*WARNING – Proceed with caution when reading this article. If you must have candy, here’s how to do it without completely undoing your healthy eating habits.*
It’s that time of year again of when we go into the annual holiday eating frenzy cycle of where much of the focus is on food. It all begins with Halloween and doesn’t really end until after Valentine’s Day. It can be a difficult dilemma for those watching their weight and wanting to adhere to a healthy diet.
Halloween can be particularly scary since it is based mainly around candy and there is no “health food” category for candy. While just about all candy is full of too much sugar and/or fat, some candies fare better than others in keeping calories and grams of fat and sugar to a more reasonable level, thanks to the mini or fun size portions. Here is a list of Halloween candy that isn’t too frightening – they each have less than 100 calories, 6 grams of fat and 10 grams of sugar – and it’s all because of their small portion size.
| Candy | Serving Size | Calories | Grams of Fat | Grams of Sugar |
| Hershey’s Miniatures Special Dark |
1 miniature |
88 |
5.2 |
9 |
| Twizzlers | 2 pieces | 80 | 0 | 9.5 |
| Peanut M & M’s | 1 fun size | 93 | 4.7 | 9.1 |
| Reese’s Peanut Butter Mini Cup | 2 mini cups | 88 | 5.2 | 9.2 |
| Tootsie Roll | 2 minis | 52 | 4 | 7.5 |
| Payday | 1 mini | 90 | 5 | 8 |
| Mounds | 1 fun size | 80 | 4.5 | 8 |
| Raisinets | 1 snack size | 67 | 3 | 10 |
| Smarties | 1 roll | 25 | 0 | 5 |
Other tips keeping your candy consumption at a bare bones minimum:
- Keep candy out of sight and in an inconvenient location to get to it.
- Even though the mini sizes are small, the calories they contain add up quickly if you eat too many. Follow the above serving sizes.
- Craving sweets may be a sign of reduced serotonin levels, a hormone that regulates mood and appetite. When we eat sugary sweets, they increase serotonin improving our mood.
There are better ways to increase serotonin – exercise, getting outdoors, stress management.
- Buy only enough candy for trick-or-treaters.
- There are always healthier foods to choose from than candy. Try roasted pumpkin seeds, apple slices with a healthy fruit dip, popcorn, whole wheat crackers with hummus, just to name a few. Also check out this website for more healthy Halloween treats.
It’s okay to treat yourself to a little bit of candy every now and then with the emphasis on small portion sizes. Have fun this Halloween without going overboard on the sweets.
