holiday

What’s Valentine’s Day Without Candy Sweethearts?

February 13, 2019 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

“Be Mine,” “Kiss me,” “Sweet Talk.” Candy hearts, originally called motto hearts but also known as conversation hearts and sweethearts, have been iconic Valentine’s Day treats since 1902. Which school kid doesn’t remember the brightly colored heart shaped candies with the stamped red sayings and slightly chalky taste?

Their manufacturer, NECCO, the New England Confectionery Company in business since 1847, sells more than 8 billion candy conversation hearts a year. (Unfortunately, NECCO, once the longest continuously operating candy company in the country, was sold in a bankruptcy auction in May 2018.)

How Did Candy Conversation Hearts Get To Be A Symbol Of Valentine’s Day?

Giving a gift of candy with a message inscribed on it can be traced back to the American colonists who gave homemade hard candy with messages etched into the surface to their sweethearts.

Years later, Oliver Chase, the founder NECCO, and his brother Daniel, who developed the process of printing red vegetable dye mottos on the candy, turned this tradition into a business.

The candy’s original shape wasn’t a heart, but a seashell shape called a “cockle.” A message was written on a colored slip of paper that was wedged into the cockle’s shell. NECCO started producing candy with mottos stamped on them in 1900, but the candy was in shapes like horseshoes and baseballs that allowed for longer printed sayings like “How long shall I have to wait?” and “Pray be considerate.” The candy called Sweethearts didn’t get its heart shape until 1902.

Sweethearts And Motto Hearts

The original candies with printed sayings were called “motto hearts.” The sayings and flavors were updated over the years with new ones periodically added. Newer flavors have been strawberry, green apple, lemon, grape, orange, and blue raspberry and “newer” sayings included “Tweet Me,” “Text Me,” “You Rock,” “Soul Mate,” “Love Bug,” and “Me + You.”

NECCO continued to use their original recipe, process, and machines they used at the turn of the century. Putting out approximately 100,000 pounds of candy a day, it took about 11 months to produce the more than eight billion pieces — or about 13 million pounds – of colorful candy sweethearts sold in the six weeks before Valentine’s Day. The little hearts with messages accounted for 40% of the Valentine candy market, just behind – you guessed it – chocolate!

Although you’d be hard pressed to call them nutritious, they are fat free, sodium free, and a caloric bargain at about 3 calories apiece for the small hearts and about 6 calories apiece for the larger “Motto” hearts.

They Will Not Disappear

Unfortunately, NECCO did not produce their candy hearts this year (although you still may find some lingering on shelves). But don’t fear the total disappearance of candy hearts. According to Fortune, Spangler Candy Co., which took over the rights to NECCO’s brands, says the iconic candies will return in 2020. And, don’t go into candy heart withdrawal – Brach’s sells their own similar version of candy sweethearts.

How Long Can Your Turkey Safely Stay On The Table — And The Leftovers In The Fridge?

November 24, 2015 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

The big meal is over and the back and forth to the kitchen for leftovers begins. We all know that leftovers can really bump up the holiday calories, but how do you tell if the leftovers are actually safe to eat?

Once Your Bird Is Cooked, Does It Matter How Long You Leave It Out?

It definitely matters – and the clock starts ticking as soon as the bird comes out of the oven, fryer, or off the grill.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, the number of reported cases of food borne illness (food poisoning) increases during the holiday season.

You shouldn’t leave food out for more than two hours, any time of the year. To save turkey leftovers, remove the stuffing from the turkey cavity, cut the turkey off the bone, and refrigerate or freeze all the leftovers.

The Basic Rules For Leftovers

According to the USDA the mantra is:

2 Hours–2 Inches–4 Days

2 Hours from oven to refrigerator: Refrigerate or freeze your leftovers within 2 hours of cooking (taking them off the heat or out of the oven). Throw them away if they are out longer than that. Think about your buffet table – or even your holiday dinner table. How long does the bird, stuffing, and accompaniments sit out as people eat, go back for seconds, and pick their way through the football game and conversation?
2 Inches thick to cool it quick: Store your food at a shallow depth–about 2 inches–to speed chilling. Are you guilty of piling the food high in storage containers or in a big mound covered with tin foil?
4 Days in the refrigerator–otherwise freeze it: Use your leftovers that are stored in the fridge within 4 days. The exceptions are stuffing and gravy. They should both be used within 2 days. Reheat any solid leftovers to 165 degrees Fahrenheit and bring liquid leftovers to a rolling boil. Toss what you don’t finish.

How Long Can Leftover Turkey Stay In The Freezer?

Frozen leftover turkey, stuffing, and gravy should be used within one month. To successfully freeze leftovers, package them using freezer wrap or freezer containers. Use heavy-duty aluminum foil, freezer paper, or freezer bags for best results and don’t leave any air space. Squeeze the excess air from the freezer bags and fill rigid freezer containers to the top with dry food. Without proper packaging, circulating air in the freezer can create freezer burn – those white dried-out patches on the surface of food that make it tough and tasteless. Leave a one-inch headspace in containers with liquid and half an inch in containers filled with semi-solids.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Do You Steal Candy From Your Kids’ Trick or Treat Bags?

October 29, 2015 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Is there Halloween candy in your future (or present)? It’s pretty hard to escape because candy is everywhere – on desks, in restaurants, even in my veterinarian’s office in a purple bowl with a dog bone painted on the side.

Halloween and the week afterward account for about 5% of all candy consumed for the year. Big box stores don’t wait for mid-October to start stocking their shelves — by the second week in September most of them have already filled their shelves with orange and black trimmed packages of mini-candy boxes and bars – right along side the school supplies.

What do you steal from your kids’ Trick or Treat bags? What do you go for first?

Don’t feel guilty if you have. 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.

Not only do parents swipe candy form their kids’ bags, they invade them 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%).

How many calories are in Trick or Treat bags?

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.

If you choose to eat all of that on top of your regular daily intake, you’re looking at a pound or two added to your waistline (or hips).

A One Day Indulgence Isn’t Such A Big Deal

One day of collecting (and eating) candy isn’t going to make a child – or an adult – overweight or obese (what it can do to behavior is another story). It’s the constant bombardment with candy, sweets, and other treats that can lead to weight (and health) issues.

Some food (or candy) for thought: a treat is only a treat if it happens once in a while – like Halloween, birthdays, and other holidays. If it’s a common occurrence it can become an expectation or a habit.

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):

Hershey’s Milk Chocolate: snack size .49-ounce bar; 67 calories; 4g fat
Snickers: Fun size; 80 calories; 4g fat
Tootsie Rolls: 6 midgee pieces; 140 calories; 3g fat
Skittles Original Bite Size Candies: Fun size bag; 60 calories; 0.7 g fat
M&Ms: Fun size bag; 73 calories; 3g fat
Butterfinger: Fun size; 85 calories; 3.5g fat
Tootsie Roll Pop : 60 calories; 0g fat
Starburst Original Fruit Chews: 2 pieces; 40 calories: 40; 0.8g fat
Brach’s Candy Corn: 20 pieces; 150 calories; 0g fat
Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup: Fun size; 80 calories, 4.5g fat
Peppermint Pattie: Fun size; 47 calories; 1g fat
Kit Kat: Fun size; 73 calories; 3.7g fat

Why is a Jack-o’-Lantern called a Jack-o’-Lantern?

October 28, 2015 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

Stingy Jack and the Devil

The story goes that the Jack-O’-Lantern comes from a legend that goes back hundreds of years in Irish history.

It’s said that a miserable old drunk named Stingy Jack — who liked to play tricks on his family, friends, and even the Devil — tricked the Devil into climbing up an apple tree. Stingy Jack then put crosses around the apple tree’s trunk so the Devil couldn’t get down — but made a bargain that if the Devil promised not to take Stingy Jack’s soul when he died he would remove the crosses and let the Devil down.

When Jack died, Saint Peter, at the pearly gates of Heaven, told him that he couldn’t enter Heaven because he was mean, cruel, and had led a miserable and worthless life. Stingy Jack then went down to Hell but the Devil wouldn’t take him in. Ultimate payback! Jack was scared and with nowhere to go he had to wander around in the darkness between Heaven and Hell.

Stingy Jack, Jack-o-Lanterns, and Halloween

Halloween, or the Hallow E’en in Ireland and Scotland, is short for All Hallows Eve, or the night before All Hallows. On All Hallows Eve the Irish made Jack-O’-Lanterns by hollowing out turnips, rutabagas, gourds, potatoes, and beets and put lights in them to keep away both the evil spirits and Stingy Jack. In the 1800′s when Irish immigrants came to America, they discovered that pumpkins were bigger and easier to carve, and the pumpkin became the Jack-o’-lantern.

If You Want To Eat Your Pumpkin . . .

Jumping from legend to fact: pumpkins are Cucurbitaceae, a family of vegetables that includes cucumbers and melons. They are fat free and can be baked, steamed, or canned.

One cup of pumpkin has about 30 calories, is high in vitamin C, potassium, dietary fiber, and other nutrients like folate, manganese, and omega 3′s. Pumpkin is filled with the anti-oxidant beta-carotene, which gives it its rich orange color. It can be used many ways and can be added to baked goods and blended with many foods. Pumpkin seeds are delicious and are a good source of iron, copper, and zinc.

Although pumpkin is low in calories, pumpkin seeds aren’t. They have 126 calories in an ounce (about 85 seeds) and 285 calories in a cup.

How Far Do You Have To Walk To Burn Off Your Easter Candy?

April 3, 2015 By Penny Klatell, PhD, RN Leave a Comment

If you want to attempt to walk off the chocolate bunnies, jellybeans, and Peeps:

It takes a herculean effort to walk off lots of calories. It’s easier and more efficient to cut down on portion size. In case you want to make an attempt “to walk” off your candy indulgence:

If this is the candy in your Easter basket — and you eat it all:

25 small jellybeans
5 Peeps
8 malted milk robins eggs
1 ounce chocolate bunny
1 Cadbury Creme Egg
4 Lindt Chocolate Carrots

that adds up to 990 calories. You will need to walk 9.9 miles, 15.96 kilometers, or 19,800 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.

If this is in your basket:

25 small jellybeans
5 Peeps
5 marshmallow chicks
8 malted milk robins eggs
1 large 7 ounce chocolate bunny
1 chocolate-covered marshmallow bunny
1 Cadbury Creme Egg
1 Cadbury Caramel Egg

that comes to 2076 calories. You will need to walk 20.76 miles, 33.48 kilometers, or 41,520 steps, assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps.

If you’re going “light” and only eat:

25 small jelly beans
5 Peeps
1 medium (1 3/4 ounce) hollow chocolate bunny
1 Cadbury Creme Egg

you would rack up 730 calories and you will need to walk 7.3 miles, 11.77 kilometers, or 14,600 steps — assuming you cover one mile in 2,000 steps — to walk off that number of calories. Sounds like a lot, but it is very doable over a few days.

Holidays and Celebrations

Holidays are days of celebration. But remember that a holiday is just one day and our bodies can easily compensate for a day of indulgence. Problems start when the holiday eating keeps going and going — which is easy to do when there are cabinets stuffed with Easter candy and bowls full of it every where you turn.

So arm yourself with some information, enjoy your holiday, and don’t feel obliged to eat every piece of candy in sight – the first bites always taste the best!