06
2011
Some Hints and Facts for Halloween
Greetings! Halloween is just around the corner. Whether you are dressing up some little ones for trick-or-treating or just answering the doorbell, here are a few hints and facts to reduce your holiday calories.
The easiest way to avoid unnecessary calories is to leave the bags of candy at the store! If you insist upon handing out edible treats, buy them on the day of Halloween and give them ALL away (whatever sits around or is left over will be eaten eventually, you and I both know it).
If you have unrelenting cravings, it is often better to allow yourself an occasional small treat than to avoid them all. Use the opportunity to count calories, and set aside 50 to 100 for something small at the end of the day. Stay strong!
Here are some calorie and fat contents of common candies to contrast:
| Full-sized candy bars | calories (kcal) | fat (grams) |
| York Peppermint Patty | 140 | 2.5 |
| Snickers | 280 | 14 |
| Bite-sized candies | calories (kcal) | fat (grams) |
| Three Musketeers | 24 | <1 |
| Butterfinger | 45 | 2 |
| 10 pieces of… | calories (kcal) | fat (grams) |
| Lemonheads | 50 | 0 |
| Candy corn | 64 | 0 |
| Gummy bears | 100 | 0 |
| Whoppers | 100 | 4 |
| Starburst | 204 | 4 |
| Hershey’s kiss | 260 | 14 |
| Caramels | 400 | 11 |
| Mini Reece’s cups | 400 | 25 |
| Better choice (lasts longer) | calories (kcal) | fat (grams) |
| Tootsie caramel apple pop | 60 | 0.5 |
You can, however, make it even simpler. To best avoid these calories, here are some suggestions to stock for trick-or-treaters:
- Glow sticks and bracelets
- Bubbles
- Mini magnifying glasses
- Decoder rings
- Super balls
- Mini deck of cards
- Playdough
- Pencil toppers
- Temporary tattoos
- Stickers
- Origami paper and instructions
- Any of the different Halloween novelty toys around
Remember…If you are trick-or-treating or not, it’s a great time to get out and walk!
Happy Halloween!
