Health Tips

 

Your CNY Snacks Caloric Damage

As Chinese New Year is just around the corner, DOC2US would like to wish everyone a Happy Chinese New Year!

During this festive season, folks with a sweet tooth will be highly anticipating to indulge in the mouth-watering, golden crispy crackers and chips, and not to mention the savory kuih and cakes! Do be reminded, however, that these high calorie treats can lead to weight gain! You may say “some pineapple tarts and crispy peanut puffs won’t hurt anyone”, but better safe than sorry!

Read more to find out what the calories of common CNY snacks are and tips to win the CNY snacks calorie battle!

 

Dangers of High Calories Bomb

CNY snacks can exceed your daily calorie requirement, and also have high sodium, saturated fat, and sugar! All these can lead to water retention, bloating and increased cholesterol. For example, too much sugar raises our blood sugar level, which can cause debilitating effects especially to those with diabetes or pre-diabetes. On the other hand, too much salt intake can cause water gain and high blood pressure. Besides that, eating too much saturated fats can raise our LDL (bad) cholesterol, increasing risk of heart disease, stroke, and breast cancer. 

The daily recommended salt intake by the World Health Organization (WHO) is 2000mg sodium and a maximum of 5 to 10 teaspoons of free sugars per day. For recommended fat intake, let's say if you need ~2000 calories a day, no more than 200 of them should come from saturated fat. The Malaysian Dietary Guidelines 2010 Calorie Intake recommendations for adults aged 18-59 years old who are sedentary are 2000 kcal / day for male and 1500 kcal / day for females.

 

Dried Meat

Dried meat

Calories

Types of exercise to burn off the calories!

Bak KwaImage Credits:girlsstyle.com

301 kcal/1 slice

Fun fact: 1 slice of bak kwa is more than a bowl of white rice (225 calories)! 1 slice of yummy bak kwa also contains 4.1g saturated fat, 32g sugar, and more than 1 third of your daily sodium intake! 

After eating a single slice of bak kwa, you can jog for 30 minutes or do some heavy-duty household chores for around 45-50 minutes to burn off those calories!

 

 

Salted egg fish skin

64 kcal/10 grams

Fun fact: 100g of salted egg fish skin calories is equivalent to a plate of roasted duck rice!

To burn off 10 gram of Salted Egg Fish Skin calories, you can either walk for 28 minutes or go jogging or bicycling for 8 minutes around your park! 


 

 

Rice cakes

Rice cakes

Calories

Types of exercise to burn off the calories!

Sticky rice pan (Nián Gāo)

160-200 kcal/100grams

Fun fact: 1 piece of salty, sweet, crispy, gooey Nián Gāo is similar to a bowl of white rice (225 calories)!

 

To burn off the calories for 1 piece of sticky rice pan, you can do 30-minute exercises such as running laps, swimming or cycling or 2 hours 30 minutes of gardening. 

Taro cake (pan-fried)

160 kcal/100 grams

You can do 30 minutes of fun ballroom or disco dancing with your friends and family!

(For 1 piece of pan fried taro cake) 

Water chestnut cake (pan-fried)Image Credits: wikipedia

140 kcal/100 grams

Choosing an exciting hobby by kayaking for 30 minutes in the river!

(For 1 piece of pan fried water chestnut cake) 

Radish cake (pan-fried)

130 kcal/100 grams

Cycling for 30-minute around the park in the morning to burn off the extra calories!

(For 1 piece of pan fried radish cake) 

 

Pastries, Biscuits & Crackers

Pastries, Biscuits & Crackers

Calories

Types of exercise to burn off the calories!

Crispy Peanut PuffsImage Credits: The hong kong cookery

130 kcal/piece

Walk for 30 minutes around the park or garden (6.4 km/ hour) after crunching into a piece of crispy peanut puff! 

 

 

Sesame Balls

250 kcal/piece

You can swim backstroke for 30-minute to burn off 1 sesame ball! 

Pineapple Tart

93 kcal/piece

Fun fact: The total calories for 4 pineapple tarts is almost equivalent to 1 cup of bubble milk tea with 350 calories! 

Nomming 2 pieces of pineapple tart will require you to do 25 minutes of jumping jacks or cleaning the house for more than an hour! 

Peanut Cookies

54 kcal/piece

8 minutes of cycling, 5 minutes of running, or 19 minutes of cleaning, and you are good to go!

 

Green Pea CookiesImage Credits: Flickr

53 kcal/piece

3 green pea cookies will require you to do 24 minutes cycling, 16 minutes of running, and 58 minutes of cleaning

 

Kuih LapisImage Credits: Daily Cooking Quest

237 kcal/piece

Fun fact: This buttery multi-layered cake is a rival that of bak kwa

To burn off 1 piece slice of kuih lapis, you can swim for 35 minutes in the pool or do 90 minutes of household chores (e.g. washing the plates, cleaning your room!) 

Kuih BangkitImage Credits: wikipedia

15-31 kcal/piece

Fun fact: lower calorie, saturated fat, sugar and sodium compared to other kuih!

For 1 piece of kuih bangkit, you can go for 5 minutes of brisk walking

 

Kuih BahuluImage Credits: Kuali

34 kcal/piece

Fun fact: Great lower-calorie alternative

Chew on sugar-free gum for ~45 minutes to burn off 1 piece of kuih bahulu!

 

 

 

Kuih LoyangImage Credits: Malaysian Chinese Kitchen

50 kcal/piece

7 minutes of helping your parents move/ carry some furniture or heavy items in the house!

(For 1 piece of kuih loyang)

 

Kuih KapitImage Credits: Malaysian foodie

56 kcal/piece

20 minutes of typing an email

 

(For 1 piece of kuih kapit)

 

Dried Shrimp Rolls Image Credits: CNY Goodies

23 kcal/piece

After nibbling at 5-6 shrimp rolls, do 15 minutes of vigorous skipping or vacuuming the house for ~40 minutes

 

 

Love letters Image Credits: Chaisang

56 kcal/piece

3 love letters will require you to do 20-25 minutes of stair climbing or scrubbing the toilet floor for ~1 hour

Ngaku chipsImage Credits: Malaysian Chinese Kitchen

140 kcal/piece

Dancing to some upbeat tunes (suggestion:blackpink song) for half an hour

(For 1 piece of ngaku chip)

 

Prawn crackers

339 kcal/80 grams

1 portion of prawn crackers can be burned off by doing 6 minutes of cycling, 4 minutes of running, or 16 minutes of cleaning

 

Others

Mandarin Oranges, “kam” in Chinese, contain 50 calories. Box drinks such as chrysanthemum tea and winter melon tea also have 80 calories per packet. The easiest way to burn off the calories is either giving your parents a 10 minute massage or offering to wash their car!
 

Tips to win the CNY snacks calorie battle is to change your lifestyle and feeding habits!

  1. Plan your meals ahead! Slowly chewing your food can also reduce eating pace and increase satiety. You can also skip seconds and end your meal with something sweet.
  2. Ration CNY goodies while visiting your friends and relatives. Avoid overeating!
  3. Do 20-30 minutes of circuit workout daily such as push-ups, sit ups, squats and mountain climbers.
  4. Workout within 8 to 10 hours after feasting 

You can refer to this website here for more information about other CNY snacks calories and activities needed to burn off those fats!

 

A WORD FROM DOC2US

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Disclaimer: As a service to our users and general public, DOC2US provides health education contents. Please note the date of last review or update on all articles. No content on this site, regardless of date, should ever be used as a substitute for direct medical advice from your doctor or other qualified clinician.

 

Reference:

  1. Accu-chek. Recommended Calorie Intake. Available from https://www.accu-chek.com.my/hari-raya-aidilfitri/recommended-calorie-intake
  2. Says. Here Are The Number Of Calories In Your Favourite CNY Snacks And How You Can Burn Them Off. Available from https://says.com/my/makan/here-are-the-number-of-calories-in-your-favourite-cny-snacks-and-how-you-can-burn-them-off
  3. CNA. How many calories are lurking in your Chinese New Year snacks? Available from https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/chinese-new-year-snacks-fat-calories-fish-skin-345266
  4. CNA. What is the caloric damage of your favourite CNY snacks? Available from https://www.channelnewsasia.com/health/chinese-new-year-snacks-what-is-the-caloric-damage-diet-1422681
  5. Cigna. How to Burn Off Calories from Chinese New Year Food. Available from https://www.cigna.com.hk/en/smarthealth/eat/how-to-burn-off-calories-from-chinese-new-year-food
  6. Myfitnesspal. Food Calories. Available from https://www.myfitnesspal.com/food/calories/prawn-crackers-188866680

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Written by

Ms. Rosamund Koo Wei Xin

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