Making a Giant Batch of Food for My Dogs
So many of you comment on how much you appreciate my pet blogs - especially those that give step-by-step instructions for making food for my four dogs, Bete Noire, Creme Brulee, Empress Qin, and Emperor Han.
Every few weeks, I set aside time to make my dogs a good supply of home-cooked food. Preparing my own dog food has many benefits - fewer preservatives and additives, more varied and better ingredients and, of course, more of what I know my dogs will enjoy. I also know the food is from wholesome, organic, reputable sources - and that is very important to me. Yesterday, we prepared a giant batch of food filled with excellent quality chicken, beef, fish, quinoa, and lots of nutritious organic vegetables.
Enjoy these photos.
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- Here’s Emperor Han watching the activity at the farm from the steps of my Winter House kitchen. My dogs are very healthy. Look at Han’s coat – it’s so thick and abundant. My dogs’ good health and appearance are due, in part, to the food they eat. I love cooking for my dogs because I know exactly what they’re getting.
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- Here’s the counter of my Flower Room kitchen – filled with bowls of wholesome cooked vegetables and meats. I currently have four dogs – my Chow Chows, Han and Empress Qin, and my French Bulldogs, Bete Noire and Creme Brulee. Having multiple dogs means there’s a lot to prepare.
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- This is a bowl of chopped, cooked broccoli heads. We cooked all the vegetables separately and placed them in big stainless steel bowls. All my food is completely organic and full of flavor.
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- Six bunches of carrots are cooked until they are fork-tender and then mixed with the cooked peas – four large bags of frozen peas. My dogs love carrots. They are low in calories and high in fiber and vitamins. Occasionally crunching on raw carrots can also be good for their teeth. As for the peas, I used several bags of frozen peas. Green peas are a good source of the B vitamin Thiamin, phosphorous, and potassium. Don’t overcook them – they only take a couple of minutes.
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- The peas and carrots are mixed in with corn – we used five bags of frozen corn cooked until tender, yellow potatoes, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash. Sweet potatoes are great for digestive health because they’re high in dietary fiber. They’re also low in fat and contain vitamin B6, vitamin C, and manganese, and they’re rich in the powerful antioxidant beta-carotene.
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- I also prepared some Swiss chard from my garden. Since the stems can be tough, we boiled them until they were also fork-tender, about 10-minutes. Swiss chard is an excellent source of vitamin A and vitamin K and a good source of vitamin C and magnesium. It’s also high in dietary fiber.
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- And, I cooked five pounds of quinoa. Quinoa is an amazing gluten-free superfood with high levels of essential amino acids. It is a high protein grain type food, so give it in small amounts. When preparing homemade diets, be sure it is well-balanced. Research what your pet needs.
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- On the stove, several pots of meat – beef, chicken and fish. The meats were also all cooked separately.
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- Here is the pot of beef cooking. After it is cooked and cooled to the touch, it is removed from the bone and chopped into medium to large chunks. Any carcasses are set aside to go to the coyotes. Nothing is wasted at my farm.
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- We also remove any fat from the top.
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- Once all the meats are done, Enma runs everything through the food processor. Enma scoops some of the salmon and tilefish into the processor. In all, we used 10 pounds of saplmon and 13 pounds of tilefish for this batch of dog food. This step may seem extraneous; however, I have found that my dogs prefer their food ground rather than in big chunks. And watch out for bones. While some of the bones will be ground in the processor, it is a good idea to always carefully check for potentially dangerous bones.
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- Enma places the protective lid on the processor and pulses small batches of food at a time. Making my own dog food takes a bit of time to complete, but it is well worth the effort to feed my dogs the best food possible.
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- Once all the ingredients are cooked and done, Enma puts them into a large, very clean plastic bin. This will allow her to mix everything together thoroughly. Enma empties the bowl of quinoa first, and now the bowl of mixed carrots, peas, potatoes, and squash.
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- Next, the bowl of broccoli. For this batch, we used six large heads.
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- Everything including the meats are now in the bon. Here, Enma mixes everything thoroughly. It’s very important that dogs also get adequate amounts of calcium, and omega-three fatty acids – add supplements if needed. And, always talk to a veterinarian or canine nutrition expert before changing a dog’s diet.
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- Here is the food once it mixed. It looks so good!
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- These quart-sized containers were pulled from the rack and laid out. This step of filling the containers is done in a production line process, so it can be completed quickly and efficiently.
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- Enma scoops the food into the containers making sure not to let any spill over the sides.
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- Doesn’t this look good? My dogs love their food and always lick their bowls clean.
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- If planning to freeze, only fill up to the first line around the container so it has room to expand.
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- Each lid is marked with the contents and the date it was prepared.
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- Can you guess how many quarts we made?
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- Some of the food will be stored in my Winter House kitchen refrigerator, so they are easy to access. The rest will be stored in freezers elsewhere until needed. In all, I made enough for 65-quarts of food.
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- And look how beautiful the meal is – especially in this Martha Stewart Pets food dish. Home prepared diets can also be mixed with kibble. I mix high quality kibble with a scoop of their home-prepared food.
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- It’s dinner time! My dogs eat two meals a day – once in the morning and once in the evening. Splitting meal times is good for their digestion. Are you ready to eat, Bete Noire, Creme Brulee, and Qin? Cooking for your dogs is a personal choice, but if you have time, and are interested in giving it a try, I know your pets will love every meal.
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