Halloween is quickly approaching and treats are a part of this annual tradition. So I was wondering what is
the nutritional value of Halloween Candy.
If you have kids, then you’re in the process of beginning to prepare their costumes. My children are grown up but they have kids. My grandson is going as Spider-Man. My granddaughter is going as Ariel. Most of their outfits are ready. And if the weather is good they’ll be spending a lot of time going from door to door collecting Halloween Candy.
Now unless you have a neighbor that is buying the large candy bars, almost all of the Halloween candy is packaged in “bite-sized” wrappers. And most likely the homes you’re stopping at aren’t giving you “Nutrition Fact Sheets” for the candy they’re dolling out.
I thought it would be kind of fun (yes I know it’s a geeky type of fun) to know the nutritional value of Halloween candy. This way you can control the amount of sugar you put into your kid’s system.
Nutritional Value of Halloween Candy Indexed by Grams of Sugar Per Serving
There are multiple ways I could have developed this table from Alphabetical to Favorite Treats but I thought the best way would be alphabetical to make it easier for you to determine how much sugar you’re allowing your child to consume.
The column for sugar content is in grams but you need to put grams into context. So I have a column next to it titled “teaspoons of sugar per serving.”
For your information 4 grams of sugar equals 1 teaspoon. Here’s the list:
|
Name of Candy |
Serving Size |
Calories |
Grams of Sugar |
Teaspoons of Sugar per Serving |
|
1000 Grand |
1 Bar Fun Size |
95 |
11 g |
2.75 teaspoons |
|
3 Musketeers |
1 Bar Fun Size |
63 |
10 g |
2.5 teaspoons |
|
Almond Joy |
1 Bar Fun Size |
80 |
8 g |
2 teaspoons |
|
Airheads |
1 Bar Fun Size |
46 |
6.3 g |
1.6 teaspoons |
|
Baby Ruth |
1 Bar Fun Size |
100 |
11 g |
2.75 teaspoons |
|
Bit O Honey |
1 Piece |
27 |
3.2 g |
0.8 teaspoons |
|
Butterfinger |
1 Bar Fun Size |
85 |
8.5 g |
2.125 teaspoons |
|
Brach’s Candy Corn |
10 Pieces |
75 |
16.5 g |
4.125 teaspoons |
|
Nestle Crunch |
1 Bar Fun Size |
60 |
7 g |
1.75 teaspoons |
|
Gobstoppers |
9 Pieces |
50 |
12 g |
3 teaspoons |
|
Heath Bar |
1 Bar Fun Size |
77 |
8.7 g |
2.175 teaspoons |
|
Hershey’s Kiss |
1 Kiss |
26 |
2.3 g |
0.575 teaspoons |
|
Hershey’s Milk Chocolate |
1 Bar Fun Size |
77 |
7 |
1.75 teaspoons |
|
Hershey’s Pieces |
1 Piece |
42 |
4.4 g |
1.1 teaspoons |
|
Hot Tamales |
1 Pack Fun Size |
90 |
16 g |
4 teaspoons |
|
Jolly Rancher |
3 Pieces |
70 |
11 g |
2.75 teaspoons |
|
Jujy Fruits |
8 Pieces |
60 |
11 g |
2.75 teaspoons |
|
Junior Mints |
1 Box Fun Size |
75 |
14 g |
3.5 teaspoons |
|
Kit Kat |
1 Pack Snack Size |
70 |
7 g |
1.75 teaspoons |
|
Life Savers |
4 Pieces |
45 |
9 g |
2.25 teaspoons |
|
M & Ms |
1 Bag Fun Size |
73 |
9.3 g |
2.325 teaspoons |
|
M & M Peanuts |
1 Bag Fun Size |
90 |
9 g |
2.25 teaspoons |
|
Milk Duds |
1 Box Fun Size |
53 |
9 g |
2.25 teaspoons |
|
Milky Way |
1 Bar Fun Size |
80 |
10 g |
2.5 teaspoons |
|
Nerds |
1 Box Fun Size |
50 |
12 g |
3 teaspoons |
|
Pay Day |
1 Bar Fun Size |
80 |
8 g |
2 teaspoons |
|
Pez |
1 Roll |
35 |
9 g |
2.25 teaspoons |
|
Raisinets |
1 Bag Fun Size |
67 |
9.7 g |
2.425 teaspoons |
|
Reese’s Pieces |
1 Pouch Fun Size |
70 |
7 g |
1.75 teaspoons |
|
Reese’s Cups |
1 Cup |
110 |
11 g |
2.75 teaspoons |
|
Skittles |
1 Pack Fun Size |
60 |
11.3 |
2.825 teaspoons |
|
Snickers |
1 Bar Fun Size |
80 |
8.5 g |
2.125 teaspoons |
|
Sour Patch |
1 Bag Fun Size |
50 |
10 g |
2.5 teaspoons |
|
Starburst |
2 Pieces |
40 |
6 g |
1.5 teaspoons |
|
Sugar Daddy |
1 Pop Fun Size |
53 |
8 g |
2 teaspoons |
|
Sweet Tarts |
1 Pack Fun Size |
50 |
13 g |
3.25 teaspoons |
|
Tootsie Rolls – Mini |
3 Pieces |
70 |
9.5 g |
2.375 teaspoons |
|
Trolli Sour Brite Crawlers |
8 Pieces |
100 |
14 g |
3.5 teaspoons |
|
Twix |
1 Bar Fun Size |
80 |
8 g |
2 teaspoons |
|
Twizzlers |
1 Piece |
37.5 |
5.3 |
1.325 teaspoons |
|
Whoppers |
1 Pack Fun Size |
60 |
7 |
1.75 teaspoons |
|
Your Peppermint |
1 Pack Fun Size |
50 |
9 |
2.25 teaspoons |
|
Welch’s Fruit Snack |
1 Packet |
45 |
6 |
1.5 teaspoons |
As you can see there is NO CANDY CHOICE that isn’t loaded with sugar. Hard candies usually have more sugar even thou their caloric intake is less.
The two biggest sugar offenders are:
Brach’s Candy Corn at 4.125 teaspoons of sugar per serving
Hot Tamales at 4 teaspoons of sugar per serving
It’s a good thing I’ve never cared for either of them. My two favorite candy snacks (when I allow myself to indulge) is either Snickers at 2.125 teaspoons of sugar or Baby Ruth at 2.75 teaspoons of sugar.
As you can see by the table above the nutritional value of Halloween Candy is non-existent. Most of its calories come from sugar, which feeds the bad bacteria in your small intestine. And it can have a significant effect on your blood sugar.
So this Halloween please use the above table to limit the amount of sugar your child consumes. It’s not about taking away their fun. It’s about helping them make good choices so that their snack is 1 or 2 servings rather than 10. This way you can keep the nutritional value of Halloween Candy in perspective.
And if you want a good chart that also lists saturated fats, trans fats, and other bad ingredients then click here for some additional information on the nutritional value of Halloween Candy.
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