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Welcome to Raw Foodie Friday where I'll be sharing recipes of what I feed to my dogs. Every week, I receive an email from someone who wants me to give them a balanced raw food recipe. I've attempted to do this many times in the past, and I found that I didn't have the experience; especially back when all of my raw meals were made with a base mix. Today, I make raw meals on the fly daily, and my dogs are thriving, and I'm excited to share those meals with others who need inspiration.
I no longer focus on balance per meal. Instead, I balance over time which allows me more flexibility. If I'm running low on an ingredient, I don't panic because my dogs' raw meals will be out of balance. Instead, I add something else and adjust their diet later in the week or the following week.
Ask yourself – do you eat a balanced diet each meal or per day?
So here is this week's menu…please feel free to ask questions in the comments.
Easy Raw Dog Food Recipe
Ground Duck and Oysters
Ground duck
I order two cases of duck wings and one case of duck necks monthly through our local raw food co-op. I ground the duck wings because I'm nervous about my dogs eating the drummettes – I've found some sharp pieces in their poop, so now I grind. I leave the duck necks whole for the crunch and slight teeth cleaning benefits.
Organ blend
I have a hard time finding a good variety of organs (offal) so I add an organ blend from GreenTripe.com. The organ blend is a “freshly frozen blend of beef heart, lungs, liver, spleen, and pancreas with green tripe.”
Fermented vegetables
When I do meal prep, I thaw several packages of the protein of the week and mix it with fermented vegetables. I feed fermented vegetables instead of a standard vegetable mix because I'm not only getting the antioxidants, nutrients, and fiber, I'm also getting a natural source of probiotics which helps to promote a healthy gut biome. Many of the longest living pets are credited with having a healthy gut biome so that is my main focus when feeding my dogs.
Oysters
I add oysters to my dogs' diet as a source of zinc. For the first few years I fed raw, I didn't even think of zinc because I thought that our dogs got everything they needed in a raw diet. Nope. I learned a year ago that I had to start taking nutrients seriously and the first one that I made a point of adding to my dogs' diet regularly is zinc and the easiest source is boiled oysters which I buy at Walmart (Pacific Pearl).
Oysters increase immunity, are a great source of cancer-fighting antioxidants, supports digestive health, helps the body absorb nutrients, keeps the liver healthy, and aids in muscle repair. So, basically, zinc is important.
Raw Dog Food Ingredients
- 40 pounds of ground duck wings
- 4 2- pound chubs of the organ blend
- 4 containers of fermented vegetables
- 3-4 cans of canned, boiled oysters
Supplements for DIY Raw Feeding
I believe that we should supplement our dogs' meals based on their individual needs so no two of my dogs get the same set of supplements. However, I do believe that all of my dogs need the following:
Supplements can be purchased or they can be provided through whole food sources. For instance, I can buy a joint supplement or I can support my dogs' joints by adding more duck feet, beef trachea, and other foods high in glucosamine. I tend to add both.
Sourcing for Raw Meat for My Dogs
I purchase everything for my dogs through a local raw food co-op.
I track all the nutrients that come in the foods that I order for my dogs which gives me more confidence that I’m covering all of the basis over the week. I also pay attention to my dogs’ appearance and health and make adjustments. For instance, if my dog’s coat is dry and dull, then I add more Omega 3s to the diet. Hope that makes sense.
With doing meals on the fly like that ( which I want to do too!) how do you know what meal is or isn’t balance and how do you know that adding in later in the week or the following week is then going to make it balanced?
The canned oysters are already boiled. When I buy raw oysters, which are in a jar, not can, I bake them in the oven before feeding them to my dogs.
The canned oysters you buy from Walmart, are they already boiled or do you boil them?
No. I don’t feed them or eat them myself, because I worry about toxins. I bake them or I buy canned oysters for the dogs.
Do you ever feed raw or frozen oysters? Thoughts?