October is behind us and Halloween is now over for another
year.
Halloween aftermath usually means two things—putting away the
witch, ghost and goblin decorations while keeping the autumn ones that go with
the Thanksgiving decorations, and fighting the battle of all that candy in the
house. There's the leftover candy from
what you bought to hand out and then there's all the candy the kids collected
on their Trick-or-Treat rounds. Bowls
filled with candy. Sacks full of
candy. Enough potential tooth decay and
sugar-rush material to last until next Halloween.
And what kind of candy is it that we seem to have in
abundance? Candy manufacturers, in
addition to their regular size candy bars, make the little fun size candy—the
mini candy bars or individual pieces.
Those little bite size morsels that give us just a taste…and whet our
appetite for more. They are available
all year, but are particularly popular at Halloween, often being wrapped in
Halloween designs and colors.
These little tidbits aren't as harmless as you'd like to
believe. Many of the small treats are
worse for you than eating a normal size candy bar. But that can't be, you tell yourself, because
you're only going to eat one of those little things and that's certainly not
the same as a regular size candy bar.
Well, you and I both know that's nothing more than wishful thinking! As that old Lay's Potato Chip commercial said—"Bet
you can't eat just one." :)
I recently saw a list of the ten worse choices of these mini
candy snacks and I'd like to share it with you.
1) Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins (1 piece): You convince yourself that you're getting
lots of protein from the peanut butter.
Think again. One pumpkin has 180
calories, 11 grams of fat, and 17 grams of sugar.
2) Dove Milk Chocolate Promises (5 pieces): Chocolate is marvelous stuff, full of
antioxidants that help decrease the risk of heart disease. Think again.
It's DARK chocolate that has the antioxidants, not milk chocolate. You're eating 220 calories, 13 grams of fat,
and 22 grams of sugar.
3) Twix Miniatures (3 pieces): Like the Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins,
another choice that might not seem so bad for you. This gooey caramel and cookie crunch treat
has 150 calories, 8 grams of fat, and 15 grams of sugar.
4) Almond Joy Snack-Size Bars (3 pieces): Coconut milk and coconut water might be
popular in healthy eating circles, but that doesn't mean it's ok to cover it
with chocolate and still consider it healthy.
With these, you're eating 200 calories, 11 grams of fat, and 19 grams of
sugar.
5) Reese's Peanut Butter Cups Miniature (5
pieces): Remember the comments about
Reese's Peanut Butter Pumpkins? Well,
the same rules apply here only this time it's 220 calories, 13 grams of fat,
and 23 grams of sugar.
6) Hershey's Miniatures (5 pieces): These are staples every year at Halloween
time. The mixed bag of treats begs you
to try at least one of each kind. You'll
be consuming 200 calories, 11 grams of fat, and 19 grams of sugar.
7) Hershey's Kisses Caramel-Filled (9 pieces):
These seem safe, but don't be fooled.
You're looking at 190 calories, 9 grams of fat, and 24 grams of sugar.
8) York Dark Chocolate-Covered Peppermint
Patties (3 pieces): The cool minty
chocolate that melts in your mouth gives you 150 calories, 3 grams of fat, and
27 grams of sugar.
9) Snickers Fun Size (2 bars): The commercials say, "Hungry? Grab a Snickers." If you do, you'll be grabbing 144 calories,
7.4 grams of fat, and 14 grams of sugar.
10) Kit Kat Snack Size (three 2-piece bars): These little beauties are worth 210 calories,
11 grams of fat, and 24 grams of sugar.
Perhaps the scariest thing about Halloween is the number of
calories, grams of fat, and grams of sugar we consume under the guise of it's little, it won't hurt me.
And now for something completely different (with apologies
to Monty Python for borrowing their phrase).
What about having a glass of wine with our Halloween candy? What type of wine do you pair with something
so sweet? What wine goes with Candy
Corn?
Master Sommelier and Director of Wines at Kimpton Hotels and
Restaurants has put together some pairings of Halloween candy and wine for your
pleasure.
Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bars go nicely with a fruity,
low-alcohol wine like Brachetto d'Aqui from Northern Italy. It's bright pink and tastes like raspberries
and roses.
Hot Tamales are intensely spicy and sweet. That demands a high acid wine with low
alcohol to cut the spice and high sugar content, something like a German
Riesling.
Tootsie Rolls go very well with a Tawny Port. A twenty year old Tawny Port will taste like
nuts and orange peel.
Reese's Pieces go perfectly with Vin Santo from Italy. This wine has a nutty flavor, a great match
with the peanut buttery candy.
And finally…what wine goes with Candy Corn? According to the expert, this super sugary
candy pairs well with a very floral wine like Muscat de Beaumes de Venise which
is a fortified Muscat from the South of France with a rich orange blossom
flavor.
So…sort out your candy and don't over do it.
2 comments:
Hello Shawna, another informative and interesting article. I love candy, but I am determined to stay on my healthy diet. I envy any woman who can eat candy and ice cream and not gain weight. All the best
JoAnne: I have the occasional craving for something sweet, but don't care about candy on a daily basis. Starches and pasta are my downfall. I think those starches turn into sugar once you've consumed them.
Maybe in a future life I'll come back as someone who can eat all that stuff and not gain weight. :) But, until then...
Thanks for your comment.
Post a Comment