Remember the good old days of after-school snacks? Was it actually that good or did we confuse it with the joy of the school day being over? Looking back, these snacks were kinda disgusting. They were filled with unhealthy, fake ingredients and bold, artificial colors & flavoring, but that was a part of their appeal! 

Even though we’re supposed to have outgrown these campy school snacks, there’s a part of us that still secretly loves it and wants to indulge. Many smart people picked up on this and created challenger brands that are giving us healthy versions of these snacks that we can actually indulge in and enjoy. Below are some that you definitely can’t miss! 

Snow Days

Does anyone else remember rushing home from the bus stop to pop Totino’s Pizza Rolls into the toaster oven for their after-school snack? There was something so special about these Pizza Rolls. Not only did they make you feel independent because it was something you could cook by yourself, but they were also pockets of pure salty, savory greatness that was a marvelous way to procrastinate starting your math homework.

But after a couple more years of doing math homework, you likely began to realize what the numbers on Totino’s nutrition label actually met. Rest assured, it was frightening (for all of us!) Thankfully, Snow Days came to our rescue. Snow Days is putting a healthy twist on our childhood favorites by making pizza bites with nutritious ingredients. Its Pizza Bites are USDA Organic and contain absolutely no artificial ingredients. Snow Days Pizza Bites have 7G of protein, 0 added sugars, and REAL cheese. Totino's has “imitation mozzarella cheese”, added sugar, and only 5g of protein. 

Camp Mac N Cheese

Man N Cheese has always been a popular food, but in the past few years, it's had what we like to call a “healthy glow up.” One of the brands a part of mac n cheese’s transformation is Camp. 

Camp is a plant-based mac n cheese that has none of the nasty’s in it. In its classic “Cheddar Mac” flavor, the noodle is made of  ​organic brown rice, zucchini, carrots, corn and pea protein. The cheese is made with rBST-free cheddar, spinach, broccoli, sweet potato, maitake mushroom, and sunflower seeds. There are also 12g of protein per serving. Camp has three varieties: classic cheddar, white cheddar, and a vegan option. 

You’re probably wondering what’s the deal with the cheese in the vegan option?  We got you covered.  The vegan “cheeze” is made out of pumpkin, spinach, sweet potato, maitake mushroom, and sunflower seeds. 

Chubby Snacks

Chubby Snacks is a tribute to every peanut butter and jelly fan or anyone who gobbled down Smuckers Uncrustables during lunch to rush to recess. 

Chubby Snacks is a better-for-you alternative to PB&J. It has 75% less sugar and 30% fewer calories than traditional PB&J’s. It also has 8G of protein, 6g of fiber, and 2g of sugar. If that’s not enough to convince you to try Chubby, it also caters to a more sophisticated grown-up taste by offering an Almond Butter and jelly option instead of just traditional peanut butter. But just because this PB&J grew up, doesn’t mean it’s lost its fun. Chubby Snacks are cut into puffy, cloud shapes, and the brand encourages you to have fun with your food. You can eat a Chubby the OG Uncrustables way, you can heat it up, or you experiment with your inner chef. Maybe bake your Chubby into a brownie, turn it into french toast, or coat it in chocolate. The way you enjoy Chubby is only limited by your imagination.

Legendary Food Tasty

If you’ve seen the most recent season of Stranger Things, then you saw the scene where Mike quickly shoves Pop-Tarts into the toaster while Nancy complains they’re going to be late for school & his mother insists he must come home early because he has an early flight to California the next day. 

The Pop-Tart stole the scene not only because we wanted to secretly reach through the screen and eat it, but we miss the days of being naive to the fact that Pop-Tarts are just a tasty block of portable sugar with dazzling colors. 

Legendary Foods has created a Pop-Tart alternative known as the Tasty Pastry. The Tasty Pasty can be hailed as a savior for any former Pop-Tart lover. The Tasty Pastry has multiple flavors like Strawberry, Birthday Cake, Cookies & Cream, Brown Sugar Cinnamon, and Blueberry. Each one is only 180 calories and has 5g net carbs and 20g of protein. 

Nowadays 

This article wouldn’t be complete if we didn’t include chicken nuggets. Whether you were a dyno-nugget or a regular-shaped nugget kid, chicken nuggets were involved in almost everybody's childhood. 

Nowadays makes chicken nuggets from alternative protein sources meaning they’re entirely plant-based, and you can hardly tell the difference. Nowadays is made from just 7 ingredients. The alternative meat is made from organic pea protein and the outside of the nugget is coated with a crispy, delicious breading. One serving (five nuggets) is 120 calories, 13g of protein, 250mg of sodium, and 3.5g of fat.