A treat that packs a punch:: {Sweet Potato Molasses Biscotti}

Sweet Potato Molasses Biscotti

Talk about DELICIOUSLY HEALTHY PUP TREATS!

This one will knock you AND your pup’s socks off!

In my quest to find delicious, nutritious treats and eats for The Furry Gourmands, I started thinking about what I was craving today. Something crunchy, and something sweet (but not too sweet). What in the world could that possibly be? I didn’t really want anything chocolate (to my utter disbelief!) so I raided my pantry. Nothing really struck my fancy and I was entirely too lazy to go anywhere. And since I couldn’t even nail down what I wanted in the first place it probably would have turned into an hour long maze of aimless driving anyway.

Sigh. What’s a girl to do…

Turn on the TV, says me 😉

And there it was… in all of it’s crunchy glory: a Biscotti <queue angels singing>

Who says TV is bad for you? C’mon! Law & Order marathon, a little Rachel Zoe Project, baking, blogging, cleaning muddy paw prints and chasing after endless amounts of runaway fur clusters… good times.

Moving on to the baking part of that scenario (paw prints add character, right?), I again raided the pantry and fridge for ideas, keeping in mind it’s ultimately for the girls, and come up with a few key ingredients to get started. My first thoughts were, of course, nutrition and how to make this treat a true double whammy on both taste and substance. How do I make it sweet and still keep the nutritional value intact? The answer: Sweet Potatoes! If you haven’t already discovered the benefits of this delectable tuber, it packs quite a punch. Naturally low in sodium and saturated fats, the Sweet Potato is a good source of Antioxidants, Dietary Fiber, Beta Carotene, Vitamins A, C, B6, Potassium,  and Manganese just to name a few. Oh, and it’s naturally on the sweet side, so there’s that nice little added bonus, too! But this treat needed more than just one main ingredient with a punch… enter: Molasses, a sweetener that is actually good for you (or your dog, for this here baking intent and purpose). Unlike refined white sugar and corn syrup, which are stripped of virtually all nutrients except simple carbohydrates, molasses is a healthful sweetener that contains significant amounts of a variety of minerals, such as Iron, Calcium, and Potassium, that promote health.

Also, I think I just discovered a good Holiday treat! I’m trying to come up with a good drizzle or dip-worthy topping. A carrott or cream cheese frosting, perhaps? We shall see what evolves from this effort.

Ding!

Biscotti, Madam.

We’ll let it cool and give the girls a go. Until then, I’ll munch on the scraps… er, the absolutely intended mess-ups while cutting the biscotti. Ssshhhhh… don’t tell.

Healthy is as healthy does!

Banana Yogurt w/ Carrot Biscuit!

With all the recent recalls in pet food lately, why risk the health and well being of your pet to imbalanced, additive and preservative-laden commercial brand dog food?

How many of your furbabies have skin allergies, or chronic, degenerative diseases or health issues? Ever wonder why? Many of these are caused by a dietary imbalance of inferior quality “food” product packed into your dog’s kibble. Would you eat your dog’s commercial brand kibble? No? Then why should they?

Our food  is all natural, hand crafted, and nutritionally balanced to fit the needs of your dog. Whether you choose to go with one of our custom diets tailored to your dog’s specific needs or breed, or one of our weekly, monthly, or quarterly stock meal plans, all of our ingredients are fresh, simple, and absolutely human-grade, REAL food. We have researched, read, tested, and fine-tuned each recipe to ensure healthy combinations of flavor, texture, and nutrition.

Your dog will be much healthier and, over a period of months, ailments such as allergies (skin allergies like “Hot Spots”), digestive issues, eye and ear issues will greatly decrease, if not disappear completely. Healthier dogs mean happier dogs, and less money going towards unnecessary vet visits and medications.

The Organic Dog’s venture to bring quality, nutritional dog food to the masses is not a new concept, but we would like to help make this option a realistic and affordable one to those willing to give it a try. We will soon offer recipes on our blog https://theorganicdog.wordpress.com/ and bits of health and nutritional info on our FB & Twitter pages.

We are a new company and are based in the greater White Rock area of Dallas. We are available to deliver free of charge and with a minimum purchase to all points within 10 miles of 75228 zip code. For more information and to learn about our menu and meal plans, please email us @ TheOrganicDog@yahoo.com to learn more and “like” us on http://facebook.com/TheOrganicDog and http://twitter.com/OrganicDogBlog 🙂

 

The Delicious Dog Dish: Molasses Ground Beef!

First time making this organic recipe and, I must say, it might be a fan favorite with

The Furry Gourmands!

YUM!

It’s almost like they knew I was cooking this meal just for them. Maybe I was giving off that “this is for you” vibe? Or perhaps I goo goo’ed the whole time about how much they were going to LOVE it. I had them licking their chops for sure 😉

This recipe is simple and will last my 2 large breed dogs 2 healthy portioned meals each (tonight’s dinner and tomorrow’s breakfast with some left over).

Here’s what I used::

1 lb Lean Ground Beef (grass fed, no hormones, etc)

2 cups Brown Rice (uncooked)

1/2 cup Flax Seed

1 large-ish Sweet Potatoe

4 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil (or cold pressed Flaxseed Oil)

1 clove Garlic

2 tbs Molasses

sprinkle of Cinnamon

Cottage Cheese OR Plain Yogurt

Brown Rice w/ Flax Seed

While I was waiting for the rice to finish cooking (brown rice takes considerably longer than white rice), I’d placed the steamed sweet potatoe in the same pan as the ground beef and noticed 2 pairs of begging… BEGGING… eyes. I knew they’d insist on a taste… or 3. Their first ever (as far as I know) tast of sweet potatoe and they totally wanted more!

Once done, be sure to let everything cool COMPLETELY! I actually put their bowls in the fridge for about 15 minutes with intermittent stirring to hasten the cool down. I think this was the hardest part for both the girls and me. HA! I couldn’t wait to see how well they ate and they, of course, couldn’t wait to chow down.

As soon as I put their bowls down it was game on! Baby, my Husky mix foster, is a scarfer and she, well, scarfed it. Ellie, on the other hand, is a slower eater and barely let me drag the empty bowl away when she was done.

This meal is chalk full of healthy benefits. Follow the links to read more about some of the ingredients:: Holy Protein, Batman! Beef, Sweet Potatoe, and Cottage Cheese provide the main protein sources for this meal. Add to that Molasses, Brown Rice, and Flax Seed, and you’ve got a completely balanced meal for the average pup.

ENJOY!

Peanut Butter, Honey, and Oatmeal Dog Biscuits!

Peanut Butter, Honey, and Oatmeal Dog Biscuits!

After searching high and low for amazing dog food and doggy treat recipes, tweaking them, burning them a little (oops!), tasting myself, and having the Furry Gourmands scoff and, ultimately, approve, I’ve finally compiled a list (that I’m sure will continue to grow and evolve) of deliciously healthy pup treats! Last night’s batch of organic homemade dog biscuits turned out to be a hit!

I still want to make a few small adjustments to see how much more of a nutritional punch we can pack, as well as see what consistencies and textures are preferred by our doggy panelists 🙂 before I settle on this particular recipe, but we’ll keep the research going and the recipes growing for more more MORE hand crafted, all natural dog treats!

Cook it like a Crock Star!

So I’ve decided to give it a go… and quite lazily, I might add 🙂 BRING OUT THE CROCKPOT! I’m working on a chicken stew-ish type recipe to try out on the girls, Ellie and Baby. Ellie is our giant 9 mo old Labby pup I found wandering the streets 7 mos ago, and Baby is our super protective Husky mix foster girl. They’re in lurve with eachother and we’re in lurve with them!

 

 

I’ll get prices gathered, nutritional info, and an honest to goodness recipe that will be good for humans, too; although, a bit on the bland side as I’ll keep spices to a minimum. Let’s see if we can’t make this an economical and easy effort for them thar pups!

deliciously healthy pup treats!

YUM!