My very own food delivery service…LOL

Many of you may know that I cook meals for my parents every week so that they don’t have to bother fiddling with food prep and their ancient stove. I’ve been doing this since Covid started because I realized they don’t eat well. Vegetables don’t exist in their minds, so I’ve devised ways to sneak them into casseroles and other dishes. This makes me feel better about their overall nutritional health. They don’t care because they don’t have to cook! lol.

What you may not know is that I also cook for my 10 month old Labrador, Maple. Since she was seven months old she hasn’t had commercial dog food, but home cooked meals I make in bulk, freeze, and then feed her daily.

Let me ‘esplain.

Maple has many allergies and sensitivities to things ( hey, she’s my dog. It figures, since I do too!). For the first six months of her life she was at the vet’s frequently with gastric issues, allergic responses to things, and generally not doing very well. We tried her on a about 10 different commercial dog food formulas and none of them really helped. She’d be good for a day or two, and then things would start up again.

After exhaustive google searches, I discovered a website for allergic dogs ( yes, it’s a thing) and they suggested making your puppy’s meals yourself and eliminating the food made commercially. I figured at this point, why the heck not try it.

Here’s the recipe they suggested:

3 lbs boneless, skinless chicken

2 cups brown rice or barley

6 large sweet potatoes, peeled and diced

6 carrots, peeled and chopped

1 24 oz package peas or lima beans

56 fl. oz diced tomatoes with juice from a can

3 Tablespoons fresh parsley or oregano

1/2 cup fish, safflower or olive oil

Place all ingredients ( raw and uncooked) into a stock pot and add enough water to cover well. Bring to a rolling boil uncovered, then cover and simmer for 2.5 hours. If needed, add small amts of water to keep mixture from going dry.

This recipe makes enough to feed a medium sized dog 2 cups a day for 16 days.

I’ve been making this once every two weeks for 3 months and Maple no longer has any gastric issues, and never – ever scratches from allergies any more.

SOmetimes I will add some stew meat to the mix along with the chicken for an added bonus. And since I grow my own oregano and parsley, I always have fresh herbs to go in the pot.

This was yesterday’s cook:

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She gets one of these every morning and devours it!!!! And she hasn’t been sick once. Just look at this face!

The look of a happy, healthy almost-11month pup!

Hee hee.