The Pampered Pet...
What to do when your food obsession gets projected on your pet?
So my family recently decided to get a puppy. When I say recently, what I really mean is that my husband and daughters have spent the last year breaking down my defences with cute photographs, discussions on names and lofty promises that I as the "mom", wouldn't have to do anything. Yeah right!! I love dogs and have had dogs before in my earlier days, and knew well the work involved... I also knew the big promises from my 10 and 6 year old would be forgotten as the novelty of this pup wore off and he just became, a very loved but none the less regular member of our family. I slowly fell in love with the idea of a dog but then this happened.... we found Little Fur Friends, an amazing breeder in Texas and from a distance fell in love with what would be my 3rd child. #littlefurfriends
So I buckled in and took on an additional layer to my lifestyle of multi-tasking well by day to enjoy the simple pleasures of relaxing and sharing a delicious meal with family by night. But what about the dinner our Finnegan was eating? I started researching "kibble" and realized that the nutritional value of some brands was sparse to start, but the general "baking" strategy for most kibble was so intense that some speculate that it kills any remaining nutrients. Alternatively, some websites scare you into thinking the ratio of nutrients a dog requires is so particular you risk harming your dog by deviating from conventional food. What to believe? I'm not going to speak poorly of dog food companies. but what I learned gave me the same feelings I had when I decided I would try to eat predominantly organic with my family. My mantra is.... balance is everything! I needed to know what Finnegan was eating, but I'm not a professional; so I decided to just have faith that I care more than companies making money off feeding my dog. So off I went. To be clear, I am not a vet nor a nutritionist and I am aware different breeds require different ratios of protein to fibre to fats to carbs. There are also very necessary vitamins and minerals. I advocate for doing your own research and feeling comfortable; but my dog loves these recipes and I feel good giving it to him knowing he is getting balanced "real food" nutrition. Plus I add in some "kibble" in case there is some aspect of dog nutrition I'm missing.... that is my balance! #homemadedogfood #dogfood #realdogfood #humanfoodfordogs #candogseathumanfood
Beef chuck, Beef Liver, sweet potato, kale and Corn
To start I cut and boiled the sweet potato, as that take the most time of the whole recipe... but seriously only 15 minutes. Sweet potatos are complex carbs that are great for dogs. Creating this meal took me 30 minutes, and created 15 meals. It completely fit in to my busy schedule and committing to preping one meal a week gives amazing variety to my dog over time and a stock pile of meals for relatively cheap! The mega sized sweet potato really benefitted from the quality knifes I purchased for my husbands 40th birthday. #shun
Meanwhile I started sautéing the beef liver. Dogs are Omnivores and function best with protein derived from both organ and muscle meat. Because of this, my dog food recipes include some form of organ meat with each meal with the exception of the salmon meals.
Chopped thin for equal distribution...
The chuck steak takes only a few minutes to cook while covered and I typically add the kale and corn half way through as I have used frozen variety in this instance. Fresh works too but then add it, closer to when the meat is finished.
Mash the sweet potato and mix it all together...
Finnegan was enticed by the entire process... which makes my job training him to be a gentleman a bit more of a challenge!!
Recipe:
2 pounds ground beef chuck stew meat
1/2 pound beef liver
1 large sweet potato approx 2 cups
1/2 cup corn
1/2 cup kale
Start by boiling or roasting he sweet potato until tender. Discard the skin and set aside to cool.
Saute the beef liver until well done and set aside. Slice thinly and into small cubes. Cook beef stew meat with a healthy oil. I used 100% organic safflower oil. Coconut oil works well (please avoid avocado oil as that is not good for dogs)
Once the meat is almost cooked, add frozen kale and corn.
Mash sweet potato and then toss with other ingredients.
serve 1 cup with 1/2- 1 cup of kibble of your choice.
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