The Truth About Halloween Candy Calories
Your kid’s gone to bed. His Halloween candy sits there unguarded. He won’t notice if you eat one or two. Or two or three. But before you dive in, remember that you shouldn’t get more than 10% of your daily calories from added sugar -- that’s around 200 if you typically aim for 2,000 a day -- and candy is loaded with it. So how many can you have? You’ll have to decide that for yourself, but knowing the numbers may help.
Real corn naturally has sugar, but it’s added to every kernel of candy corn. Soft, chewy, and syrupy sweet, these little things are a Halloween staple -- and dangerously easy to eat. What’s your limit?
1 kernel: 7
1 handful (25 pieces): 175
The exact number might be different, depending on the size of your hand, so count them one at a time if you want to be sure.
Caramel, nougat, and roasted peanuts -- all wrapped in milk chocolate. It’s a winning combination when it comes to taste. But what’s it worth to you?
Fun size: 80
Minis: 42
Two of the fun size plus one mini would be around the 200-calorie mark, which should be enough to satisfy your sweet tooth for the day.
Everyone needs a kiss now and then. And what’s the harm? They’re so easy to eat, you might not even notice that you’re knocking back one after another.
1 Kiss: 22
You’ll have had all your empty calories (ones with little or no nutritional value) for the day after about nine of these. So maybe less is more.
Sweet and salty peanut butter filling wrapped in chocolate. One cup? Two? What’s right for you?
1 Regular Cup: 105
OK, two cups and you’re done. And don’t complain, you actually got a little extra there.
Chocolate surrounds a light, marshmallow-like deliciousness. The fun size is often given out at Halloween -- is that enough to satisfy without overdoing it?
Fun size: 63
Minis: 24
Three fun-size 3 Musketeers -- and a mini, for good measure -- will put you just above the 200-calorie mark.
Milk chocolate, nougat, and caramel. One fun size may not feel like enough, but watch out -- the calories add up.
Fun size: 80
Minis: 38
With the fun size, the “fun” is over halfway into your third bar -- at least with a Milky Way. Try 5 minis instead -- they’ll last longer.
These iconic, chewy chocolate candies are a traditional Halloween handout. The bite-size version is called a “Midgee.”
1 Midgee: 23
Nine Midgees get you to 207 calories. They take some time to chew, so you can enjoy them longer.
These tiny, chewy sugar bombs that go off in your mouth come in many colors. Most are based on fruit flavors, but they don’t have much of anything that comes from actual fruit.
Fun size: 61
Three-and-a-half packs get you more than your daily allowance. The question is: What are you going to do with that remaining half-pack?
A favorite of dentists everywhere (not), this hard candy lollipop hides a gum center that may not be the best thing for your fillings.
1 Pop: 60
Your teeth will probably thank you if you stop at one.
This chewy fruit-flavored candy goes back to the 1970s and is made by the Willy Wonka Candy Company -- who knew that was a real thing?
Mini size: 32
You could have quite a few without hitting your daily allowance. That’s a pretty good deal -- the calorie count for most other fun-size candies is about double that.
Some people are very particular about which colors they eat. There are even urban legends about the effects of some of them -- but we’ll let you do that research on your own.
Fun size: 88
You’ll get about 17 plain M&M's in a fun-size pack, and two packs will keep you under your daily allowance. That means you could eat one M&M every 15 minutes for an entire 8-hour workday. Sure. See if you can make them last that long.
Hard powdery sugar nuggets, they come in little boxes that make a great rattle when you shake them. You can eat them in tiny little increments if you are so inclined -- but most people don’t.
Fun size: 45
If you ate these one at a time, there’s no telling how long it could take -- there are a couple of hundred in a box.