for a cookbook to add something new and healthy to my repertoire, and figured I'd find a recipe or two. So often a cookbook has one or two decent recipes, and lots of filler. I was excited to try the recipes, and stunned at how we loved each and every one. Although we are frequent consumers of fruits and vegetables, I never expected to add them to brownies, mac and cheese, or stuffed potatoes! I have "sneaked" the recipes onto my two daughters (1 yr and 4 yrs), my meat-loving husband, my picky dad, and my skeptical mom. I've shared recipes with my friends, and urged everyone I know to try this ingenious new way of cooking. One friend recently thanked me repeatedly, saying, "My kids ate four vegetables tonight. I can't thank you enough for showing me this book!" I'm a psychologist with a specialization in eating disorders, and know how important it is to minimize the dinnertime battles. The concept of beefing up nutritional values, while minimizing conflict, is incredible.

I received "To the Rescue" from Amazon last night, and couldn't help it- I had to try a recipe immediately. We started with the fudge scones, and boy, were they amazing. Reading through the reader blurbs and blog quotes in the book, I'm astounded (yet not surprised) at how many others are inspired by her ways. It's as if this new way of feeding our families is changing more than just how we cook- it's changing how we look at food, how we interact, and how we think. I truly do grocery shop based on what "sneaky" recipes I'm making next. I can't wait to make each and every batch of puree, wondering what I'll use it in next. I even scoop some purees into our everyday foods.

I am fortunate in that my family loves the concept. My four-yr-old daughter loves to say "Daddy, guess which sneaky ingredients are in this dinner?" and everyone takes turns guessing once they've tried it. No one ever guesses correctly the first time, which just goes to show how well they are hidden!


I love that this new book has slow-cooker recipes, and uses pumpkin purees. Also, I wanted to share what we do to store purees. I ask my friends who use glass baby food jars to save me their empty jars. They're the perfect size for storing 1/4 cups of puree, freeze well, and you don't end up storing in plastic, which so many of us are getting away from these days due to health reasons. Even Ball makes small glass canning jars that work well (4 oz) but babyfood jars are free and freeze well, so why not!

With the Sneaky Chef by my side, I feel like a Super Hero. Ms. Chapin should sell "Sneaky Chef, Super Mom" capes on her website!

This book contains recipes on how to puree and mix certain nutritional foods into stronger tasting foods for your children, which hopefully your chidlren like, like tomato sauce, pancake mix, etc. This does take some time and prep work, however I think for "sneaking" good nutrition into your kids meals is well worth the time and effort. However it should be noted that my 4 year can taste a difference in some of these meals and does not like them. So if you have an extremely picky eater, sensitive to new tastes, you may have a hard time being "sneaky" with these recipes. But that is not the case for all the recipes, some of them are good. But just be warned, if you are not into pureeing foods, then this is not the book for you.

Brilliant and life changing! Buy this book!
The Sneaky Chef recipes have changed not only my way of approaching how I cook and feed my family, but how we will eat for the rest of our lives. I first started cooking with The Sneaky Chef last Fall and what excited me about a new book were the new recipes for me to add to our menu! I purchased it less than a week ago and already we have eaten: Bacon, Egg, and Cheese Breakfast Sticks, Pasta with Better Butter Sauce, Sneak-wiches, Retro Tuna Casserole, and Fabulous Fried Rice. They have all been devoured, filling my children, my husband and me with lots of fabulous veggies!
I use her recipes at every meal and have also learned to change favorite family recipes to include their own special "Sneakiness!"
Thank you, Missy!

I bought this to use with my 13 month old daughter, who's already a picky eater. The cookbook is great!

As a recipe book, I love that the recipes are not complicated and quick to make. They don't use exotic ingredients that you wouldn't have at home anyway. Many times I have been able to make some of the recipes without pre-planning an buying any of the ingredients (I've just had them in the fridge or pantry). I also like that there are many recipes that make a big batch of something that can then be frozen. There are different recipes for bars or squares that I can put in the freezer and take out slowly.

As for a kids' recipe book, it is great. The meals are appealing to kids, and my daughter has even eaten many of the meals! The recipes could be made even without the purees, and would still be decent. Nutritional information is listed for each one.

The purees are easy to make and freeze. They can then be added to the recipes (or other things you're making), and you'll be getting some veggies! The book makes it easy to experiment on your own with adding purees, or whole wheat flour, to other recipes, to make things a bit healthier.

I cook and bake daily and have a library full of stained and dog eared cookbooks. I've now made 34 recipes from this book and every single one has been a joy. Missy Lapine has a real gift. It is rare that I have been able to make so many successful recipes from a single cookbook. I just cannot say enough good things.

Missy has done it again! I will confess first that I am a huge sneaky chef fan, I am also a cookbook fanatic. But unlike most of my other cook books that sit on my book shelf and look pretty, I use the sneaky chef books almost everyday. My family is particularly addicted to the chocolate chip pancakes from the first book and eats them at least once or twice a week. I wasn't sure that Missy could come up with new recipes but yet again I am surprised at what she can do. I love the lunch recipes and have already made the mac 'n' chees muffins they went down a treat and I couldn't believe how much puree disappeared into them and you could not taste it. A couple of other success stories were the bacon, egg and cheese breakfast sticks yummo and french toast rollers. I have also made the brillant blondies these were devoured and there were requests for more. What I really love in this new book is the "celebrate section", this has some fantastic recipes that I can't wait to try. I also love the "sneaky chef light section" where Missy has managed to lower the fat content of some of our favourites such as the brainy brownies. I have made the light sugar cookies and these were amazing. I love knowing that I am providing my children with the best nutrition possible and giving them lots of healthy wholegrains and vegies when I serve this food, they love it because it tastes good. I also love it because it means I can indulge knowing that I am eating wholesome healthy food. Missy you are a miracle worker and are to be congratulated on this wonderful book. This is a five star book and will be well used in our household.

I have two children as opposite as can be in their food likes. My daughter will eat anything, and my son is incredibly, incredibly picky. He is underweight, and I am always trying to find nutritious food that he will eat. Not only are the recipes I've tried so far been delicious, he I feel like is is getting actual whole food finally.
I made the "Icy Hot Chocolate" - had to made a second batch because he wanted more. The "Peanut Butter Blondies" were a hit with both kids (sweet potatoes, carrots, and all), even if they turned out more like cookie bars than blondies. I had to do a switcheroo when I went to make the Treasure Stuffed Shells because my grocery store didn't have shells. I used manicotti instead and they were so yummy. The neighbor kids I fed asked me to give the recipe to their mother!
So, in three days, my kids have eaten carrots, sweet potatoes, zucchini, cauliflower, wheat germ, oat bran....I am so amazed and thankful. The recipes are so delicious that my son actually WANTS to eat.

I bought this book after cooking most of Deceptively Delish and getting our favorites down to a few. I absolutely love this cookbook. I bought it mostly for my husband who has a motto of "if it aint fried by Momma it aint good". We have a 2 1/2 yr old daughter who is adopting his motto. When we moved to Japan, 9K miles from my mother in law, I saw this as a wonderful opportunity to get my family healthy. It's working! The purees are pretty good on their own and I feed them to my 8 m old son. The recipes are all delicious! I make the breakfast cookies every week (per hubby request) and have made tons including; wonton soup (so good, he takes it to work), fried rice (we live in the land of rice and he likes mine the best), stovetop lasagna (a must try, it's fantastic), monkey bars (he eats the whole pan of them and our daughter fights him for them), ham and cheese biscuits, pizza muffins...everything has been so flavorful that they gobble them down. Get this book, you will love it. Believe it or not, fresh fruits and veggies are super expensive here and I can't find some of them. It is still worth it. I honestly think these purees are easier than DD (not steaming each veggie but a few at a time)and so much better.

Lifesaver for Mom of the fussiest 3 yr old ever. The recipes were fast,easy and very good tasting.
Would definitley reccomend for Moms and Dads of any fussy eaters.

Great book. The recipes really are all different than the other two books. That's something that I had hoped for but didn't expect. The enrichment recipes are the same. The foods included are things that are most appealing to the general population.