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    What 100 Calories of Halloween Candy Looks Like

    Here's how to have some of what you're craving—without wrecking your diet this holiday

    various Halloween candies Photo: John Walsh/Consumer Reports

    Whether it’s chocolate, gummy candy, or lollipops, chances are you’ll dip into a bag of Halloween candy at least once (well, maybe twice; okay, three times) this month. And there’s nothing wrong with that. You just want to keep tabs on what and how much you’re eating.

    More on Healthy Eating

    “You can fool yourself into thinking those ‘fun size’ packages are small, so you can eat a lot of them,” says Amy Keating, R.D., a CR nutritionist. But calories and added sugars can add up fast.

    To help you keep your consumption in check, we calculated the exact amount of 22 trick-or-treat favorites you can eat without exceeding 100 calories. (Wonder why Brach’s candy corn isn’t in our list? It contains Red Dye No. 3, which has been linked to cancer in animals and hyperactivity in children and was recently banned by California for use in all foods, beginning in 2027. Sign Consumer Reports’ petition calling on the Food and Drug Administration to ban it nationally.)

    Use this visual guide to keep tabs on how much you’re eating—and on days when you do indulge, try to limit other sugary foods, Keating says, because you get from 2 to 5 teaspoons of added sugars in 100 calories of these sweet treats. (The American Heart Association recommends that women get no more than 6 teaspoons, or 25 grams, of added sugars a day. The daily limit for men is 9 teaspoons, or 36 grams.)

    Vote for your favorite Halloween candy, below.

    3 Musketeers (Fun Size)
    1.5
    3 Musketeers Minis
    3.9
    Butterfinger (Fun size)
    1.2
    Haribo Goldbears
    13
    Hershey’s Miniatures
    2.4
    Jolly Rancher Hard Candy
    4.3
    Kit Kat (Snack Size)
    2.8
    M&M’s
    22.8
    Milky Way Minis
    2.7
    Peanut M&M's
    8.6
    Peeps Pumpkins
    2.1
    Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups (Snack Size)
    1.25
    Reese’s Miniature Peanut Butter Cups
    2.3
    Skittles
    24.6
    Snickers (Fun Size)
    1.25
    Sour Patch Kids
    10.9
    Swedish Fish
    4.5
    Starburst
    5
    Tootsie Pops Minis
    5
    Twix (Fun Size)
    1.25
    York Dark Chocolate Peppermint Pattie Pumpkins
    2

    Editor’s Note: This article was updated Oct. 24, 2024, to remove Brach’s candy corn from the lead photo and candy infographic and to add information about concerns raised by Red Dye No. 3.


    Catherine Roberts

    Catherine Roberts is a health and science journalist at Consumer Reports. She has been at CR since 2016, covering infectious diseases, bugs and bug sprays, consumer medical devices like hearing aids and blood pressure monitors, health privacy, and more. As a civilian, her passions include bike rides, horror films and fiction, and research rabbit holes. Follow her on X: @catharob.