I have always given my recipe out for free because basic nutrition is a DOG GIVEN RIGHT FOR ALL! I am a firm believer that a gently cooked food, made with love, right at home, is the key to longevity. So here I give to you, my tried and true, lab & trial tested, holy grail of a recipe that is as easy as it is delicious! (so I’m told) You can also substitute the vegetables in this recipe using my Veggie Blend to make it even easier!
Things I always keep in mind when creating recipes for my dogs and others are:
Is it sustainable? Is this something I can keep up with when life gets hectic or tough? After a solid 16+ years I can confidently say that I have never had an issue knocking out this recipe for my dogs. I say “It’s as easy as Hamburger Helper!” which is funny because I’ve never even made hamburger helper!
However, while the Gen Z’ers say: “Wait, what’s that?” the point is, that it is easy! And while it may look fun to collect a huge cart full of veg and organ meat, grinding everything together meticulously. Its highly unlikely you will be willing to keep that up for the long haul. (or at least I wouldn’t!)
Do my dogs like it? With a simple recipe like mine, it’s not hard to make a batch and see if your dogs dig it. Some recipes will leave you with pounds of wasted food and time if your dog snubs it, but I can almost guarantee that your dog will love this one. I’ve personally never met a dog that didn’t love this recipe, especially once the Mineral Mix is added!
Is it meeting their nutritional requirements and balanced in fiber? In case you’re concerned, YES, my recipe meets the AAFCO nutritional requirements for All Life Stages. However, it does require the addition of my Mineral Mix, and that is because no matter how balanced a recipe is by a computer program, or how many organs you add, it is extremely difficult to guarantee certain vitamins and minerals in food. Especially with the state of our food (soil contamination, farming practices, etc.), it doesn’t contain nearly the nutrition that it would, and should, from an organic garden in your backyard. And even if you are using your own eggs, harvesting your own vegetables and getting meat from a local grass feeding organic farmer (snaps to you), you might find it difficult to find all of the items regularly, especially seasonally.
A good Mineral Mix comprised of all natural sources, makes for an easy to absorb cornucopia of health. The mix will also ensure that you have the perfect fiber ratio, making your dog’s poops the perfect firmness, and eradicating gross anal gland issues caused by loose stools. You all know what I mean!
This recipe has given me the maximum amount of years with my own dogs, and has been the best food even for my dogs with health issues (especially pancreatitis). Akeem and Ameera have only ever eaten my food, Akeem since 10 days old and Ameera since she was adopted at 3 months old! I don’t protein rotate, but you totally can! Akeem still spins for meal time, after 12 years!
Easily save the recipe from the pic to your phone. Single batch is at the top, double batch amounts below! Just click on the photo and hold to save to your device. Scroll all the way down for my Vegan version!
Below you’ll find some serving tips and tricks that I’ve culminated along the way. Make sure to use our Feeding Calculator to help you get the right serving for your pup. If you’re looking to shed some LBs for them, just put in their target weight! Remember the total amount is PER DAY, so split that in two if you're feeding twice! This recipe is fit for all ages and activity levels.
My recipe is what I believe to be perfectly balanced in protein, fruits & veggies, grain and vitamins and minerals. While I know there are many recipes with far more protein, I have found that our dogs are domesticated to the point that feeding them an omnivore diet gives them more antioxidants and cancer fighting flavonoids. Living happy and healthy with the best quality of life is our goal!
The 10% grain (of which I only recommend rolled oats or quinoa) aids in the feeling in fullness, fiber and stamina for the dog’s day to day. You can also substitute the vegetables in this recipe using my Veggie Blend.
Please Note: While I don't recommend raw. If you want to use raw meat in this recipe, cook oats and vegetables with water before combining with meat.
General Feeding Guidelines
For active adult dogs feed 1 1/2 cups of food for every 20 lbs of your dog’s weight per day. For puppies feed up to twice the adult amount. For pregnant or nursing mothers feed up to three times the normal adult amount.
Use our Feeding Calculator to figure out exactly how much to feed your furbaby! Remember that some dogs, just like humans, metabolize differently, so if they need more/less, that is okay. This is a solid guide to start with.
Food can be stored in the fridge up to three days or in the freezer up to six months!
Tips for Cooking & Substitutions:
- Make sure to stir continuously (especially in the begging of the cooking process) for a finely ground food. Visit my Amazon Storefront for helpful tools. The more frequently you stir while cooking, the less chunks of meat you’ll have in your finished product. Which is great for small mouths and ease of measuring!
- Puree the Veg! For my super picky eaters and dogs who have a harder time digesting, I recommend (also do for my own dogs) blending or pureeing the veggies before adding to your food. You can do this one of two ways, purchase frozen veg/fruits and blend. Or you can chop fresh veg and blanch, but you MUST BLANCH VEGGIES before freezing, which is what you'll be doing for your meal prep!
- Fat Content: When feeding growing and adult dogs it’s important to have a higher fat content. So look for ground meats that have a ratio of 85/15. You can lower this for older dogs and dogs prone to pancreatitis (to 93/7), but make sure you don’t go below less than 7%! Also, keep in mind, if you do feed a lower fat content, your dog will likely need to eat a larger amount. Feeding calculations are all based on an 85/15 protein. Ground meat is all I recommend, as we are not able to define the exact fat content otherwise. I do avoid the bagged ground meat, as it is ground too fine, and opt for organic when I can.
- Protein Rotating: You are welcome to rotate the ground protein in this recipe, as long as the fat content is listed and stays the same. I do not protein rotate, so don’t feel pressured to do so, it’s not required. Give yourself a break, you’re doing a lot already! Picky eaters may benefit from rotating. I recommend making a few batches of different proteins and prepping them so you can rotate daily, or at each meal time.
- Vegetables: Note that the total veggie content in this recipe is 1 cup, so if you are going to substitute veg, just make sure to stay in that measurement. Watch the video for how to!
- Grain: While I only recommend oats or quinoa for acceptable, easy to digest grains. You can absolutely sub in any grain you please, just keep it in this measurement zone and note that if the cooking ratio of grain-to-water and time is different - you will need to make adjustments to that.
- Meal Prep It! So I prefer to make a double batch and use a muffin tin to section out the food by 1/2 cup portions. Then I take them out and put them in a container in the freezer (takes up less space) and pull them down the night before to the fridge to thaw. This makes for a seamless transition from frozen to fridge, and the puck-like portions will thaw faster than in a tupperware.
Tips for Serving
- Ideally always serve food at room temperature. Microwaving the food to warm it up can be effective, but it’s a bummer to think you could be killing all the nutrients you just painstakingly put together! You can also heat up some water (a PYREX measuring cup in the microwave for a minute or two works well) and add it to the food. This will help keep your pup hydrated and warm up your munch at the same time. Just don’t add too much! Dogs should never be eating soupy foods. If your dog doesn’t mind it refrigerator temp, then it’s completely fine. I don’t warm up the food unless it’s frozen, but it does spend a bit of time in the bowl while I prepare their herbs and supplements which takes the chill off. If you need to cool it down after cooking, just toss in an ice cube! Let it cool, then remove.
- Feed twice a day. Feeding twice per day helps to give your dog added energy throughout the day and makes for a fun event two times a day! Plus splitting up meals can help to prevent bloat in larger dogs that require larger portions and give supplements and medications in a timely manner. Just take the total daily amount to feed your dog (from the calculator) and split it up into equal portions. Meals should be served 8 hours apart. Studies have shown that dogs who intermittent fast benefit from it just like humans!
- Add a probiotic! I recommend using a human grade probiotic, specifically Plexus Probio. It is the only probiotic that I’ve seen actual results from with yeast overgrowth issues and balancing the microbiome. The overgrowth of candida and yeast can cause so many symptoms, such as: itchy paws, ear infections, tear stains, UTIs and more. I’m sure you’re thinking, “isn’t home cooking enough?!” but unfortunately it’s just the base of holistic health and healing. Just like all of us, our stomachs get off balance which can lead to leaky gut. The good news is that once you get it back on track, a maintenance dose is enough to keep everything on the up and up in the digestive tract! This is one of my top added supplements, for the rest, check out the article on supplements! Give one pea sized scoop per 10lbs of dog, adjusting to more or less as flare ups arise.
- Supplement Feeding Trick - Picky Eaters. So a lot of people struggle to get supplements into their dog's food and not get a turned up nose! I get it, I have the same issues. However, I have mastered the art of hiding supps! Just take about 1tsp of food and mix with all the supps. It might be pasty, but that's okay! Then mix that with the rest of their food portion for the day. MIX IT LIGHTLY, I recommend using a fork even, to just fluff it together. Then put just a few pieces on top to keep the smell in the good zone. Dogs don't have taste buds like we do, so they will rely on smell to decide whether or not to eat it. If your dog needs more coaxing, try some crumbled homemade chicken jerky. I highly recommend mine for the pickiest - it's a lifesaver!