It’s that time of year again. Time to burn a few extra calories in preparation  for the sweetest day of the year – Halloween!

This is a tough holiday for me, because along with my red wine, I really do love chocolate. Luckily, there are some treats that aren’t quite as spooky as others when it comes to the calorie content.

Here are a few ideas that can help you feel a little less guilty if your hand finds its way into that plastic pumpkin basket to grab a treat of your own:

Going to extremes: Buy candy you DON’T like. Since I’m a chocolate fiend, buying fruity candies like Skittles or Starbursts is an easy way for me to avoid  finding too many wrappers in my trash on November 1st. You can also hand out sugar-free gum. At about five calories per stick, if you chew on a few of those during the holiday, it’s obviously not going to blow your healthy eating habits to smithereens.

Middle-of-the-road options:Here are some candy options that will help keep the calorie overload to a reasonable level:

• York Peppermint Patties: who says you can’t enjoy a full-size candy bar without a side order of guilt? This cool treat drenched in dark chocolate is 140 calories with 2.5 grams of fat. (Compare that to a full-size Snickers bar that has 280 calories and 14 grams of fat, and you’ve got a good reason to be satisfied by all that minty goodness!)
• Mini Three Musketeer Bars: You can enjoy three minis for 24 calories and less than one gram of fat.
• Hershey Kisses: Three chocolate smooches come in at 67 calories and 4 grams of fat.
• Tootsie Roll: One piece has 26 calories and five grams of fat.
• Candy Corn: You can have a whole handful of 10 pieces for only 64 calories and 0 grams of fat.
• 100 Calorie Packs: A good alternative to candy bars, these individual packs can satisfy your sweet tooth and take the guess-work out of portion control.