Ugh.. Halloween candy is really starting to haunt me! It’s easy to look at the mini candy bars in the Halloween aisle and think “Oh they are just small, one or two won’t hurt me.” But the problem is that you can’t, okay at least I can’t, just stop with one or two. Halloween candy can haunt you waistline for weeks and months to come. Halloween is just the kick off of all the crazy eating our society submits itself to for the next 3 months. Saying no, or limiting yourself now can empower you to make good choices for the rest of the year. Who knew that a little piece of candy could have so much power?

Did you know that our bodies are programmed to crave carbs and sugar as the weather gets colder?

Now I can’t not eat candy, so I hit WebMD to find a list of lower-calorie Halloween treats. Here is what I found:

Lower-Calorie Halloween Treats

“And when you’re buying Halloween candy or other treats for your controlled indulgences, keep in mind some choices are better than others. Here are some lower-calorie candy and treat choices that will still satisfy your particular cravings.

INSTEAD OF: Chewy candy like Dots (150 calories and 22 grams sugar in two mini-boxes) and Fruit Gushers (90 calories and 12 grams sugar per pouch) …

CHOOSE: A chewy treat that has no calories or is naturally sweet.Try a piece of Ice Breakers gum (with no fat, calories, or sugar) or a mini-box of raisins (45 calories, 0 grams fat, 10 grams naturally occurring sugars).

INSTEAD OF: Chocolate bars with high-calorie caramel and peanut butter added, like Take 5 bars (105 calories, 5.5 grams of fat and 9 grams of sugar per fun-size bar) …

CHOOSE: Chocolate treats with something low-calorie added (like puffy grains). Try mini Quaker Chewy Granola Bars (60 calories, 2 grams fat, and 4 grams sugar per bar) or fun-size Nestle Crunch Bars (60 calories, 3 grams fat, 7 grams sugar).

INSTEAD OF: Chocolate bars filled with caramel, toffee or coconut, like Heath Miniatures with 115 calories, 7 grams fat, and 13 grams sugar for 3 bite-size pieces …

CHOOSE: Plain milk or dark chocolate fun-size bars, like Hershey’s fun-size bar (67 calories, 4 grams fat, 8 grams sugar). Bonus: You can also use these for baking or to make s’mores.

INSTEAD OF: Candy bars made with white chocolate like Hershey’s Cookies ‘n’ Creme, with 73 calories, 4 grams fat, and 6.3 grams sugar per fun size bar …

CHOOSE: Dark chocolate treats, like 3 Musketeers Mint fun-size bars (63 calories, 2.3 grams fat and 9 grams sugar per bar) and Dove Dark Chocolate pieces (84 calories, 5 grams fat and 7.6 grams sugar for two foil-wrapped pieces). White chocolate not only has more saturated fat than any other type of chocolate, but lacks the healthy phytochemicals found in cocoa and dark chocolate. ”

Another suggestion is just to avoid the candy aisle all together. Buy the trick or treaters something that is not edible – stickers, pencils, erasers, etc… Then you don’t even need to bring it into your home!