Beef, Beet Barley and Nectarine Dog Food
This vibrant coloured dog food boasts healthy red and orange veggies to balance out their diet.
I'm still loving making Finnegan healthy home made food. He's over 50 pounds now so it was time to reevaluate his dietary needs. Poodle/Irish Setters need a meat rich food complemented with healthy vegetables. He also needs about 1351 Kcal's per day.
The inspiration for this meal was my dislike for wasting food. So as I tidied up my house, I found my daughters snack from an hour earlier abandoned on the coffee table.... it was a shame and I didn't want it to go to waste because it was still good! She just won't eat it because it started to "brown".
My dog loves nectarines...as I've learned from other abandoned fruit episodes! and they have a ton of healthy vitamins great for dogs. But what if I could really make this dish vibrant by adding Beets and Carrots! Done deal... lets get started!
I started with 2 pounds of lean ground beef and some chicken livers to ensure his meat source includes organ meat because they are far more nutrient dense than muscle meat. They have B12 and folate, vitamins A, D, E and K and are rich in minerals like iron, zinc, magnesium and selenium! Now there is a lot of conflicting information out there in relation to how much organ meat your dog should be eating... some say 10 % of the whole meat content and others say 25% provided the 25% is coming from more than one type of organ meat. A great website is www.dogsnaturallymagazine.com and take a look at their article about "the #1 Mistake Raw Feeders Make with Organ Meat. This gives a complete list and break down of the vitamins and minerals in each type of organ meat and advocates for feeding your dog all of them.
Some of the meals I have made Finnegan have had more than one type of organ meat within, but what I do ensure is that because I meal prep for a variety of different meals in a week, and each of them contain a different organ type, I feel like my goal of overall balance through a variety of food throughout the day and week is still a good foundation for health.
I sautéed the ground beef with a dog safe oil to add some good fats. I used Safflower oil on this day. I boiled/steamed and then blended the chicken livers in my Ninja food processor.
For a healthy carb base, I used barley as it can be more easily digested than rice for dogs! (http://m.petmd.com ) I cooked 1 cup of barley in 2 cups of water and some safflower oil to ensure they did not stick and cooked in a covered dish in the microwave for 20 minutes.
Meanwhile I blended 1 large beet, 2 large carrots and my remaining half of a necatrine in the Ninja food processor.
I mixed all the ingredients together to create a very "red" looking dog food, but full of amazing nutrients!
Again this will only last for a few days refrigerated, but will last approximately 3 months in the freezer. Thus, I used my food saver to vacuum seal individual portions for the freezer. This made 8 portions total, and I froze 6.
Another satisfied customer!
The recipe: (make sure you do your own research as to the exact ratio and nnutritional needs for your dog)
2 pounds of lean ground beef
1 pound of chicken livers.
saute the beef in safflower oil until fully cooked.
steam/boil the chicken livers in a covered frying pan with a small amount of water in the bottom, until cooked. Blend in a food processor until smooth.
Cook 1 cup of barley in 2 cups of water and Safflower oil. Put in a microwave safe dish, cover and heat for 20 minutes until cooked.
place 1 large beet in a food processor, 2 large carrots and 1/2 a nectarine, in the food processor to chop.
Mix together and indivdually portion.
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