As we start the month of October, this begins Halloween season for many. Candy is everywhere on the grocery shelves, and some stock up on candy for the trick-or-treaters.
By now we know we need to limit our intake of added sugars, so how do we make better candy choices this time of year?
Top Lower Calorie Candies
- Dark Chocolate Anything: Try choosing a real dark chocolate that has a greater percentage of cacao and you will consume more antioxidants!
- Chocolate with Almonds: Any chocolate candy with almonds is a great choice because it will usually have less sugar because there is less chocolate. Plus, you get the added bonus of the great nutrition and healthy fats from the almonds!
- Mini Size Candies: Small portions of any candy always means less calories and sugar.
- Smarties: One roll of this tart candy is only 25 calories and 6 grams of sugar!
- Lollipops: These suckers are bad for the teeth, but low in calories.
- Twizzlers: Contain a little less sugar (19 grams for 4 pieces) than other gummy candies.
- Peppermint Patties: Coming in at 140 calories for the regular size, this is one of the lower calorie options. However, it is still loaded with 25 grams of sugar!
- Hershey Kiss: 4 Hershey kisses are only 104 calories.
- 100 Grand Bar: Another chocolate bar that is under 200 calories and contains no trans fat.
Watch out for any candy that still contains trans fat. Many candies made by the Mars company like Snickers, Skittles, and Twix still contain trans fat.
Candy Alternatives
Small packs of natural dried fruit are a great alternative to sugary gummy candies. Or, try handing out mini play-dough containers to kids at Halloween. Non-food items like various small toys or packs of crayons are great alternatives to get kids excited without adding to the growing childhood obesity issue.
Having candy a few times per year shouldn’t hurt anyone. I ate plenty of Halloween candy as a kid and turned out OK. Everything in moderation is key. Feel free to enjoy this year’s Halloween season, but make mindful choices.
Do you have any candy alternatives or healthier candy that you choose?
I’ve heard about these. I think they would be fun to try, but I was under the impression they are hard to get ahold of and ridiculously expensive. I wouldn’t consider it a regular option.
I am really into miracle berries. They change your tongue so sour things taste sweet for a little while, and then you get all the sweetness without the calories. There is all kinds of potential for “sweetening” homemade candy with vinegar or lemon juice for use with miracle berries. In fact, I may have to mix apple cider vinegar with cocoa powder and spread it on apple slices or something now.
I’m a sucker for marshmallows. I eat those instead of higher-calorie treats. Marshmallows don’t have as many calories as a lot of other candies and they’re fun to make at home with your kids if you have a stand mixer with a whisk attachment.
Dark chocolate is really the very best ‘healthy’ candy, in my experience. Most of us are used to the sweetness of milk chocolate, which is about 30-50% actual chocolate or cacao, but with time and a willingness to eat the real stuff – high percentage cacao chocolate – you’ll at least be able to move up to 70 or 72% cacao chocolate. and the higher percentage chocolate, the lower the sugar!
I’m a chocoholic. I don’t care for fruit flavored candy that much. I figure why have fruit flavored candy when the real fruit is usually sweet, lol!