Is There a Healthy Recipe for Puppy Chow / Chex Muddy Buddies?
When I was teaching in the classroom, one of my students introduced me to Puppy Chow (sometimes called Muddy Buddies Chex Mix). I had never had it before and fell in love with it.
I hadn’t made it in a few years when LJ came home from school asking for it a few days ago. We trotted out to the supermarket to buy Chex and got the last box. (I’m guessing there are a lot of people serving Chex Mix this holiday season!)
Once we got back home I began wondering – is there a healthy recipe for Puppy Chow?
In a word – no.
There really isn’t any way to make this low calorie and still have it taste good.
However, you can make it a little less bad for you with a few easy substitutions. Here’s the original recipe:
1 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
1 tsp vanilla
9 cups Chex cereal (rice or corn)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
I made a few substitutions:
- I used 1/2 cup milk chocolate chips and 1/2 dark chocolate chips. It doesn’t cut any calories but dark chocolate has antioxidants and by mixing them the taste does not really change
- I used 1/2 cup Smart Balance peanut butter. It has less sugar and healthy omega-3 oils.
- I substituted Earth Balance Spread for the butter. It cuts the saturated fat quite a bit and adds in more healthy oils.
- I used Wheat Chex instead of corn or rice. They are slightly higher in calories but have much more dietary fiber in each serving.
Based on the way it is disappearing, I would say that there are no complaints from the other members of the household!
Again, there is no real way to make this a truly healthy snack, but this recipe makes it a little less naughty. If you try it, please stop back and let me know what you think.
Thanks! I was planning to make this next week.
thanks, would be nice if there was an even better sub. for the earth balance spread.
Hear are some more healthy options. You can use Nutella instead of peanut butter. I also add 1/2 cup ground flax seed (you could use wheat germ) and mix before I add the powdered sugar. This soaks up some of the chocolate thus requiring less powdered sugar!!! I have also made with all dark chocolate instead of semi-sweet chips and once the powdered sugar is added I couldn’t tell the difference.
You’ve done an excellent job with this recipe, but with a few more mods it is possible to have a healthy puppy chow. You can sub coconut oil for the butter, offering MCFAs and Lauric acid and eliminating cholesterol. And adding flaxseed is a great addition, plus if you get golden roasted flaxseed it imparts a PB flavor, so you could forego the peanut butter altogether while replacing the Omega-6s with heart-healthy Omega-3s from the flax 🙂 On top of that, I’d use all dark chocolate because the powdered sugar would balance the bitter yielding a semi-sweet chocolate overall. Would definitely endore Wheat Chex over white, and finally I’d reduce the powdered sugar as much as possible due to it’s extremely high Glycemic Index. I’d use 1/4 C at first then mix and try, and then add 2T at a time until it’s just right. But I’d stop at 1C max
you don’t even need to add butter. I never do.
Sounds delicious! Thanks for making at least a little healthier!
I love puppy chow and have made it every year since I was old enough to use a microwave. I love the substitutions, but I make mine without the butter or margarine. I just add a bit more peanut butter until I get the texture I want it to be. The coating sets up a bit more than with the butter, therefore I can get away with using a lot less powdered sugar. Plus, the added peanut butter is a healthier protein and fat than regular butter or margarine.