Healthy Muddy Buddies (or Puppy Chow!)
Muddy Buddies (or Puppy Chow, whatever you call it!) are the EPITOME of an unhealthy treat. It’s a chocolatey, peanut buttery, sugary snack known for it’s crunchy and delicious, bite-sized goodness. Recipes call for margarine, lots of powdered sugar, and a ton of chocolate and peanut butter. It’s definitely one helluva treat calorie bomb. And fat bomb and sugar bomb. Thankfully, I made HEALTHY Muddy Buddies (or Healthy Puppy Chow) for you!
Thanks to Ozery Bakery for sponsoring this post, and thank YOU for supporting the brands that keep Desserts With Benefits going! All opinions are mine and mine alone.
Classic Muddy Buddies/Puppy Chow recipes are made with:
- 9 cups Chex Cereal
- 1½ cups Powdered Sugar
- 1 cup Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips
- ½ cup Peanut Butter
- ¼ cup Margarine
Chex cereal is made with refined sugar and genetically modified ingredients. Powdered sugar is a highly refined, bleached, high-calorie, and high-glycemic ingredient with zero nutritional value. Margarine, probably the worst part, is an imitation “butter” spread made up of hydrogenated oils, preservatives, and artificial flavors. Don’t even get me started on hydrogenated oils. I’ve been on a mission to get them out of the food industry ever since I was a senior in high school. Over the years as a Nutritional Sciences major in college, I probably spoke in front of a total of 400 students and professors about the dangers of hydrogenated oils (from cardiovascular disease to stroke to increased inflammation and cholesterol, etc.). Okay, rant over.
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Anyways, all that above doesn’t sound too appetizing, now does it?
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That’s why I made this super easy and healthified, 4-ingredient recipe. Made with:
Chex CerealChopped and toasted Ozery Bakery MultiGrain OneBunsPowdered SugarPowdered ErythritolSemi-Sweet Chocolate ChipsDark ChocolatePeanut ButterNatural Peanut Butter (always make sure to use natural peanut butter to avoid the dangerous hydrogenated oils/trans fats and high-fructose corn syrup!)Margarine
As a healthier alternative to the cereal, I used Ozery Bakery’s Organic MultiSeed OneBun Squares. Out of the package, they’re super soft, light, and fluffy, but also hearty and filling. They’re made with organic whole wheat flour, healthy flaxseeds, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, poppy seeds, and even chia seeds! I baked them for 20 minutes at 325 degrees Fahrenheit until they were nice and crunchy. And they taste way better than Chex. As a healthier alternative to powdered sugar, I used Powdered Erythritol, which is all natural and non-GMO! I also made sure to use natural peanut butter to avoid the artificial ingredients in most conventional PB tubs, and totally got rid of the margarine. Who needs that sh*t anyways.
But really now, what do these healthier alternatives do? Well, for one, my Healthy Muddy Buddies have less than HALF the calories, about half the fat, and a fraction of the sugar (if you want to get technical, it has ⅒ the amount of sugar as the original). And a bonus? It’s dairy free and vegan too!
This truly is the greatest treat and perfect snack. It’s crunchy, sweet, chocolatey, peanut buttery, and of course, delicious. I could eat this stuff ALL. DAY. LONG.
Healthy Muddy Buddies (or Puppy Chow!)
Ingredients
- 6 Ozery Bakery MultiGrain OneBuns
- 3.5 oz 70% Cacao Chocolate (melted)
- ½ cup Natural Peanut Butter
- 1¼ cups Powdered Erythritol
Instructions
- Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Slice the OneBuns into small pieces (I cut each bun into 6 strips x 5 strips). Spread the pieces onto 2 unlined cookie sheets. Bake for 20 minutes, or until crunchy like croutons. Let cool completely.
- In a large bowl, stir together the melted chocolate and peanut butter. Dump in the crunchy OneBun pieces and stir together until they're completely coated.
- In a gallon-sized sealable plastic bag, add the powdered erythritol.
- Dump the chocolate-coated bites into the bag, seal, and shake until the cereal is completely coated.
- Dump mixture back onto the cookie sheets and refrigerate until dried and crunchy (3+ hours). Divide the batch into individual baggies for express, portion-controlled snacking, and store in the freezer. You can (and totally should) eat this straight from the freezer 😉
Recipe Notes
Click here to see the nutrition label for a typical (aka unhealthy) Muddy Buddies recipe.
Yeah. Isn’t that insane? But let’s skip to the good part now… these Healthy Muddy Buddies/Healthy Puppy Chow. The crunchy bites of sweet chocolate and rich peanut butter? Utter perfection.
I have this bad habit of going to the fridge just to see if I want to eat something even though I might not be hungry, so I made sure to portion out the whole batch into individual baggies and stuck about half the bags in the freezer. This made it easier to snack with dignity (aka, not stand in front of the fridge, door wide open, munching away on an entire tray of these Muddy Buddies 😉
To my surprise, these Healthy Muddy Buddies are actually quite filling due to the high fiber content, protein, and healthy fats. In my sugar-addicted childhood days, if I had a tray full of the original Muddy Buddies, I never would have stopped eating because sugar doesn’t make you full, it makes you hungrier.
When I ran out of the pre-portioned baggies in the fridge, I dug into my freezer stash. And pro tip guys, this stuff is amazing straight from the freezer! 😉
These Healthy Muddy Buddies are one heckuva delicious indulgence. I don’t feel bad about eating a bad a day. After all, this recipe is homemade, low calorie, very low in sugar, high in fiber, high in protein, and contains healthy fats only. If I had eaten a third of a tray of the original (read: unhealthy) Muddy Buddies, I would’ve thought, “Oh, sh*t!”
Enjoy!
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With love and good eats,
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– Jess
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Indulge − no strings attached!
Oh my God, you’re amazing! And I loved the story about you eating these the fridge door open etc. haha 🙂 Personal touch in food blogs is something that I really like!
The nutrition for these look so much better than the original even though I’m not a huge cereal person… But these might make a nice afternoon treat/snack with a cup of coffee/tea 🙂
Haha, thanks Pipsa! 🙂
Mmmm Muddy Buddies are my FAVORITE! Too bad they’re so unhealthy 🙁
I’m making this ASAP!!!
Made these and they are delicious! Used xylitol instead of Erythritol since that’s what I had. The world is now a better place, thanks. 😀
I totally agree with you! YAY I’m so glad you like the recipe 🙂
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What does it look good. is it difficult to make?
nice photos too…
These are one of my favorite treats – I love the healthy spin!
Hi Jessica!
These look awesome! I’m trying to cut my Muddy Buddy addiction and this looks like a great less-processed option.
What would you suggest as another healthy base for these? I’m having trouble tracking down the Ozery Bakery OneBuns in the quarantine. Thank you! -Emily
Totally get it!! I’d recommend trying wheat Chex or the gluten-free Chex 🙂
I like almond butter better than peanut butter. Is it possible to use almond butter instead of peanut butter for this recipe?
Of course! 🙂