Alcohol in general is a big source of extra calories during the holiday season, but there are a few boozy treats that make plain old beer and wine look downright health-conscious.

You know the ones. Eggnog, hot buttered rum, spiced wine and spiked hot chocolate all contain enough extra sugar — or fat and sugar — to make them as caloric as a small meal.

Does that mean you should avoid them altogether?

Bend dietitian RanDee Anshutz said that depends on how important they are to your annual tradition. If you can limit yourself to one pour, these holiday drinks don’t have to be the ruin of a good diet. Here’s some information to help you savor every calorie, or opt for something less costly to your waistline.

Eggnog

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For most, the eggnog base for a cocktail is a syrupy yellow liquid from a dairy carton.

If it is made from scratch, the recipe entails cooking up egg yolks, sugar, whole milk and heavy cream with a dash of nutmeg. No wonder the base concoction comes in at about 240 calories and 18 grams of sugar for 6 ounces.

The alcohol component can be spiced rum, a combination of rum and brandy, or whiskey, each of which is around 100 calories per shot.

The calorie calculation: A small glass of eggnog, depending on the alcohol content, is going to be 340 to 440 calories.

Using light eggnog will save about 60 calories per serving. Anshutz doesn’t think it’s a worthwhile sacrifice, especially if you’re trying to enjoy a truly rare treat. “If what you want is the mouthfeel and texture of real eggnog, I’d probably go with the real deal,” she said.

Spiced wine

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Spiced wine is made in many ways depending on the recipe’s origin. The drink also is known as mulled wine, glögg and glühwein.

The base is usually red wine mixed with port wine (or not) and a liquor such as vodka, brandy or aquavit, which is a potato-based liquor flavored with caraway. The wine is warmed and infused with cardamom, citrus and raisins, and here’s the part that’s not so obvious: Most recipes call for dissolving a cup of sugar in the batch before adding the liquor. The overall sweetness of the drink will depend on the base wine, but the cup of sugar is a big reason why an 8-ounce glass of spiced wine is around 335 calories. That’s a heap more than the 200 calories in the same size serving of pinot noir. If you’re looking for a low-calorie wine alternative, try a spritzer, which is white wine with club soda and lime, or maybe pomegranate seeds for a festive twist. Wine spritzers are around 80 calories, and Anshutz recommends them to anyone who’s going to be spending a lot of time at house parties. •

Hot buttered rum

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Harvey’s Butter Rum Batter means this drink is as easy to mix as eggnog, and it’s almost as rich.

Melt a tablespoon of the stuff — which is essentially butter, brown sugar and spices — into some hot water, add an ounce or two of rum, brandy or bourbon, and you have one of Central Oregon’s favorite holiday drinks.

The calorie count for an 8-ounce mug made with 2 ounces of rum is around 300, so it’s not quite as fattening as eggnog. The Harvey’s base is a bit more sugary at 21 grams per tablespoon. In late fall at East Bend Liquor, tubs of Harvey’s and a rum-brandy blend called White Christmas (also popular for eggnog) start flying off the shelves, owner Mark Merrick said.

A lower-calorie drink that still comes in a warm mug is the hot toddy, which is just an ounce of bourbon with hot water, a splash of lemon and a tablespoon of honey, all of which adds up to about 130 calories.

Hot chocolate and peppermint schnapps

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If chocolate and peppermint is a person’s jam, and he or she wants that kick of alcohol, too, there’s just no way around the calorie count.

One recipe for “hot schnocolate,” via food.com, comes in at 382.5 calories with 26 grams of fat and 25 grams of sugar. Like eggnog, hot chocolate has no satisfying substitute. And to make it peppermint-y, a strong alcohol that’s also high in sugar content is added. One shot of 100-proof Rumpleminz schnapps has 172 calories and 13 grams of sugar.

A note about counting calories in liquor: All 80-proof liquor — rum, vodka, whiskey — is about 64 calories per ounce, but most shot glasses measure 1.5 ounces, so you’re really looking at closer to 100 calories per shot. Calorie calculations assisted by RanDee Anshutz, dietitian, and CalorieKing.com.