After making Pumpkin Peanut Butter Dog Treats, I began to notice Sirius (our 50+ lbs. dog that thinks he is Syfy’s brother) began to act very bored with the super expensive dog kibble I was feeding him. Every morning and every evening he would slump over to his food dish and sniff at the same old boring kibble and then walk away. What happened to my voracious eater? I know for a fact that he loves to eat food, and yet here he is just staring woefully at his dish as if I have slapped a load of grasshoppers into it or something (I am not entirely sure he would snub grasshoppers though…). I decided it was FINALLY time to make my own dog food. I am most definitely not a veterinarian, so please consult your vet as to the best diet requirements for your dog. I first wanted to make sure that my dog gets ALL the nutrients he needs, and then some, so I looked into a natural vitamin supplement powder. I really liked the NaturVet powdered suppliment and decided to go with that one because of all that it included; probiotics, vitamins, minerals, joint support, etc.
There are some things that you need to know before you begin. You don’t want to feed your dog the wrong thing after all? There are all kinds of foods that humans and dogs alike can eat, but there are a few things that we eat, that are toxic to your dogs and should NEVER be fed to any dog.
Foods To AVOID Feeding Your Dog
- Avocados
- Bones From fish
- Chocolate, Coffee, and Caffeine
- Fish
- Grapes or Raisins
- Hops
- Macadamia Nuts
- Milk & Dairy Products
- Mushrooms
- Onions & Garlic
- Persimons
- Xylitol
- Yeast Dough
Vegetables That are SAFE to Feed Your Dog
Be sure to wash all vegetables and remove any seeds/pits before feeding to your dog!
Vegetables:
- Asparugus
- Broccoli
- Brussels Sprouts
- Carrots
- Cauliflower
- Cucumbers
- Edimame
- Green Beans
- Peas
- Sweet Potatoes
- Potatoes
- Leafy Greens (spinach, kale, lettuce)
- Pumpkin
- Celery
- Zucchini
- Red Beets
- Yams
- Bell Peppers
The Hippy Homemaker’s Homemade Dog Food
- 1 lbs. organic chicken (chicken is the cheapest where I live so this is what I buy most often), organic ground beef, or organic turkey
- 4 cups vegetables (I use a frozen mixture of peas, carrots, and green beans but you can use a plethora of fresh or frozen vegetables that are safe to feed to your dog)
- 4 eggs, boiled (shell and all)
- 2 cups uncooked brown rice (or other grain such as barley. You can even use quinoa here instead of a grain.)
- 5 cups low sodium organic chicken/beef broth (homemade is always more nutritious than bouillon cubes, but you do what you gotta do)
- Vitamin suppliment (NaturVet All-in-One Powder Supplement for Dogs & Cats 60 Day Supply
is what I purchased, but you can find one that works for you and work with your vet on what your pets dietary needs are!)
- Boil the chicken until completely cooked, roughly 15-20 minutes, or 25-30 minutes if frozen. (If you are using a different other than chicken, brown and cook appropriately, making sure the meat is fully cooked.) Set aside the broth that the chicken was cooked in, and put the cooked chicken into a food processor or blender and chop the chicken into little chunks and transfer to a large mixing bowl. Dogs don’t chew their food so it’s essential to chop their food, especially vegetables, so that they will absorb the most amount of nutrients from their food.
- If using frozen vegetables, thaw out by running under warm water until soft. Chop vegetables finely in a blender or food processor and transfer to the large mixing bowl, with the chicken. It’s even more imperative with the vegetables than the meat, to make sure they are well chopped.
- In a large pan, combine uncooked brown rice and chicken broth. Cook rice according to package directions, usually about 40-45 minutes or until all of the broth is absorbed (If you set aside the broth from boiling the chicken, use that here. I never have the full five cups so I just measure out what I have and add in whatever amount of chicken broth I need to make to equal out 5 cups).
- While the rice is cooking, finely chop the hard-boiled eggs, shell and all, in your food processor and then mix into the chicken/vegetable mixture.
- When the rice is done cooking, combine it with the chicken/egg/vegetable mixture.
- The easiest method of storage (to keep the most amount of nutrients so that your dog gets the most) is freezing. I froze mine in 2 cup portions, in 16 oz. Ball Freezer Jars
. - Scoop out the portions that you want to freeze and mix in the amount of the vitamin supplement that your dog needs, per meal, according to instructions.
- When the dog food has cooled, put lids on and label with the date of freezing. You can take the dog food from the freezer, the day before and put it into the fridge to thaw. I usually scoop out the portion into the bowl and then add a little bit of hot water from the sink, to make a gravy.
- This dog food will keep for 6-9 months in the freezer and 1 week in the fridge.
Posted in 
Tags: 
