Most weekdays during the school year from my childhood until I graduated from high school, my brother and I dropped our backpacks next to the kitchen table and headed straight for the pantry as soon as we arrived home. Mom always stocked the designated “snack shelf” with plenty of options to fuel our homework sessions!
We almost always found crunchy Wheat Thins and Triscuits, salted pretzel rods or twists, and some type of granola bars, ranging from chocolate chip and peanut butter to fruit-filled and yogurt-covered. On some occasions, Mom even let us nibble on Teddy Grahams, little Swiss rolls, or chewy chocolate chip cookies. (She normally saved those last few for our lunchbox desserts, so it was always a big deal!)
Because Mom worked as a scientist during school hours and shuttled us to and from sports practices or music lessons in the afternoons, she rarely had enough time to cook dinner, let alone prepare homemade snacks for us. We didn’t mind at all though; we much preferred that quality time with her in the afternoons… And her help with homework!
Although we loved every bite of those store-bought after school snacks, many of them weren’t exactly the healthiest… So these 16 Healthy After School Snack Recipes probably would’ve been much better options!
All of these healthy after school snack recipes taste really good (in my slightly biased opinion!), and many of them are also easy to make. The majority of these healthy snack recipes are low calorie, low sugar, whole grain (with gluten-free options too!), and completely kid-friendly as well!
So here they are… Some of my favorite healthy afternoon and after school snack recipes!
THE RECIPES
from left to right, top to bottom…
- Healthy Mini Soft Pretzels
- Healthy Double Chocolate Granola Bar Bites
- Healthy Carrot Zucchini Oatmeal Snack Cake
- Healthy Apple Pie Energy Bites
- Healthy Flourless Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Bites
- Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Granola Bar Bites
- Healthy Stovetop Air Popped Popcorn
- Healthy Homemade Chocolate Teddy Grahams
- Healthy Flourless Oatmeal Raisin Cookie Dough Bites
- Healthy Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Snack Cake
- Healthy Mini Chocolate Graham Crackers
- Healthy Snickerdoodle Energy Bites
- Healthy Kettle Corn
- Healthy Salt & Pepper Quinoa Crackers
- Healthy Homemade Wheat Thins
- Healthy Cocoa Roasted Almonds
I miss after school snacks as a kid. Hell, I miss a lot of the carefree things about being a kid! HA.
YES!! Being a kid was so much easier than being an adult, wasn’t it?? I kind of wish I could go back to childhood at times! 😉