May you be well, and all of us together manifesting a prosperous, healthy, and wealthy 2025 year for us all!
Have you seen one of the latest social media trends, where a suburban Mom says something like “Today, my kids wanted cereal. So I went out, milked our cow, harvested some wheat, and created a healthy homemade breakfast for them.” I am sure you can imagine the exaggerations are pretty funny, right?
Well, recently, I woke up early only to realize I forgot to bring home dog food for the dogs! Who has experienced this before? Uh oh! What to do while your beloved companion looks up at you longingly wondering what are you going to do about it?
So like the good, wholesome suburban Mom’s who would do anything for their kids, I did the only thing I could do, I made homemade dog food for them! I thought you might like the recipe in case you ever find yourself in a similar situation.
When making a homemade meal for my dogs, I always think about 3 primary components, a protein, a veggie, and a starch, for example, lentils (or garbanzo beans), brown rice (or oatmeal), and sweet potatoes (or other veggies). Simple, yet this combination tends to provide a complete amino acid profile (think how beans and rice combined together make a complete protein). So if you are rummaging around the pantry trying to figure out what to throw together, think of simply starting with those three components, and then you can make it more elaborate from there however you would like.
In my recipe, I used some canned lentils, and frozen stir fry vegetables, for ease of preparation. But you can always use fresh, soaked lentils and cook them, and fresh vegetables peeled, cut into bite sized pieces and then steamed, to seal in even more nutrition if time allows.
That said, here we go:
- ½ bag frozen stir fry vegetables (broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, etc.)
- 2 cups oatmeal
- 4 cups vegetable broth
- 2 cans lentils, drained
- 3 TB Liquid Aminos
- Optional: I pack of Seitan for additional protein (find it usually in refrigerated, packaged food section of the grocery store near the produce)
I heated up the frozen veggies in a pan until they were warmed, then I added the Seitan and seasoned it with Liquid Aminos. I then added the lentils, the dry oatmeal, and the vegetable broth to cook the oatmeal just like you would normally cook oatmeal. And that is it!
I added my dog’s normal supplements, like probiotics, gut health fiber, MSM for joints, and Chinese Herbs for Mobility, and served it warm! The dogs were excited to have a fresh meal, and ate it all up with gusto. I used the leftovers to mix in with their kibble the next day, once I remembered to bring a bag of kibble home!
You can make this meal as elaborate as you want, for example, by using fresh vegetables instead of frozen ones, or, soaking and cooking fresh lentils instead of canned ones. But this is the easy, speedy version of the recipe. I also love this because we actually have clients who cannot afford to buy a lot of food for themselves, sadly. But, beans, rice, some vegetables and oatmeal are often staples found at the local food pantry. So I help these clients (for free) with putting together meals for their pets using items from the food pantry. A win-win in that it saves them money, is healthier than a lot of more processed, packaged foods, and helps put to good use foods that might have otherwise gone to waste.
So, I encourage you to experiment with making homemade food for your pets. As you can see it’s pretty easy, and not expensive to keep it simple. And the best part is, you can eat it too! This will help improve you, and your pet’s plane of nutrition, so I encourage you to give it a try! New year, new you, right? Make better nutrition a part of you, and your pet’s resolution for an even better 2025. And if you need help, we are here for you at Aspen Park Vet with handouts on how to get started, nutritional consultations, and lot’s of free videos on my YouTube channel, including all the details about this exact recipe. I hope you check it out, and it helps you be inspired!
Here’s to a healthier 2025 for you and all your family! Thanks for reading!
DrQ and the Crew of Aspen Park Vet Hospital and the ResqRanch