Deepavali Snacks: How Many Calories Are You Really Eating?

The murukku tin is open, the laddu tray keeps coming round, and every house insists you try "just one more". By the end of open house week, those Deepavali snacks have quietly added up.

Deepavali snacks are mostly fried, sweet, or both — murukku, laddu, athirasam, nei urundai and payasam, plus the pineapple tarts and cookies on every Malaysian festive table. That matters, because the Health Ministry's latest national survey found 53.6% of Malaysian adults are already overweight or obese.

Why Deepavali snacks add up so fast

Each piece looks tiny, so we rarely count it. But Singapore's health board puts one pineapple tart at about 92 calories, and five cornflake cookies at almost 200 — close to a small meal.

Now picture three houses in one afternoon, with a few pieces at each. Without sitting down to a single proper meal, you can easily take in several hundred extra calories.

For context, when our Health Ministry launched its Healthy Eating During Deepavali guide, the minister noted that women need about 1,500 calories a day and men about 2,000. One snack-heavy afternoon can use up a third of that.

A quick guide to popular Deepavali snacks

• Murukku and omapodi — crunchy and deep-fried; most of the calories come from the oil, not the flour.
• Laddu, burfi and mysore pak — sugar, ghee and flour pressed into small, very dense pieces.
• Athirasam and nei urundai — jaggery or sugar plus ghee, often fried as well.
• Payasam — milk, sugar and vermicelli; a bowl is a full dessert, not a drink.
• Pineapple tarts and cookies — buttery, sweet and easy to eat by the handful.

Healthier Deepavali snacks to make at home

Making your own lets you control the sugar and oil. A Kuala Lumpur dietitian told The Star that cutting the sugar in laddu, payasam, palkova and nei urundai is one of the easiest wins.

• Bake or air-fry murukku instead of deep-frying the whole batch.
• Use dates or figs for part of the sugar in laddu — still sugar, but you'll need less.
• Switch to low-fat milk in payasam and teh tarik.
• Roast your own nuts with spices instead of buying salted, fried ones.

How to enjoy Deepavali snacks without overdoing it

You don't need to skip your favourites. Pick the two or three Deepavali snacks you wait all year for, and pass on the ones you can buy any day.

Put your pieces on a small plate instead of eating from the tin, so you can see what you've had. Sip plain water between bites, and never arrive at an open house hungry — a filling breakfast makes the snack tray much easier to resist.

For more festive-week habits, read our guide to avoiding Deepavali weight gain. To see where your own numbers sit, start with how many calories you need a day.

Looking for an easier breakfast swap?

Many of our customers tell us the hardest part isn't knowing what to eat — it's having something filling ready on a rushed morning. That's where a measured meal replacement can help.

Hishin DietGrain is a black sesame grain drink made in Japan. Each serving blends:

• 13 whole grains and beans — brown rice, barley, buckwheat, soybean and more, for fibre that keeps you full longer
• 4 black foods — black rice, black bean, black sesame and black mulberry
• MCT oil and L-carnitine — two ingredients that studies suggest may modestly support fat loss as part of a calorie-controlled diet

Stir 2–3 tablespoons into 100ml of warm water and have it in place of breakfast. It's for adults 18 and above; if you're pregnant, breastfeeding or on medication, check with your doctor first.

DietGrain works together with the habits above — it makes them easier to keep, not unnecessary.

The bottom line

Deepavali snacks are part of the celebration, and nobody should feel guilty enjoying them. Just remember that small pieces add up: choose your favourites, plate them, and keep the rest of the day light.

Learn more about Hishin DietGrain →

Individual results vary. Hishin DietGrain is a food product and works best alongside a balanced diet and regular activity. It is not a substitute for medical advice — please consult your doctor if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, on medication or under treatment.