Chow Archives -

Cricket’s Salmon & Sardine Chow

on April 11, 2016April 10, 2017 By Kelley 1 Comment

Cricket’s Salmon and Sardine Chow is an easy, no cooking required, and super healthy meal you can make for your pup! Salmon and sardines are loaded with omega-3 fatty acids to help reduce inflammation and promote healthy joints, skin and coat! This meal takes a few short minutes to make for your pup and you can customize it using your doggie’s favorite veggies!

As you may already know (if you frequently read my blog) Cricket is a PICKY eater to say the least. She doesn’t like kibble unless it’s dripping with bacon fat and sliced chicken. In addition, since her accident when she was just a puppy, I have chose to cook my own food for her as a way to promote better health. I have stayed away from grains in her diet, and provide her with a great variety of natural meats, and fresh veggies and some fruit (like blueberries), and she loves to chow down marrow bones.

As you can see, she absolutely LOVES this salmon and sardine dish! I use Wild Selections canned salmon and sardines as a quick and easy base for this fancy dish. The salmon and sardines provide tons of healthy protein and omega-3’s. I also mix in a variety of veggies including kale, green bean, carrots, and sweet potatoes for lots of vitamin and minerals. You can use any veggies you’d like, just make sure they are dog-friendly (fyi dogs shouldn’t eat garlic and onions).

Cricket’s Salmon & Sardine Chow

1 can salmon (drained)
1 can sardines (chopped)
2 tablespoons green beans (raw or lightly cooked, diced)
2 tablespoons kale (lightly steamed, chopped into very small pieces)
2 tablespoons cooked sweet potato (diced)
2 tablespoons carrots (finely chopped)
Optional Add-in's: chia seeds (flax, extra virgin olive oil, or coconut oil)

Pick your veggies and cook them if you’d like. (Sweet potato is best cooked, but others you can serve raw. I prefer to lightly cook all the veggies to make the nutrients more bioavailable.)
Mix the canned salmon, with the chopped sardine and veggies.
Serve to your pup!

Cricket’s Schweddy Balls

on December 22, 2015April 10, 2017 By Kelley

Cricket requested a special holiday dish this year- Schweddy Balls! Have you seen the SNL skit with Alec Baldwin? It’s on of my all time FAVORITES!

If you haven’t, well, here it is. You’ll have a good belly laugh…

These turkey meatballs are actually very healthy for your furry family members. They are made with all-natural ground turkey, ground flax, carrots, and kale, making them high in protein and packed with antioxidants. They are also super easy to make and cook in the slow cooker- just set it and forget it!

She ate them all. Every. Single. Last. One.

And best yet- this was just the test batch (which she said turned out perfect) so she gets to indulge on Schweddy Balls once again on Christmas Day!

Cricket’s Schweddy Balls

1 lb all-natural ground turkey (or beef)
1/4 cup ground flax
1/4 cup of carrots (finely chopped)
1/4 cup of kale (finely chopped)
1/4 teaspoon of celtic sea salt or Himalayan salt

Combine the turkey, flax, carrots, kale and salt in a bowl and mix well.
Form 1.5″ balls with you hands and line the bottom of your slow cooker. (No liquid needed)
Set to high and cook for 3 hours, or until done.
Make sure they are cool before you serve them.

Cricket’s Favorite Dog Chow

on July 9, 2015April 10, 2017 By Kelley

My dog Cricket is a picky eater. Cricket would win the award for finickiest dog, if there was a contest! She is the equivalent to the child that only with eat chicken nuggets and macaroni and cheese, except her taste leans toward steak, and fresh grilled chicken! I’ll pour her a bowl of high quality kibble and mix in some meat and she will gingerly pick around each and every kibble to get the good stuff! If she happens to get a singular kibble in a particular bite she will expel it quickly like she just tated the most disgusting thing in her life!

Her picky taste in foods isn’t the reason I started making her homemade dog food- it is for health reasons primarily (and she does enjoy it!). The average canine kibble is made with fillers and byproducts (although there are many brands now that avoid these) and other ingredients that just aren’t the best for producing optimal health for your hooch. I want my dog to live as long as possible and have a healthy vibrant life, so making a well balanced, whole-foods dog chow is a great way to ensure I know she is eating well. (I do supplement the homemade dog chow with a high quality kibble, mixed-actually mushed-in well to make sure she is getting all her vitamin and minerals, as they are fortified with the all necessary nutrients.)

I make a few different varieties of dog chow, and I do think it’s good to change up the ingredients and use different proteins from time to time. This recipe is a basic chicken and brown rice recipe. You can throw all the ingredients into a crockpot and cook it on low for a few hours, just make sure there is enough water. I make mine on the stovetop in a large saucepan, and that works just fine as well.

I would love to hear about your furry family members and get their feedback on this homemade dog chow, so comment below!

Cricket's Favorite Dog Chow

Healthy homemade dog chow

2-3 cups of low sodium chicken broth or water (start with 2 cups and as more as needed)
1 cup brown rice or cauliflower pulsed in a food processor (Grain-Free)
3-4 chicken breasts (you can use other cuts, just be careful not to include bones, skin and fat is actually good!)
1/2 cup carrot (finely chopped)
1/2 cup broccoli (finely chopped)
1/2 cup kale or spinach (finely chopped)
1/2 cup sweet potato (finely chopped)
2 tablespoons fish oil (or 1 can of sardines- omega's!, coconut oil or olive oil)
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Place 2 cups water/broth, rice and chicken into your pan or crockpot and set on a low temperature.
Allow to cook until rice is almost fully cooked and chicken shreds easily, mix well.
Add more liquid if needed as you go, just give the mixture a stir every few minutes.
Add the carrots and sweet potato and cook another 5 minutes until the veggies are fork tender.
Then add broccoli and finally the kale/spinach, and cook until they are bright green.
Remove from heat and let cool.
Mix in the oil and apple cider vinegar.