Easter food brings to mind family brunches, eggs (of course!) and baskets filled with Easter candy. Those pastel-wrapped treats and egg-shaped chocolates are certainly tempting, but are you getting more added sugar than you bargained for? Grab a handful of bite-sized candy and you may very well end up over the recommended daily limit on added sugars, which is 10 percent of calories, or about 6 teaspoons of sugar for women and 9 teaspoons for men. Eating too much sugar can cause your insulin to spike and over time may ramp up your risk for diabetes and obesity. And most of us get way too much sugar—the average American gets 270 calories each day from added sugars, the equivalent of almost 17 teaspoons of sugar.
Related: Better-Than-Store-Bought Homemade Candy Recipes
We've compiled a list of some classic Easter candy—and you may be surprised by how much sugar is in each (even our jaws dropped over just how sweet these treats are). The candy labels measure sugar in grams, and 4 grams are equal to 1 teaspoon of sugar. Almost all of that is added sugar, except for trace amounts of natural sugar, like lactose, that may be found in some of the milk chocolate. See how your favorites stack up and how to avoid sugar overload this spring.
Reese's Peanut Butter Eggs
8 g sugar (2 teaspoons)
1 egg (17 g): 90 calories, 5 g total fat, 2 g sat fat, 0 g trans fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 65 mg sodium, 9 g total carbohydrate, <1 g fiber, 2 g protein.
*The stats listed are for the snack-size eggs. The larger, individually sold Reese's eggs are twice as big and have double the calories and sugar.
Russell Stover Marshmallow Eggs
14 g sugar (4 teaspoons)
1 egg (28 g): 110 calories, 3 g total fat, 2 g sat fat, 0 g trans fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 30 mg sodium, 20 g total carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 1 g protein.
Dove Dark Chocolate Eggs
20 g sugar (5 teaspoons)
6 eggs (43 g): 220 calories, 14 g total fat, 8 g sat fat, 0 g trans fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 0 mg sodium, 26 g total carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 2 g protein.
Cadbury Creme Eggs
20 g sugar (5 teaspoons)
1 egg (34 g): 150 calories, 6 g total fat, 4 g sat fat, 0 g trans, <5 mg cholesterol, 15 mg sodium, 24 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 2 g protein.
Peeps Marshmallow Bunnies
26 g sugar (6.5 teaspoons)
4 bunnies (31 g): 110 calories, 0 g total fat, 0 g sat fat, 0 g trans fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 10 mg sodium, 28 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 1 g protein.
M&M's Milk Chocolate Eggs
27 g sugar (7 teaspoons)
1/4 cup (42 g): 210 calories, 9 g total fat, 5 g sat fat, 0 g trans fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 30 mg sodium, 30 g carbohydrate, 1 g fiber, 2 g protein.
Cadbury Mini Eggs
28 g sugar (7 teaspoons)
12 pieces (41 g): 190 calories, 7 g total fat, 4.5 g sat fat, 0 g trans fat, 5 mg cholesterol, 30 mg sodium, 29 g carbohydrate, <1 g fiber, 2 g protein.
Jelly Beans
28 g sugar (7 teaspoons)
35 beans (40 g): 140 calories, 0 g total fat, 0 g sat fat, 0 g trans fat, 0 g cholesterol, 15 mg sodium, 37 g carbohydrate, 0 g fiber, 0 g protein.
Related: All-Natural Easter Egg Dyes
Watch: How to Make Healthy Peanut Butter Balls
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Charlotte Fisher, Health Blog, Health, Holidays, Nutrition
Charlotte is a senior Nutrition & Food Science major at The University of Vermont. After taking a nutrition course her first-year of college, she realized she loved the subject and quickly switched her major. She loves all things food related and runs her own blog dedicated to eating nutritiously on a budget.
#food #Eatingwell #Recipe
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