PERSUADING a child to eat healthy food can be more stressful than a hard day at the office.

Recognising it 's something most parents have to face at some stage,children 's food guru Annabel Karmel has stepped in to help out.

She 's written The Fussy Eaters ' Recipe Book,which is full of dishes that would tempt even the faddiest of children - while at the same time being full of goodness that will please mum and dad.

The recipes include plenty of ideas for what 's normally perceived as junk food,like burgers,that kids love but are normally packed with fat,salt and lashings of E numbers.Karmel 's are cooked with the minimum of fat and salt but maintain plenty of taste thanks to ingredients like garlic,cheese and honey.

She says:"Getting children to eat healthy food is very much at the forefront of people 's minds at the moment,but mums will often give up with their own fussy eaters and give them junk food.I would rather give them healthy junk food."

Another of her healthy homemade alternatives is Mummy 's Pot Noodles,which don 't contain salt like the shop-bought versions,and are a tasty mix of noodles, chicken,peas,sweetcorn and soy sauce.

She stresses that kids are often hungry when they get home from school because they 've not eaten much of their school dinner,or have been too eager to get out in the playground to bother eating.

"A starving ' child is a less fussy child,"

she points out.

As well as recipes,Karmel 's book gives tips on how parents should handle mealtimes to get their children to eat better.

She advises that they should try to make mealtimes a positive experience,and hide any frustration,instead really praising the child when they eat well or attempt something new.

"You may need to ignore some bad eating behaviour to refocus attention on good behaviour - this will make mealtimes less stressful."

She also suggests disguising vegetables by blending them into a tomato sauce and serving it with pasta,and double-bluffing by leaving a few chunky vegetables in the sauce for the child to pick out,so he doesn 't suspect there are still some there.

And while it 's an easy option,don 't just give them their favourite meals all the time,she warns.

"Don't keep giving them the same foods that you know they like - give them new things like mild curries, for example, and keep trying new recipes."

And if your child is pestering you to buy a particular food in the supermarket, tell them you'll get it if they can pronounce all the ingredients on the label, says Karmel. This will invariably cut out many food nasties.

She points out that many children want unhealthy junk food because their parents have given it to them in the first place, and adds: "Once you've given them unhealthy food, it's diffcult to break bad habits. You need to give them healthy food from an early age.

"But if your child refuses to eat anything other than junk food, chill out. He'll soon find there's not much point making a fuss if you don't react."