The Best Better-For-You Candy Plus All The Candy Holidays - The Nibble Webzine Of Food Adventures The Best Better-For-You Candy Plus All The Candy Holidays
 
 
 
 
THE NIBBLE BLOG: Products, Recipes & Trends In Specialty Foods


Also visit our main website, TheNibble.com.





What’s The Best Candy For The Diet-Minded Plus All The Candy Holidays

October 31st is Halloween, and November 4th is National Candy Day. What’s a calorie-counting candy lover to do?

Here are some of your best candy choices.

Note that this is not permission to gorge on anything on the list. You should limit yourself to 150-calorie portions daily—and limit gorging to lettuce and celery.

> The history of candy.

> The history of 950+ other foods and beverages.

> See all of the candy holidays (below).
 
 
BEST CHOCOLATE CHOICES

  • Cacao Nibs: These are sold plain in health food stores, but SweetRiot chocolate-coated cacao nibs are more of a candy treat. The brand sells its nibs coated in 65% or 70% chocolate. Cacao beans, especially when eaten raw, are one of the highest antioxidant foods (however, roast them and coat them, and you lose a lot of “benefit.” You can find Sweet Riot at retailers nationwide.
  • Chocolate Bars: Choose bars that are 70% cacao and higher. The higher the percentage of cacao, the lower the amount of sugar. With milk chocolate the situation is reversed. You can have 70% cacao bars enhanced with nuts (but not “praline,” which adds sugar) or an “Aztec” chocolate bar, which adds chile and cinnamon spices.
  • Chocolate-Covered Fruits: From dried apricots to fresh strawberries, there are good choice here. Fresh fruit—apples, strawberries, orange peel and segments—are a better bet. Strawberries are particularly low in calories: They’re almost a freebie with the chocolate—and you can dip your own at home.
  • Chocolate-Covered Expresso Beans: The crunch of the roasted beans and the added caffeine make this confection popular among coffee lovers.
  • Chocolate-Covered Nuts & Seeds: Whatever nut you choose, you’re getting a hit of protein, fiber and healthy fats. Ditto with sunflower seeds. Look for artisan brands or head to your local chocolatier or natural foods retailer for a 70% cacao coating. Mass-market brands (Hershey’s, Nestlé, Mars, etc.) use high-sugar chocolate coatings. Still, in a choice between Goobers and a Milky Way, pick the Goobers.
  • York Peppermint Patties: We always have a Costco-size box of these on hand, and grab two or three when we need a chocolate fix. You can also melt them into a no-sugar-added hot chocolate or a glass of microwaved hot milk. The chocolate is both darker and higher quality than that of Junior Mints. While the York brand is now owned by Hershey’s, it has maintained the chocolate coating that its fans love.
  •  
     
    BEST HARD CANDIES

    Nutritionist Joy Bauer recommends hard candies, “because they automatically pace you. They take a while to finish (as long as you suck or lick, not chomp!), so you get to savor the sweetness for a bit and stretch your sugar calories.

    “As long as you limit yourself to a few pieces, you can’t do that much damage,” she concludes.

    Joy’s comments on her favorites in the category:

  • Atomic Fireballs: Unlike some addictive sugary candies that you can swallow by the handful, Atomic Fireballs are a great “one and done” candy option. They’re hard as a rock, so you can’t bite through them; and after you finish one flaming sucker, you’ll be ready to give your mouth a rest. One large, individually-wrapped Fireball has only 35 calories.
  • Lifesavers and Jolly Ranchers: Fruity Lifesavers have 15 calories, Jolly Rancher has 23 calories. Both are available in a wide variety of flavors.
  • See’s Gourmet Lollypops: In butterscotch, café latte, chocolate and vanilla, they’re 80 to 90 calories apiece.
  • Smarties: These have just 25 calories for an entire roll, a calorie bargain! (Note: It’s a skinny roll.)
  •  
     
    BEST CHEWY CHOICES

  • Australian or European Licorice: Unlike American brands, there is no HFCS or artificial flavors in Australian and most European licorice (they spell it liquorice). We don’t like the artificial-tasting domestic product, but we can’t get enough of brands like Kookaburra.
  • Florida’s Natural Au’some Treats: Joy Bauer likes Florida’s Natural Au’some Nuggets and Sour Strings because they’re made with more than 60% real fruit and fruit juices. A bonus: They come in pre-portioned, 50-calorie pouches. “These fruit chews are a terrific step up from sugary gummy bears and traditional fruit snacks,” she says.
  • Yummy Earth Sour Worms: These sugarcoated worms are made with organic fruit juice instead of high-fructose corn syrup. While “sour” means less sugar, note that sour candies have more acid (the “sour”), which can erode tooth enamel. So don’t eat to many; and if you can, brush afterward.
  •  
     
    WHAT ABOUT SUGAR-FREE CANDY?

      Kookaburra Allsorts Liquorice
    [1] For licorice lovers, Australian liquorice and European brands are better bets than American licorice (photo courtesy Kookaburra Licorice).

    Chocolate Covered Almonds
    [2] Chocolate lovers: Chocolate-covered nuts are a better choice than chocolate bars (photo of chocolate- and cocoa-covered almonds courtesy Charles Chocolates).

    Chocolate Covered Strawberries
    [3] The best choice may be chocolate-covered strawberries: low-calorie fruit and a thin coating of chocolate (photo courtesy Balducci’s).

    York Peppermint Minis
    [4] The chocolate coating on York Peppermint Patties is very good, and two or three minis do the track (photo courtesy Hershey’s).

    Chocolate Covered Coffee Beans

    [5] Coffee lover? These coffee-coated espresso beans (photo courtesy Superior Nut Store).

     
    Most of us have the impression that sugar-free candy is “better for you” than regular versions. The truth is that all candy, sugar-free or regular, can be high in calories, fat, and carbohydrate.

    Most healthcare professionals advise that it be limited to diabetics and those with other special needs, like too much tooth decay. Here’s more detail.
     
     
    MORE CANDY HOLIDAYS

  • January 3: National Chocolate Covered Cherry Day
  • January 8: National English Toffee Day
  • January 12: National Marzipan Day
  • January 20: National Buttercrunch Day (the difference between toffee and buttercrunch)
  • January 26: National Peanut Brittle Day
  • February 1: Decorating with Candy Day (we go for chocolate chip cookies topped with M&Ms)
  • February 2: National Heavenly Hash Day
  • February 11: National Peppermint Patty Day
  • February 15: National Gumdrop Day
  • February 15: National I Want Butterscotch Day
  • February 14: Valentine’s Day
  • February 19: National Chocolate Mint Day
  • February 23: National Tootsie Roll Day
  • March 8: National Peanut Cluster Day
  • March 14: White Day†
  • March 19: National Chocolate Caramel Day
  • March 24: National Chocolate Covered Raisins Day
  • March 26: National Nougat Day
  • March 28: National Something On A Stick Day*
  • April 5: National Caramel Day
  • April 18: National Piñata Day
  • April 12: National Licorice Day
  • April 22: National Jelly Bean Day
  • May 4: National Candied Orange Peel Day
  • May 13: National Cough Drop Day (for those who eat them like candy)
  • May 18: I Love Reese’s Day
  • May 23: National Taffy Day
  • June: National Candy Month
  • June 2: National Rocky Road Day
  • June 16: National Fudge Day
  • June 20: National Almond Buttercrunch
  • June 24: National Pralines Day
  • July 15: National Gummi Worm Day
  • July 18: National Sour Candy Day
  • July 20: National Lollipop Day
  • July 22: National Penuche Fudge Day
  • July 28: National Milk Chocolate Day
  • July 31: National Jump For Jelly Beans Day
  • September 14: National Gobstopper Day (popularly known as jawbreakers)
  • September 16: National Choose Your Chocolate Day
  • September 21: National Sponge Candy Day
  • September 22: National White Chocolate Day
  • October: National Caramel Month
  • October 2: National Smarties Day
  • October, Third Saturday: National Sweetest Day
  • October 13, National M&M Day
  • October 20: Office Chocolate Day
  • October 25: National Sourest Day (if you didn’t get enough sour candy on July 18)
  • October 28: National Chocolate Day
  • October 30: National Candy Corn Day
  • October 31: Sneak Some of the Candy Yourself Before the Kids Start Knocking Day
  • November 4: National Candy Day
  • November 7: National Bittersweet Chocolate with Almonds Day
  • December 1: National Peppermint Bark Day
  • December 7: National Cotton Candy Day
  • December 16: National Chocolate Covered Anything Day
  • December 19: National Hard Candy Day
  • November 20: National Peanut Butter Fudge Day
  • December 21: National Ribbon Candy Day
  • December 26: National Candy Cane Day
  • December 28: National Chocolate Candy Day
  •  
    Sixty candy holidays! Wow, that’s a lot of candy!
     
    ________________
     
    *There are other types of candy that come on a stick besides lollipops: candy kabobs, marshmallow pops, and Sugar Daddy, for example.

    Other sweets on a stick that aren’t candy, per se, include cake pops, candy and caramel apples, cheesecake on a stick, chocolate-dipped bananas and other fruits, cookie pops, fruit kabobs, and popcorn balls.

    †White Day is observed on March 14, a month after Valentine’s Day. People give gifts of chocolate to those they love, respect, and/or admire. The holiday began in Asia, but has since traveled across the globe.

      

    Please follow and like us:
    Pin Share




    Comments are closed.

    The Nibble Webzine Of Food Adventures
    RSS
    Follow by Email


    © Copyright 2005-2025 Lifestyle Direct, Inc. All rights reserved. All images are copyrighted to their respective owners.