Video: The Queen of Sneakiness Returns!

New York Times best-selling author Missy Chase Lapine inspired many parents to "sneak" good food into their children's meals with The Sneaky Chef® cookbook series. Now, in her newest book, she extends her concept of "sneakiness" beyond the kitchen.  Missy has teamed up with celebrity fitness trainer Larysa DiDio to provide busy parents with 100 games and activities that will get any resistant little exerciser up and moving! 

Surprise-icle

Ingredients:

·          ½ cup Mott's Medleys Tropical Flavor

·         ¼ cup Orange Puree (see Orange Puree recipe below)

·         ½ cup vanilla yogurt

·         2 tablespoons sugar

·         Rainbow sprinkles, optional

Directions:

Blend all ingredients except sprinkles together in a blender until smooth. Drop a few sprinkles (if desired) into each popsicle mold and then pour equal amounts of the mixture in each. Insert stick, and freeze for at least 3 hours.

Sneaker-Doodle Cookies

Ingredients:

·         1 egg white

·         4 tablespoons butter, softened

·         ¾ cup sugar

·         1/3 cup White Bean Puree

·         1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

·         1 cup Flour Blend

·         ½ teaspoon salt

·         For garnish: 1 teaspoon cinnamon and 1 tablespoon sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray (or line with parchment paper).

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the egg white, softened butter, sugar, white bean puree, and vanilla.

In another large bowl, whisk together the Flour Blend and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well to form a soft batter. Drop tablespoonfuls of batter onto the baking sheets (Missy uses a melon baller sprayed with oil to dole out the dough,) leaving about 1 inch between each cookie. Pour the remaining tablespoon of sugar and cinnamon onto a plate and set aside.

Rock 'n' Roll-Up Pizza Sticks

Ingredients:

·         4 teaspoons tomato paste

·         4 teaspoons Orange Puree (see Orange Puree recipe below)

·         2 teaspoons ground flax seeds

·         8 ounces pizza dough

·         4 mozzarella cheese sticks

·         Diced ham or other meat, optional

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a mixing bowl, combine tomato paste, Orange Puree, and flax.  Working on a clean cutting board, pinch off about two ounces of pizza dough and stretch (or roll) it into a rectangle shape. Spread about 2  teaspoons of the tomato mixture on each piece of the dough, lay a cheese stick in middle of dough, top with diced ham, if using, and  roll up, pinching the ends to seal and completely cover the cheese stick.

Refrigerate or freeze for later use, or proceed to bake immediately for 15 to 20 minutes until the dough is golden brown.

Sweet Strawberry Cupcakes

Ingredients:

·         3 eggs

·         ¾ cup Strawberry Puree

·         1 cup Mott's Medleys Apple Flavor

·         ½ cup oat bran

·         1 box yellow cake mix

·         Pink sprinkles and pink vanilla frosting, optional

Directions:

                Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line muffin tin with pink paper muffin cups.

                In the bowl of an electric mixer, place all ingredients, except sprinkles, if using. Blend at low speed for 30 seconds, then increase to medium speed for another 2 minutes. Using a spoon, mix 2 tablespoons of pink sprinkles into the batter. Pour batter into muffin tins. Bake for 19 to 21 minutes (until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean). Remove and cool before frosting with strawberry or vanilla frosting with pink sprinkles.

Orange Puree

Ingredients:

·         1 medium sweet potato or yam, peeled and coarsely chopped

·         3 medium to large carrots, peeled and sliced into thick chunks

·         2 to 3 tablespoons Mott's Medleys Tropical Flavor

Directions:

Place the sweet potatoes and carrots in a medium-sized pot and cover with cold water. Bring to a boil and cook for about 20 minutes, until carrots are very tender. Careful--if the carrots aren't tender enough, they may leave a telltale little nuggets of vegetable in recipes, which will reveal their presence to your kids, a gigantic no-no for The Sneaky Chef.

Drain the carrots and sweet potatoes and put them in the food processor with 2 tablespoons of water. Puree in high until completely smooth--until no pieces of vegetable show. Stop occasionally to push the contents to the bottom. If necessary, use another tablespoon of water to smooth out the puree, but the less water, the better

This recipe makes about 2 cups of puree. Orange Puree will keep in the refrigerator for up to 3 days, or you can freeze 1/4-cup portions in sealed plastic bags or small plastic containers, and store for 3 months.