As head chef of their household, most Moms could use a few tricks up their sleeves. No picky eater is too tough for the somewhat underhanded but just-plain-smart tricks in The Sneaky Chef: Simple Strategies for Hiding Healthy Foods in Kids’ Favorite Meals. Missy Chase Lapine (aka. Sneaky Chef reveals her magic in a practical cookbook/game plan for getting your family to eat the good-for-you stuff.

The book offers simple solutions — like hiding spinach in brownies (yes, really! — that you can use right now to make your family healthier, without radically changing your lifestyle and without a fight. Unlike most nutrition books, The Sneaky Chef recognizes that moms live in the real world where kids eat sugar, junk food, and pizza, but armed with these clever recipes, you’ll learn to hide “super foods” (like sweet potatoes and spinach in the stuff your family will eat, boosting the nutritional value so their bodies will get the nourishment they really need.

The Sneaky Chef provides not only recipes, but also useful information on what are the best vegetables and foods to eat and why. Even if your little one has no problem eating veggies, you’re whole family will benefit from the extra dose of good stuff. Just let them taste the brownies (recipe below before revealing their secret ingredient, or perhaps they never really need to know.

Available for $11 at amazon.com.

Makes about 30 kid-sized brownies

2 large eggs
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup Purple Puree (see Make-Ahead Recipe below)
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons Flour Blend (equal parts white flour, whole grain flour, and wheat germ)
1/4 cup rolled oats, ground in a food processor
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
Butter or non-stick cooking spray

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Butter or spray only the bottom, not the sides, of a 13-by-9-inch or 9-inch square baking pan.

Melt the butter and chocolate chips together in a double boiler or metal bowl over simmering water (or in a microwave, checking every 15 seconds. Remove from heat and allow mixture to cool a bit. Meanwhile, in another bowl, stir together the eggs, vanilla, sugar, and Purple Puree. Combine this purple egg mixture with the cooled chocolate mixture. In a mixing bowl, stir together Flour Blend, cocoa powder, oats, and salt. Add this to the chocolate mixture and blend thoroughly. Mix in the chopped walnuts, if using, then pour the entire mixture into the baking pan.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool completely in pan before cutting the brownies and use a plastic or butter knife. Dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

Keeps for a week in the refrigerator, covered tightly.

Sneaky Chef Make-Ahead Recipe: Purple Puree

3 cups raw baby spinach leaves (or 2 cups frozen chopped spinach, or frozen chopped collard greens
1-1/2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (no syrup or sugar added
1/2 teaspoon lemon juice
1-2 tablespoons water

If using raw spinach, thoroughly wash it, even if the package says “prewashed.” Bring spinach or collards and water to boil in a medium pot. Turn heat to low and allow to simmer for 10 minutes. If using frozen blueberries, quickly rinse them under cold water to thaw a little, and then drain.

Fill the bowl of your food processor with the blueberries and cooked spinach, (or collards along with the lemon juice and 1 tablespoon of water, and puree on high until as smooth as possible. Stop occasionally to push top contents to bottom. If necessary, use a second tablespoon of water to make a fairly smooth puree.

This amount of spinach and blueberries makes only about 1 cup of puree. Double the recipe if you want to store another cup of the puree. It will store in the refrigerator up to 2 days, or you can freeze ¼ cup portions in sealed plastic bags or small plastic containers.