Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Halloween Candy: read up before you eat up!

Halloween is only a few days away, which means that if you haven't already stocked up on candy, chances are you'll be food store-bound soon. While you tell yourself that the candy you buy is all for the trick-or-treaters, you know deep down that you're likely to end up with a few wrappers of your own. After all, what else is one to do while waiting for the next round of kiddos to stop by?

A couple pieces of candy can easily fit into a healthy diet (given that you aren't making swipes at the bowl throughout the day...), but due to the miniature nature of Halloween candy, you may feel inclined to dig in by the handful. But not so fast!

Even though the fun-sized versions of our favorite treats contain far less calories than the entirety of their full-sized parents, if you allow yourself to eat piece after piece, you could end up consuming the equivalent amount... or more! (Gasp!) That doesn't sound very fun to me.

To give you full disclosure, I've compiled a list of the calorie, fat, and sugar counts found in a selection of the holiday's popular fun-sized candies (measurements based on one single, fun-sized piece):

Twix: 80 calories, approx. 4 grams fat, 8 grams sugar

Butterfinger: 85 calories, 3.5 grams fat, 8.5 grams sugar

3 Musketeers: approx. 63 calories, 2 grams fat, 10 grams sugar

Reese's Peanut Butter Cup (1 cup): 80 calories, 4.5 grams fat, 8 grams sugar

Baby Ruth: 85 calories, 4 grams fat, 10 grams sugar


Crunch: approx. 63 calories, 3 grams fat, 7 grams sugar

Twizzlers Strawberry Twists (snack size): 30 calories, approx. 0 grams fat, approx. 4 grams sugar

Kit Kat: 70 calories, approx. 4 grams fat, 7 grams sugar

York Peppermint Patty (1 piece): 50 calories, 1 gram fat, 9 grams sugar

Whoppers (one tube, or 3 balls): approx. 32 calories, approx. 1 gram fat, 4 grams sugar

Almond Joy (snack size): 80 calories, 4.5 grams fat, 8 grams sugar

Milk Duds (snack size): approx. 53 calories, 2 grams fat, approx. 6 grams sugar 

Skittles: approx. 63 calories, approx. 1 gram fat, approx. 11 grams sugar

M&Ms: approx. 73 calories, approx. 3 grams fat, approx. 9 grams sugar

Snickers: 80 calories, 4 grams fat, 8.5 grams sugar

As for the candies that more commonly come piece-for-piece out of the bag as opposed to coming in individual packages (such as Starbursts and candy corn), be extra wary. Even though their calorie, fat, and sugar counts are low per piece, you don't want to mindlessly eat away. They all add up!

Now that you've got the facts, you can better prepare yourself to keep the sugar-buzz under wraps! (Pun intended.)

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