I've just started looking into making my dog's food from scratch. Here are some pics of the different foods I've put into my dog's food.... I will have LOTS more pics and videos further down the page. Since I've been making their food from scratch, I've seen improvements in my dog's coats. They are itching WAY less than they did when they were eating typical kibble and wet food.
It's even better than the Costco (Kirkland) dog food I was buying for the dogs currently costs $44.45 for a 35 pound bag. That's about $1.27 per pound (before tax). This is the brand I buy because it's the one that seems to give my dogs the least allergies (itching, excessive dander). I've been more careful about the type I buy since my sister told me a LOT of dogs are allergic to chicken.
Pumpkins
Pumpkin is really nutritious and good for your dogs. Pumpkin seeds are really good for dogs and humans.You can literally cook the entire pumpkin in an instant pot - seeds and all! Well, I do cut off the stems but I would bet it would be fine to leave it in, since I blend everything up in a blender. It makes a super healthy Pumpkin puree,.
Around Halloween (especially just after it's passed), you can probably find pumpkins pretty cheap at your local market. There's a market across the street from my local Costco, called Sigona's, that was selling these "cheese pumpkins" for just 39 cents a pound. I got this huge pumpkin for just about $5.
I also scored 3 pumpkins (One large, one medium and one small) from some people who live down the street (this is a good time of year to get pumpkins from people who just use them for Halloween and Thanksgiving decorations, and they never get eaten!)
This is $1.69 a pound at Safeway.
I bought this because I noticed that my Safeway app was offering me a bonus where I could get $7 towards a purchase from their meat department. So, I decided to try this.
I got these potatoes from a food bank that generously gives out free food donations on the first Friday of every month. Some people might be appalled that I'm giving food from a food bank to my dogs, but I don't eat much, so I look at it like, I'm just giving my share of food to my dogs. These dogs ARE my kids. If I had "regular" kids, they would be eating WAY more food than these pups ever could.
Sweet potatoes cost about $3 per pound at Sigona's, but I'm going to try growing my own, because I've seen soo many videos about how to do it, practically free. Just CLICK HERE to see the videos.
When I cook veggies in my air fryer, I like to grind everything up together in a Vitamix or Nutribullet. The dogs seem to LOVE having this in their food! Sometimes I like to eat the pumpkin seeds (which are SUPER nutritious), but end up giving most to the dogs. I just blend everything together.
This is what it looks like when I put the cabbage mixture onto the food, before I blend it up. This is the pan I use to mix all my dogs food, before I spoon it into their separate bowls. I like to use about 1/4 cup of this probiotic cabbage mixture per dog (so for me, I put about a cup into this mixing bowl).
If you have any reservations about putting cabbage in your dog's food, I can honestly tell you that my dogs have NO problem with it. In fact, they seem to LOVE it and woof it all down. Here's a video I took of Poppy, licking her bowl to the last crumb.
My Dog Poppy CHOWING down her food with probiotic cabbage
Beans - Good for iron and fighting cancer
I've started adding Pinto beans and rice to the instant pot recipe. My dog Kali has tumors I am trying to shrink, and I recently read that pinto beans have been shown to shrink tumors (at least in humans). I also learned that beans and lentils can help to increase iron levels. I learned this when I recently donated blood, and was surprised to see how high my hemoglobin level was (it's usually low). I hadn't been taking my prenantal vitamins like I usually do (2 weeks before a blood donation) to get my hemoglobin level high enough to donate. Those prenatal vitamins make my iron higher than anything else I know of, but I forgot to take them 2 weeks before my appt. so I could increase my hemoglobin (without them, I usually fail the hemoglobin test).
I went ahead with my appointment, and kinda expected to either fail or barely pass. I was shocked to see that not only did I pass, but my iron level was higher than it would have been if I'd just been relying on the prenatal vitamins. I realized, I'd been eating a lot of Amy's Lentil Soup and Madra's Lentils (both from Costco). That was the only thing I could think of, that made such a big increase in my iron. I googled it and sure enough, beans and lentils are known to increase iron, so I'm now giving more beans to Kali in her food (plus homemade probiotic yogurt, to make sure she can digest it easily).
From Google:
Pinto beans, rich in antioxidants like polyphenols and kaempferol, may offer some protection against certain cancers. The fiber content in pinto beans is also believed to play a role in reducing the risk of colorectal cancer.
Elaboration:
- Pinto beans contain polyphenols, which are antioxidants that can help protect cells from damage caused by free radicals, potentially reducing cancer risk.
- Pinto beans are particularly rich in kaempferol, a flavonoid linked to reduced cancer growth in animal and test-tube studies.
- The high fiber content in pinto beans may help promote the growth of beneficial gut bacteria, which can potentially lower the risk of colorectal cancer.
Well the other day, when my Safeway app was offering me a deal where I could get $7 worth of meat in the meat department. Free! Because I guess I had accumulated enough "points" over time. The other day, You can get meat bones a lot cheaper than the boned chicken meat I'd been buying for the dogs. So I got this for the dogs, and decided to cook it in the instant pot, blend it all up in my Vitamix (apple cider vinegar helps soften them), and pour it over my dog's food and veggies.
Here's what it looked like after I cooked it up (note, this is only about half, I'd already taken the other half out and started blending it before I remembered to take a picture). If you're not familiar with how to use an Instant Pot to cook meat bones, I'll put a video further down the page. You can get an Instant Pot pretty cheap through Costco or Amazon. I LOVE using it cause I'm all about the SET IT AND FORGET IT type options, and an instant pot makes things sooo easy and saves you a LOT of time!
This is what it looks like when it was all blended up in the Vitamix. I make sure to put it on the highest setting, so I don't have to worry about sharp bone fragments.
I put a whole chicken in a blender, bones and all and here's what happened.
How to make bone meal in an instant pot
Homemade Bone Broth vs Store Bought - Which is Better and More Affordable?
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Raw beef bones can be good for dogs, but there are risks and you should always monitor your dog while they are chewing:
- Raw bones can provide nutrients like calcium, phosphorus, and protein, and can help keep your dog's teeth clean. Chewing on bones can also strengthen your dog's jaw and provide mental stimulation.
- Bones can splinter and cause serious injuries, including broken teeth, cuts to the gums, or damage to the throat, esophagus, stomach, or intestines. Cooked bones are especially dangerous and should never be given to dogs. (NOTE: They're safe if you BLEND THEM up really well in a blender)
- Only give your dog large bones to prevent choking or blockage.
- Refrigerate the bone before giving it to your dog.
- Discard the bone after a few hours.
- Keep an eye on your dog while they are chewing.
- Don't give your dog a bone if they have stomach problems.
- Only give your dog large bones to prevent choking or blockage.
If your dog eats a bone and is having difficulty defecating, has blood in their stool, seems to be vomiting, or seems anxious, you should visit your vet immediately.
I put a whole chicken in a blender, bones and all and here's what happened.
Instant Pot Beef Bone Broth That Gels Every Time
Blendtec Bone Blending
Here are some more photos I took in my kitchen while making the probiotic cabbage.
This is theNaturVet probiotic I've been using with my pets for over a decade. Please note that this is something that should be added to the food BEFORE it goes into the blender, as blending probiotics can apparently kill them. You also want to make sure the food isn't too hot. I say this because sometimes when I keep the dogs' food in the fridge, I like to warm it up with hot water. So I wait till the hot+ cold stuff is mixed up first, and is at room temperature or slightly warmer, and then I add the probiotics.
Homemade Dog Food Recipe: Save Money and Keep Your Dog Healthy | Vet Approved
NEW Homemade Dog Food Recipe: Save Money and Keep Your Dog Healthy | Vet Approved
You can also grind up DRIED bones! Think of how many times you've just tossed bones right into the trash, when there is SO much nutrition in the bone and marrow, that you could be giving to your pets!
Blendtec Bone Blending
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How to Make this HOMEMADE Dog Food Recipe in Your INSTANT POT
The woman in the video below recommends the recipe from Mrs. Plant, so I looked it up and you can find more info from Mrs. Plant here:
For anyone wanting to transition their dog to a vegan diet, this is a nutritious kibble that be fed as the sole foods for your dog or as a supplement to our whole foods plant-based dog food recipe (link below)! Our black pugs (who are now 11 years old) have been eating a vegan diet for 9 years and had PERFECT bloodwork and checkup recently!
Please consider buying V-Dog through my Amazon Affiliate link>>
Link to our homemade Instant Pot dog food recipe:
Link to our homemade Peanut Butter Pumpkin Oat Dog Treats:
Vegan Dog Food, Easy Peasy
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Notes from video below: Dogs shouldn't get more than 1/4 cup of brown rice a day, and they DO NOT digest corn well.
Homemade Dog Food. Farmers Recipe. How we do it.
This woman used to use ground beef in her recipe, but said she switched to ground turkey because one of her dogs was having issues. It takes her a whole day to make about a month's worth of dog food, but it lasts a month and she keeps it in the freezer becasue she has the space.
HOMEMADE DOG FOOD | healthy dog food recipe
This woman said she made 28 pounds of food, aka 73 1/2 cups, for about $38.00. This video was made in February of 2021, before we saw inflation SKYROCKET, so it may be a bit more expensive to buy this stuff now, but it may still be cheaper than getting dog food kibble.
Gidget's Gourmet Homemade Dog Food
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This guy doesn't have a vegan recipe but he's using a lot of veggies!