Your DIY dinner for dogs
After a recently study suggested that several leading brands of pet food contain unspecified animal species not labelled on the product, owners are becoming increasingly concerned with their doggy's diet.
So, here to teach us how we can make affordable, healthy canine meals at home is Henrietta Morrison, author of Dinner for Dogs. She'll show us what ingredients can help treat some common health problems - at a lower cost than the food you can buy at the supermarket.
Salmon and oat balls
100g (4oz) porridge oats1 x 200g tin of salmon in oil1 carrot, peeled and grated1 apple, peeled, cored and grated¼ tsp ground rosehip¼ tsp kelp2 tbsp oil
Method
Soak the oats in 100ml of water for 15 minutes (this makes them more digestible for your dog).
Empty the tin of salmon, including the oil, into a bowl and mash up with a fork. (You don’t need to remove he pieces of bone – they will dissolve and are a great source of calcium for your dog.)
Add the soaked oats, grated carrot and apple, rosehip, kelp and oil and stir together well.
Roll the mixture into small balls in your hands. They will keep for 5 days in the fridge or up to 2 months in the freezer.
Meat loaf
200g (7 oz) chicken liver450g (1 lb) minced beed400g (14oz) potatoes, peeled and grated150g (5 oz) carrots, peeled and grated2 eggs50g (2 oz) oats
Method
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh parsley and/or rosemary
Preheat the oven to 180c (350F/gas mark 4). Lightly cook the livers in simmering water for 3 minutes then drain and chop finely.
Put the mince in the bowl and stir in the grated potato and carrot and the chopped liver.
In a separate bowl, lightly beat the eggs, then add them to the mixture, along with the oats and herbs. Mix together with a spoon or clean hands.
Scoop the mixture into a well-grated loaf tin and lightly flatten the top. Bake in the preheated oven for 1-1.5 hours.
Remove the meat loaf from the oven and leave to stand for 20 minutes or so to make it easier to slice.
It will keep in the fridge for a week or it can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Sunshine stew
200g (7 oz) lentils (green or red)100g (4 oz) pearl barley1 butternut squash, peeled, seeded and diced100g (4 oz) green beans, trimmed and chopped4oog (14 oz) lamb mince200g (7 oz) chicken livers, chopped1 tbsp salmon oil or flaxseed oil1 tsp dried (or 1 tbsp finely chopped fresh) herbs
Method
Rinse the lentils and pearl barley and put in a saucepan with 1 litre of water. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain.
Meanwhile, put the butternut squash and beans into another pan and cover with water. Bring to the boil reduce the heat and simmer gently for 20 minutes.
Put the lamb mince and chopped chicken livers into a frying pan and fry gently for 15 minutes until cooked through.
Combine all the cooked ingredients and mix together. Stir in the salmon or flaxseed oil. Add the herbs.
You can either serve this as a stew, or process it lightly in a food processor if your dog tends to leave the veggies and just go for the meat! If you process it, you can roll the mixture into balls and keep in the fridge for 5 days or freezer for 2 months – and just put out the amount you need for a meal.
Dried apple rings
Preheat the oven to 160x (325F/gas 3).
Peel and core the apples and slice into rings. Place the rings on a baking sheet and put into the oven to bake for about 6 hours.
If you don't have 6 hours you can do them on a higher heat, but keep an eye on them to make sure they don't burn!
They should be dry and ‘leathery’ when they are done, rather than crispy (although crispy is also fine). The more moisture you take out of them, the longer they will keep. They will keep for 2-4 weeks in an airtight container depending on how dry they are.
Peanut butter pops
Put 3 tablespoons of smooth peanut butter into a bowl and stir in 400ml of water to loosen the consistency. Pour into an ice-cube tray and freeze.
All recipes from Dinner for Dogs, out now