Tricks for Handling Treats
When it comes to holidays, parties, or even trips to the grocery store, children tend to look for sweet
treats. Although it can be difficult for families with diabetes, it is important that all children develop a
healthy relationship with food…and that includes knowing how to fit candy and other treats into
everyday life.
Everything in Moderation
Some people think that kids with diabetes should avoid sugar. We think
kids with diabetes should eat like kids without diabetes – eating all types
of foods in moderation!
On special days, try to share the focus with games, family time,
costumes and decorations. One parent gave the idea of the “magic
pumpkin” to handle the typical influx of candy at Halloween. Have your
child choose their 5 favorite pieces of candy and be amazed as the
“magic pumpkin” turns the rest into a special toy or book overnight!
Remember Diabetes Management Basics
1. It is often easiest to cover candy with insulin by dosing for it (1-2 pieces) with other foods at
mealtime. By having other food in your stomach, you can avoid the blood sugar spike that could
result from eating candy by itself.
2. Don’t forget to check those blood sugars! Sweets can affect blood sugars in different ways
depending upon the fat content. Knowing how your child’s blood sugars react is important to
fitting treats into their meal plan.
A Simple Calculation
Candy can be challenging to count, especially it comes in single
pieces. One way is to do a simple math calculation to figure out how
many grams of carbohydrate are in a single piece of candy.
Example: A child chooses 2 Hershey Kisses to have with dinner
Hershey’s Kisses:
9 pieces = 25 grams of Carbohydrate
25 grams ÷ 9 pieces = 2.6 grams/piece
2.6 grams/piece X 2 pieces = 5.2 grams of Carbohydrate to include with meal dose
See other side for candy carb info!
Carbs in Candy
Candy: Fruit Flavored Serving GRAMS G/PIECE
Brach’s Candy Corn 22 pieces 36 g 1.6 g/piece Chocolate: Miniatures Serving GRAMS G/PIECE
Candy Canes 1 cane 14 g Hershey Assorted 5 pieces 25 g 5 g/piece
Candy Hearts 40 pieces 39 g 1 g/piece Hershey’s Hugs 9 pieces 23 g 2.6 g/piece
Charleston Chew 1 bar 30 g Hershey’s Kisses 9 pieces 25 g 2.6 g/piece
Charms Blow Pops 1 pop 17 g Hershey’s Nuggets 4 pieces 24 g 6 g/piece
Carmel Apple Sucker 1 pop 15 g Hershey’s with Almonds 4 pieces 20 g 5 g/piece
Dots 12 dots 35 g 2.9 g/piece Hershey’s Nuggets 4 pieces 22 g 5.5 g/piece
Dum Dum Sucker 2 pops 13 g 6.5 g/piece Milky Way Regular 5 pieces 30 g 6 g/piece
Gobstoppers 9 pieces 14 g 1.6 g/piece Milky Way Dark 5 pieces 29 g 5.8 g/piece
Gummy Lifesavers 1 pack 14 g 3 Musketeer 7 pieces 32 g 4.6 g/piece
Gummy Worms 1 piece 7g Reeses Peanut Butter Cup - Mini 1 piece 4g
Hot Tamales 1 pack 23 g Reeses Pieces 10 pieces 5g 0.5 g/piece
Jolly Ranchers 3 pieces 17 g 5.7 g/piece Rolos 19 pieces 26 g 1.4 g/piece
Jolly Rancher Lollipop 1 pop 16 g Snickers 4 pieces 22 g 5.5 g/piece
Laffy Taffy 1 bar 33 g Tootsie Roll Midgees 1 piece 6g
Lemonheads 10 pieces 14 g 1.4 g/piece Twix 3 pieces 20 g 6.7 g/piece
Lifesavers 1 piece 2g Chocolate: FunSize Serving GRAMS G/PIECE
Marshmallow Bunnies 6 pieces 31 g 15.5 g/piece Almond Joy 1 bar 11 g
Mike & Ike’s 23 pieces 36 g 1.6 g/piece Baby Ruth 1 bar 12 g
Nerds 1 box 12 g Butterfinger 1 bar 13 g
Now ‘n’ Later 7 pieces 25 g 3.6 g/piece Heath 3 pieces 27 g 9 g/piece
Runts 12 pieces 14 g 1.2 g/piece Hershey’s Chocolate Bar 1 bar 10 g
Skittles 1 package 18 g Junior Mints 1 box 35 g
Smarties 1 roll 6g Kit Kat 2 pieces 9g 4.5 g/piece
Smuckers Jelly Beans 25 pieces 37 g 1.5 g/piece M & M’s Peanut 1 pack 13 g
Sour Patch Kids 1 bag 15 g M & M’s Plain 1 pack 15 g
Sprees 8 pieces 14 g 1.8 g/piece Milk Duds 13 pieces 28 g 2.2 g/piece
Starburst Fruit Chews 2 pieces 8g 4 g/piece Milky Way 1 bar 12 g
Sugar Babies 1 box 37 g Mounds 1 bar 11 g
Sweet Tarts 8 pieces 14 g 1.8 g/piece Nestle Crunch 3 bars 29 g 9.7 g/piece
Tootsie Pops 1 pop 15 g NutRageous 2 bars 18 g 9 g/piece
Twizzler 2 pieces 18 g 9 g/piece Nut Roll 1 bar 10 g
GUM Serving GRAMS 100 Grand 1 bar 15 g
Bazooka Bubble Gum 1 piece 4g Payday 1 bar 27 g
Big Red 1 stick 2g Reese Peanut Butter Cup 1 pack 9g
Bubblicious 1 piece 6g Reese Sticks 1 pack 23 g
Doublemint 1 stick 2g Sixlets 24 pieces 15 g 0.6 g/piece
Extra 1 stick 1g Snickers 1 bar 12 g
Juicy Fruit 1 stick 2g 3 Musketeer 1 bar 13 g
Super Bubble 1 piece 4g Twix 1 bar 10 g
Wrigley’s 1 stick 2g Whoppers 10 pieces 16 g 1.6 g/piece