A book that is full of recipes that have cut out or cut down the sugar for a better diet and healthier living depending on your health. A good book

While I enjoyed some of the recipes, I personally can find it difficult to work with dates due to the high humidity where I live - it would often stick to the blender when I would attempt to pulverize. I would add water but that would often make the baked recipe batter a bit runny and longer to bake. Overall, if that was not a factor, the recipes were flavorful and other than my lack of luck with the dates found the recipes easy to follow. I was able to look at a finished product and it was gorgeous. I would definitely be interested in a future cookbook with perhaps other alternatives for less sugar than just dates.

This cookbook is well grounded in science but very approachable and the recipes are as well, and sound delicious too.

Not sure where to start. The idea is good but some of the recipes are a bit random. Ice pops for breakfast? Loved the inclusion of describing different types of sugar.

Too much sugar is detrimental to our health, and yet we tend to consume so much of it - especially those of us with a sweet tooth. This book helps us get around it.

As someone who really needs to watch their sugar intake this is a great cookbook to have. Great recipes that use low sugar and alternative sweetening methods .

Educating children and families regarding nutrition is so important. Pictures were very helpful. I will be contacting the parents of students with timely tips regarding nutrition and use of several recipes and ideas.

They say sugar is the root of all evil. Well actually that's not a saying but it should be. Americam diets are full of added sugar and this cookbook makes it a little easier to reduce the sugar in your diet. It's a great way to improve the quality of food but not feel deprived.

Thank you Netgalley for this ARC in exchange for an honest review

I have recently found out that I have problems with how my body metabolizes sugar. so this book is helping me starting a new and healthier lifestyle.

I enjoyed reading and hope to make a lot of the recipes from "Half the Sugar, All the Love". I've been trying to lead a healthier life style and one aspect is reducing the amount of sugar, so this cookbook certainly does that. The authors, Jennifer Tyler Lee and Anisha Patel, provide information on sugar and the different forms it goes by at the beginning of the book. I liked the concept of using fruits like dates or pears as the sweetener, so that the reduced sugar source also contains fibre and nutrients. They test recipes, so if dates are not an option, then they offer a lower sugar option without sacrificing taste. Most of the recipes also have helpful notes if kids want to be involved or how to make it ahead. I tried the Blueberry-Oatmeal Muffins sweetened with Medjool dates, and without the traditional white sugar, and they tasted just sweet enough, hearty and healthy. However, the authors rated it as 0g of added sugar, as they don't count dates as a source of added sugar. So, while it may not spike your blood sugar as much, it's not a book meant for diabetics, since diabetics would have to be careful with the overall sugar content. Also due to the carb content, it's not for someone on a keto diet. However, it is for the general public wanting to make healthier changes in their lives. After making the muffins and reading the rest of the book, I did find myself bookmarking a lot of the recipes that looked interesting.
Thank you NetGalley and Workman Publishing for an advanced copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed the fact that many if not all of them give you hints about how to get your kids involved in making these dishes. They list it under WHAT KIDS CAN DO. I found this helpful in making cooking fun and memorable, plus it has teachable moments. Many of the recipes look yummy.

They also give the nutritional information for each recipe. Includes Calories, added sugar, Carbs, Sodium, Saturated fat, Fiber and Protein.

The table of contents breaks down the book with an Introduction, Breakfast section, followed by Snacks, Lunches and Salads, Dinner, desserts, Beverages and then Basics and condiments. I liked the colorful pictures throughout this book.

This is a great way to get the whole family cooking together and being aware of how much sugar they are eating. Also, to show your kids it’s not hard to make a delicious meal and/or snack. I liked reading this on my kindle, but I’d prefer a book. Might have to buy this one.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising”

Nora St. Laurent
TBCN Where Book Fun Begins!
The Book Club Network blog www.bookfun.org

This is a very much need cookbook for me! I love sugar so for me to use "Half the sugar" and still have "all the love" is important. A great layout & wonderful recipes.

#Half the Sugar, All the Love. Many of us are trying to eat healthier. This cookbook gives us recipes with at least half the added sugar. In several cases there are suggestions to further reduce the sugar. I tried a good many of the recipes and found them to be easy to follow as well as tasty. The ingredients are basic easy ones to find. The inclusion of tips on how to get your children involved in the preparation of healthy meals was a great addition. The fact that these are simple recipes to follow will help give the children a love of cooking. The one down side was the fact that the list of ingredients are listed at the back of the recipe instead of the front. It was a minor inconvenience. I recommend this book for anyone looking to reduce your sugar intake.

Yummy-Looking Low-Sugar Recipes

This is a fun and creative cookbook with family-friendly, lower-sugar recipes. The authors begin the book with a brief introductory section that looks at the dangers of added sugar, what added sugars are, myths about sugar, and tips for lowering the amount of sugar in what you eat, among other topics. They have a helpful pictogram of all the distinct types and names that added sugar could go under. I didn't agree with one myth they wanted to bust. While honey is definitely an added sugar, if you get local honey, it can actually help with allergies, which is why I think honey is a little more healthy than the other added sugars, along with the trace amounts of other micronutrients that are in it. One tip the authors suggest, and one that they use throughout the book, is to use pureed naturally sweet fruits and vegetables in the place of added sugar. At least that way, you get the fiber, vitamins, and minerals that would be in the fruit. Some recipes do use added sugars but in small amounts.

Interestingly, they have an added-sugar “sugar cube” scale for each recipe that shows how their recipe is compared to similar homemade recipes or commercially prepared versions. (Yes, one of their tips to decrease added sugar in your diet is to cook more!) The recipes are divided by meal, like breakfast and lunch (which has a salad section). The dinner chapter is divided by protein or type of dish; by the way, if you are vegetarian, you are mostly out of luck with the dinner recipes as only two of them are vegetarian-friendly. Of course, a book about sugar has desserts, too. In most of the recipes, the authors simply cut or eliminate the sugar while in other ones they do use fruit and vegetable substitutions. Some recipes look and sound absolutely delicious. Not every recipe has a photo, but many of them do. I am not a fan of the taken-from-directly-overhead photo of a recipe, and this book seems to have too many of those. I like to see more than just the top of what a dish looks like! All in all, though I thought this was a good cookbook, both in the information and awareness that the introductory section provided but with the yummy-sounding recipes where you can still satisfy your sweet tooth without using a lot of added sugar.

This book is full of great information with everything you need to know about added sugar in the beginning to conversion tables at the end I think this is a really useful cookbook. I especially love the myth busting they discuss about added sugars. This book does emphasize the importance of keeping track of your added sugars especially for children, which is why I think it's great that for some recipes they have a little "what kids can do" tip to help involve your kids in making the food. They also include tips for some recipes as well as tell you how to store the food and for how long. I think this book has really great recipes and I think the condiments in particular would be extremely useful. The only flaw I found is that they list the nutritional value of each recipe, but for a book all about sugar they do not provide the full amount of sugar, only the amount of added sugar. They do discuss how added sugars are the problem and natural sugars aren't bad for you, but I do think it's important to list the full amount of sugar as well as the amount of added sugar. I think this was done to make the recipes appear healthier, but if you are someone who needs to watch they sugar intake this book isn't necessarily about cutting down sugar, only the added sugar. Another thing that is minor is that there are a lot of recipes without pictures. In cookbooks I find pictures extremely helpful as the look of it can help indicate if you have made it properly and the this book, while the pictures are beautiful, there just aren't enough for me.

This book has a good variety of recipes with ingredients that are fairly common in a regular grocery store. Books like this usually have readers searching near and far for ingredients nobody's ever heard of, so I appreciate the effort to keep ingredient lists as simple as possible and the fact that the authors tried to stick with some familiar recipes. I made the BBQ sauce, and it wasn't bad at all. Going through the process of sweetening something without white sugar has encouraged me to think differently about cooking. This book is a good buy and could be a game-changer for many home cooks.

This cookbook is beautiful. I do like how it has the original recipe and how much sugar will be cut out with the replacement recipe. I was a little displeased with the ingredients list. I like the ingredients right up front I don’t want to have to read and search for them.

A great cookbook and perfect for someone like me who needs to cut back significantly. Thank you for giving me ways to manage my health and still enjoy yummy treats. The photos in the book are gorgeous and the information was super helpful. Thanks NetGalley for letting me check this one out.

I've heard a lot about this book and I was excited to check it out. When you think about sugar, you usually think about dessert and forget that some other food also contain sugar. So I was surprised when I saw recipes for lunch and dinner included. I'm very excited to try these recipes because they use a lot less sugar than the other recipes out there. I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review

Lovely cover, unfortunately not many recipes for a vegetarian although I did enjoy reading about sugar.