Tag Archives: cooking for dogs

Ashleigh’s Warrior Bake: kibbles for hungry hounds in South Africa

Posted on by
2

Today I’m delighted to share a recipe from Ashleigh in South Africa.  She wrote in to me a couple of months ago; I was thrilled to hear from a home cooker that lives on another continent.  Cooking for dogs or even supplementing store bought with home cooked foods is becoming more and more popular here in North America.  Mind you, there are plenty of people who think it’s a waste of time & money, and have other not so nice things to say. Among my favourites are when one guy commented that my dear friend & television host Laura Ducharme “needs to get a man” (she has a fabulous husband) and I have had people say things like “well, I guess I can see “city people” doing that” and “things will change when you have children”. No more whimsical, frivolous cooking for dogs you cidiot, it shall be dirty diapers and jarring sweet potatoes from there on out and you’ll probably forget to even feed your dogs!   I laugh and pretend I’m not thinking mean things about them in my head. Mwaahh ha ha. The good news is that the positive feedback outweighs the negative by far, and I do believe that seeking alternatives to processed food for dogs is more embraced than not here in North America. I’ve been wondering if the same is true in Europe and other countries as well.

So without further ado ~

From: Ashleigh
Subject: Greetings from South Africa

Hello Jen,

I stumbled uponyour blog and wanted to say I am amazed at how many people out there have started cooking for their animals!

I have FOUR dogs all big (2 Golden retrievers, German shepherd and a collie cross), and I have been feeding them imported  dog food and home cooked food for a long time.

South African Legislation prevents local food manufacturers from using food in animal feed which may be fed to humans, so local quality is appalling!

Imagine my horror to find information on the net claiming that the items put into this VERY expensive manufactured dog kibble is of poor quality, and some even claiming that euthanized animals are added too.

Since I have had my animals on home cooked food, they are more energetic and their coats are in great condition!

“The Motley Crue”:  Oscar (the German shepherd bottom of pic) was a rescue, found starving in a warehouse, is the most loving gentle giant (at 53 kgs) 8 years.   Marmeduke, male, golden retriever 20 mths old.  Casey, female, golden retriever 20 mths old.   Zoe, female, border collie/lab cross 8 yrs, rescue (found running in road)

Ashleigh had some great tips that I will share in my Community Cookbook – some of these were new to me, so you must definitely check them out.  For example, she has a great suggestion as to how to replace low fat dry milk powder which can be costly.   Ashleigh also offered to take pics and send me  a recipe for her next  “bake”.  She did not disappoint -here’s her wonderful recipe. This just may be THE most comprehensive kibble recipe I have ever seen. It’s a lot of ingredients, a lot of love.   I chose this name for her recipe because anyone who bakes kibble for 4 dogs each week is a real home cookin’ warrior in my opinion. Thanks Ashleigh, you’re truly an inspiration.

Ashleigh’s Warrior Bake Recipe follows:

Continue reading →

Ingrid’s Pupsicles

Posted on by
3


I love getting photos of recipes that readers have tried and of course, pics of their pooches. Now, that’s a cute dog! Ingrid’s company provides dog walking services in the Toronto area. Her version of the Berry Good Pupsicles includes blackberries and bananas!! Check out Ingrid’s blog post and her company Leash & Paws:
Leash & Paws Pupsicles With mydogsbreakfast.com

Diner-style Dog Dinner

Posted on by
1

Watch out for the Fangs of Drool – dinner’s ready and it smells super delish! The only problem with home cooking for dogs is that my kitchen floors get wet puddles on them twice a day…I remember having to coax Hank into eating his kibble way back when, sometimes it would take a few minutes for him to really believe that was all he was going to get. Now it’s happy dances, yipping, scrambling, and my least favourite, mega-drooling. But what a small price to pay for my super shiny, barely shedding, healthy babies!

Today, I’m sharing one of the staples in my arsenal of dog dinners. For The Boys, I consider this to be a very balanced meal. When we think of what constitutes a “square meal” for people, most of us think: meat/other protein, a carb and a colourful variety of vegetables. Well, its pretty much the same concept for a home cooked dog’s dinner. We just want to make sure we don’t use any food items that are toxic for dogs (such as onions), and you don’t want to add a lot of salt or cook things in a greasy fashion.

This dinner portion is perfect for my younger chocolate lab, who eats a meal like this twice a day. My older guy, Hank, gets slightly less, being a senior citizen who doesn’t expend as much energy as his lil’ buddy Miko. I know a lot of you who are new to home cooking for dogs want to be told precisely how much of what to feed them. Although other “experts” will provide charts, calculations etc., I won’t do that for you, because I think of each dog as an individual. For example, Miko loves fruit. Hank spits it out. (and then Miko eats it, yum!) Some dogs get tons of exercise, and some don’t. Certain foods work better for certain dogs…so at the end of the day, you do need to figure out what your dog needs based on the lifestyle you provide them with, and by assessing what works for them. I talk more about this in the Resources section of my website. If you’re more comfortable following someone’s meal plans & calculations for your dog, then perhaps start that way and then branch out from there. Once you get into it, I’m sure you’ll realize that it’s not all that different from cooking for ourselves!

I’m calling this a diner-style dinner because the “scoops” remind me of a big plate special at a greasy spoon…

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup chopped cooked meat (this is venison, nice and lean)
1 small potato
1/2 cup chopped steamed veg (carrots and broccoli)
1 scoop of pure pumpkin (about 1/4 cup)
1 scoop of plain yogurt (about 1/4 cup)
*optional – tsp kelp, tsp flour

I had some venison leg meat in the freezer, so I browned it and then braised it in some water along with some small potatoes for about an hour. You could cook any meat you like, beef, chicken, turkey, etc. As an option, you can remove the meat & potatoes and quickly whisk some flour in for a “gravy”. You don’t really need to put gravy on their dinner, but I did it this time as an example for people with messy eaters – the gravy helps to keep the meat and potatoes in more of a “clump”.

I had some steamed vegetables left over from the night before – steaming is optimal, but you can cook them however you like, just don’t fry them in a ton of oil. I buy big cans of pure pumpkin, and use it in the dogs’ meals a couple of times per week, what I don’t use goes into their treats. I also keep a tub of plain yogurt for The Boys, and they get a scoop two-three times per week (not every day).

Add chopped vegetables, a scoop of pumpkin puree, a scoop of yogurt to the dog dish. When the meat is cool enough to chop, do so, and also chop the potatoes. Put it back into the pot with your “gravy” and mix ‘er up. Add the desired amount of the meat & potatoes to your dog dish, and save the rest for more meals. If you have kelp, sprinkle it on top.

This is also a great dinner for people (minus the pumpkin puree and kelp).

Laters, baby -

xo/J

P.S. This is what The Boys look like when you ask if they want a “Treat”!

I’m neither a vet nor an animal nutritionist.  This recipe is not meant to replace a proper and balanced diet for your dog.  You should to speak to your own vet before trying new recipes or feeding any home cooked foods to your dog.

Grain-Free GoodBites

Posted on by
Reply


Greetings, fellow passengers!

I know a lot of you are looking for recipes for dogs with allergies, so I’ve come up with this grain-free duck and potato treat. I did my best to stay away from other food items that some dogs are allergic to, such as eggs. Instead, I used some “no sugar added” applesauce in place of the egg as the binder in the recipe. It’s a sticky and wet dough without flour – but the results are worth it, especially if your little one can’t handle grains.

INGREDIENTS:
1 duck breast
1/4 cup no sugar added applesauce
3/4 cup instant potatoes. Look for the ones with as few additives as possible. Try to use the granulated ones (they look kinda like sugar) as opposed to the flaky ones. I had the Paradise Valley brand from Costco. I believe that the Idahoan Originals are granular too.
Tsp Rosemary
Tsp Parsley (fresh/dry)
1/4 cup to a cup of chicken broth or water.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. If you have a food processor, (I lived a full & happy life without one, but I bought one 6 months ago and man, I wish I had gotten one a long time ago!) roughly chop the duck breast before putting it in. If you’re going manual all the way, chop the duck breast into little bitty bites.

Either in the food processor or in a big mixing bowl, add the chopped duck, the potato, the applesauce, rosemary and parsley. Pulse or mix together. As you go along, slowly add as much water (my preference, to keep them lower in fat/sodium) or broth if that’s what you think your dog would prefer – as you need to get them to a spreadable consistency. You shouldn’t need very much at all. This is a wet dough – it’s without flour after all – so don’t worry if it looks like a big brown blob. It’s supposed to!

Spread onto a parchment lined baking tray. I get right in there with my hands rather than using a spatula. Use a knife to cut squares in the raw dough. I cut big squares for The Boys, you should make them the appropriate size for your dogs.

Bake them at 400 for forty minutes. I like to leave them in the oven for an extra hour or so to dry out even more as the oven cools down. When you take them out, you can flip them over on the parchment to let the bottom dry out even more as they cool on the counter.

Store these GoodBites in your fridge for 3-5 days, and freeze the rest. I have taken to keeping all of my treats in the freezer because this way, my piglets eat them in two bites rather than gulp them right down the hatch without tasting them :)

I’m going to experiment with other meats as I know a lot of you are looking for grain free goodness for your pups! FYI – this recipe didn’t work as well with a chicken breast, I will have to play with the ratios and come up with a lovely grain-free chicken GoodBite.

xo/J
* Please note that I’m neither a vet nor an animal nutritionist, so it’s advisable to consult with your own authority when trying new foods, and also to ensure that your dog’s home cooked diet is balanced & includes all of the nutrients that are necessary for your dog’s health.

Dehydrated Divas

Posted on by
7

Now aren’t these some fancy looking bites? Only two ingredients and five minutes to prep them – you must try this at home! I’ve been doing a lot more dehydrating since I posted about the potentially tainted chicken and duck jerky treats on the market. I might be obsessing a wee bit.

My nephew gave me wild duck and goose breasts a couple of months ago, lucky girl that I am. Wild game is super fantastic for dogs, by the way. Lean, mean, and full of good stuff. If you don’t have a supplier nearby that sells it, or a nephew that loves cammo and ammo, you can use beef. Don’t forget that when dehydrating meat, you want lean cuts. Beef top round steak, flank steak and rump roast are the best cuts for this. And be aware that farmed duck and geese are not nearly as lean as wild ones.

INGREDIENTS:
2 large sweet potatoes
1 gamey breast or equivalent portion of beef.

Lightly oil a baking tray and set the oven to 200 degrees.

This is so simple. Grab a sweet potato and a sharp knife. Cut the nubbies off of each end. That’s right, I said nubbies. Now – carefully – cut thin slices lengthwise. Like really long potato chips. Repeat with the other sweet potato.

Now it’s time to slice the meat. Do your best to cut thin and long strips, but don’t lose a finger over it. Place the sweet potato slices on the baking tray. Place a strip of meat or two (depending on the size) on top of the slice of sweet potato. Basically you are adding one layer of meat on top of each one. If you have extra of either sweet potato or meat slices, just place them on the tray and dehydrate them on their own.

The meat will meld right into the sweet potato as they “cook”.

I put these ones in for about 4 hours. I flipped them at about the 3 hour mark to dry out the SP more. You could leave these in longer, mine were chewy – but I have very little patience! Still a great result as you can see. If you want crunchy, you need to dry them longer.

Once they are cool, you can slice them up all pretty-like.

These should last in the fridge for up to a week. The drier they are the longer they would last is my guess, but nothing lasts that long around this place!

Just a heads up re: the latest pet food recalls – in case you haven’t heard there is a recall on a bunch of Diamond Pet food brands including: Chicken Soup for the Pet Lover’s Soul, Country Value, Diamond, Diamond Naturals, Premium Edge, Professional, 4Health, Taste of the Wild, Kirkland Signature – (Costco brand). So please check to see if your food is on the list. There is also a Purina cat food recall that was in the news today. Scary stuff.

Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there – I dedicate this recipe to my mom, who would most certainly appreciate my Asian flair in presenting these little Divas.

xo/J

I’m neither a vet nor an animal nutritionist.  This recipe is not meant to replace a proper and balanced diet for your dog.  You should to speak to your own vet before trying new recipes or feeding any home cooked foods to your dog.

>

Veggie Chip Cookies

Posted on by
3

Sometimes I come up with some pretty crazy ideas. I love it when my friends call them “creative”…! For some reason, I have really been wanting to make cookies for dogs that are as fun to look at as those popular and colourful M & M cookies! Candy and chocolate are no’s for Fido, but veggies are a must, so I thought I’d try using them instead of candy. In my mind, I had pictured plump, juicy, jewel-like veggie chips, not shrunken and dehydrated lackluster ones. A bunch of batches later, I finally have a recipe I’m pleased with. After many tests and tweaks, this is as close as I can get to what I had in mind. (Although those darned peas are still a little shrunken looking!) These dog cookies are fairly healthy in my book. You will notice that I indicated that you can use carrot juice or water – I used carrot juice because I have a big old jug of it in my fridge, and it gives the cookies a nice golden hue (in addition to all of the health benefits carrots have to offer). Plain old water is just fine. You could also use your own favorite cookie recipe and omit things like vanilla (it contains alcohol) and skip, reduce or substitute sugar with better alternatives like honey.

Ingredients:

4 tbsp. butter or margarine
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup dry milk
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
2 tbsp. water or carrot juice
2 eggs
1 cup of “Veggie chips”, dealer’s choice – frozen peas, carrots, beets, potato, etc. Basically, cut up tiny chip-like pieces of dog-friendly veggies.

I used these dehydrated ones I bought from my fave Heronview Raw & Natural. This is what they look like dehydrated, you just soak them in hot water and they are ready to use. I also used lots of frozen peas (which I left frozen for additional water content).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Begin by adding soft butter or margarine to your mixing bowl. Give it a good forking until it’s a little whipped! Then, add your carrot juice or water, and the eggs. Beat lightly. Then, add the honey, sea salt, baking soda, and stir together. Finally, in portions, stir in the whole wheat flour. Lastly, add 1/3 of your veggie chips and gently mix into the cookie dough.

Place your cookie dough balls on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Make them the appropriate size for your dog(s). Mine are huge as my dogs are of the pig variety. Then, place your veggie chips on top of the cookies and slightly press in. Leave most of them exposed as the dough will puff up a bit around them. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Let them cool before letting the dogs have a taste.

I leave you with my new favourite shot of Miko and Hank, taken by my new fave photographer, Erin Campbell. She is also a doggie mama, and The Drool Brothers in front of the smeared sliding glass doors was something that really resonated with her, ha ha! Can you relate?

* Please note that I’m neither a vet nor an animal nutritionist, so it’s advisable to consult with your own authority when trying new foods, and also to ensure that your dog’s home cooked diet is balanced & includes all of the nutrients that are necessary for your dog’s health.

The Pet Effect

Posted on by
Reply

Column #3 for ON THE GO magazine…Laura shared a heart warming story, 4 Legs and 4 Wheels, and I wrote about feeding the chickadees at Lynde Shores Conservation area…check out my ultra cute niece with a chickadee on her head :)

ON THE GO: COLUMN #3

Kebabs

Posted on by
1


This was a last minute “what the heck am I going to make for dinner” creation. Part of my post-holiday-season flab-reduction-plan is to try to eat more chicken and turkey and very little red meat. Well, I forgot to take chicken breasts out of the freezer and I didn’t feel like stopping at the grocery store on my way home from the office, so I was forced to get creative with two packages of ground chicken.

Ground chicken is blah in my books. Not good with tomato sauce, and so-so in tacos…I need to jazz these up and keep them dog friendly at the same time.

I had seen kebabs made from ground turkey in one of my new cookbooks that I got for Xmas, and I thought, hmm…that looks interesting. I’ve made shish kebabs tons of times with chicken breast chunks, seafood, and steak, but never ground meat. I’ve had excellent ones in a Persian restaurant, so I thought, perhaps I can take this here ground blah and give it enough spice to make it interesting and still cool to share with The Boys.

Number one and very important – NO ONIONS. This is a key ingredient in most of the recipes you’ll find for these types of kebabs but never cook with onions if feeding to your dogs! The tricky thing is, those very onions, those onions that could make our dogs so very sick, are what gives the bulk of the flavour to something blah like ground chicken on a stick!

So I scratched my head and came up with a plan that actually worked. Here it is.

INGREDIENTS:
2 packages of lean ground chicken (these are generally around 0.454 kg)
1 Asian Pear or 1 juicy apple such as Royal Gala or Delicious
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
½ cup fresh chopped cilantro (you could try replacing with a tsp of dried coriander but I personally love the hit of fresh cilantro my favourite herb!)
3 cloves of garlic (mashed)
Pinch of sea salt

In a large mixing bowl, add the lean ground chicken, and grate in your asian pear or apple. I grated in my three garlic cloves, as my super awesome grater turns it into a mushy paste. If yours isn’t like mine, just chop your garlic and mash it up with the side of your chef knife or whatever you have on hand that will do the trick. Grab a handful of cilantro (about a half cup) and give a rough chop to release some of the sweet grassy goodness. Add to bowl. Then add your teaspoon of cumin, teaspoon of cinnamon and a pinch of sea salt (about a tsp).

Mix this together – use your hands, don’t be a meow!!
Time to make “long flattish balls” (oh come on now, how else can I describe these?!) on your skewers. I have four chef’s pantry skewers that have changed my life! I put two long balls on the skewers and set on your baking tray. I line my tray with foil for this as I’m going to broil these kebabs and that means juices will drip ‘n cook. I despise scrubbing baking trays or anything else for that matter.

Now, Let the flavours marinate together for about a half an hour.

This batch yields about 8 kebabs. You could of course, use bamboo skewers, just soak them in cold water for a bit so they don’t burn before they go in the oven.

Set your oven to broil. Cook on one side for 10 minutes, then flip the skewers, and cook on the other side for 10 minutes.

Yum.

$$$ Factor: Freshco had packages of lean ground chicken on sale for $2 – a total deal!! I love deals on meat, huge savings. I bought a ton! total deal $2 ground chicken

I used 2 packages ($4), asian pear which was on sale for 25 cents, maybe 10 cents worth of cilantro and the other stuff consists of cheap pantry spices that cost practically nada. So the grand total for the meal was $4.35, and it fed myself, Andy, and The Boys. We ate kebabs for about a buck a body. Well, we had rice with it, but rice is inexpensive, so we’re still under five buckaroos!

Does this recipe and affordable price inspire you to home cook for your dog?

* Please note that I’m neither a vet nor an animal nutritionist, so it’s advisable to consult with your own authority when trying new foods, and also to ensure that your dog’s home cooked diet is balanced & includes all of the nutrients that are necessary for your dog’s health.