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calories in Halloween candy

Do You Swipe Candy From Your Kid’s Halloween Haul?

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Trick Or Treat

Ah — Halloween candy! It’s pretty hard to escape because it’s everywhere – on desks, in restaurants, even in my veterinarian’s office in a nice purple bowl with a dog bone painted on the side.

Halloween week accounts for about eight percent of yearly confectionery sales and 34% of seasonal candy sales (like Christmas and Valentine’s Day). Only Easter, the next largest candy holiday, comes close.

FYI: The top five candies of all time — click here for the list of the top 50 – even though you might not agree:

  1. Reese’s peanut butter cups
  2. Twizzlers
  3. Snickers
  4. Hershey’s Kiss
  5. M&Ms

Can’t resist – do you invade your kid’s Trick or Treat bag — what do you go for first?

Don’t feel guilty — If you’ve ever swiped candy from your kid’s trick or treat bag, you’re certainly not alone. According to the National Confectioners Association, 90% of parents confess they occasionally dip into their kid’s stash. I know I sure did.

It’s been estimated that, on average, a child in the US collects between 3,500 and 7,000 worth of candy calories on Halloween night.

Parents invade that collection big time — they eat one candy bar out of every two a child brings home.  Their favorite targets are snack-sized chocolate bars (70%), candy-coated chocolate pieces (40%), caramels (37%) and gum (26%).

In Case You Want To Pick The Least Caloric Candy . . .

Here are the calories in some popular Halloween candy – just in case you might want to minimize the caloric damage (you didn’t read that wrong — candy has a big range of calories and fat grams) – and, just so you know — minis are small square candies while snack-size and fun-size are usually about 2 inches long:

25 calories or less:

  • 3 Musketeers, Mini
  • Hershey’s Kiss
  • Smarties Candy Roll

30 – 50 calories each:

  • Airheads, Mini Bar
  • Kit Kat, Miniature
  • Milky Way, Mini
  • Peppermint Pattie, Fun size
  • Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Miniature
  • Snickers, Miniature
  • Starburst, 2 Fun Size pieces
  • Twix Caramel Cookie Bars, Mini

50 to 70 calories each:

  • 3 Musketeers, Fun Size
  • Hershey’s Milk Chocolate, snack size
  • Jolly Ranchers Lollipop
  • Skittles, Fun Size Bag
  • Sour Patch Kids, Treat Size
  • Swedish Fish, Treat Size
  • Tootsie Roll Pop

70 to 85 calories each:

  • Brach’s Candy Corn: 10 pieces
  • Butterfinger, Fun Size
  • Kit Kat, Fun size; 73 calories
  • Milky Way, Fun Size
  • M&Ms, Fun size bag
  • Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, Fun size
  • Snickers, Fun Size
  • Tootsie Rolls, 3 midgee pieces

Happy Halloween!

Do You Swipe Candy From Your Kid’s Halloween Haul?

By Leave a Comment

ghostsswipecandy

Ah — Halloween candy! It’s pretty hard to escape because it’s everywhere – on desks, in restaurants, even in my veterinarian’s office in a nice purple bowl with a dog bone painted on the side.

Halloween week accounts for about eight percent of yearly confectionery sales and 34% of seasonal candy sales (like Christmas and Valentine’s Day). Only Easter, the next largest candy holiday, comes close.

FYI: The top five candies of all time — click here for the list of the top 50 – even though you might not agree:

  1. M&Ms
  2. Hershey’s Kisses
  3. Snickers
  4. Twizzlers
  5. Reese’s Peanut Cups

Can’t resist – do you invade your kid’s Trick or Treat bag — what do you go for first?

Don’t feel guilty — If you’ve ever swiped candy from your kid’s trick or treat bag, you’re certainly not alone. According to the National Confectioners Association, 90% of parents confess they occasionally dip into their kid’s stash. I know I sure did.

It’s been estimated that, on average, a child in the US collects between 3,500 and 7,000 worth of candy calories on Halloween night.

Parents invade that collection big time — they eat one candy bar out of every two a child brings home.  Their favorite targets are snack-sized chocolate bars (70%), candy-coated chocolate pieces (40%), caramels (37%) and gum (26%).

In Case You Want To Pick The Least Caloric Candy . . .

Here are the calories in some popular Halloween candy – just in case you might want to minimize the caloric damage (you didn’t read that wrong — candy has a big range of calories and fat grams) – and, just so you know — minis are small square candies while snack-size and fun-size are usually about 2 inches long:

25 calories or less:

  • 3 Musketeers, Mini
  • Hershey’s Kiss
  • Smarties Candy Roll

30 – 50 calories each: 

  • Airheads, Mini Bar
  • Kit Kat, Miniature
  • Milky Way, Mini
  • Peppermint Pattie, Fun size
  • Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups, Miniature
  • Snickers, Miniature
  • Starburst, 2 Fun Size pieces
  • Twix Caramel Cookie Bars, Mini

50 to 70 calories each:

  • 3 Musketeers, Fun Size
  • Hershey’s Milk Chocolate, snack size
  • Jolly Ranchers Lollipop
  • Skittles, Fun Size Bag
  • Sour Patch Kids, Treat Size
  • Swedish Fish, Treat Size
  • Tootsie Roll Pop

70 to 85 calories each:

  • Brach’s Candy Corn: 10 pieces
  • Butterfinger, Fun Size
  • Kit Kat, Fun size; 73 calories
  • Milky Way, Fun Size
  • M&Ms, Fun size bag
  • Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, Fun size
  • Snickers, Fun Size
  • Tootsie Rolls, 3 midgee pieces

How Far Would You Have To Walk To Burn Off Halloween Candy?

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Walking off Halloween caloriesIt’s almost here – the night of ghosts, goblins, home made and extravagant costumes, and candy – lots of it.

Candy, costumes, trick or treaters, and shaving cream in roadside mailboxes (one of many suburban pranks) are all part of the ritual of Halloween. One thing for certain — there’s candy everywhere and it’s pretty hard to resist as an adult and horrifically hard to resist as a kid.

On average, each piece of Halloween sized candy contains around two teaspoons of sugar and the same number of calories as two Oreos. Do the math – if you or your child pops 10 or more pieces of Halloween candy that’s 20 teaspoons of sugar and the calories of more than half a package of Oreos (36 cookies per package).

It’s not the day of Halloween (or Thanksgiving, Christmas, or Easter) that presents the food challenge – it’s all the other days when the eating with abandon continues and continues …that’s when the weight piles on and poor eating choices become a habit. So enjoy the day of celebration and think about putting the brakes on making every other day a food holiday, too.

Here’s Another Way To Calibrate Halloween Candy

Here’s another way to think about Halloween candy — how much walking will it take to work off the calories in various types of candy?

According to walking.com:

  • 1 Fun Size candy bar (Snickers, Milky Way, Butterfingers, etc. is about 80 calories. You’d need to walk 0.8 miles, 1.29 kilometers, or 1600 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.
  • 2 Hershey’s Kisses are about 50 calories. You’d need to walk 0.5 miles, 0.80 kilometers, or 1000 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.
  • 2 Brachs caramels are about 80 calories. You’d need to walk 0.8 miles, 1.29 kilometers, or 1600 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.
  • 1 mini bite-size candy bar (Snickers, Milky Way, Butterfingers, etc.) is about 55 calories. You’d need to walk 0.55 miles, 0.88 kilometers, or 1100 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.
  • 1 Fun Size M&M package – Plain or Peanut, is 90 calories. You’d need to walk 0.9 miles, 1.45 kilometers, or 1800 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.
  • 1 mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup is 33 calories. You’d need to walk 0.33 miles, 0.53 kilometers, or 660 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.
  • 1 full size chocolate candy bar (Snickers, Hershey, etc.) is about 275 calories. You’d need to walk 2.75 miles, 4.43 kilometers, or 5500 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.
  • 1 King Size chocolate candy bar (Snickers, Hershey, etc.) is about 500 calories. You’d need to walk 5 miles, 8.06 kilometers, or 10000 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.
  • 1 small Tootsie Roll is 25 calories. You’d need to walk 0.25 miles, 0.40 kilometers, or 500 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.

If You Ate Them All . . .

2 Brachs caramels, 2 Hershey’s Kisses, 1 small Tootsie Roll, 1 Fun Size candy bar (Snickers, Milky Way, Butterfingers, etc.) 1 mini bite-size candy bar (Snickers, Milky Way, Butterfingers, etc.), 1 Fun Size M&M packet – Plain or Peanut, 1 mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, 1 full size chocolate candy bar (Snickers, Hershey, etc.), 1 King Size chocolate candy bar (Snickers, Hershey, etc.)… comes to 1188 calories. You’d need to walk 11.88 miles, 19.16 kilometers, or 23,760 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.

jack-o'-lantern cookies photo

Happy Halloween!

How Far Do You Have To Walk To Burn Off Halloween Candy?

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Halloween monsters holding list

Here’s another way to think about Halloween candy — how much walking will it take to work off the candy calories?

According to walking.com:

  • 1 Fun Size candy bar (Snickers, Milky Way, Butterfingers, etc. is about 80 calories. You’d need to walk 0.8 miles, 1.29 kilometers, or 1600 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.
  • 2 Hershey’s Kisses are about 50 calories. You’d need to walk 0.5 miles, 0.80 kilometers, or 1000 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.
  • 2 Brachs caramels are about 80 calories. You’d need to walk 0.8 miles, 1.29 kilometers, or 1600 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.
  • 1 mini bite-size candy bar (Snickers, Milky Way, Butterfingers, etc.) is about 55 calories. You’d need to walk 0.55 miles, 0.88 kilometers, or 1100 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.
  • 1 Fun Size M&M packet – Plain or Peanut, is 90 calories. You’d need to walk 0.9 miles, 1.45 kilometers, or 1800 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.
  • 1 mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup is 33 calories. You’d need to walk 0.33 miles, 0.53 kilometers, or 660 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.
  • 1 full size chocolate candy bar (Snickers, Hershey, etc.) is about 275 calories. You’d need to walk 2.75 miles, 4.43 kilometers, or 5500 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.
  • 1 King Size chocolate candy bar (Snickers, Hershey, etc.) is about 500 calories. You’d need to walk 5 miles, 8.06 kilometers, or 10000 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.
  • 1 small Tootsie Roll is 25 calories. You’d need to walk 0.25 miles, 0.40 kilometers, or 500 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.

If You Ate . . .

2 Brachs caramels, 2 Hershey’s Kisses, 1 small Tootsie Roll, 1 Fun Size candy bar (Snickers, Milky Way, Butterfingers, etc.) 1 mini bite-size candy bar (Snickers, Milky Way, Butterfingers, etc.), 1 Fun Size M&M packet – Plain or Peanut, 1 mini Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup, 1 full size chocolate candy bar (Snickers, Hershey, etc.), 1 King Size chocolate candy bar (Snickers, Hershey, etc.)… the grand total is 1188 calories. You’d need to walk 11.88 miles, 19.16 kilometers, or 23,760 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.

For kids — as a guideline, to burn off 7000 calories a one hundred pound child would have to walk for almost 44 hours or play full-court basketball for 14.5 hours.

Don’t Worry Too Much …

Just remember – we and our bodies have an amazing ability to compensate for occasional holiday overeating – as long as those holidays don’t turn into weeks that turn into months.

So, enjoy your trick or treating and all of the ghosts, princesses, pirates, animals, cars, trains, skeletons, witches, and any other creature that rings your doorbell shouting “trick or treat.”

Happy Halloween!

Really, How Many Calories Are In That Piece Of Candy?

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It might help a bit with Halloween candy mooching if you have some information about the calories in those seemingly innocent little mini bars of candy.  A lot of adults care — some don’t — and most kids could care less about calories.

One night of candy overload isn’t going to break the bank.  You won’t gain ten pounds and neither will your child(ren).  You and they might feel lousy after so much sugar, your concentration may not be the greatest, and you might be sluggish and irritable.  But, your pants will still fit and your sunny personality will see the light of day – if the candy indulgences don’t become a frequent occurrence.

A treat is only a treat if it happens once in a while.  If it’s a common occurrence it far too frequently becomes an expectation or a habit.

Calories in Halloween candy (Source: fitsugar)

1 treat size (fun size)

Calories

Fat (g)

Sugar (g)

Snickers

71

3.6

7.6

Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup

88

5.2

8

Reese’s Caramel Cup

100

5

11

Reese’s Nutrageous

95

5.5

7.5

Milky Way

77

2.9

10.2

Butterfinger

85

3.5

8.5

Almond Joy

91

5.1

9.2

Milk Duds

40

2

6.3

M&Ms

90

4

11.5

Peanut M&Ms

93

4.7

9.1

Nestle’s Crunch

51.3

2.7

5.6

Peppermint Pattie

47

1

8.6

Kit Kat

73

3.7

.67

Dots

70

0

11

Skittles

80

.8

15

Jelly Belly Jellybeans

35

0

7

3 Musketeers

63.3

2

10

Milky Way

75

3

10

Hershey’s Bar

66.7

4

7.7

Take 5

105

5.5

9

100 Grand

95

4

11

Nerds

50

0

12

Whoppers

100

4

13

Mike & Ike

50

0

9

SweeTarts

10

0

2.4