How to choose the best Easter egg?

Every year debates ensue over what is the best chocolate Easter egg. Researching this issue all by yourself will not help your figure- so MyHealthPortal decided to find out which Easter egg is the healthiest for you.

Calories: 

There are a number of Easter eggs which are around the same caloric value.- 530 kcal per 100 g (about 200 per egg). Still, a few eggs are merciful to those on diets. The Nestle, Smarties and Rolo Easter eggs came in first with the lowest calorie count - only 500 kcal per 100 g. The Quality Street Easter Egg, also by Nestle took second place with 501 kcal. Cadbury's best offer was the Crunchie Easter Egg with 505 kcal per 100g.

% Fat: 

The Smarties Easter egg comes top here too with only 8g of fat!! That doesn’t seem  much when you compare it to 5.6g in a hen’s egg- but don’t forget that chocolate is high in saturated fat - especially milk chocolate. In most other Easter eggs, expect around 10g of fat.

Size: 

The chocolate egg has grown over the years and is now more like the size of an ostrich egg rather than a small bird's egg. Cadbury offers 39g small Easter eggs or Cadburys Mini Eggs in a 100g bag. Smarties presents you with mini filled Easter Eggs of 27g. If you are on a diet, it is advisable to choose the smallest egg as possible.

If all this still sounds problematic – don’t worry!

We’ve put together some guidelines for choosing the healthiest chocolates.

• Choose chocolate with the least amount of refined white sugar or other sweetener. Dark “bittersweet” chocolate with a high percentage of cocoa solids (usually the label will state the exact percentage) has less sugar than semisweet or milk chocolate and also has the greatest health benefits. Keep in mind that flavour additions, such as dried fruits and candied ginger adds more sugar to the chocolate.

• Choose chocolates sweetened with evaporated cane juice or barley malt. If the evaporated cane juice used is the unprocessed whole juice of the cane, it acts in the body like a whole food and doesn’t give a sugar rush. Barley malt is also a slow-release sweetener, noted on the label as “grain-sweetened.”

• Choose organic chocolates. Certified organic chocolate ensures there are no harmful pesticide residues.

• Make your own chocolates. It’s easy to make many chocolate delights yourself, with the exact ingredients you want. Start with unsweetened cocoa powder or baking chocolate and be creative!