The affirmation that I have finally entered the realm of calm, capable, multi-tasking mummy-hood, didn't come from a freezer full of homemade, baby-food ice cubes as I expected.

Rather, it came as I managed to apply mascara perfectly with Chloe balanced on one hip. This is much more complicated than it sounds, requiring a rapid counterbalance reflex to avoid her little hands grasping hold of the mascara wand and shoving it lovingly into my eye.

In fact, getting dressed in the morning has become a fine art. Now that Chloe is not only on the move, but drawn like a lemming to the edge of the bed, I have to get ready in ten second bursts as she negotiates her way around the bedroom floor.

I'm not sure why babies are drawn to dangerous objects in particular, but this week her favourites have been the hairdryer and the cord running to the bedside lamp. I did have a moment of triumph though this morning as I distracted her for a full ten minutes with an empty water bottle and a wooden spoon.

However, as good as the bottle/spoon combo was, nothing quite matches a visit from UK Granny for safe and fun diversion. For the last week, at all other times of day, Granny has been on hand to play with the babe while we deal with the domestic stuff – or vice-versa. The down-side is of course that I'm getting awfully used to all the help and coming home to a spotless house!

One other little problem is that a UK Granny visit also brings with it a number of dietary indiscrepancies that unravel some of my hard work. Although Granny is a proponent of good, wholesome food, this bracket seems to include an awful lot of gin & tonic and crisps. The word "pudding" also raises its head fairly often – much to the lovely husband's delight – although I can usually stave Granny off with a few squares of dark chocolate.

Before I get disowned, let me say this: although I always joke that she's a disruptive influence, I have never, ever met someone so disciplined when it comes to chocolate. This has actually disturbed me of late, as whilst looking for similarities between me and Chloe, I've also looked for similarities between me and my Mum. And whilst there are many resemblances, I'm wondering how it's possible for a mother and daughter to have two such opposing chocolate personalities.

We all know that chocolate is my gigantic weakness, yet Granny is capable of taking just one square from a large bar in the cupboard and walking away. I can't do that - there's something about an uneaten bar of chocolate that just seems wrong to me!

This is of course the dietary reality facing the average person. Whilst many of us are good most of the time, we all tend to have at least one weakness that kicks in on a regular basis. And if, like me, your weakness is chocolate then I have some helpful info for you.

The best advice is that when you have a chocolate craving, eat a small quantity of dark chocolate. Dark chocolate contains a higher cocoa content, which is more likely to satisfy you quickly. Less is more and all that.

However, this isn't necessarily helpful when it comes to the mid-afternoon chocolate buying frenzy that kicks in on weekdays in Hamilton. Pop down to the Phoenix at 3pm and you'll see a long queue of office workers lined up at the tills, bars of chocolate in hand. So, in an effort to make this advice as realistic as possible, I've just come back from an interesting browse through the candy-aisle.

My aim was to pick the best of the bad options – as whilst I would never recommend chocolate as a healthy afternoon snack, this is an exercise in damage limitation! So, I put back everything on the shelf that was over 200 calories.

I also put back anything with bad E numbers (a very few are benign), artificial colours, flavours or sweeteners. I got rid of anything with hydrogenated fat or a comparatively high level of total fat or sugar. Finally, I also eliminated everything with an unclear nutrition label – there are a surprising number of chocolate bars that have most of their information listed in Arabic. This may mean that I have left out some of the better options unfairly, but if I couldn't be sure then I rejected it.

This left me with a small handful of options: the Brunch Bar, Smarties, Crunchie and the mini (35g) Green & Blacks chocolate bars. The Green & Blacks mini bars are better options for two reasons - firstly, they're organic and secondly, the serving size is a little smaller than your average Dairy Milk. This means that they come in under my calorie, sugar and saturated fat quota. The Brunch Bar made it as it only contains 150 calories at the same time as managing to combine chocolate with wholegrain oats.

The Crunchie is also one of the lightest options – containing less calories and less sugar that either a Milky Way or 3 Musketeers bar (interesting as the latter are often marketed as "the lighter way to enjoy chocolate.") Finally, Smarties have been reformulated so they don't contain any artificial colours of flavours – even the blue is natural – coming in at 174 calories per pack. Be careful though if you are Coeliac or react to wheat – Smarties do contain wheat flour.

Before I sign off, please don't misinterpret this as an endorsement of chocolate as a healthy snack! Prevention is always better than cure – this means that anticipating your chocolate craving is key, pre-empting it with a healthy snack (e.g. fresh fruit and raw nuts) just before the craving normally kicks in. However, at least you're now equipped to make a better decision when the temptation becomes too great!

The advice given in this article is not intended to replace medical advice, but to complement it. Always consult your GP if you have any health concerns. Catherine Burns is a fully qualified Nutritional Therapist. She can be contacted at clinicalnutrition@gmail.com