6 Halloween-Themed Foods You Really Should Be Afraid Of

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You already know that candy is laden with processed sugar and artificial additives, but indulging in a few of your favorite goodies on Halloween night won’t totally derail you. What may truly wreck your healthy eating track record however is giving into the ever-expanding selection of Halloween-themed foods that go way beyond candy. Here are six items that go down fast, but they may come back to haunt you!

Burger King’s Halloween Whopper

BK’s Halloween Whopper, served on a pitch black bun, set off a social media storm and generated tons of headlines due to reports that eating it may turn your poop green. The burger, and its unfortunate reported side effect, have even inspired a couples’ Halloween costume, and there are hundreds (maybe thousands) of tweets tagged #GreenPoop on Twitter about the whole thing. In case you’re wondering about the really scary part: the burger’s nutrition facts state that it packs 710 calories, 52 grams of carb, 13 grams from sugar, 43 grams of fat (including some dreaded trans fat), and 1,530 mg sodium. Green poop aside, you’d have to spend over two hours navigating a corn maze to burn it off.

Dairy Queen Pumpkin Pie Blizzard

This decadent DQ dessert is made with vanilla soft serve, pie pieces, pumpkin pie filling, nutmeg, and whipped topping, for a total of 980 calories, 150 grams of carb, 114 grams from sugar, and 33 grams of fat. That’s about three times the calories as one slice of pumpkin pie, and the equivalent of over 28 teaspoons of sugar, nearly five times the recommended daily cap for women.

Dunkin’ Donuts Pumpkin Crumb Cake Donut and a Pumpkin Swirl Latte

The donut alone contains 450 calories, 56 grams of carb, 35 grams from sugar, and 23 grams of fat. Pairing it with a large latte made with whole milk adds an additional 450 calories, 70 grams of carb, 69 grams from sugar, and 12 grams of fat, the calorie equivalent all together of 123 pieces of candy corn or 36 rolls of Smarties.

Denny’s Pumpkin Pecan Pie Pancake Breakfast

This ghoulishly indulgent breakfast feast includes two pumpkin pancakes, made with glazed pecans and drizzled with pecan pie sauce, along with two eggs, hash browns, and either two bacon strips or two sausage links. With bacon it totals 1,100 calories, 124 grams of carb, 45 grams from sugar, 54 grams of fat, and 2,320 mg sodium, an entire day’s worth (and this is the better choice, versus the sausage, mind you). To burn this meal off you’d have to dance to the monster mash for a straight three and a half hours.

Olive Garden Pumpkin Cheesecake

OK, I know that it’s obvious that cheesecake is a serious calorie bomb, but this particular version packs 870 calories, 104 grams of carb, 67 grams from sugar, and 46 grams of fat. Even without dinner that’s the calorie equivalent of nearly 11 fun sized Snickers, a splurge that would require three hours of raking leaves to torch.

Panera Bread Pumpkin Pie Bagel

You can find a pumpkin-y version of nearly any food these days, and bagels are no exception. Panera’s version provides 380 calories, 75 grams of carb (as much as five standard slices of bread!), 24 grams from sugar, and 5 grams of fat. Schmearing it with a two ounce portion of reduced fat honey walnut cream cheese adds another 150 calories for a total of 530, the amount burned in more three hours of pumpkin carving.

What’s your take on this topic? Chat with us on Twitter by mentioning @goodhealth and @CynthiaSass.

Cynthia Sass is a nutritionist and registered dietitian with master’s degrees in both nutrition science and public health. Frequently seen on national TV, she’s Health’s contributing nutrition editor, and privately counsels clients in New York, Los Angeles, and long distance. Cynthia is currently the sports nutrition consultant to the New York Yankees, previously consulted for three other professional sports teams, and is board certified as a specialist in sports dietetics. Sass is a three-time New York Times best-selling author, and her brand new book is Slim Down Now: Shed Pounds and Inches with Real Food, Real Fast. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest.

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