Homecooked meals recipes

[ChloeLove]

I'm thinking of doing homecooked meals with my dog because she's getting older and needs a much better diet, so does anyone know of any good websites that have good recipes for home cooked meals? Thanks! :)

[ChloeLove]

*bUmP* :o

[wolfsoul]

I have hudreds of them. I'm going to be feeding homecooked in the future. I'll copy and paste them in a sec.

[wolfsoul]

These are my 2 favourites. Tell me if you want more. I have tons of treat recipes too.

Rice pie

1 cup brown rice

2 cups mixed vegetables (frozen or canned)

1 cup cooked chicken or beef, all fat removed

3 eggs

1/2 cup skim milk

1 cup fat free natural yogurt

1/2 cup water with 1 chicken stock cube dissolved in it

Method

Cook rice, put in medium sized casserole or pie dish, with the vegetables and chicken, mix well. In a bowl, mix the eggs, milk, yogurt, and chicken stock, beat well.

Add this egg mixture to the rice mixture and fold in well.

Cook in oven at 180C for about 1/2 hour or until set.

When it is cool, it can be cut into wedges and frozen in portions suitable for your dog. This pie can be mixed with other dog food or served on its own for a healthy low fat diet.




1 lb salmon

1/4 C Olive Oil

1/4 C Water

1/4 C uncooked rice (can be ommitted if using at least 2T rice flour)

3 Eggs (including the shells)

1/4 C Dried leafy green vegetable (Kale, spinach, etc)

1 t Honey, Molasses, or Brown Sugar

1/4 C Grated carrot (not shredded)

1/4 C Rolled Oats OR Wheat Germ

1 T Brewer's Yeast
, soy, whole wheat, all-purpose, or mix of these


2-4 C Flour - rice
1 T Olive Oil (to grease cookie sheet)


NOTE: Rice flour is best, as it is easier to digest, soy flour has more protein, all-purpose flour is not as healthy, but will do.

Using two knives, cut salmon (as you would cut fat into flour) until it is finely chopped.

Heat olive oil in large skillet on medium.

Add Brewers yeast and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly.

Add salmon to skillet, and cook well, crumbling it as you would ground beef.

When fully cooked, add 1/4 C water, and bring to boil, stirring constantly.

Reduce heat. Add rice, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

Remove from heat, and pour mixture into large mixing bowl.

Beat on low with electric mixer until mixture is well mixed and ground together.

Add eggs to mixture, placing shells and kale in a separate bowl.

Grind shells & greens as fine as possible (powdered), add to mixture, and beat well.

Add carrot, wheat germ, yeast, and 1/2 Cup Flour. Beat thoroughly.

Add enough flour to make a stiff dough. Shape into bite-size pieces.

Bake at 350 for 20-45 minutes, depending on size of pieces.

Turn oven down to 200 and bake another hour. Cool.

Store in air-tight container

[alicat613]

There are a lot of sites and books with recipes, but I've always found them to be overly complicated and often unbalanced and incorrect.

What breed of dog do you have and how old?
Any allergies, etc?

I would suggest making an appt. with a holistic vet schooled in nutrition. While they will likely suggest raw, they know a lot more about home feeding a pet than most traditional vets. Holistic vets have all the same schooling as other vets but have chosen to continue their education in other areas. http://www.ahvma.org/states_and_directory/directory.html
Choose a vet with "NU" Nutrition and call and ask the staff how the vet feels about home diets and if they can help you.

Variety is the key; however introduce new foods slowly. Never feed onions, chocolate or grapes/raisins. Be careful with acidic food such as citrus, tomatos, etc. Don't feed the green parts of tomatoes or potatoes (or potato 'eyes'). Potatoes are a nightshade and may irritate some dogs, although I have never had this problem.

Each meal should be roughly 1/3 each meat/protein, veggies, carbs.

A cooked diet does need to include grains (most raw feeders do not). Try to make nutritious choices, organic if possible. Sweet potatoes, yams, whole brown rice, oats, new potatoes (can irritate some dogs), barley, pasta but not as the main staple.

Simmering meat retains the most nutrition. Cooked meat should also be drained of its fat before feeding (cooked fat does not digest the same as raw and leads to unhealthy and stinky results!).

Meat must always be balanced with calcium. 1 tablespoon per pound of meat. You can also use eggshell powder or tablets but these are not recommended for large breeds or breeds with bone problems. I do not know the 'dosage' on those - loaned that book out. :(

Because of the differences in fat, you should supplement with some cold pressed oils such as flax, salmon, olive, etc. I use organic raw seeds (pumpkin and flax) that I grind in a cheap coffee grinder to provide complete Omega fatty acids. http://www.annecollins.com/dietary-fat/omega-3-efa-6-chart.htm

Vegetables, organic as much as possible, should be run through a food processor. Dogs aren't very capable of digesting whole veggies; in 'the wild' canines like wolves get most of their produce from the stomachs of their prey, where it is already chewed and digested. Good choices are nutritious lettuces, yellow or zucchini squash, green beans, broccoli. Veggies like broccoli or cauliflower may cause gas. Carrots and peas are fine also but higher in sugar, and may not be good for some dogs, especially those prone to yeast infections of any kind.

Rosemary (ground), parsley, and garlic (in reasonable amounts, think light flavoring) are great additives. Yogurt helps the digestive system and dogs love it. I'd also add digestive enzymes (human form) as the enzymes are not the same in cooked foods.
It will also help your dog transition to his new food. Try not to microwave much of the food as it alters the structure more.

I strongly suggest again finding a vet to guide you, and reading up on dog nutrition. I will look for some useful links tomorrow. There are some good books as well, many of them on raw feeding but still helpful.

I hope that helps!
Ali

[alicat613]

er...that's 1 tablespoon bone meal (available at health stores) per pound of meat added after cooking

[ChloeLove]

Wow, thanks! :) We're going to see a vet about her nutrition (She is a 7 year old Bichon Frise) because he says we have to improve it. Thanks for the information!! :D

Thanks Jordan for the recipes, I'm printing them out now! :D

[Tonya]

I don't have any recipes; I cook my dogs slop. lol. Once every few weeks, on a Sunday, I clean out the fridge and freezer. (We have lots of leftovers since no one appreciates my cooking. :rolleyes: ) Whatever is healthy for the dogs gets put in this huge pan and I bake it. I put some gravy on top. The dogs get so excited when I pull that pan out, they know it's their lucky day. hehe.

[alicat613]

Oh a Bichon! My dog loves those! (I think they're pretty cute too!)


Dr. Pitcairn's book (can't recall the name but he just has the one) is cooked - his newer version is meant to be cooked or raw meat.
Most of the sites I have found on the internet don't include calcium or any other supplementation.