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10 Legs in the Kitchen

~ Food. Dogs. Life!

10 Legs in the Kitchen

Tag Archives: Paws Custom Pet Food

Food Matters: by Ginger

31 Sunday Jan 2016

Posted by Stacey Bender in Ginger + Buddy, the kitchen

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Dog writing, food writing, Homemade Dog good, Paws Custom Pet Food

 

PS_food from above

I used to be the gal that really got excited by going to Dick’s Drive-in with Mom and Dad because they always gave me bites of their hamburger (which, by the way, was really delectable).  Buffy, my sister who I only met once, got to go all the time and she got her own burger.  I even heard that our Uncle Petey used to take her through the drive-thru at another (not-to-be-named) drive-thru and get her her own burger when he pup sat for her in the “old” days.  They were tight.  I was led to believe that I would get my own burger too, but it turns out that Mom and Dad decided to become more healthy in their eating habits since I’ve been around, which coincidentally, trickled down to me and my prescribed eating habits.  I never got excited about eating the food they called my “prescription diet”, whatever that was suppose to mean.  They thought I would love it because it was made with duck and potato but I found it to be uninspiring and bland.  Who can honestly get excited about dry, hard nuggets of duck and potato, processed so intently that it tastes only of smelly, vile chemicals, in a “healthy” way.  I tasted Mom’s duck and her potatoes, and I can say for certain that my food tasted nothing like hers.

This led me to become a (bad) beggar, or at least that is what they called me.  I know it was annoying, but how would you feel if you had to watch someone cook every night, creating wonderful aromas, and all you got to eat was fake-tasting duck nuggets?  I was constantly asking to join the family for dinner, because, well, I am part of the family, and I too care what my food tastes like!

But that was a long, long time ago.  One day, the bag that was kept in the cabinet above our eating area (containing our fake nuggets), suddenly disappeared (!) and our bowls were instead filled with a much more palatable meal.  This pleased me very much.  Buddy became a ravenous (and noisy) eating machine, and I was happy to go along with it.  Instead of ignoring my old food put out in the morning until hunger got the better of me at night, I too began waking up, wanting to be fed our new food.  In fact, I’d wake my parents up with my textbook snarfing to get them to the kitchen asap!

After the initial euphoria wore down, I started to realize we were eating much better food, and I must admit, we have a pretty civilized set-up for dining, but (and this is a big “but”) it still wasn’t as good as the stuff Mom cooked.  I still smelled those tantalizing aromas each day and yearned for the food that they ate.  Yes, I got to taste it, but that was just like dangling a carrot in front of my nose (but oh how I do love my carrots; sometimes they dangled carrots and I would dance on my back legs).

Then, it happened.  Something good came out of something bad, which in turn made it good again (did that make sense to you?).  It might sound confusing, but hang in with me here.  Last year Buddy stopped eating his food.  I mean, like seriously, stopped!  At first, I helped him out by eating his portion too, but then I got a little suspicious that something might be wrong.  I decided to stop eating so much too.  There were a lot of visits to Doc, but she didn’t even poke me a lot of those times, just him, and then there was a lot of coddling of Buddy that went on, which I didn’t like so much.  He didn’t seem very good and I started to wonder if it was something he ate?  Uh oh, I was eating it too!  Hmmm, I was feeling okay?  I threw-up a few times but other than that, I was just fine.  Within days of his not eating, there was a big change in the kitchen.  The food that was cooking and those incredible smells I was smelling, were for us.  Before I knew it, Buddy was eating again.  I was definitely eating again, and this time I was eating the kind of food I wanted to eat.

Our Mom is a very good cook.  I now know what it feels like to have a home-cooked meal every day.  I understand how earth-shattering it is to be able to have variety in my meals.  I am on top of the world!  I am so glad to be alive!  The best part is that Buddy is alive too!!  He has been better ever since (and even though he gets other things done to him that I am glad I don’t have to endure), I know he likes being around too!  Keep it coming Mom!

The moral of the story is that food matters to us all.  Eat well, live well, be well.

 

PS_G from front

Life’s messy, clean us up!

PS_3finished meal in metal bowl

Doggy Turkey Delight

Stacey here:  I admit that sometimes I was a distracted Mother and ran out of my stash of food for the pups.  I know they think I cook for just them every night because they do have a home-cooked meal every day and night but the truth is, I often have help.  Along with my creations, I also buy custom made-for-them food from Paws Custom Pet Foods to have as filler for the times I can’t (or don’t have time to) cook for them.  I buy the nutrition bottle or kit plus an herbal supplement specifically for kidney disease from Paws, so that I can cook for my pups myself.  I try to mix up the ingredients and recipes to make it more interesting for all of us.  This rendition of pressure-cooked turkey breast, sweet potato, quinoa and peas was a particular pup pleaser (there were some other ingredients too).

I use a pressure cooker to make this but if you don’t have one, you could cook in all together in a slow cooker (I am guessing for 3-4 hours on high) or braise it in the oven at 350 degrees for 2 hours or so until turkey is cooked through and shreds away from the bone.

It comes together without as much effort as it sounds and makes the house smell like a Sunday dinner at Mom or Grandma’s house.  It was so good that I found myself eating it too, which is quite the point; why feed something to the “family” that you wouldn’t eat yourself…yum!

INGREDIENTS

1.5 lbs  bone-in turkey breast (I got a Kosher breast from Trader Joe’s), most of the skin removed

3 cups water (or more as needed)

16 oz shelled English peas (you can buy a bag of these at Trader Joe’s)

12 oz green beans, cleaned and diced into 1/4″ dice

8 oz sweet potato, uncooked, skin removed and diced into 1/4″ dice

6-8 oz peeled baby carrots, diced into 1/4″ cubes

1/4 cup uncooked quinoa (I use red quinoa)

1 egg yolk (optional)

4 tsp Paw’s Custom Pet Foods nutrition (optional but highly recommended)

4 tsp Paw’s Custom Pet Foods detox supplements (optional)

 

COOK

Put the water into the vessel of a pressure cooker (I use an electric Cuisinart pressure cooker) and add the turkey breast.  Cook on high pressure for 10 minutes.

When all the steam has released, remove the meat from the bone, discard the bone, shred it and chop a little bit.  Add the meat back to the vessel.  Add the remaining ingredients, (except for the nutrition and supplements).  Add a little water if it has evaporated (it should not cover all the way but be enough in the bottom to add steam).

PS_2just turkeyk.jpg

Cook on high pressure for 10-minutes more.  When all the steam has released, check the ingredients to be sure everything is soft.  If you want it to be softer, cook for 2-3 minutes more on high pressure.  This is personal depending on your dog’s size and ability to chew.

stew cooked in cooker

Transfer the contents of the vessel to a sheet pan to let it cool.  At this point, I use a potato masher to just smoosh it a bit to break up the peas.

PS_B G watching plated

Once cooled to room temperature, add the nutrition and supplements (if using), and mix well.

Transfer to containers for storage and to freeze.  I used ones that were recycled from food bought at Paw’s Custom Pet Foods that held 1 1/2 lbs each.

PS_portions

Ginger and Buddy combined, eat 1 1/2 lbs per day, so I froze two containers and left the others fresh to feed for the next several days.  If you have questions about feeding size recommendations for your pup, contact Shelly at shellyfuller@pawscafe.com.  She is very approachable and loves to make sure your dog is eating well.

 

PS_clean up licking the plate

Let the kids clean up

dog days, by ginger

30 Sunday Aug 2015

Posted by Stacey Bender in Ginger + Buddy

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

from a dog's point of view, Paws Custom Pet Food, whole food for dogs

G and B

We are dogs of leisure, Buddy and I.  We are also dogs of habit.  Habits change, from time-to-time, but behaviors are a constant.  I know this because I have been told that I have selective hearing.  I like to assess the rules before deciding to follow them…or not.  I am my Mother’s daughter that way.

Buddy is (mostly) a rule follower.  He likes to play by the book.  I would rather lick the book, or chew on the corner (just look at Mom’s first food journal) and then do it my way instead.  But he and I get along okay anyways, and sometimes we break the rules together.  He can be easy to persuade.

20130928-170758.jpg
Hmmmmm….

We must have been on really good behavior lately though, because Mom and Dad took us with them to a hotel for a mini-break.  We usually have to travel far to get to one of those places where we sleep somewhere else; like our grandparents’ or aunt/uncles’ but this one wasn’t very far away at all, and it was fancy.

When we pulled up, Buddy and I were thinking we would be sitting in the car for awhile, but instead, we were led inside to a grand lobby with soaring ceilings and stone floors, cool on the paws but not too slippery for clumsy Buddy.  And of course, not before getting to tinkle on a manicured lawn (don’t tell no one that Buddy tinkled on the sidewalk instead).

Up we went in an elevator (which I hate, but that is another long story itself).  Buddy and I were giddy with excitement for whatever the other side of the door would reveal.  It was spectacular!  Plush carpet (again I’m sure so Buddy wouldn’t slip), soft lights and nobody else in sight!  We ran down the hall past our room and Mom had to chase us while Dad used a magic card to open the door.  We ran inside, still tethered together on a single leash, but then Mom did her usual annoying critique.  Was it high enough, cute enough, with the right view, and blah…blah…blah!  She is always questioning things; but I guess, so am I.   Buddy didn’t mind that we were only on the 2nd floor and that the room was much smaller than the one we sleep in at home.

I immediately went into explorer mode and while off-leash, was still tethered to my brother and I drug him around with me.  Yes, this in fact, was an adventure!   A time to get away…if only for a day.   Plus, the best part – two doors opened up revealing a sweeping view to a sea of blue (which at first I thought was the Cote d’Azure, but was actually just a sea of tennis courts).

PS_gb out to blue
Oooooooh la la!

There was a waft of fresh air that required me to plant myself on my fluffy bed in the wake of it all so I could comfortably sleep the afternoon away, breathing in the air and my brother’s scent, long into the evening.

PS_ on beds
Comfy

Yes, our parents left us for something other than us, but we had gotten sleepy by then anyways.  They did come back to wake us and were happy too, plus the evening was late yet still warm.  Mom took us outside by way of the plush hall, scary elevator and spacious room.  My brother and I took longer than we needed to because the night was so perfect and warm.  We love exploring new places, smelling smells that are unfamiliar yet, all at once, exciting!

PS_turn down serviceI even provided the turn-down service!

That night, we behaved.  Our behavior did change!  We slept longer and deeper than normal even tho we had a late nap.  And we didn’t wake up our parents until the light came into our room.  When we made Mom get dressed to walk us, the sun had already risen and the world was gloriously awake!  Mom didn’t agree that this was the perfect time to be awake; it was 5 am.

PS_g in window
Spy girl That is me up there.

When our parents got dressed and left us alone, they wore the same kind of clothes they wear when they leave us on the weekends.  This time though, they appeared again below us.  They began hitting a bright ball back and forth with a netted paddle.  We have seen them do this in the park sometimes but they were always getting mad at us for loudly cheering them on so they stopped taking us.  We decided that this time we might try being silent; sneakily peering from above and chewing our feet instead.  This must have been a good idea because they rewarded us for being good by taking us on another walk and then fed us our favorite home-cooked meal out of our special travel bowls.

buddys fuud

Buddy & Ginger’s Favorite Home Cooked Meal for Pups – by Ginger
Makes 4 pounds (enough to last Buddy 5 days; he is little but sometimes 12 pounds)

This is actually Buddy’s food but I like to eat it too.  I like to eat.  He is on a low protein diet because he is shaky and wobbly and something isn’t right with him but I don’t know what is wrong.  I just know that ever since he started getting poked with a needle every night to let liquid fill up his skin, we both started eating something different than we used to eat and we each have our own flavor.  Mine has more meeat which Buddy would rather eat and his has more vegetables which is more my kind of thing.  I always get to taste his though, especially if he leaves some stuck at the far end where he can’t reach and it is usually really good except when Mom uses zucchinis (the only vegetable I really hate, except celery…well, and cucumbers).  Buddy is weird and like those things.  Then again, he’ll eat fuzz off the floor.

I have always had a healthy diet but believe you me, ever since we switched to this whole, non-process food, I feel like a young pup again and Buddy has gone from crazy not eating at all to inhaling his food and getting it all over and then tries to eat mine.  Sometimes a lady named Shelly makes the food for us and sends it to the house and sometimes Mom makes it herself.  When Mom makes it, she uses 25% protein, then splits the rest with equal parts vegetable/fruit and carbs.  She then adds nutrition and supplements provided by Shelly at Paws Custom Pet Food nearby and when mommy forgets, late at night she can order it on her computer.  Below is our favorite mix from Mommy and I had her type the numbers (although Buddy would prefer there was more meeeet)!

INGREDIENTS

1/2 lb chicken hearts
1/2 lb ground lamb
1/2 lb carrots (peeled and chopped)
1/2 lb sugar snap peas in the shell (stem end removed)
6-8 oz cooked sweet potato
6-8 oz cooked brown rice
6-8 oz cooked garbanzo beans (drained of liquid)
4 oz fresh figs
4 oz fresh blueberries
2 oz cabbage leaves, sliced
2 tsp nutritional supplements from Paws Custom Pet Food (Buddy’s has the added kidney/liver supplements with holistic herbs such as turmeric and milk thistle)

COOK

Mom adds some olive oil to a sauté pan (just a tiny bit) and then cooks the chicken hearts until they are no longer pink inside.  This takes about 10 minutes.  She always eats a few herself so I make sure I stare so she feels the need to share with me too.  When those are done cooking she sets them aside to cool.

Next she cooks the lamb, right in the same pan.  She buys the grass fed lamb that doesn’t get all oily on the bottom of the pan.  When I eat grass I barf, so I’m glad I’m not a lamb.  She doesn’t add any salt or pepper and “tests” so much of it herself that I worry about if any makes it into Buddy’s food.

While that is cooking, she cooks the sweet potato in the oven after stabbing it with a knife (scary).  She says all of the ingredients need to be cool when she mixes them so that it stays fresh longer.

Next, she puts everything into a big bowl on her electric chopper thing and turns it on.  It is so loud and I can’t even hear very well; this is my least favorite part (daddy’s too).

That’s it!  Easy huh?  Make it for your pups!  Now lets eat!

love ginger

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