Most people will splurge over the holidays. People will look for ANY excuse to give themselves “permission” to over eat. Halloween is only days away so here is your survival guide to Halloween eating.
You can look up the amount of sugar or calories in most popular candy brands using our nutrient search tool. You’ll notice that the candies that are lowest in calories are not necessarily the lowest in sugar. Candies with peanuts or other nuts, for example, are higher in calories but lower in sugar (more of the calories come from protein and fat).
By the way, although they are low in sugar and calories, I don’t recommend giving sugar-free (“diabetic”) candy to kids…the sugar alcohols can cause diarrhea, especially they you eat too much.
Candies that are lower in sugar (less than 20 g per “fun size” serving):
- Hershey’s Reeses Sticks
- Nutrageous
- Chocolate covered peanuts
- Hershey’s Chocolate Almond Bites
- Mr. Goodbar
- Reeses Pieces
- Kit Kat
Candies that are lower in calories (less than 100 calories per “fun size” serving):
- Bubble gum
- Twizzler’s Bites
- Jelly Beans
- Bit-o-Honey
- York Peppermint Patty
- Tootsie Rolls
- Raisinets
- Gumdrops
- Skittles
- Starburst
Are there any candies that are both low in sugar AND low in calories?
The best option I could find were CocoaVia brand chocolates. Their bars and bites (with various fruits and nuts) are a bit lower in sugar and calories than most similar candy bars. Plus, they are extra high in flavonoids which is what makes chocolate so good for you. Unfortunately, they’re not cheap.
Be smart about your candy choices and Halloween won’t haunt you over the next few weeks.
Adria Ali
(CES, PES, CPT, BS)
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