Madame Labriski has one secret weapon, and it fits in a jar: date puree. She stirs it in wherever refined sugar used to go, and the result is a whole cookbook of breakfasts, cookies, muffins, smoothies and treats sweetened with fruit, with no added sugar or fat.

The menu runs in eight chapters, from Fortifying Breakfast and Energizing Cookies to Pleasing Muffins, Rousing Biscotti, Inspiring Cakes and Amazing Classics. The recipes carry names as playful as the food: The Pop Up Your Potential, her almond butter and berry muffins; The Purple Nitrat-o-Max, a blueberry and beet smoothie; The BettyBeet muffin; and a Picky Logger Yule log for the holidays. Icons flag the vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free and nut-free recipes, and her Tipskis tuck a kitchen tip beside the steps.

The ingredients are easy to find and the methods are simple enough to cook with the whole family, which is exactly the point. It is a cheerful, photo-filled gift for a household that wants to cut back on sugar without giving up the cookie jar.

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