Wiser Choices for Halloween Sweets
There are ways to make the sugar shock of Halloween less shocking, for you and the kids.
On "The Early Show" Thursday, Men's Health Magazine Brand Editor Matt Bean offered suggestions for making the holiday less taxing on your body in general and waistline in particular!
WORST MINIATURE CANDY BARS
Twix Miniatures (3 sticks - that's 1.5 packages)
150 calories
8 g fat (6 g saturated)
15 g sugars
Twix has the worst saturated fat profile of any candy in a trick-or-treat bag. Think about it like this: Each one of these bite-sized candies carries 10 percent of your day's saturated fat. By the time you hit a full serving of three pieces, you've put away 30 percent of the saturated fat that the government recommends you should consume in an entire day. Three little sticks of Twix contains as much saturated fat as 2 Nacho Cheese Gorditas from Taco Bell!
Tootsie Rolls, on the other hand, have just under 25 calories apiece and carry hardly any saturated fat. Make the swap and you trim you calorie intake by more than half and your fat intake by more than 80 percent.
Eat This Instead:
Tootsie Roll (3 pieces)
70 calories
1.5 g fat (.5 g saturated)
9.5 g sugars
WORST FRUIT CANDY
Brach's Airheads (3 pieces)
140 calories
1.5 g fat (1 g saturated)
19 g sugars
**Contains as much sugar as a Twinkie**
One is called Airheads, and one is called Dum Dums. But you can make a smart decision. Here's the basic formula for an Airhead: Sugar and filler carbohydrates (modified food starch, maltodextrin, etc), artificial colors and flavors, and partially hydrogenated oils-the source of trans fat. And they contain as much sugar as a Twinkie.
Now, don't get me wrong -- it's not like Dum Dums are nutritional paragons, but they do have two noteworthy advantages over Airheads: 1. No trans fats, and 2. They're a hard candy. That means they take you longer to eat, which is less time you have to gorge on Airheads.
Eat This, Instead:
Spangler Dum Dum Pops (3 pops)
77 calories
0 g fat
10g sugars
WORST HOMEMADE FALL TREAT
Sugar Cookies (2) with 2 Tbsp Royal Frosting
315 calories
12 g fat (6 g saturated)
26.5 g sugars
The problem with sugar cookies is that they're constructed almost entirely from nutritionally bankrupt carbohydrates glued together with butter. The last thing you want is a warm batch of these things sitting on your counter. Flour and sugar are the fastest digesting nutrients, which means you can wolf down half a tray of cookies without putting a dent in your hunger. To put these fattening little treats into perspective, note that they contains more calories than a McDonald's Cheeseburger (which has 300 calories) AND as much fat as that same McDonald's Cheeseburger (both have 12 grams fat and 6 grams saturated).
A better choice, and one that's no more difficult to make, is a caramel-covered apple. This is how you make fruit taste like candy. The best part is that the apple comes equipped with about 4.5 grams of fiber, which helps it digest slowly. So it tastes like candy but fills you up like a small meal, and that will help prevent you from overindulging.
Eat This Instead
Candied Apple (medium apple)
280 calories
0 g fat
50 g sugars
WORST FALL DRINK
Starbucks White Chocolate Mocha with 2 percent milk and whipped cream (Venti, 20 oz)
470 calories calories
18 g fat (12 g saturated)
59 g sugars
Beverage calories add up fast, and studies show they actually have a bigger impact on body weight than food calories. Drinks like this are the problem. (The Venti has even worse: 580 calories, 75 g sugars, and 15 g saturated fat). Wanna put this drink into focus? Get this: This drink has more sugar than three Hershey's Cookies' 'n Cream chocolate bars (which contain 57 g sugar) and as much saturated fat as two-dozen McNuggets from McDonald's. That's 24, McNuggests, people!
The best way to craft a flavored drink at Starbucks-or any coffee shop, for that matterm is to start with the cappuccino. It has fewer calories than the other milk-and-espresso drinks on the menu. Then add just two pumps of flavor. That will cut your sugar in half (The standard for a Starbuck's Grande is four). Regardless of what syrup flavor you choose, you'll still cut out more than 300 calories and nearly 40 grams of sugar.
Drink This Instead:
Cappuccino with 2 percent milk 2 pumps of Hazelnut Syrup (Grande, 16 oz)
155 calories
4 g fat (2.5 g saturated)
19.5 g sugars
WORST HALLOWEEN-THEMED PASTRY
Dunkin Donuts Pumpkin Muffin
600 calories
26 g fat (6 g saturated)
44 g sugars
520 mg sodium
It's nice to have something sweet to go with your coffee on a cold day, but you can't confuse a snack and a meal. Six hundred calories is definitely a meal, and that's especially problematic considering the source of these calories: sugar, starch, and fat. There's no real protein or fiber to speak of. It contains more calories than a Burger King Double Stacker with Bacon (which has 560 calories). A few of these donuts could put some serious padding on your belly.
The secret here is to find a snack that's portioned like a snack. You don't want anything with more than 300 calories, so unless you plan on splitting this muffin three ways, you're better off with Apple 'n Spice Donut. This is an "optional" item, so not all Dunkin Donuts may have it. Check for it though, it's worth finding!
Eat This Instead:
Dunkin Donuts Apple 'n Spice Donut
270 calories
14 g fat (6 g saturated)
8 g sugars
WORST CHEWY CANDY
Brach's Milk Maid Caramels (4 pieces)
160 calories
4.5 g fat (3.5 g saturated)
16 g sugars
This candy sounds like it's a bit healthier, like it's made with real milk. (Doesn't Milk "Maid" sound a lot like Milk "Made"?) But aside from a couple milk derivatives (whey and "lipolyzed butter fat"), there's nothing in here to justify the word "milk" in the name. It's just marketing. Plus, nearly 80 percent of the fat is saturated, and that's hard on your heart. That's as much sugar as a scoop of Breyers Chocolate Ice Cream.
If you enjoy the challenge of fighting chewy candy out of your teeth, switch over to Now and Laters and save more than 100 calories per serving.
Eat This, Instead:
Now and Later (4 pieces)
53 calories
.5 g fat (0 g saturated)
10 g sugars
WORST CANDY BAR
Snickers (1 full-size bar)
280 calories
14 g fat (5 g saturated)
30 g sugars
Snicker's "Hungry, Why Wait" campaign wants us to think of this bar is a small meal, but let's not forget that it's made out of chocolate, oil, and sugar. It's nothing more than a massive piece of candy. One Snickers bar contains more calories as a Wendy's Jr. Cheeseburger (which has 270) and as much sugar as two Little Debbie Marshmallow Pies.
Look, candy bars aren't the sort of food you should eat frequently, but if you have a hankering sweet tooth, there's still a way to be smart about it. 100 Grand is as light as candy bars come. It should be your go-to bar when the sweet tooth strikes.
Eat This Instead:
Nestle 100 Grand
190 calories
8 g fat (5 g saturated)
22 g sugars
#8 - WORST FESTIVE DESSERT
Pumpkin pie with whipped cream (1 medium slice; 1/8 pie)
335 calories
15 g fat (6.5 g saturated)
38 g sugars
There's no worse way to eat pumpkin than pumpkin pie. Between the butter in the crust and the sugar in the filling, you've got something far more like cake than pumpkin. And let's talk sugar. This tiny slice contains more sugar than 3 servings of Froot Loops!
For the festive sweet tooth, Oreo is actually a better option. You don't want to empty a whole pack, but if you pull out three and serve them alongside a small glass of milk, you'll end up saving a hundred calories. Plus you have less than half as much saturated fat and nearly 40% less sugar.
Eat This Instead:
Halloween Oreos (3) with 1% milk (6 oz)
235 calories
8.5 g fat (3 g saturated)
23.5 g sugar