Healthy Whole Grain Snacks

This makeover recipe was one of the favorites chosen for our 30th anniversary issue. Tahini gives this cookie a subtle sesame flavor.

Finding a snack that satisfies your craving for something sweet and salty while providing the best fuel for your body and brain isn't always easy. But luckily, these energy bites check every box!

These festive no-cook energy balls have all the flavors you love in peppermint-chocolate bark but in healthy snack form. Whip up a batch for an office or after-school treat, or take them along to a holiday cookie swap. The recipe is easily doubled or even tripled. Be sure to store the bites at room temperature rather than the refrigerator--the moisture from the fridge will melt the candy cane coating.

A blend of dates, sunflower seed butter, salt and vanilla make these bites surprisingly reminiscent of salted caramel--both in taste and texture. Unlike our ultra-easy mix-and-match basic energy ball recipe, you'll need a blender to make a paste for the base of these balls, but the extra effort is oh-so-worth it for the sweet and satisfying result.

These gluten-free muffins use finely ground rolled oats in place of flour. That gives the fruit- and nut-studded muffins a tender texture and fluffy crumb. To make the muffins even easier, everything is combined in the blender so you can blend, pour, bake and enjoy.

These healthy apple cookies made with oats, shredded apples and brown sugar make snack time enjoyable for everybody.

Dates provide all the sweetness you need for these no-bake energy bars. Each square serves up a hearty dose of protein--thanks to peanut butter and peanuts--as well as fiber from rolled oats. Kids will love the chewy bites with crunchy nuts.

The dough in this easy dessert recipe does double duty--it creates a sturdy crust to hold all the gooey strawberry filling and also makes a crisp crumb topping. Serve with a scoop of vanilla ice cream or a dollop of whipped cream to take this to the next level.

There are plenty of granola bar options at the grocery store, but they're also easy (and often healthier) to make at home. Feel free to vary the add-ins to your taste, swapping 2 cups of any combination of small (or chopped) dried fruit, nuts, seeds and/or chocolate chips for the dried cranberries and nuts in this version. We tested several sticky sweeteners, including maple syrup and honey, but found brown rice syrup held the bars together the best.

This easy energy ball uses natural ingredients to give you a quick bite of energy when you need it. Dried apricots and honey hold together the coconut and oats, while ginger and tahini deepen the sweet flavors. Ready in just 25 minutes, you can have these as a grab-and-go breakfast, afternoon snack or sweet treat after dinner.

Avocado Tea Sandwiches

Shredded zucchini provides moisture and texture to these two-bite muffins, while chocolate chips add just the right amount of sweetness. A perfect quick breakfast or after-school snack, these muffins freeze well, so make a batch ahead of time for busy days.

Made with nonfat milk, this comforting rice pudding (delicious for breakfast, too) has a lovely creamy consistency because Italian arborio rice is used.

Think of crème fraîche as sour cream's richer, thicker, less-sour sibling. In this healthy muffin recipe, it's the secret ingredient that gives these muffins a light texture and rich flavor. The batter is made with extra spices and tons of sweet fruit, which means you won't notice the minimal amount of white sugar.

We gave no-bake cookies a healthy makeover, bumping up the peanut butter and cutting back on added sugar and butter. The result is a chewy, peanut buttery, oat-packed delicious cookie. It's easy to whip up a batch of these--only a few simple ingredients are needed to make these chewy peanut butter cookies and there's no baking required.

We subtracted the flour, dairy products and eggs from these healthy mini muffins, which are vegan and gluten-free. But we left in all the good stuff--like tons of juicy berries in every bite. Applesauce and brown sugar make these blender muffins moist and provide just the right amount of sweetness for breakfast or a snack.

This carbohydrate-rich bar, full of nuts, seeds, fruit and oats, was adapted from Amy Harrison's prize-winning submission in the Plains (Georgia) Peanut Festival recipe competition sponsored by The Peanut Institute. It includes a little protein, and is a great grab-and-go pre-workout snack on mornings when you don't have time to digest a full meal.

This easy cinnamon-sugar microwave popcorn recipe serves up a hint of something sweet in a whole-grain snack you can feel good about enjoying.

A quick stir-in of grated carrots not only makes these easy drop cookies reminiscent of spicy carrot cake, it also adds sweetness and keeps these cakey cookies moist. A drizzle of cream cheese frosting on top finishes off these better-for-you goodies perfectly.

Cookie recipes usually require you to combine the liquid ingredients in one bowl and dry ingredients in another, but for this gluten-free cookie recipe the dry ingredients are sprinkled right on top of the liquids so there's just one bowl to clean. Don't skip the step of refrigerating the dough. The oat flour needs time to hydrate or the cookies will be too dry and crumbly. Regular rolled oats work if you're not gluten-sensitive.

The slight acidity of buttermilk tenderizes and moistens baked goods while allowing you to cut way back on butter or oils. Here, it also lends a slight tanginess to the winning combination of bananas and blueberries.

These energy bites, dipped in chocolate and topped with graham crackers, look just like melty ice cream cones, but are packed with energizing protein for a healthier snack kids will love.

This sweet and savory popcorn mix is ready in just 10 minutes and is a bit of a magic trick--it's so good it disappears right before your eyes! Honey-nut cereal squares, lightly-salted popcorn, and chocolaty peanuts are drizzled with melted chocolate and provide amazing taste in each bite.

Packed with flavorful and wholesome ingredients, these carrot-banana muffins make a good snack or breakfast.