Throughout elementary and middle school, my brother and I immediately dropped off our backpacks at the kitchen table as soon as we arrived home in the afternoons. Although we always started on our homework assignments before dashing outside to play or heading off to sports practices, we usually grabbed a snack from the pantry first.
With our hectic schedules — soccer, basketball, tennis, piano lessons, flute lessons, trumpet lessons, church choir, and so much more — Mom kept the cupboards very well stocked. She usually bought snacks that were portable and traveled well, just in case our typical afternoon schedule changed and we needed to eat them in the car.
Depending on which grocery store she stopped by on Sundays, we often found a small assortment of different boxes and bags of crunchy pretzels, Ritz crackers, Triscuits, Wheat Thins, Goldfish, Nature Valley granola bars, fruit leather strips, boxes of raisins, Quaker chewy granola bars, fruit gummies… Just to name a few!
All of the snacks sat on a shelf directly above the sweet treats that Mom tucked inside of our lunchboxes every day for dessert. Those ranged from Little Debbie chocolate Swiss rolls and oatmeal creme pies to classic Oreos and chewy Chips Ahoy to Hostess donettes and cream-filled chocolate cupcakes. During the fall, that same shelf held our Halloween candy too, which Mom usually added to our lunches instead of the store-bought baked goodies!
We knew better than to ask for one of the sugary desserts as an afternoon snack… But every once in a while, when we earned a really great grade on a test or brought home a stellar report card, Mom let us celebrate with one of those sweet treats after school.
As a huge chocoholic, even back then, I normally reached for one of the chocolate desserts, like Oreos or double chocolate chewy Chips Ahoy… But the chocolate Swiss cake rolls and cream-filled chocolate cupcakes were my favorites!
And now, far too many years later, I’ve finally created a much healthier after school snack cake than those two favorites from my childhood… This Healthy Double Chocolate Oatmeal Snack Cake!
It’s supremely rich and chocolaty, and it basically tastes like fudgy brownies! Yet unlike the store-bought sweets, this recipe is definitely healthy enough for everyday snacking (and even breakfast!) and contains no artificial ingredients, refined flour or sugar… And it’s still really moist and tender with just 100 calories in each slice!
Continue reading & see the rest! ›› Healthy Double Chocolate Oatmeal Snack Cake
0 Comments