Sally J. King is a mother who was inspired by her youngest son’s anaphylactic reaction to peanuts to create her own healthy kids’ recipes. While reading labels to try to avoid peanuts in foods, King realized how many other dangerous chemicals are in the foods kids eat. Her recipes combine healthy food choices with food and lunches kids want to eat. Some of the recipes in her book, Lunchbox Love, include Chocolate Chip Carrot Bread, Whole-Wheat Cheddar Biscuits, Applesauce, and Chicken Fingers. In addition, all of the recipes in the book can be used with spelt, barley, or oat flours if you or your child is allergic to wheat. I can’t wait to try out some of these delicious-sounding recipes on my family. You can purchase King’s book at Amazon.com for $10.95.

When we’re stuck for supper ideas, my husband and I turn to KraftFoods.com. There are recipes for every occasion and it couldn’t be easier to find recipes that work for you. Simply find the “Make It Now” box on the left hand side of the home page and type in the ingredients you have at hand and the site will hunt down every recipe with those items in them. We’ve put together some really great meals just by searching through the recipes offered on the site. The best part? There are pictures to go with nearly every recipe and they pop up when you scroll over the recipe title, which comes in handy when you’re in a hurry, as you don’t have to click on every single title to see what the meal actually looks like. I’m grateful to the folks at Kraft for their fab ideas and I think you will be too!

“Deceptively Delicious: Simple Secrets to Get Your Kids Eating Good Food” is a book I’ve been searching for in local libraries and bookstores. Jessica Seinfeld, wife of comedian Jerry Seinfeld and mother of three, has written a book of traditional recipes that children love. However, hidden within these child-friendly recipes are vegetables. One example is pureed cauliflower hidden in macaroni and cheese.

In addition to these recipes, Seinfeld has included hints and tips on how to get children not to want sugary junk foods. She also features discussions about childhood nutrition and obesity, portion sizes, and what foods, vitamins, and minerals children must have at certain ages in order to develop into healthy adults.

Like many children, my 4 year old son hates most vegetables and prefers to eat tater tots or french fries as a side dish to a meal. In my quest to get him to eat more healthy foods (and not even realize it) I’m going to purchase Deceptively Delicious at Amazon.com, where it sells for just $16.47. It would also make a great gift.

The best of both worlds: this children’s First Meals cookbook was written by a Cordon Bleu chef and mom, Annabel Karmel. It has over 200 EASY, healthy recipes for children.

I never depended on ready-made meals out of a box, from a can, or from the frozen section, for my children’s meals…these were more like last resorts. I’m sure with a little more planning and time sheduling I could have done better, as we all could! Having a treasure-trove of easy and healthy kids meals readily available would be a big help.

It includes meals for lunch boxes, dinners, yummy treats and tips for food allergies and picky eaters. This hardcover book is 192 pages and costs $19.95 at OneStepAhead.com.