For two thirds of my life I have managed what I eat closely. I'm not a nutritionist, but that doesn't mean anything in many places in the US - you can say you are and you are one.
If I am going to a restaurant, I will skip a meal or a part of one and "Bank" the calories. It's the only way to do it here or else you become a stereotype of what someone outside of the country thinks of us.
I have a nasty habit of being able to estimate calories "off the top of my head" and usually come in close since I have done it so long.
The idea of finding a recipe that is healthy is usually something I can do just by skimming it.
I rose to the challenge of getting my dog healthy when we got him.
Rack is, or was a rescue. He had worms that needed multiple treatments to clear him out. He still has an allergy to Chicken and he is sensitive to Grain.
All that made it difficult to find just the right food to feed him.
Add to that the rather casual attitude dog food manufacturers have towards their products and the constant dog food recalls I have been hearing about meant that eventually we stopped feeding Our Best Friend anything that came in a bag or a can.
The recipe I was using was a powder that I would add to water and ground beef but he's now quite bored with it, and never really liked it.
I guess a dog who doesn't like Broccoli is like most human kids. Personally I enjoy Beef and Broccoli but my sense of smell isn't as good as his.
We hunted around for a recipe that we liked and I was sent one that cooks in a crock pot.
Basically it's a Beef Hash. Since I make it with Human Grade ingredients, I had to try it. Bland but edible. I guess I would actually like the stuff if there was some curry or some hot sauce added to it.
When I gave it to Rack though, he devoured it.
Normally I have to give him encouragement to eat any food. Tapping the bowl, shaking it, mixing it up, telling him it's time to eat. It's tiresome.
With this stuff he started at one side of the bowl after asking for the thing by hovering very expectantly, and then finished it in one breath.
I guess he doesn't need any curry added to his food.
Anyway the Recipe.
When selecting canned foods for your dog, make certain that you select the LOW SODIUM varieties since dogs have trouble digesting salt. If you can't find LOW SODIUM, use Fresh or Frozen.
Again: Fresh is best, Frozen is second, and Canned is third in preference but Low Salt.
The Salt Limit stated here for a 33 pound dog is 100Mg Per Day.
If anything, this exercise made me more aware or the ridiculous amounts of salt we eat on a daily basis!
Ingredients:
- Ground Beef - 2 1/2 Pounds or 1.13 KG (I used 80% lean)
- Water - 4 cups or 1 Liter
- Brown Rice (dry) - 1.5 cups dry - 355g.
- Kidney Beans - Canned, 15 ounces or 425g washed and drained.
- Butternut Squash puree - Canned, 15 ounces or 425g
- Peas (frozen) - 4 oz or 1/2 cup or 113g
- Carrots (Raw is best or frozen) - 15 ounces or 425g
Process:
This uses a 6 quart/Liter crock pot on low for 5-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours. Food should be cooked to a temperature of 165F or 75C 'Internally'.
- Add the ingredients to the crock pot in any order.
- Stir ingredients so that they are evenly mixed.
- Cover the crock pot and turn it on low for 5-6 hours or high for 2-3 hours.
- Stir periodically, I did every half hour to an hour or so.
- Cook to 165F or 75C to allow wholesome goodness for Puppy!
- Allow this to cool completely before serving.
No comments:
Post a Comment