SYRACUSE -- This weekend your kids will come home with bags full of candy. It goes without saying, candy goes hand in hand with Halloween. But is there a way to make Halloween a little healthier? To find out, we hooked up with Julie Mellen, a registered dietician, who's also a mom of five.
When it comes to Halloween candy, Mellen says, size matters. Go for the mini snickers instead of the full size version. "Everything in moderation. As far as calorie control go, they're going to be pretty similar," Mellen said. "A lot of these, between 70 and 100 calories per."
We wanted to find out the calorie count and fat content of your kids favorite candies. A full-size Snickers bar has 280 calories and a whopping 14 grams of fat. Compare that to a mini-size Snickers, which contains about 40 calories and less than two grams of fat. An even healthier option is Raisinets. The fun-size pack has around 66 calories and less than one gram of fat. The fun-size Skittles will set you back 60 calories and less than one gram of fat. And the fun-size Starburst has just 40 calories and less than a gram of fat.
"I would always recommend the smaller over these bigger because the calories are going to make quite a difference," Mellen said. Aside from portion control, is there truly a healthier option when it comes to candy? Digging through the bowl, Mellen finds some good options. "I'm gonna go with something like a Musketeers because it's lower in fat," she said. "Raisinets also great. You get a little bit of fruit in there."
Bottom line, candy is tough to avoid on Halloween. But remember, moderation is key.
