Halloween is a candy-filled holiday, and of course, that’s a big part of the fun. But it also can be a great opportunity to show kids — and adults — that Halloween fun doesn’t have to all be centered on sugary treats – some Halloween treats can even be good for you!
Whether you celebrate Halloween with block parties, school events or door-to-door Trick-or-Treating, we’re Getting the Skinny with Molly on the best treats that won’t leave trick-or-treaters in sugar overload – and her worst picks, in this week’s “Love it, Like it, Hate it”!
LOVE IT!
Popcorn Snack Packs like Angie’s BoomChickaPop Sweet & Salty Kettle Corn
- Per pack: 70 calories – 9 grams carb – 1 gram fiber – 4 grams sugar
- Ingredients: popcorn, sunflower oil, dried cane sugar, sea salt
Nature’s Bakery Halloween Themed Double Chocolate Brownie (available at Target)
- Per brownie: 90 calories – 18 grams carb – 2 grams fiber – 9 grams sugar – 2 grams protein
- Ingredients: Whole wheat flour, date paste, cane sugar syrup, chocolate… (more date puree than cane sugar syrup)
Non-edible treats, like toys! Halloween tattoos, bracelets, bubbles, glow-in-the-dark vampire teeth!
LIKE IT!
Annie’s Halloween Bunny Grahams
- Per Pack: 50 calories – 8 grams carb – 1 gram fiber – 3 grams sugar
- Ingredients: Wheat (white) flour, organic cane sugar, sunflower oil, organic whole wheat flour
Pepperidge Farm Goldfish “with whole grain”
- Per pack: 50 cals – 7 grams carb – 0 fiber – 0 sugar
- Ingredients include: whole wheat flour, white flour, cheddar cheese, vegetable oils, salt, sugar…
Sensible Portions’ Veggie “Chips”
- Per pack: 70 calories – 8 grams carb – <1 gram fiber – <1 gram sugar – <1 gram protein
- Ingredients: Potato flour, potato starch, salt, sugar, tomato paste, spinach powder, turmeric, beetroot powder for color…
Pretzel packs
- Per Pack: 50 calories – 12 grams carb – 0 fiber – 0 sugar
- First few ingredients: enriched (white) flour, water, salt
Baked chips & Sun Chips
- Most are either whole grain & fried, or baked but just white flour
HATE IT!
Most chocolate candy bars, and pure-sugar candies like Starbursts, Skittles, Candy Corn, Gushers
- Typical ingredients: Sugar, corn syrup, hydrogenated oil, up to 9 different artificial food dyes, especially in sugar-only candy
“All natural” fruity-sugary candies like Fruit Snacks + “Organic” Gummy Snacks
- Ingredients still typically include include brown rice syrup, cane sugar, gelatin, fruit juice…
Rice Krispies Treats
- Made with 5 different types of sugar + margarine, BHT preservative, and DATEM(an acronym that stands for Diacetyl Tartaric Acid Esters of Monoglycerides, an ingredient “generally regarded as safe” but with very little published research in peer-reviewed journals).
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Want more from Molly? Click here to sign up for Nutrition Bites, her weekly e-newsletter with links to her Get the Skinny TV segments here on WGNO, and her weekly column in NOLA.com|The Times-Picayune! And you can follow Molly on Facebook, Twitter, & Instagram: @MollyKimballRD
