Chex Mix
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Chex Mix is a family of snack mixes sold by General Mills, based on its Chex line of breakfast cereals. Introduced in 1996 by Ralston Purina, Chex was sold to General Mills a year later. There are several varieties, including regular flavors of Chex Mix (Traditional, Cheddar, Bold Party Blend, etc.), Chocolate Chex Mix, Chex Mix Select, Chex Mix for Kids, and Simply Chex. Sometimes, limited edition varieties of Chex Mix are released. Past examples of these include Winter Chex Mix Cocoa and Summer Chex Mix Ranch.
Homemade Chex Mix is considered a holiday season party staple in many American homes. The recipe is printed on the packaging of Chex breakfast cereals.[1] The key seasonings in homemade Chex Mix are Seasoned salt, Garlic powder, Onion powder, and Worcestershire sauce. Compared to store-bought Chex Mix, homemade Chex Mix may omit bagel chips, rye chips, and bread twists, but often includes peanuts or mixed nuts.
In many respects, Chex Mix (especially Chex Mix Selects) is similar to members of the trail mix family of foods.
[edit] Traditional
Traditional Chex Mix comes in a blue bag and typically has a dry, crispy, and salty taste.
[edit] Contents
The rye chips, bread twists, and bagel chips were in 1995. The previous version, called Chex Snack Mix, was introduced in 1987. It featured pretzel sticks instead of the round and windowpane versions, as well as peanuts. The recommended serving of Traditional Chex Mix, 30g, contains 130 calories and 4 grams of fat, as well as 22 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of dietary fiber. It is not a significant source of vitamins, calcium, or protein. It also provides 380 milligrams of sodium, so Traditional Chex Mix is not a particularly good choice for those on a low-sodium diet, although it does have 60% less fat than plain potato chips.
Allergy information on the bag indicates that Traditional Chex Mix may contain wheat, soy, milk, peanut, sesame, and almond ingredients.
[edit] Bold Party Blend
Bold Party Blend Chex Mix comes in a black bag and typically has a spicy, tangy, and salty taste. The flavor comes from a white powdered coating, but is not usually as messy as the Cheddar variety.
[edit] Contents
- Corn Chex
- Wheat Chex
- Round Pretzels
- Windowpane Pretzels
- Round Snack Crackers
- Rye Chips
- Garlic Breadsticks
[edit] Nutrition
The recommended serving of Bod Party Blend Chex Mix, 30g, contains 140 calories and 6 grams of fat, as well as 20 grams of carbohydrates and less than 1 gram of dietary fiber. It is not a significant source of vitamins, calcium, or protein. It also provides 390 milligrams of sodium, so Bold Party Blend Chex Mix is not a particularly good choice for those on a low-sodium diet.
Allergy information on the bag indicates that Bold Party Blend Chex Mix may contain wheat, milk, soy, sesame, almond, and peanut ingredients.
[edit] Cheddar
Cheddar Chex Mix comes in an orange bag and typically has a dry, cheesy, and somewhat salty taste. The cheese flavor comes from a powdered coating, and can be quite messy to eat. Occasionally a Corn Chex and Wheat Chex-only variant can be found on store shelves, simply titled "Simply Chex".
[edit] Contents
- Corn Chex
- Wheat Chex
- Triangle-shaped cheese crackers
- Knot-Shaped Pretzels
[edit] Nutrition
The recommended serving of Cheddar Chex Mix, 36g, contains 134 calories and 5 grams of fat, as well as 24 grams of carbohydrates and less than 1 gram of dietary fiber. It is not a significant source of vitamins, calcium, or protein. It also provides 370 milligrams of sodium, so Cheddar Chex Mix is not a particularly good choice for those on a low-sodium diet.
Allergy information on the bag indicates that Cheddar Chex Mix may contain wheat, milk, almond, soy, and peanut ingredients.
[edit] Hot 'n Spicy
Hot 'n Spicy Chex Mix comes in a flame decorated bag. The spice has a notable smoky-mesquite undertone, helping differentiate it from other hot flavored snacks (example, Flamin Hot Cheetos, or Chex's Jalapeno flavor). As with most spicy foods, the amount of spicy flavor depends on the individual.
[edit] Contents
- Pretzels
- Corn Chex
- Rice Chex
- Wheat Chex
- Twisted Breadsticks
- Triangular Shaped Cheese Crackers
- Rye Chips
[edit] Nutrition
The recommended serving of Hot 'n Spicy Chex Mix, 30g, contains 130 calories and 4 grams of fat, as well as 20 grams of carbohydrates and 1 gram of dietary fiber. It is not a significant source of vitamins, calcium, or protein. It also provides 420 milligrams of sodium, so Hot 'n Spicy Chex Mix is not a particularly good choice for those on a low-sodium diet.
Allergy information on the bag indicates that Hot 'n Spicy Chex Mix may contain wheat, milk, soy, peanut, and almond ingredients. Spicy Chex also contains Monosodium glutamate.
[edit] Other Flavors
- Honey Nut (yellow)
- Peanut Lovers (brown)
- Trail Mix (purple)
- Summer Ranch (green)
- Sweet 'n Salty (purple)
- Sweet 'n Salty Caramel Crunch (brown)
- Tropical Mix (purple)
[edit] Chocolate Chex Mix
Recently, two flavors of a variety called Chocolate Chex Mix were introduced. These contain chocolate-covered Chex pieces, candies, and other sweet ingredients.
[edit] Flavors
- Peanut Butter
- Turtle
[edit] Chex Mix For Kids
Chex Mix For Kids is comprised of several of Chex Mix flavors with a variety of playful pretzel and cracker shapes such as funny faces or castle pieces.
[edit] Flavors
- Cheddar
- Pizza
- Triple Cheese
[edit] Chex Mix Select
Chex Mix Select is a more trail mix style variety of Chex Mix. Flavors tend to contain a heavy dose of fruit and nuts compared to the other, more typical snack mix varieties.
Another version of Chex Mix Select has been developed for warehouse club stores such as Costco and Sam's Club. It is seasoned similarly to the Traditional Chex Mix, and adds buttered mini-bagels and honey-roasted peanuts to the mixture.
[edit] Flavors
- Apple Cinnamon With Walnuts
- Tropical With Almonds
- Chocolate Peanut Butter
- Chocolate Turtle
- Dark Chocolate
[edit] Nutrition
Chex Mix Select probably contains dairy ingredients, so it is not suitable for a vegan diet.
[edit] Simply Chex
Simply Chex is a variety of Chex Mix that contains nothing but the Chex pieces. Currently, the only known flavor of Simply Chex is Cheddar.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Original Chex mix recipe. Life magazine, June 1952.
