Mary Jane
www.neccostore.com/mary-janes-original.pd
Calories: 32 per piece
Burn It: 11 minutes trick-or-treating
Ingredients: Corn syrup, dry-roasted peanuts, sugar, molasses, partially hydrogenated vegetable oil (cottonseed, soybean), soy lecithin, salt, mono & diglycerides, hydrogenated vegetable oil (rapeseed, cottonseed & soybean), glycerin and natural flavor.
What You Need to Know:
Molasses: It's just sugar.
Partially Hydrogenated Vegetable Oil: Not good. Creates trans fats, and increases risk for heart attacks.
More: Healthy Halloween Tips
Kit Kat Snack Size
www.hersheys.com/kitkat/products/kit-kat-snack-size.aspxCalories: 42 per piece
Burn It: 14.5 minutes trick-or-treating
Ingredients: Sugar; wheat flour; nonfat milk; cocoa butter; chocolate; palm kernel oil; lactose (milk); milk fat; contains two percent or less of: soy lecithin; PGPR, emulsifier; yeast; vanillin, artificial flavor; salt; sodium bicarbonate.
What You Need to Know:
Polyglycerol Polyricinoleate (PGPR): Sounds bad, but according to CSPI, "It stabilizes low-fat, high-water margarines and helps the 'flow properties' in candy production," and is safe.
Palm Kernel Oil: Extracted from the palm seed (not to be confused with palm oil, which is from the fruit and is 80 percent saturated fat), it has some benefits, such as vitamin E and oleic acid.
More: 10 Halloween Tricks and Treats
Kisses Milk Chocolate
www.hersheys.com/kisses/products.aspx#/KISSES-Milk-Chocolate
Calories: 25 per KissBurn It: 8.5 minutes trick-or-treating
Ingredients: Milk chocolate (sugar; milk; chocolate; cocoa butter; lactose; milk fat; soy lecithin; vanillin, artificial flavor).
What You Need to Know:
Yes, it's candy, but still, compared with the others it's better than I thought.
More: How to Conquer Your Sugar Addiction
Starburst Original Fruit Chews
Calories: 20 per pieceBurn It: 7 minutes trick-or-treating
Ingredients: Corn syrup, sugar, hydrogenated palm kernel oil and/or palm oil, fruit juice from concentrate (apple, strawberry, lemon, orange, cherry), less than two percent citric acid, dextrin, gelatin, food starch-modified, ascorbic acid (vitamin C), coloring (Red 40, Yellow 6, Yellow 5, Blue 1).
What You Need to Know:
Hydrogenated Palm Kernel Oil and/or Palm Oil: When you add the words "hydrogenated" it typically means trans fat, and is not healthy. See above.
Gelatin: This is the same thing used to make JELL-O. It's a protein acquired from animal hides and bones.
Blue 1 Lake: According to CSPI's Chemical Cuisine, "One (unpublished) animal test suggested a small cancer risk, and a test-tube study indicated the dye might affect neurons. It also causes occasional allergic reactions."
