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Easter

Jellybeans: Do You Eat Them By The Handful Or One-By-One?

March 22, 2015 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Jellybeans -- What's Your Favorite Color?

Jellybeans: do you think they should they should come with a warning label, “STOP NOW or you’ll keep eating until they’re gone?”

Seriously – it’s pretty darn hard not to love those little nuggets of sweetness that come in multitudes of colors and flavors and get stuck in your teeth!

The Birth Of The Jellybean

The gummy insides of the jellybean might be related to the centuries old treat, Turkish Delight. And their outsides bring to mind the colored hard candy coating, developed in the late 17th century, for the Jordan almond.

The modern jellybean became popular during the American Civil War when Boston’s William Schraft encouraged sending candy to Union soldiers and the jellybean held up well.

Jellybeans were the first bulk candy. They were first sold by weight as penny candy in the early 1900s – bulk jellybeans for nine cents a pound.

Around 1930 they became popular as Easter candy because of their egg shape, which represents spring, fertility, and resurrection.

The Many Flavors And Colors Of Jellybeans

Standard jellybeans come in fruit flavors but there are a huge number of flavors available — some goofy, some sophisticated — like spiced, mint, gourmet, tropical, popcorn, bubble gum, pepper, and cola.  They also come in a sugar free version (seems weird, but true).

Whatever your flavor preference, Americans eat a whole lot of jellybeans – around 16 billion at Easter — enough to circle the globe nearly three times if all the Easter jellybeans were lined up end to end.

Handfuls Or One By One — And What Flavor?

How do you eat your jellybeans? Do you go for handfuls at a time or pick and choose your colors and eat them one by one?

  • 70% of kids ages 6–11 prefer to eat Easter jellybeans one at a time
  • 23% say they eat several at once
  • Boys (29%) are more likely to eat a handful than girls (18%)
  • Kids say their favorite Easter jellybean flavors are cherry (20%), strawberry (12%), grape (10%), lime (7%), and blueberry (6%).

What’s In The Hard Shelled Nugget Of Sweetness? 

Jellybeans are primarily made of sugar and also usually contain gelatin (Jelly Bellies don’t), corn syrup, modified food starch, and less than 0.5% of citric acid, sodium citrate, artificial flavors, confectioners glaze, pectin, carnauba wax, white mineral oil, magnesium hydroxide, and artificial colors (takes some of the fun out of them, doesn’t it?).

Originally, there was just the traditional jellybean, which has flavor only in the shell. In 1976, the Jelly Belly (Goelitz) Candy Company introduced gourmet jellybeans. Unlike traditional jellybeans, Jelly Bellies are smaller and softer than the traditional kind and are flavored both inside and outside. Jelly Belly makes about 50 different flavors of gourmet jellybeans.

How Many Calories Are In Jellybeans?

Even though they may give you Technicolor insides, jellybeans are fat free.  On average:

  • 10 small jellybeans (11g) have 41 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, no protein, and 10.3 grams of carbs
  • 10 large jellybeans (1oz or 28g) have 105 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, no protein, and 26.2g carbs
  • 10 Jelly Bellies have 40 calories (4 calories a piece), or about 100 calories in a single serving (25 beans)

Some Jelly Belly Jellybean Trivia

  • Jelly Bellies were invented in 1976. They were the first jellybeans to be sold in single flavors and to come with a menu of flavor choices.
  • It takes 7 to 21 days to make a single Jelly Belly jellybean.
  • Very Cherry was the most popular Jelly Belly flavor for two decades until 1998, when Buttered Popcorn took over. Very Cherry moved back into the top spot by only 8 million beans in 2003.
  • Some jellybeans do contain gelatin, but Jelly Bellies don’t. According to the Jelly Belly website, they are suitable for vegetarians although strict vegans may have issues with the beeswax and shellac that are used to give them their final buff and polish.
  • Jelly Belly doesn’t use wheat, rye, barley, or oats in the basic recipe for Jelly Belly jellybeans but does use cornstarch as the modified food starch.
  • Jelly Bellies have been certified kosher for the last two decades by the Kashrut supervision of KO Kosher Service.  Since 2007 all Jelly Belly products have been certified by the Orthodox Union. Teenee Beanee jelly beans and Just Born jellybeans are Pareve & O/U; Jelly Bellies are certified OU Kosher.

Easter Candy Facts and Fun

For 99 cents you can get the lowdown on Easter Candy.  Check out my ebook Easter Candy Facts and Fun on Amazon.  You’ll spend less than you would on jelly beans.  It’s also way fewer calories than a chocolate bunny!

Filed Under: Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts, Food for Fun and Thought, Holidays, Snacking, Noshing, Tasting Tagged With: candy, Easter, Easter candy, holiday, jellybeans

A Combination Easter Basket and Table Decoration

April 16, 2014 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Easter-mason-jar-collageI spotted these mason jar and candy combos today. I’m always on the lookout not just for good, healthy food —  but also for anything that accompanies food that potentially makes it taste better and also might make the dining experience more enjoyable.

These mason jar and candy combinations fit into the second category and made me, and lots of others, smile. They’re really inexpensive to make and can easily serve as both Easter “baskets” as well as great centerpieces for your holiday table. The tulips and Peeps are so awesome that I wasn’t the only one whipping out my phone to take some pictures. They’re just M&M’s on the bottom with Peeps around the sides, some fake grass, and a small vase stuck in the middle that is filled with tulips. Happy, easy, and it makes you smile!

Filed Under: Entertaining, Buffets, Parties, Events, Holidays Tagged With: Easter, Easter basket, Easter candy, Easter table decoration, holiday

Guess How Many Calories Are In Your Favorite Chocolate Bunnies and Eggs!

April 12, 2014 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

chocolate bunnies and eggsEaster bunnies made of chocolate aren’t really that old a tradition, having been born in Germany in the 1800’s. Although other types of Easter candy like Peeps, jellybeans, and Cadbury eggs are extremely popular, the National Confectioners Association says that on Easter children head for chocolate Easter bunnies first. Adults probably do, too.

Chocolate Easter eggs are even younger than the chocolate bunnies.  John Cadbury made the first French eating chocolate in 1842, but the first Cadbury Easter eggs didn’t arrive until 1875 and were a far cry from today’s Cadbury Crème egg. Now there are tons of different types of chocolate eggs:  solid, hollow, and with all kinds of fillings.

Here are the average calories in popular types of chocolate Easter eggs:

Hershey’s

  • Cadbury Chocolate Crème Easter Egg, 1 egg (39g): 180 calories, 8g fat, 25g carbs
  • Cadbury Crème Egg, original milk chocolate with soft fondant crème center, 1 egg (39g): 170 calories, 6g fat), 28g carbs
  • Cadbury Mini Eggs, 1 package (1.4 ounces):  190 calories, 9g fat, 27g carbs
  • Cadbury Mini Caramel Eggs, 4 pieces (1.3 ounces):  180 calories, 9g fat, 23g carbs
  • Cadbury Mini Egg, 12 eggs (40g): 200 calories, 9g fat, 28g carbs
  • Milk Chocolate (foil) Eggs, 7 pieces (1.4 ounces): 200 calories, 12g fat, 24g carbs
  • Candy Coated Eggs, 8 pieces (1.3 ounces):  180 calories, 8g fat, 27g carbs

Dove

  • Silky Smooth Milk Chocolate Eggs, 6 eggs:  240 calories, 14g fat, 26g carbs
  • Foil Dark/Milk Chocolate Eggs, 6 eggs (1.5 ounces): 230 calories, 14g fat, 26g carbs

Reese’s

  • Milk Chocolate and Peanut Butter Eggs, 5 pieces (38g): 190 calories, 12g fat, 21g carbs
  • Reese’s Pastel Eggs, 12 pieces (1.4 ounces):  190 calories, 8g fat, 25g carbs
  • Reese’s Giant Peanut Butter Egg (whole egg, 6 ounces):  880 calories, 52g fat, 100g carbs

M&M’s

  • Milk Chocolate Speck-Tacular Eggs: 1/4 Cup (12 pieces): 210 calories, 10g fat, 29g carbs
  • M&M’s Peanut Butter Eggs, ¼ cup:  220 calories, 13g fat, 23g carbs
  • M&M’s Pretzel Eggs, ¼ cup:  180 calories, 6g fat, 28g carbs

Snickers

  • Original Peanut Butter Egg (1.1 ounce):  160 calories, 10g fat, 18g carbs
  • Snickers Mini Filled Egg (0.9 ounce): 130 calories, 6g fat, 17g carbs

Russell Stover

  • Caramel Egg (1 ounce):  130 calories, 6g fat, 19g carbs
  • Truffle Egg (1 ounce):  140 calories, 8g fat, 15g carbs

Whoppers

  • Robin Eggs, 8 pieces (1.4 ounces): 180 calories, 5g fat, 3g carbs
  • Mini Robin Eggs, 24 pieces (1.4 ounces):  190 calories, 5g fat, 35g carbs

Nestle

  • Butterfinger Eggs, 5 pieces (1.5 ounces):  210 calories, 11g fat, 29g carbs
  • Crunch Eggs, 5 pieces (1.3 ounces):  190 calories, 10g fat, 25g carbs

Here are the average calories in popular types of chocolate Easter bunnies:

  • Solid Milk Chocolate Easter Bunny (2.5 ounces): 370 calories (average)
  • Dove Solid Chocolate Easter Bunny, whole bunny (4.5 ounces):  675  calories
  • Cadbury Solid Milk Chocolate Easter Bunny:  890 calories
  • Lindt Dark/Milk Chocolate Bunny (1.4 ounces):  225 calories
  • Sees Whole Bunny (4.5 ounces):  650 calories
  • Reese’s Peanut Butter/Reester, whole bunny (5 ounces):  720 calories
  • Russell Stover, whole bunny (4 ounces):  630 calories

Easter Candy Facts and Fun

To learn enough about Easter Candy to wow everyone, grab a copy of the ebook, Easter Candy Facts and Fun, available from Amazon.

Filed Under: Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts, Eating with Family and Friends, Entertaining, Buffets, Parties, Events, Food for Fun and Thought, Holidays, Snacking, Noshing, Tasting Tagged With: calories in chocolate bunnies, calories in chocolate eggs, Easter, Easter basket, Easter candy, Easter Candy Facts and Fun

Jelly Beans: Do You Eat Them By The Handful Or One-By-One?

March 27, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Jelly beans: do you think they should they should come with a warning label, “STOP NOW or you’ll keep eating until they’re gone?”

Seriously – it’s pretty darn hard not to love those little nuggets of sweetness that come in multitudes of colors and flavors and get stuck in your teeth!

The Birth Of The Jelly Bean

The gummy insides of the jelly bean might be traced back centuries ago to the treat, Turkish Delight. Their outsides bring to mind the colored hard candy coating, developed in the late 17th century, for the Jordan almond.

The modern jelly bean became popular during the American Civil War when Boston’s William Schraft encouraged sending candy to Union soldiers.

Jelly beans were the first bulk candy.  They became one of the staples of penny candy that was sold by weight in the early 1900s —

first mentioned in an ad in The Chicago Daily News on July 5, 1905 for bulk jelly beans at nine cents a pound.

Around 1930 they became popular as Easter candy because of their egg shape, which represents spring, fertility, and resurrection.

The Many Flavors And Colors Of Jellybeans

Standard jelly beans come in fruit flavors but there’s a huge number of flavors available — some goofy, some sophisticated — like spiced, mint, gourmet, tropical, popcorn, bubble gum, pepper, and cola.  They also come in a sugar free version (seems weird, but true).

Whatever your flavor preference, Americans eat a whole lot of jelly beans – around 16 billion at Easter — enough to circle the globe nearly three times if all the Easter jellybeans were lined up end to end.

Handfuls Or One By One, And What Flavor?

Do you go for handfuls at a time or pick and choose your colors and eat them one by one?

  • 70% of kids ages 6–11 prefer to eat Easter jellybeans one at a time
  • 23% say they eat several at once
  • Boys (29%) are more likely to eat a handful than girls (18%)
  • Kids say their favorite Easter jellybean flavors are cherry (20%), strawberry (12%), grape (10%), lime (7%), and blueberry (6%).

What’s In The Hard Shelled Nugget Of Sweetness?

Jelly beans are primarily made of sugar and also usually contain gelatin (Jelly Bellies don’t), corn syrup, modified food starch, and less than 0.5% of citric acid, sodium citrate, artificial flavors, confectioners glaze, pectin, carnauba wax, white mineral oil, magnesium hydroxide, and artificial colors (takes some of the fun out of them, doesn’t it?).

Even though they may give you Technicolor insides, they are fat free.  On average:

  • 10 small jelly beans (11g) have 41 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, no protein, and 10.3 grams of carbs
  • 10 large jelly beans (1oz or 28g) have 105 calories, no fat, no cholesterol, no protein, and 26.2g carbs
  • Jelly Bellies have 4 calories in each bean, or about 100 calories in a single serving (25 beans)
with approximately 1 gram of carbohydrate per bean and no fat.

Jelly Belly Jelly Beans

  • Jelly Bellies were invented in 1976. They were the first jelly beans to be sold in single flavors and to come with a menu of flavor choices.
  • It takes 7 to 21 days to make a single Jelly Belly jelly bean.
  • Very Cherry was the most popular Jelly Belly flavor for two decades until 1998, when Buttered Popcorn took over. Very Cherry moved back into the top spot by only 8 million beans in 2003.
  • Some jelly beans do contain gelatin, Jelly Bellies don’t and, according to the Jelly Belly website, are suitable for vegetarians although strict vegans may have issues with the beeswax and shellac that used to give them their final buff and polish.
  • Jelly Belly doesn’t use wheat, rye, barley, or oats in the basic recipe for Jelly Belly jelly beans but does use cornstarch as the modified food starch.
  • Jelly Belly beans have been certified kosher for the last two decades by the Kashrut supervision of KO Kosher Service.  Since 2007 all Jelly Belly products have been certified by the Orthodox Union.
  • Also Kosher: Teene Beanee Jelly Beans and Just Born Jelly Beans are Pareve and OU.

Easter Candy Tally

Eating 25 small jelly beans, 5 Peeps, a 1 3/4 ounce hollow chocolate bunny, and 1 Cadbury Creme Egg, which is not an unusual amount of Easter candy, tallies 730 calories.

You’d need to walk 7.3 miles, 11.77 kilometers, or 14600 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps to walk off that number of calories.  Sounds like a lot, but very doable over a few days.


Filed Under: Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts, Food for Fun and Thought, Holidays, Snacking, Noshing, Tasting Tagged With: Easter, Easter candy, holiday, jelly beans, Jelly Bellies

Where’s My PEEPS?

March 23, 2013 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Do you have a thing for those fluorescent marshmallow bunnies and chicks that were hatched over 50 years ago? They got their name – PEEPS — because they were originally modeled after the yellow chick.  Now they’re made for Christmas, Halloween, and Valentine’s Day, too  — so you can get them in yellow pink, blue, lavender, orange, and green shapes that represent the different holidays. They come chocolate dipped, too.

PEEPS continue to be the subject of lots of design contests (you’d be amazed what you can make out of peeps) and scientific experiments (some claim them to be indestructible). Just Born, the parent company of PEEPS, claims to produce enough PEEPS in one year to circle the Earth twice. Their website even boasts a fan club and a section for recipes.

Do You Like Your PEEPS Soft Or Crunchy?

People have definite PEEPS preferences. Some like them nice and soft, others like to leave them out in the air to age to perfection so they get a little crunchy on the outside.

They’ve been microwaved (careful, they expand and can really make a mess in your microwave), frozen, roasted, used to top hot chocolate, and added to recipes. But they don’t toast well on sticks like regular marshmallows because their outer sugar coating tends to burn.

Millions of Peeps

During the Easter season Americans buy more than 700 million PEEPS that are shaped like chicks, bunnies and eggs although the iconic yellow PEEP is still the most popular choice.

As many as 4.2 million PEEPS can be made daily.  In 1953 it took 27 hours to create a PEEP.  It takes six minutes today.

Newspapers have been known to run contests for best PEEP recipes and best PEEP pictures, and, in a world of contrasts I’ve spotted a blackboards outside of bars in NYC advertising PEEP contests and a kids’ stores using boxes and boxes of PEEPs for window decorations.

What’s In Them?

Send a PEEP for lab analysis and you’ll find sugar, corn syrup, gelatin, less than 0.5% of potassium sorbate, natural flavors, dye, and carnauba wax.  They’re gluten and nut free but are not Kosher.  (No wonder some claim that they’re indestructible!) You can even get sugar free PEEPS that are made with Splenda.

If PEEPS are part of your Easter ritual, even though they’re filled with sugar and all kinds of dyes and chemicals, for a seasonal treat, calorically you could do worse.

Five little chicks (42g, one serving size) will set you back 140 calories; 0g fat; 1g protein; and 36g carbs.

Easter Candy Tally

Eating 25 small jelly beans, 5 Peeps, a 1 3/4 ounce hollow chocolate bunny, and 1 Cadbury Creme Egg, which is not an unusual amount of Easter candy, tallies 730 calories.

You’d need to walk 7.3 miles, 11.77 kilometers, or 14600 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps to walk off that number of calories.  Sounds like a lot, but very doable over a few days.

 

Filed Under: Calorie Tips, Healthy Eating, Food Facts, Food for Fun and Thought, Holidays, Snacking, Noshing, Tasting Tagged With: Easter, Easter candy, holiday, iconic treats, Peeps

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