Dietitian reveals the healthiest chocolate bars on Aussie supermarket shelves

While no chocolate bar is ever going to be a health miracle, you can make better choices without cutting out your favourite sweet treat, a dietitian insists.

While no chocolate bar is ever going to be a health miracle, you can make better choices without cutting out your favourite sweet treat, a dietitian insists. Picture: iStock

Look, no chocolate bar is ever going to be healthy. But what sort of life doesn’t involve the occasional treat? According to our resident dietitian, though, you can make wiser choices.

Whether it’s a cheeky handful of treats with your morning cuppa, a bar at your desk in the afternoon or a row on the couch after dinner, many of us have a hard time saying ‘no’ when chocolate is on the table.

Creamy and oh-so delicious, it’s easy to see why.

Now, I’m sure you don’t need a dietitian to tell you that chocolate is in the ‘treat’ food basket.

Full of added sugar and saturated fat which aren’t good news for your teeth and heart respectively, chocolate offers little nutritional value but stacks of calories – meaning it can easily contribute to weight gain if consumed in excess over time.

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Which chocolate bar is healthiest? Our dietitian weighs in. Picture: iStock

This might surprise you, but I don’t really believe in picking ‘healthier’ treat foods – after all, chocolate is still chocolate, regardless of what it says on the nutrition information panel.

Instead, I think it’s perfectly healthy to enjoy your favourite treats guilt-free every now and then, as long as the foundation of your diet is healthy whole foods.

That being said, if I absolutely had to make a decision on healthier vs. less healthy chocolate choices, here’s my ranking order of popular milk chocolate bars, from the lightest choices to those a little more indulgent.

The aisles can be overwhelming to pick from. Picture: iStock

MILK CHOCOLATES: HEALTHIEST TO LEAST HEALTHY

• Snickers Crisper: Per 40g bar (two pieces): 820kJ, 2.8g protein, 3.6g sat fat, 17.6g sugar
• Summer Roll: Per 40g bar: 786kJ, 2g protein, 4.7g sat fat, 17g sugar
• Flake: Per 30g bar: 665kJ, 2.3g protein, 5.6g sat fat, 17.2g sugar
• Turkish Delight: Per 55g bar: 868kJ,
• Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups: Per 42g pack (two ‘cups’): 944kJ, 4.6g protein, 4.6g sat fat, 21.5g sugar
• Picnic: Per 46g bar: 1010kJ, 4g protein, 5.9g sat fat, 19.7g sugar
• Cadbury Twirl: Per 39g packet (two bars): 876kJ, 2.8g protein, 7.4g sat fat, 22.4g sugar
• Kit Kat: Per 45g bar (four fingers): 974kJ, 3g protein, 7g sat fat, 22.6g sugar
• Kinder Bueno: Per 43g pack (two bars): 1018kJ, 3.6g protein, 7.4g sat fat, 17.8g sugar
• Aero: Per 40g packet: 920kJ, 2.2g protein, 7.4g sat fat, 23.8g sugar
• Milky Way: Per 53g bar: 1020kJ, 1.6g protein, 3.9g sat fat, 31.4g sugar
• Mars Bar: Per 53g bar: 1020kJ, 1.9g protein, 4.4g sat fat, 30.6g sugar
• Crunchie: Per 50g bar: 931kJ, 2.8g protein, 9.5g sat fat, 62.8g sugar
• Twix: Per 50g bar: 1050kJ, 2.2g protein, 6.8g sat fat, 24.5g sugar
• Toblerone: Per 50g bar: 1120kJ, 2.5g protein, 9.5g sat fat, 26g sugar
• Cherry Ripe: Per 52g bar: 1040kJ, 2.2g protein, 10.4g sat fat, 24.9g sugar
• Violet Crumble: Per 50g bar: 990kJ, 1.2g protein, 8.3g sat fat, 32.9g sugar
• Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate: Per 50g bar: 1120kJ, 3.8g protein, 9.6g sat fat, 28g sugar
• Bounty: Per 56g packet (two bars): 1154kJ, 2.1g protein, 11.9g sat fat, 26.9g sugar
• Bounty: Per 60g bar: 1290kJ, 2.2g protein, 10.5g sat fat, 29.5g sugar

This article originally appeared on bodyandsoul.com.au and was reproduced here with permission