What I Ate Wednesday: Four-Legged Food

By Elisa|Edibles, Four-Legged Food|7 Comments

If you recall our first installment of What I Ate Wednesday I mentioned that we eat pretty much the same couple of meals with some spins and twists. So no surprise our dinner ended up looking surprisingly like our last dinner, sub green beans with sweet potatoes.

It was then that I decided What I Ate Wednesday should take one a new twist for this week: Four-Legged Food addition! That is — dog treats! If you want to get up to speed I babbled on for ages about the best food to feed your pets here. It’s been a while since I’ve made homemade dog treats and they are pure easiness. Since most dogs don’t have much of a discerning palate you pretty much can’t NOT mess them up. I could put earwax or any other flavor Bertie Botts has already dreamed up into dog cookies and bake them and my little monkeys would gobble them up.

Not like I tried.

Sometimes I try to go off a recipe – sometimes I free hand it, especially if Ryan and I have been feeling especially cheap and are running low on groceries at the moment. Again, they’re dogs, you really can’t mess up dog cookies.

Wait. Scratch that. You CAN mess dog cookies up if you put these things in them:
Onions
Chocolate (Carob is a great substitute)
Grapes and/or Raisins
Avocado
An s-ton of Garlic (a little bit is okay)
Milk
Macadamia Nuts
Sugar

This list also includes human food that already has these ingredients in them – like peanut butter. Always check labels to make sure there isn’t any added sugar, salt, or other harmful foodstuffs. There is so MUCH good stuff that you should never feel the need to throw in any of the above ingredients. Speaking of throwing in ingredients…

I started with a flour base. I like to use whole wheat flour, but you can also use unbleached flour.

Then, since I started to get flour all over everything, camera included, I skipped photographing the last few steps. I was totally ready to do a step-by-step ala Pioneer Woman but klutziness is my forte.

So here’s what I put into the mix:
Flour, mashed banana, organic turkey (in the form of baby food), olive oil, cinnamon, peanut butter, and a dash of baking powder.

After mixing the ingredients in my handy dandy Kitchenaid it was time to break my new rolling pin’s virginity and roll that dough out. If your dough is a bit sticky coming out of the bowl (that’s what she said) it’s okay – much flower is need for the rolling process. Again, use whole wheat flour or unbleached flour.

Then I grabbed my collection of cookie cutters – small size – that I’ve collected over the past few years.

I am a total sucker for a beautiful baking pan.

One last step. Grab a raw egg and crack it open, leaving only the egg white in a small bowl. You can use a brush if you have one but I just use a fork to brush just a tiny bit of egg white on top of the cookies. This will help make them golden and shiny. Because dogs don’t give a damn what shape they’re in so if you went through the trouble of using a bone, or dog-shape, or star-shape cookie cutter then you might as well make them as visually pleasing for humans as possible.

So into the oven they went – 350 degree F for 15 minutes. I did check them at 12 – all ovens are different and you just want a nice golden brown, but not too crunchy. My girls eat kibble so they get plenty of crunch in their diet.

After 15 minutes I turned the oven off and let the cookies sit inside for about 20 minutes. And after all said an done… (and removing drooling dogs from the kitchen)

Almost good enough looking for humans to eat! Well, you can totally eat them they’ll just be really effing bland.

And after a few minutes on the cooling rack it was time for the final showdown.

Which quickly multiplied…

..and were very well received!!

Although honestly, these dogs would eat tree bark if I put it in their bowls.

On another note the house smelled wonderful – like cinnamon – so we were happy and the goggies were happy.

And if you ever want to make your own there are SO many recipes out there. But I do keep going back to my dog cookie book, which seriously has every type of dog food you can make – regular flour-based treats, pies, cakes, meals — you name it.

You can also go for the good ol’ fashion photo-copy-it-out-of-a-book recipe:

All in all I’d say these were a rousing success:

Four-Legged Food: The Pet Food Post

By Elisa|Edibles, Four-Legged Food|9 Comments

It’s finally time to talk about something I’m passionate about – pet food! I’ve amassed a ton of knowledge about food since keeping my own pets for the last four years and as I began writing (and writing, and writing) this post it occurred to me that this should really be a series. To put it all in one post would just be too overwhelming for you, for me, for the world.

Thus far I’ve successfully fed two dogs, one cat, a bevy of leopard geckos, small colonies of crickets and meal worms (to feed those leopard geckos), two rats – and the cream on top of that exotic pet cake – two Emperor scorpions.

Let’s begin by saying that this post is not here to criticize, or boast, or make you feel bad. This post is here to inspire and educate.

When we first got Lily the cat I knew I should know about pet food but I didn’t really have a clue so I started somewhat blindly looked at pet food ingredient labels, not really understanding anything.

Not long before getting Olive someone taught me a cardinal rule about picking and purchasing pet food: Start with the first 5 ingredients.

No matter what quality your food you are feeding there is usually going to be a bevy of ingredients and that is okay. Remember, your dog or cat is supposed to get a fully balanced meal with each scoop.

First, a lot of quality food can and is still very reasonably priced. Expensive = not always necessarily better. Every pet is different and every pet reacts differently to food. Since the food is better quality you can feed less, therefor the higher priced bag already begins paying for itself. And long term… well! Your pets may or may not necessarily live longer (I know of pets fed on grocery-store food living late into their teens) but it’s almost guaranteed your pets will live healthier lives. And healthy pets = less expensive vet bills. And happier families.

See what I’m getting at here? As with most things in life – invest a little upfront and you get a long-term reward.

So with that, back to those first five ingredients I was talking about.

1 – The first one to three ingredients should be meat. Always. Preferably the first ingredient should always be a meat meal (i.e. Chicken Meal, Turkey Meal, etc). “Meal” only means that it is a dehydrated meat product – they’ve removed all the water and it is therefor now all protein. This is important because most meat is at least 80% water and since they list ingredients of pet food by weight (just like human food) once the water is removed from the meat it weighs substantially less.

2 – NO CORN – no exceptions! It’s a filler, point blank. Not good for dogs or cats to digest and it makes them poop – a lot. If you see the word ‘corn’ anywhere on the label put the bag down and back away slowly.

Don’t let this sad corn fool you. Found here.

3 – NO grain by-products or wheat by-products. Common grain ingredients like rice and cracked barley is fine – oatmeal is great too, especially for dogs with more sensitive stomachs who need alternative carbs.
On my hunt for grain/wheat by products I found this site which makes food containers out of wheat-byproducts. Gross.

4 – NO MEAT BY-PRODUCTS! By-products means that the pet food company can put anything into the recipe: hoofs, eyes, snouts, etc. They can pretty much just scrape shit off the floor and call it a by-product. The ingredients should also list the KIND of meat. Not just some ubiquitous “meat.”

This was the least-disgusting picture of meat by-products I could find. From here.

Here are the first five ingredients in Purina’s Fit and Trim:
Whole grain corn, meat and bone meal, whole grain wheat, soybean meal, corn gluten meal. Yikes.

Then here’s the first five ingredients of a mid-range dog food (Blue Buffalo):
Deboned Chicken, Chicken Meal, Whole Ground Brown Rice, Whole Ground Barley, Oatmeal. Good balance of meat and carbs although slightly more meat would be preferable.

And here’s the first five ingredients of a high-quality dog food (Instinct):
Rabbit Meal, Salmon Meal, Tapioca, Chicken Fat, Tomato Pomace. Balanced meat with good alternatives to carbs.

I also wouldn’t suggest ever getting a “light” or “diet” food – they usually lower the calories by putting in more carbohydrates – like rice – and taking out meat. If you have an overweight dog that’s having trouble with exercise you can decrease their kibble or wet food and substitute in green beans, carrots, or even a small amount of rice cakes (untouched by sweeteners or added salt). Fat cats can also benefit from adding green beans to their diet. Just remember this isn’t a long-term solution – just like any human or animal on a diet!

For the sensitive mammal most of pet food companies produce Limited Ingredient Diets – recipes which may have only 5-8 ingredients in the food. You should definitely consult with a vet about this, though, as you may need to supplement with human food to complete a balanced diet.

And example of L.I.D. food, found here.

There is also high-quality food that boasts “No grain – low carbs, high protein” – simply known as “grain free.” These are great natural diets for any animal but it packs a high amount of calories and can take a bit to get used to if they’ve been eating corn for some time. My pets do splendidly on it but if you decide to go this route I’d suggest a slow introduction by mixing grain free food with your current food for at least a month until they’re eating 100% grain free. Not all pets with thrive with this diet, though, so just keep a close eye on their stool, coat, and behavior as you change their diet. Just like humans, some people can live on chicken and veggies alone. I, however, need a healthy healthy serving of carbs. Pasta and fruit for-eva.

All three of my girls eat grain-free and do great on it. Here Olive models her most favorite times of day: breakfast and dinner.

Here is what Lily eats. No modeling in this picture because Lily is a cat and she do what she wants. She can actually be a little finicky (she refuses to touch wet food, for instance) so I stick to Evo but rotate formulas.

Again, not all pets can handle a grain-free diet so keep an eye on their eating habits and err.. bathroom habits. This is rather inappropriate but I’ve got to say it, dammit. Ideal stool should basically look like a giant tootsie roll.

Yum. Found here.

Sorry If I’ve just ruined tootsie rolls for you. That is not my intention.

Thankfully I find I can still eat tootsie rolls with gusto.

Last but not least, organic is always better. Currently my girls do not eat organic. Once I can afford to eat organic then they can begin eating organic, although if cash is tight I do love to supplement organic fruits and veggies into their diets as treats.

Remember, there are a good number of high-quality foods out there. Once you feel comfortable scouting out the first five ingredients you can begin learning about the other daily nutritional needs of your pet and the best foods that will provide those nutrients for your beloved four-legged family member. Then you can begin researching where the company gets the meats, veggies, and grains and make the most awesome and educated decisions for you and your family.

For starters, here’s are a list of quality pet foods. I can say pretty confidently you should not buy pet food from a supermarket, ever. Also, it is unlikely you’ll be able to buy these are Petsmart/Petco.. and if you can it’ll be way overpriced! So do a little Google search and a little asking around and you’ll likely find a good ol’ local pet food shop where your dollar is way more appreciated.

- Chicken Soup for the Dog Lover’s Soul (yes, looks like the books!)
- Wellness
- Wellness Core – grain-free
- California Natural
- Evo (Innova) – grain-free
- Nature’s Variety Instinct – grain-free
- Nature’s Variety Prairie
- Solid Gold
- Call of the Wild
- Merrick’s (they have freeze-dried veggies in their dry food, kinda neat)
- Orijen (very pricey) – grain-free
- Blue Buffalo (one of the few I believe you can buy at Petsmart – but it’s overpriced)
- Newman’s Own Organics

If you’re ever unsure here’s a great site that delves deeply into all things dog food – although it WILL give you a complex about buying 6-star super expensive food, so take it with a grain of salt: www.dogfoodanalysis.com.

Using the above guide I would stick to three-star foods and up. Remember, you can always supplement your pet food with human food, too. Seriously! But that is a whooole ‘nother post. Most companies that produce the dog food listed on the site also make cat food, and in some instances ferret food!

There. Just over 1450 words on the pet food subject and this is only the beginning.
Here’s a few other subjects I plan on hitting up in the future:
Raw vs. Kibble
Supplementing “human” food
Home cooked meals!
Feeding exotics
A whole wonderful post just on rats <3

Anything else you guys want to hear about? Any specific questions or pet-food related jumps you’ve taken recently?