Halloween Candy is SCARY : Tricks to the Treats!…
Posted by Bonnie Pfiester
If you don’t control yourself this Halloween, this is what may happen to your backside! ha! OK, I know that was hideous and you will not be able to get this image out of your mind for a long time (like Lary the Cable guy says, Loooord, I apologiiiize), but it is so important you really know just how Halloween Candy really ads up before you and your family justify the endless snacking “just because it’s a Holiday“.
We are about to enter one Holiday after the other, and if you aren’t careful, you WILL pack on the pounds “just because it’s a Holiday”. Halloween candy starts the vicious cycle of an endless flow of crap entering our homes – from candy to pumpkin pie. And we have 9 weeks of these crazy calorie-filled celebrations ending with New Year’s Day, when we all realize we are we totally blew it!
Let’s get it under control
How bad is Halloween Candy? I mean, they are all just little bite size pieces so what’s a few pieces, right? WRONG!! There are 40-100 whopping calories in almost every bite size Halloween treat from Snicker Bar to Sweet Tarts – that’s an average of 70 calories a treat.
So what’s the trick to treats?
RULES! We MUST have rules. If you are watching your weight, whether you like it or not, every calorie counts. If you really want chocolate, are you willing to shave the calories off your meal or drinks to “afford it”? How many treats can you have without blowing your calories? The key is realizing you can’t just eat more, you have to make a trade off – and you must hold yourself accountable. Just because you don’t look up the calories doesn’t mean they aren’t there.
Tricks to Treats for Kids
What are your Halloween candy rules for your kids? Do you just let them dive into the candy bowl anytime they want? Even if they are skin and bones – what is this teaching them? It’s saying there are no limitations – and that will change as they grow up. Teach them NOW how to make good choices. By limiting how many treats they can have, they learn to not just eat whatever they grab, but they learn to pick their favorites and make each bite count. This is a very practical lesson we all learn with life – money, food, purchases, etc. It is important they learn the same discipline with eating than you would teach at the toy store.
Scary Facts
Just 5 bite sizes pieces could be more calories than a 6-inch sub or a baked potato, chili and salad at Wendys! I know we don’t think of a few pieces of candy that way – but that’s they truth. Here are 5 tips for your kids along with caloric information for the most popular Halloween Candy.
5 Tips to for your Trick-or-Treater
1.) Keep their tank full. Make sure your child isn’t hungry BEFORE they start eating on candy. They may need REAL food, not JUNK food! With candy in the house, it’s super important they keep their tank full of real fuel and not sugar.
2.) Make treats TREATS. Each bite should be special. Let them know they can have a few pieces after dinner or after their game, etc. Let them choose which pieces they get to have.
3.) Take the time to teach. Use the information below to reference calories and show them how many calories are in candy versus whole food. For example, 30 grapes are 60 calories, an entire small green apple is 77 calories, a banana is 90 calories, 6 cups of popcorn is 100 calories or an entire cucumber with vinegar, salt and pepper is 45 calories.
4.) Show them the price of food. Let them know how much work it takes to burn off what you eat. For example, it takes approximately 1 mile to walk off 100 calories. Although they may not need to worry about this right now, it’s great to show them that you have to worry about it and that is is reality for many people trying to manage their weight. It takes 3,500 calories to gain 1LB of fat – that’s 1 1/2 pieces of candy each day for 30 days or 50 pieces of candy for the month.
5.) Make the candy go the distance. Only keep a little candy actually out and keep the rest in the freezer so your family can have an occasional treat for weeks – not just gorge yourselves for a few days. If your family has a weight issue, it’s just best to keep a few pieces and give the rest away.
Chocolate Candy:
Hershey Kisses – 26 calories
Hershey’s Milk Chocolate Bars – Fun size (14 g) – 67 calories
Hershey’s Miniature Bars (mixed) – average of 42 calories
M&Ms, plain, Fun size (18 g) – 88 calories
M&Ms, peanut – 93 calories
Mr. Goodbar Snack size (17 g) – 90 calories
Tootsie Roll – 50 calories
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (miniature) – 44 calories
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (snack size (17 g) – 88 calories
Reese’s Peanut Butter Pumpkins (34 g) – 180 calories
Almond Joy Snack size (15 g) – 80 calories
Baby Ruth Bar, Fun size (18 g each) – 85 calories
Butterfinger Bar, Fun size (18 g each) – 85 calories
Butterfinger Crisp Bar, Snack size (20 g) – 100 calories
Heath Bar, Snack size (13 g) – 74 calories
Kit Kat, Fun size (14 g) – 73 calories
Raisenetts – 53 calories
Hard, Sweet, Tart, Chewy or Fruity Candy:
Laffy Taffy, Chocolate, small bars (8 g each) – 32 calories
Jujyfruits – 9 pieces – 60 calories and 16 g carb
Lifesavers Gummies (2 rolls per ounce) – 52 calories
Mini Dots (2 small boxes per ounce) 70 calories
Skittles – Fun size (20 g) – 80 calories
Starburst, Fun size (2 pieces per stick) – 40 calories
Blow Pop, Junior – 50 calories
Tootsie Pops – 60 calories
Wonka Nerds – small box (13 g) – 50 calories
Chewy Sweat Tarts – 50 calories
Hot Tamales – 50 calories
Candy Corn – 70 calories
Mini Dots – 70 calories
Jolly Rancher Lolly Pops – 60 calories
