Calories in Sweets

It is festival time and of course, we cannot say no to sweet. Navarathri means ladoos, halwa, kheer for everyday offerings. Then, the festival of light Diwali (Deepavali) is in the corner with varieties of sweet boxes -Gulab jamun, rasamali, jilebi, laddoo, peda halwa and so on.  Eating sweet is okay, but we need to be cautious about the quantity that we consume. Some sweets are so delicious that we cannot stop just after one piece.  In addition, those sweets will supply high calories to our body. All these Indian sweets are  have ingredients like wheat, rice, clarified butter (ghee), sugar, coconut, condensed milk, dry fruits ! All these ingredients together make these sweets very rich in calories.  This adds up to nothing less than 100-150 calories per small piece or per small bowl.

Low-fat cakes made of whole wheat, honey and jagerry can be healthy. Also, peanut laddoos and nuts chikki are nutritious dessert options. However, anything in excess can go against your health, so it is best to consume desserts occasionally and to not be a victim of its harmful effects. See how much calories are in your favorite sweets.

Gulab Jamun:

Gulab Jamun is a popular Indian dessert made with fried dough and milk. Rolled into balls, the dough is then chilled in sugar syrup.

Ingredients: A dough made of milk solids (khoya), sugar syrup, cardamoms for flavour.

Method: Deep-frying in oil, and then soaking in sugar syrup.

CALORIE COUNT: Two medium size gulab jamun balls have about 387 calories.  Fat – 15gms. Cholesterol – 31mgs.

How to burn calories?:  Jumping rope for 45 minutes will help burn about 400 calories,

Jalebi

Keeping with the trend of deep-fried goodness, jalebi is also fried wheat flour (twisted into swirls or pretzel shapes) and dipped in sugar syrup. It gets its bright orange colour from food colouring.

Ingredients: Batter made with flour, yeast, sometimes yogurt and sugar.

Method:  The batter is deep-fried

CALORIE COUNT: One piece (100 gram) is about 200 calories. Fat – 24gms. Cholesterol – 7mgs.

BURN IT: Ballywood dancing for 25 minutes can burn up to 150 calories. 

Laddu (Or Ladoo)

Laddo is a ball-shaped dessert that is made from flour and sugar. They come in different colours, including yellow and orange.

Ingredients: Basin (gram flour), dry fruits, sugar syrup,

Method: Deep frying followed by adding sugar syrup

CALORIE COUNT: One medium piece (100 gm) has about 185 calories.

BURN IT: Going up and down on steps 20 minutes (12 steps staircase) can burn up to 185 calories.

Ras Malai

Ras malai is usually made with powdered milk, eggs and flour, then moulded into balls and served with sugar, cream and milk.

Method: Round balls made of powdered milk and flour dipped in heavy sugar syrup!

CALORIE COUNT: One piece (100 gram) has about 250 calories. Fat 1 gram

BURN IT: Rake for about 30 minutes and spend 15 minutes cleaning up the leaves — you can burn about 200 calories

Peda

Peda is made with thickened milk, sugar and flavorings like pistachios, cardamom and saffron.

CALORIE COUNT: One piece has about 82 calories.

BURN IT: One round of cleaning for 20 minutes (including sweeping) can burn up to 80 calories, according to eHow.com.

Halwa

THE DISH: Halwa is typically made with a flour base or nut base and often contains semolina. Halwa can be made with carrots, pistachios or almonds.

Ingredients: Vary by region – moong, wheat, semolina (sooji) etc., with sugar, dry fruits. The primary ingredients are flour, sugar and oil.

Method:  Constant combination of water, sugar and ghee with flour, till the flour separates.

CALORIE COUNT: One piece has about 100 calories.  Fat – 23gms. (Calories – 360 per small bowl). And

 Gajar ka halwa or carrot halwa 1 bowl = 237.4 cal

BURN IT: You need minimum 20 minutes workout to burn 100 calories.

Kheer

Kheer is the South Asian version of rice pudding, made with milk, sugar and toppings like almonds and cashews.

CALORIE COUNT: One serving has 270 calories. Fat -30 grams,

BURN IT: Running about 10 kms (6 miles) can burn up to 270 calories.

Kaju Barfi

Kaju katli is made from ground cashews and sugar. The sweet is topped with an edible silver foil.

Ingredients: Condensed milk, sugar, other variants include gram flour (besan), pistachios, cashews (kaaju).

Method: Grinding cashew and condensing under low flame while adding sugar, ghee etc.

CALORIE COUNT: One piece has about 100 grams = 145 calories.  Fat – 6gms. Cholesterol – 15mgs.

BURN IT: Walk on thread mill for 20 minutes at hiking mode and you will burn that 125 calories.

Karanji (Somasi)

Karanji is a dough pastry filled with coconut or sugar and fruit.

Ingredients: Coconut, sugar

CALORIE COUNT: One serving has about 224 calories.

A combination of steps, toe-taps and mountain climbers for 20 minutes can burn off 225 calories, according to Fitness Magazine.

Cham Cham (Chum Chum)

Cham Cham, or Chum Chum, is a popular Bengali dessert made with flour, sugar and coconut flakes.

CALORIE COUNT: One piece has about 175 calories.

BURN IT: One round of kick boxing (for about 15 minutes) can burn up to 175 calories.

Kulfi:

Made of milk, pista or mango or safron and sugar

CALORIE COUNT: 100 gm has about 500 calories !

BURN IT: Go for zumba for an hour or run for an hour or walk on thread mill for an hour.

References:

1. www.livestrong.com
2. www.indiatimes.com
3. www.ejyoti.com
4. www.southindianfoods.in