We all know that seasons dictate sales — chocolate in February, hot dogs in July, but cereal? Well, for many cereal manufacturers, the last three months of the year are the season of cereal party snacks. From late October until the end of the year, buying cereal — specifically Chex — is at its peak, and there hasn’t been anything rocking the boat for decades. The sugary holiday snack, Puppy Chow, graces the holiday times, but the name has always thrown me off. Why do we call this a hundred percent human food Puppy Chow?
Chex came out in 1937, created by Ralston Purina Company — yes, the company that makes actual Purina dog food. When the company launched Chex, it wanted to steer clear of the term chow, which was associated with Purina’s animal feed products. Chow did not have a positive connotation. The word chow is a term to describe something animals eat, and the slang word was used during World War I to describe the taste of soldier rations (you can guess the taste wasn’t so good).
With the division of the Ralston company in the late 1990s, General Mills acquired Chex, and with the acquisition came about a supposedly new recipe — Muddy Buddies. The hardest thing about this recipe is melting butter. After the butter, you add peanut butter, chocolate chips, and cereal. Once hom*ogenous, the concoction gets coated with a healthy geological layer of powdered sugar.
According to General Mills, Muddy Buddies (a.k.a. Puppy Chow) was developed in 2002, however, in reality, the same recipe, in some form or another, had been around way longer in the American home cook communities. Recipe tins and community cookbooks, specifically in the midwest, document Puppy Chow as a staple party appetizer and easy snack.
Before the advent of the microwave, party mix was something adults still made, but Puppy Chow caught on with children who could make the mix with minimal adult supervision — perfect for keeping them distracted during the holiday season. Its brown kibble-like appearance harkens back to the chow of the Purina company, and the name wasn’t subtle, people called it Puppy Chow, knowing well that the dog food company manufactured that cereal.
While party mix was a little more universally known for many decades, Puppy Chow was a neat quirk of the Midwest. Like candy salad and hot dishes, it was something made not to win a beauty pageant but something to comfort the soul. Yet, with the advent of social media platforms like Facebook and Pinterest the sweet cereal mix has gotten a leg up in awareness and broken into other regions of the US.
If you haven’t already looked, there are many puppy chow recipes here.
Chex is an American brand of breakfast cereal currently manufactured by General Mills. It was originally known as Shredded Ralston, first produced in 1936 and owned by Ralston Purina of St. Louis, Missouri, then later renamed Chex in 1950.
cereal, originally made by the Ralston Purina Company, debuted in grocery stores in 1937. Because the company referred to their dog food as “dog chow” and cat food as “cat chow,” they jokingly called their new cereal line “human chow,” according to Taste.
Its brown kibble-like appearance harkens back to the chow of the Purina company, and the name wasn't subtle, people called it Puppy Chow, knowing well that the dog food company manufactured that cereal. While party mix was a little more universally known for many decades, Puppy Chow was a neat quirk of the Midwest.
Puppy chow is a party staple in the Midwest, but not everywhere else. Puppy chow — a snack mix made of Chex cereal covered in melted chocolate, peanut butter, and powdered sugar — is often a fixture at parties. People outside of the Midwest have often never heard of it, and they don't know what they're missing.
There's sort of an ongoing debate about the name of this chocolate-covered cereal treat. Some people call it puppy chow, while others know it by different names: muddy munch, monkey munch, or muddy buddies. Muddy Buddies is actually the official name of the recipe marketed by General Mills, the maker of Chex cereal.
This quick, no-bake puppy snack mix will also answer to other names such as Muddy Buddies, Muddy Munch, Monkey Munch, or Reindeer Chow. Think of it as sweet chocolate and peanut butter Chex mix. You need only pantry basics to make a big batch of this snack, so you might have already have everything on hand.
Puppy chow, also known as monkey munch, muddy buddies, muddy munch, reindeer chow, or doggy bag, is the name for a homemade candy made in the United States, primarily in the Midwestern States.
Nutty, sweet, salty, and creamy, these nuggets of pure indulgence are paramount to all other flavor combinations. The inventor was probably a well-intentioned mother who would never sell the purity of puppy chow for personal gain, but it could have just as easily been invented in a government lab.
The puppy chow belt runs through the Dakotas, Iowa, Nebraska, and Wisconsin, fanning out into the surrounding areas. There it is at every potluck, picnic, and holiday party table. Children learn to make it early and often.
Chex mix (aka nuts n' bolts), a classic American snack that's a staple in American homes, especially during football games and holiday gatherings, combines Chex cereal with nuts and other bite-sized treats, seasoned and baked until crispy.
The recipe was created by the Ralston-Purina Company in the early 1950s to move boxes of its signature cereals Wheat Chex and Rice Chex. There was no corn variety at the time. Since then, the company has gone through a handful of ownership changes and today is part of General Mills.
Because puppy foods are formulated to deliver higher amounts of protein and fat, along with other nutrients needed for a puppy's rapid initial growth, feeding puppy food regularly to a healthy adult can cause unwanted weight gain, among other health problems.
If pet food aisles seem sparse, it's likely due to supply chain issues. A familiar issue lately for stores and consumers (especially over the past few years), supply chain issues have affected almost everything you can think of. In this case, these supply chain issues are significantly impacting smaller stores.
When to Switch Puppy to Adult Food. Once you know when your puppy will reach maturity, you can decide when to switch to adult food. If your puppy will be full grown at 12 months, you can start transitioning him to an adult formula around his first birthday.
How Puppy Chow Got Its Name. Chex cereal, originally made by the Ralston Purina Company, debuted in grocery stores in 1937. Because the company referred to their dog food as “dog chow” and cat food as “cat chow,” they jokingly called their new cereal line “human chow,” according to Taste.
In 1926, Purina established a research farm in Gray Summit, Mo. to study animal nutrition. The farm included the first-ever canine nutrition center. Purina launched their first dog food, Purina Dog Chow, the same year.
Puppy food does have slightly higher levels of calcium and phosphorous when compared to most adult dog foods. Puppy food also has a higher fat and protein content, meaning there are more calories per bite than the adult version of the same brand.
Chowchow's modern name is believed to have originated with the French-speaking Acadian people of Canada who settled in Louisiana. The word "chow" is suspected to stem from the French word "chou" for cabbage. The dish's origins are widely debated, however.
Because puppies need so many nutrients to grow, it's important to give them food that provides complete and balanced nutrition. A puppy should get most of their calories from puppy food rather than from treats, which typically don't provide complete nutrition.
The Chow Chow is a spitz-type of dog breed originally from Northern China. The Chow Chow is a sturdily built dog, square in profile, with a broad skull and small, triangular, erect ears with rounded tips. The breed is known for a very dense double coat that is either smooth or rough.
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