Organic Dog Food Recipe
My 12-year-old lab Nell (I call her Nellie-girl) was just diagnosed with cancer. She’s a tough old girl, in great shape in every other way. You’d look at her and think she was 8, fit as a fiddle, cold nose, happy tail, and no gray hairs. As I did some research about her condition I kept coming across literature that points to kibble as a travesty for dogs. We’ve always had her on a great brand but I couldn’t help but feel a twinge in my stomach that maybe her diet had contributed to her condition. Her predecessor Keka, our beautiful Rottie, died at 10, not uncommon for her breed but also of cancer. I kept wondering if there was a pattern.
So I decided that for whatever time Nell had left I’d make her food. My girlfriend had an anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory diet she’d made for her dog when he was ill and she gave me the recipe when Nell was diagnosed. It came from a local pet store. I decided to put our youngest lab-mix Benson on it too. At 18 months he’s always had a sensitive stomach, itches a lot, and I’ve felt his diet wasn’t quite agreeing with him. So I gave it a go.
My recipe is easy and fresh. I served it with their regular food for a few days and then cut over completely. Neither dog has had an upset stomach and they are happy as clams. Their bowls are licked clean and they eat with enthusiasm. I just spoke to a local vet who is also trained in Chinese medicine. Think of him as east-meets-west but for animals and not humans. He’s the real deal on the DVM side but with this added knowledge that makes him enormously rare and in my book special. He assured me the diet I was preparing was great for the dogs, gave me a few more suggestions to make sure everything is in nutritional balance and optimized for my canine companions.
It feels SO great to know my dogs are getting healthy, organic, food, made with love. Make sure you check with your vet before you do something like this but I have to say I’m SOLD on Farmers Dog, Just for Dogs or better yet, my own home-cooked food. Give it a go!
Here’s my recipe.
2 cups organic white quinoa
32 oz box low sodium, pure bone broth (no msg or anything additive)
Rinse the quinoa, add to a pot, add broth, and bring to a boil. Boil for 6 minutes uncovered.
Turn off and cover and let steam 15-ish minutes until quinoa is soft and liquid is gone.
Meanwhile cook 1-3/4 lbs chicken breast, ground turkey or turkey breast, ground pork, lamb, or beef. Cook on low in a frying pan and let simmer so cooks soft and not with any burnt or fried effect.
Then prepare organic veggies:
2-3 medium carrots finely chopped or grated
1 small bunch curly parsley finely chopped
1 large red bell pepper finely chopped
Pour the cooked meat and chopped veggies into the quinoa and mix in thoroughly. Replace lid and let the hot mixture continue to steam so veggies soften.
Add 1 tsp calcium powder (such as Animal Essentials Seaweed Calcium) for each pound of protein in the meal. To keep things interesting add in one of the green veggies noted below.
THAT’s IT!
I put this in the frig and serve. My vet says it’s about 2 to 1 new food to dry kibble. Meaning 1 cup dry kibble is equivalent to 2 cups of this mixture. I make it in big batches that will last a few days. I serve it up in their bowls, heat bone broth on the stove, and drizzle it over each serving to warm the meal up a bit. Toss in a handful of fresh blueberries.
Once a day I add in omega powder
Once a day I add a tsp of turmeric paste made with turmeric, pepper and virgin coconut oil
Once a day I add in an egg cooked in olive oil with slightly cooked whites and a soft yoke.
My dogs eat twice a day so I put the omega in the morning and add the turmeric paste and egg in the evening.
Turmeric Paste Recipe
½ cup organic Turmeric powder
1 ¼ cup water
1 ½ tsp black pepper
1/3 cup virgin coconut oil
Mix turmeric powder and water on low heat until it’s a thick paste. Add pepper and coconut oil and stir until all combined.
Let it cool slightly and put in a jar and store in the refrigerator. I use about a tsp a day in one of the two meals our dogs get each day. They are 60 and 75 lbs respectively so portion for your size dog. Prepare food, add a dollop of turmeric paste, and as you pour the hot bone broth on to warm everything up and turmeric melts throughout the dish. They love it!
It’s super easy!
The vet says basically the homemade dog food needs to be 1/3 equal parts protein, fiber, and vegetables. I’ve shared the type of proteins I’ve used. Fiber can also be brown rice or barley in addition to quinoa (no starches that spike glucose as that’s the last thing you want with cancer.) And veggies can be green beans, peas, sweet potato, spinach, kale, in addition to the carrots, parsley, and red pepper which I use as basics.
As the vet says mix and match the proteins and veggies to keep the diet interesting. Don’t hesitate to add small bits of cooked liver, gizzards, or hearts from time to time as a substitute for the egg. Make sure you keep things roughly 1/3-1/3-1/3 and if you want to make more (say 3 cups quinoa) use 6 cups of bone broth and up the meat and veggies.
Your dogs will love this and you’ll sleep better knowing this is an amazing protein diet that’s fully balanced and considered ‘anti-cancer.’ My oldest son came home for a visit and he took one look at the meal and decided he’s going to make it for lunch each day! It’s quite frankly delicious!