I’m a self-proclaimed foodie. Everything from food shopping, recipe search and testing, cooking, experimentation, eating, etc. Anything and everything having to do with food, I’m in!
That includes preparing yummy and nutritious meals for my dog Ben. I’d like to share Ben’s all-time favorite recipes for a Roast Chicken and Veggie Meal and a Hamburger and Lentil Meatball Treat.
MY HEALTHY AND HANDSOME BEN:
Required Kitchen Tools and Equipment
For these recipes, you will need a good food processor. I have a reliable, highly recommended Cuisinart.
This is required to grind the mixed frozen veggies (thawed) and fresh spinach mixture that I use in both recipes. I prefer grinding the veggies because it blends well in these recipes. This prevents my dogs from picking out and eating around any of the undesired veggies. I also use my Cuisinart to grind the roast chicken breasts and cooked lentils (used in the meatball recipe).
You will also need baking pans and cookie sheets because both recipes are baked. I like to line these with aluminum foil for easy clean up. The only other items needed is a large mixing bowl, a tablespoon measure and storage containers.
The measurement of ingredients will vary with the size of your dog and how many meals you’re preparing. I like to prepare a week’s worth of meals at a time for Ben, who is my 89 lb. Golden Retriever. The measurement of ingredients will vary on the portion size for your dog and the number of meals being prepared.
Roast Chicken Breast with Mixed Veggies
5 lb.Tray Boneless/Skinless Chicken Breasts
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Remove any fat from the chicken breasts. Place breasts on 2 foil-lined 9 x 13 baking pans. Rub with extra virgin olive oil. Bake at 425 degrees for 60 minutes, turning over halfway through cooking time.
Let cool. Grind in food processor. Store in refrigerator until use. This amount of chicken feeds Ben for 8 meals.
5 – 6 lbs. Thawed, frozen Mixed Veggies (carrots, green beans, peas and corn)
1 lb. Fresh Spinach
Grind, in batches, in food processor. Combine and mix well. Store in refrigerator until use.
For each meal, combine 1 part kibble (of your choice, I prefer Hill’s Science Diet), 1 part ground roast chicken breast, 1 part ground mixed veggies/spinach mixture, drizzle with extra virgin olive oil (optional) in microwaveable dish. Mix well. (I also add 1/4 cup of cooked brown rice which I find helps with Ben’s digestion and healthy poops.)
Into this I also mix in Proden Plaque Off Powder, Prozyme, Extend and NaturVet Calcium Powder. Warm in microwave. I serve this to Ben in the morning as his main meal of the day.
He enthusiastically licks his bowl clean every single time! It makes me feel good to serve him a nutritious meal, including supplemental support, which he thoroughly enjoys.
The amount of each ingredient (kibble, chicken and veggies) will vary with the portion size for your dog. Just combine an equal amount of each of the three ingredients.
Regarding his kibble, I switched to Hill’s Prescription Diet Metabolic+Mobility Formula at his vet’s recommendation. The increase in price was substantial. However, so was Ben’s much needed weight loss and improvement in mobility. In my opinion, Ben’s dramatic results were well worth the price increase.
Healthy Hamburger and Lentil Meatball Treats
1 lb. Ground Beef (I like the 80% lean choice)
2 cups ground cooked Lentils (follow package cooking instructions). I cook 2 lbs. of dried lentils (1/2 of a 4 lb. package) at a time which makes 5 (2 cup) portions which I store in the freezer until use.
2 cups ground Mixed Veggies/Spinach mixture
2 slices of Whole Wheat Bread (soak in milk, remove excess milk, then shred)
2 Eggs.
Combine all ingredients. Form into tablespoon-size balls. Place on 2 foil-lined cookie sheets sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes. Alternate on oven shelves half-way through cooking time. Makes approx. 60 meatballs which lasts Ben 12 days.
Ben looks forward to having these as part of his evening menu!
I give him 5 meatballs, a slice of whole wheat bread (cut into 9 squares) topped with 1 slice of Kraft Singles cheese (divided equally) and 2 sandwich style turkey breast slices. Warm in microwave. I hand feed these as treats along with a couple of Milk Bone biscuits for Ben’s evening snack in place of a meal. He loves it!
A Good Combination of Nutrition and Calorie Reduction
I came up with both these tasty recipes trying to provide Ben with good nutrition and reduced fat. Before beginning this diet, Ben weighed 113 pounds. At that point, his veterinarian warned me that Ben had to lose weight or be at risk for serious health problems. After much research and some experimentation, we settled into this diet plan.
Ben gradually started to lose some weight. The more weight he lost, the more energized and active he became. He was able to easily walk longer distances in the same amount of time. He was losing the excess weight and gaining both strength and stamina! In just over a year’s time, Ben dropped from 113 to 89 pounds, a loss of 24 pounds!!! His vet and I could not believe his progress.
It’s been nearly 3 years since we started Ben on a weight loss regimen. He’s kept the weight off and continues to walk for an hour a day at a good pace. This is remarkable, especially considering that Ben will soon be turning 13 years old.
Conclusion
Switching Ben to a healthy, homemade diet has had incredible results. He’s lost weight, and in combination with regular exercise, has regained strength and stamina and is in noticeably much better health. I admit that this change in his diet is pricier and requires more time to prepare. However, the dramatic improvement in Ben’s health is well worth it. I believe that not only has this increased his life expectancy, but it has also improved his quality of life immensely.