Homemade Dog Food…

Hello loves! If you’ve been following me on Instagram you have definitely seen some of my recent cooking adventures at home. Although I typically cook for Andrew and I on Sunday nights for dinner, I have also been very concerned about what I have been feeding my Yorkie pups lately. One of my dogs is almost 14 years old (the other one is 7) and they have been getting a lot of different skin allergies lately. In addition, with my attempt to clean out our home of toxic chemicals in our home cleaners and skincare routines, I am really paying attention to not only what we put in and on our bodies but also what we put into the dogs bodies as well.

I started researching homemade dog food recipes lately and I really wanted something easy so that it wouldn’t become a huge burden. I found this recipe for preparation in a crock pot and I have to say, it’s literally the easiest thing to make. In addition, the dogs get super excited about it now and can’t wait for me to feed them their home cooked meals. They are definitely a little spoiled.

Please consult with your veterinarian before you use this recipe for your own dogs diet.

Ingredients:

• 2 lbs of ground up meat (I alternate each time between beef, turkey or chicken)

• 1 cup or brown rice

• 1 can of dark red kidney beans (drained ad rinsed)

• 1 1/2 cups of chopped sweet potatoes or butternut squash (I buy it frozen)

• 1 1/2 cups of chopped carrots

• 1/2 cup of peas

• 3 tablespoons of raw unrefined coconut oil (separated)

Instructions:

1. Place all ingredients, minus the coconut oil, in a slow cooker with 4 cups of water

2. Cook on low for 5-6 hours or on high for 2-3 hours

3. Let it cool completely

4. Separate into 3 small batches and scoop into your food processor with 1 tablespoon of coconut oil added to each batch. (This is really good for them and promotes a healthy shiny coat.)

5. Pulse on high for about 10 seconds, give it a stir, and then pulse on high again.

6. Separate into small bags for storage. My dogs are both around 4 lbs each and I separate the mixture in each sandwich bag using a 1/3 of a cup measurements. I take half of the batch and store it in the fridge and the other half and store in the freezer.

note: Freezer bags take 24 hours to defrost in the fridge so don’t wait until your fridge stock has completely depleted before you transfer the rest over from the freezer. 

 

Above is the cooled batch before putting it in the food processor. If you have larger dogs, you can probably feed them as is. My dogs are smaller and older and have had teeth extracted so I try to make it easier for them to chew and swallow.

Above is what it looks like after being put in the food processor and is ready to be separated into 1/3 cup batches. Please note that all dogs are different so you might have to do a little trial and error to decide how much food they need. After a few weeks and overfeeding them a bit, we learned that getting their own 1/3 cup bag in the morning and splitting a 1/3 cup bag between them for their second feeding in late afternoon is best. Also our younger pup Belle is a bit of an overeater so I kind of have to stand over them to make sure she doesn’t steal from his bowl. She can be a little aggressive if she is not checked.

Reheating Instructions:

For the 2 bags in the morning (1 for each dog) I transfer them from the bag to a microwavable safe plate and heat in the microwave for 23 seconds. For the 1 bag for their second feeding that they split, I only heat it for 15 seconds. If you’re using different amounts, your heating times will probably need to be adjusted. Just beware not to feed it to them too hot.

I also use a sharpie to mark the date that I made them in case there is overlap from an earlier batch.

I’m telling you, your dogs will lick the bowl.

Thanks for stopping by!