Improve your pup’s diet with these nutritional recipes

Imagine if you had to eat the exact same food for every meal. Wouldn’t that be boring? Wouldn’t you wonder if you were meeting all your nutritional needs for a balanced diet? Welcome to a dog’s life.

I’m not trying to complain, but I think it’s something many pet parents are unaware of.

The good news is that there are easy ways to improve your dog’s diet, and homemade dog food is an excellent alternative.

Whether your dog has a health issue, or you want to avoid harmful additives, there are many benefits to cooking for your dog. Most importantly, don’t forget to consult with your veterinarian or a certified pet nutritionist to make sure you’re following the right nutritional guidelines for your dog’s specific breed.

Are you ready to be the next best dog chef? Here are a few easy DIY dog food recipes you can try today:

Beef Stew, Doggie Style

This one’s from Canine Journal, which lists the recipe as follows:

Ingredients

• 1 pound of beef stew meat
• 1 small sweet potato
• 1/2 cup of carrots, diced
• 1/2 cup of green beans, diced
• 1/2 cup of flour
• 1/2 cup of water or organic vegetable oil, plus 1 tablespoon of vegetable oil for frying

Total: Makes approx 4 cups (or 32 fluid ounces)

Directions

1. Cook the sweet potato in a microwave for 5 to 8 minutes until firm but tender. Set aside.
2. Slice the stew pieces into smaller chunks, about the size of a nickel.
3. Cook the stew pieces in a tablespoon of vegetable oil over medium heat for 10-15 minutes or until well-done.
4. Remove the beef chunks from the pan, reserving the drippings.
5. Dice the sweet potato.
6. Heat the drippings over medium-low heat. Slowly add flour and water into the dripping while whisking to create a thick gravy.
7. Add the meat, sweet potato, carrots and green beans into the gravy and stir to coat.
8. Cook until the carrots are tender – about 10 minutes.
9. Serve cool.
10. Store remaining stew in the fridge for up to five days.

Homemade Dinner Recipe for Dogs

This yummy meal comes from Bark, and I’m happy they included everything you need to know:

This recipe feeds 2-3 large dogs for 7-10 days.

Grind the following ingredients in a meat grinder. Alternate ingredients so the grinder does the mixing for you. For instance, grind six necks, one carrot, a handful of pumpkin seeds, then six more necks and so on. Mix with a large spoon as you grind.

Ingredients

Meat:
• 40 lbs of chicken neck without skins
• 10 lbs of chicken hearts
• 5-10 lbs of organic chicken livers
• 2 cans of pink salmon (optional)

Vegetables:
Can be interchanged with other vegetables and fruits (no grapes or onions). Dogs and cats usually do not like citrus.

• 2-5 lbs carrots
• 1/2 a bunch of red cabbage
• 1 beet
• 2 apples
• 1/2 a bunch of spinach or other dark greens

Other ingredients:
• 1 cup of raw pumpkin seeds

Add a couple of the following items. Have these ready on hand as you are grinding and add a sprinkle here and there of each so you can thoroughly mix the batch of food.

• 9-12 raw whole eggs (optional)
• 2,000 mg of vitamin C powder
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup of Thorvin kelp powder
• 1/4 cup of tumeric powder
• 1/2 to 1 cup of dried parsley
• 1/2 to 1 cup of dried oregano
• 1/2 cup of extra virgin olive oil
• 1/4 cup of tahini
• 1/4 cup of raw honey

After grinding and mixing all ingredients thoroughly, keep the food in a sealed container in the refrigerator.

Homemade Fish-Based Dog Dinner

My Sweet Puppy was kind enough to supply all the details for this fishy recipe:

This recipe is for one medium sized dog for three days, about 10 1-cup-size meatballs.

It can be made in larger batches for efficiency sake. This raw food can easily be frozen in meatball shapes appropriate for the size animals you are feeding.

Serving Sizes for Raw Meatballs
• For a large 50-100 pound dog – three to five 1-cup-size meatballs per day
• For a 20-40 pound dog – two or three 1-cup-size meatballs per day
• For a 1-10 pound dog – one to two 1/2-cup-size meatballs per day

*Remember – this is a concentrated and efficient food source and is power packed. You won’t have to feed as much bulk-wise as with a commercial food; most commercial foods have a lot of fillers.

Ingredients
• 2 pounds frozen fish fillets. Use an oily fish like Mackerel or Whiting.
• 1-2 cans Alaskan wild pink salmon
• 1/4 – 1/2 pound beef liver
• 1-3 eggs (optional)
• 2 cups of chopped vegetables or fruits (can be any combination of the following cooked: carrots, cabbage, broccoli, squash, green beans, yams, kale, spinach; or apples, berries). Do NOT use onions or grapes of any kind.
• 1/2 cup of pepitas (shelled pumpkin seeds)
• 2 tbsp honey
• 2 tbsp dried parsley
• 2 tbsp dried oregano
• 2 tbsp tumeric powder
• 2 tbsp Thorvin kelp powder
• Optional: 1 cup of cooked oatmeal, barley, or brown rice

Directions

Alternate putting frozen (still frozen grind much easier) liver, fish, vegetables, and seeds through a meat grinder. As you grind into a big bowl, add and mix in the canned salmon, eggs, honey, dried herbs, and powdered kelp.

Keep in a well-sealed container in fridge. Scoop out appropriate amounts for your pet. If you made a very large batch that is more than can be consumed in about 5 days, roll into meal-sized meatballs and freeze. Then you can just take out whatever number meatballs you need and defrost them a couple days before you need to feed them. Meatballs will last at least 3 months in the freezer.

If you’re feeling ambitious, check out this fantastic dog recipe cookbook, Feed Your Best Friend Better: Easy, Nutritious Meals and Treats For Your Dog. Bon Appetit!

Waldo