Make Your Own Organic Pet Food?

Making organic pet food may sound a bit farfetched, but when you think about it, they eat pretty much the same food that we do! So why are we buying food in bags for our pets? Well, convenience for one, there’s the dry food versus wet food preference, and sometimes… our pets are just plain picky eaters and won’t touch anything but “their” special food! Putting all that aside, it sounds fun to try making your own pet food and see how they react. Maybe they hate it, but maybe they love it so much that it will become their new favourite treat!

What are the benefits of making our pet’s food ourselves? Giving your pet organic food has all the same benefits of feeding yourself organic food. There’s nothing artificial in it, which reduces the probability of skin ailments and allergies. There are fewer digestive disorders, since the food is prepared with fresh, easily digestible ingredients and hasn’t been sitting on a shelf for weeks before you even purchased it. Since the ingredients are more easily digested, your pets also absorb more nutrients from them, improving their immune system and giving them more energy overall. You also can control their diet more specifically. If your pet is overweight, you can easily skip adding fat to your ingredients by removing excess fat from meat or using less oil.

Before we get into making the food itself, let’s divert to something more serious note. All pets are different. You wouldn’t feed birdseed to your cat, for example, so make sure that what you are putting into your pets’ food is suitable for their species. Cats can’t digest some grains and veggies properly, so while they’re great for your dog, you do not want them in your cat food. On the flip side of that, dogs like to chew on bones, especially to get the marrow inside, but you wouldn’t grind up bone into their regular food like you would a cat that is built to eat mice whole – bones and all.

Maxi Luna in 1920's Regalia

Dogs are omnivores just like we are, so their food should be comprised of meats, carbohydrates, and veggies. All you need for some great dog food is ground meat, carbs (barley, wheat, or whole grain rice recommended), some veggies, liver, and gizzards (chicken or turkey). Beef is traditional, but if your dog is overweight or exercising less, you might want to try turkey or chicken as leaner options. The liver and gizzards are something canines eat naturally in the wild and provide them with iron, an immune system boost, and enhanced joint mobility. As an added treat, add extra meat to the mixture.

My sister’s dog Maxi, for example, goes crazy over anything with turkey in it. So much so, that we can’t even say the word “turkey” without her going nuts! We have to be sneaky and use other languages to say turkey instead. “Pavo!” “Dinde!”

Basic Dog Food Recipe

1. Cook 1 lb of ground meat in a skillet
2. Use light cooking oil (safflower is a great example, since it is almost flavourless) only if necessary for browning meat and in small amounts
3. Mix the cooked meat with your carb and water in a large pot and bring to a boil.
4. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for about 15 minutes, or until your carb is soft and tender.
5. While it is cooking, dice your veggies.
6. Add the veggies to the pot once carb is finished cooking and cook veggies for about 5 to 10 minutes until tender.
7. Allow to cool before serving.
8. You can store extra food in glass jars or in repurposed containers for future meals.
9. Lasts up to 5 days in the fridge or can be frozen as necessary.

Check out more great homemade organic meals and treats:

Dogs: Treats & Meals
Cats: Cat Nutrition
Birds: Parrot Treats & Eats
Rabbits: Easy Homemade Treats & What can a Rabbit Eat? Breakdown
Hamsters: Basic Meal Mix

Allergy-Safe Potluck Dishes

I go to a lot of potluck dinners, and I have a lot of friends with allergies and food intolerances. This can challenge my fairly-limited cooking skills, especially if I want to avoid an extra grocery store trip and if the potluck dish also has to be transportable by public transportation.

Recently, I was going to a potluck where there would be people with peanut allergies, tree nut allergies, gluten intolerances, soy allergies, and dairy allergies. I decided to make dessert squares adapted from recipes I found on the wonderful world of the Internet. I made two different squares in case one didn't work out. Also, some people with gluten intolerances eat oats and some don't, and I couldn't remember the situation with the people at this event.

As a note, I always bring ingredients lists with me to potlucks, including notes about any warnings about "may contain traces of..." and "manufactured in a facility that also manufactures..." that are on my ingredients, so everyone can decide for themselves if they are comfortable eating my contribution.

Vegan Rice Crispy Treats

Original vegan recipe I found:
1 cup light corn syrup
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp soy margarine
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6 cups puffed rice cereal

My adapted recipe:

INGREDIENTS

1 cup agave
3/4 cup sugar
1 Tbsp coconut oil*
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
6 cups Nature's Path Crispy Rice Cereal (gluten-free; not all rice cereals are)

DIRECTIONS

Heat the agave in a pot over medium heat, then add sugar. Stir continuously for a few minutes. Turn it down if it starts to froth. After at least a couple of minutes of stirring, when bubbles start to form at the bottom and then rise to the surface, add the coconut oil and vanilla extract and stir.

Put the cereal in a large bowl. Pour the heated syrup mixture over the cereal and stir to combine well. Pour the mixture into a lightly greased dish and press until even. Allow it to cool until hard, about one hour. Cut into squares.

Chocolate Oat Drops

Original recipe I found:
1/2 cup butter
6 tsp cocoa
1/2 cup milk
2 cups white sugar
1 cup coconut
3 cups oatmeal

My adapted recipe:

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup coconut oil*
6 tsp cocoa powder
1/2 cup oat beverage
2 cups sugar
1 cup dried cranberries (I didn't have any coconut)
3 cups rolled oats

DIRECTIONS

Melt coconut oil and cocoa powder together over medium heat, stirring well. Add the oat beverage and sugar. Bring to a boil over medium heat for 2 minutes. Add cranberries and oats. Drop by the tablespoon onto a cookie sheet and leave to cool.

*Usually it is better to use less coconut oil than the butter called for in a recipe, but these recipes seem to need the full amount.

These were both very tasty. The rice crispy treats did stick together in one blob; if keeping them at room temperature for any length of time, I'd recommend keeping them in the original container after cutting, or putting waxed paper between layers. Both treats were very well received; some one even asked for the Chocolate Oat Drop recipe!