homemade dog food recipes sweet potato
Homemade Dog Food Recipe: Beef and Sweet Potato
The classic combination beef and potatoes! Probably the most important part of this recipe is the fact that I am using LEAN ground beef or 95% lean beef! The typical 80/20 ground beef is not a suitable substitute in this recipe why? because it is less concentrated in amino acids (or proteins) that are essential for overall health in dogs. Ive also seen people try to use 80/20 or lower ground beef, then draining the fat this also will not work. Because certain vitamins and minerals are fat-soluble, meaning they live within that fat that you are draining away. This could potentially create an unbalanced recipe and nutritional deficiencies!
So if you are looking to cook for your pup ALWAYS choose lean ground meats (unless otherwise specified by your vet)!
As always, when I create recipes for my dogs I use BalanceIT this software was created by a board-certified veterinary nutritionist to allow pet owners, and veterinary professionals to create complete and balanced recipes for their dogs. Using BalanceIT gives me confidence knowing these recipes are vet-approved and complete and balanced for my dogs.
The recipe today is formulated to AAFCO standards and is complete and balanced for adult dogs if all ingredients are prepared as listed and all supplements are included. If any changes are made to the recipe it will no longer be considered balanced and should be considered a treat or addition and be kept to 10% of your dogs overall daily caloric needs.
INGREDIENTS
95% Lean Ground Beef: Lean ground beef is an excellent source of essential amino acids along with many different vitamins and minerals such as vitamin B12, zinc, selenium, iron, vitamin B6, niacin, and phosphorus.
Sweet Potato: A rich source of dietary fiber, along with vitamins A, C, B, and several minerals such as iron, potassium, calcium, and selenium.
Carrots: An excellent source of beta carotene, fiber, vitamin K1, potassium, vitamin A and antioxidants.
Bell Pepper: A great source of vitamin C, along with other vitamins and minerals such as vitamin K1, potassium, folate, and vitamin B6. Bell Pepper is also an excellent source of antioxidants such as lutein, quercetin, and luteolin.
Walnut Oil: An excellent source of linoleic acid and alpha-Linolenic acid which are essential fatty acids that dogs need in their diet.
Nordic Naturals Omega 3 Pet: A wonderful source of EPA and DHA, along with vitamin E. Nordic naturals fish oil is a purified, third party tested oil that has an excellent EPA to DHA ratio perfect for balancing out the higher omega 6 essential fatty acids found in the chicken and walnut oil.
Supplement (BalanceIT Canine): Without using the supplement this recipe will be deficient in riboflavin, calcium, copper, iodine, selenium, and vitamin D.
DIET COMPOSITION
PERCENT CALORIE BASIS:
- Protein: 42%
- Fat: 25%
- Carbohydrate: 33%
- Moisture: 74%
- Calories: 1048
HOMEMADE DOG FOOD RECIPE
- 379g 95% Lean Ground Beef, pan-broiled
- 375g Sweet Potato, baked in skin
- 69g Green Bell Peppers, raw
- 46g Carrots, raw
- 3/8 tsp Nordic Naturals Omega 3 Pet
- 1 tsp Walnut Oil
- 4 1/2 tsp BalanceIT Canine
HOW MUCH TO FEED
The amount that you feed your dog will be based on their individual metabolism and lifestyle needs. Calories needed can range up to 50% high or lower than the average amount and still be considered normal.
Overweight or obese dogs trying to lose weight should be fed to their ideal weight if your dog needs to lose weight please discuss your dogs individual caloric needs with your veterinarian
The below chart is the average calories needed for a dog of a particular weight. If you are using this recipe as a treat the portion should be kept in the treat category. If feeding as a complete and balanced meal, you can either re-calculate the recipe using BalanceIT or feed according to your dogs caloric needs (average suggested amounts within the food category).
INSTRUCTIONS
Start by warming the oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit.
Wash and poke the sweet potato with a fork and bake on a baking tray until you can easily peirce through with a fork (about 30-45 minutes). The potato will loose moisture as it cooks so starting with about 400g potato will typically yeild the 345g cooked potato value you will need for this recipe.
While the potato is baking, brown about 1 lb or 454g of 95% lean ground beef using a cast iron pan. Do not add any additional oil for cooking, if needed use a tbsp or two of water to deglaze the plan. Cook until -just- browned, do not overcook. The 454g of meat should yeild almost exactly the 379g that you will need for this recipe.
After both the potato and beef are cooked, place them aside to cook and start to chop, or shread the carrots and bell peppers. I find most dogs find both these vegetables very tasty, but if you have a picky dog puree them or dice them finely and measure to the amounts listed above.
Depending on your dogs size you can either add everything into a food processor prior to feeding, or you can chop all elements into bite-sized pieces.
Allow everything to cool prior to feeding or adding any additional supplements. I highly recommend if you are batch-cooking meals for your dogs to portion all ingredients EXCEPT oils and supplements into containers. Then add supplements and oils the day-of feeding. This will keep everything fresh, and allow you to reheat the food if needed prior to serving. However if you find it easier to have everything mixed in that should be okay, just do not reheat any food items.
The food should be find in the fridge for about 3 days, and in the freezer for about 30 days. If you plan to make even larger batches I would highly recommend a deep-freezer and vacuum sealable bags, as otherwise the food may start to loose nutritional value and get freezer burn.
LOOKING TO TAKE THE NEXT STEP:
I feel like BalanceIT is a great place to start if you want to jump into the home-cooking realm (which is what I used to formulate this recipe), however, it does have some limitations/negatives in my point of view. Mainly the fact that recipes on BalanceIT do not contain organ meats.
Organ meats often provide many different vitamins, minerals, and nutrients that cannot be found in other food items. Thus, after you have gotten the hang of cooking for your pup, if youd like to take the next step to add in organ meats Id highly recommend working with a board-certified veterinary nutritionist to formulate a fully custom recipe for your pup! You can find more information about finding an ACVN diplomat along with the other options for home-cooking for your dog in my blog post on DIY Dog Food.
RECOMMENDED PRODUCTS FOR COOKING FOR DOGS:
As someone who has homecooked for several years for their pups cooking over 50 lbs of food every two weeks for my two 50 lbs dogs Ive used several products over the years that I LOVE. Below are some of those products.
The following links are amazon affiliate links, if used I will receive a commission on the purchase of the item at no additional cost to you.
I hope you all had fun checking out this recipe make sure to let me know if you try it out for your pups! You can absolutely use this recipe as a topper for your dogs regular food is you do not want to use the BalanceIT supplement, just make sure you keep it to 10% of your pups overall calories for the days (including other treats and additions). I hope you all have a wonderful day and a fun rest of the week!
Til next time my canine health nuts!
About the Author: Nikki is a Registered Veterinary Technician (Veterinary Nurse) and Dog Mom with over a decade of experience with dogs and cats. Since graduation from college (BS Biology, Dip. Animal Nutrition, AS Animal Science) she has adopted two mixed breed dogs Ranger and Ash, and has focused her time learning about pet food and nutrition.
Nikki shares information on a range of pet nutrition topics: from how to create a homemade complete and balanced dog and cat food recipes, to how to choose a pet food. Nikki strives to give dog and cat parents the information they need in order to make the best nutrition decisions for their pet!
You should receive your Free Dog Food Recipe Ebook within 24 hours of subscribing! Make sure to check your spam folder. The recipe ebook is over 90 pages long so make sure you have a good internet connection when you go to download it. Afterwards you will receive weekly Canine Nutrition Updates every Tuesday on different topics related to canine nutrition & homemade dog food!
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How to Cook Sweet Potato for Dogs
Sweet potatoes are healthy, tasty, and oh so nutritious! If you are looking for a way to make your dogs diet delicious while keeping it clean, sweet potatoes will make your dreams come true.
These underground tubers have plenty of fiber that can go a long way in supporting a dogs healthy gut. They are often used to alleviate things like diarrhea and constipation and encourage healthy bowel movements.
Vegetables are also low in fat while packing on essential vitamins such as B6, A, and C.
The best part about sweet potatoes is that you can prepare it in a number of ways for your lovely pup.
If it is your first time to prepare sweet potatoes for your pup and you are looking for some inspiration, this guide will come in handy.
Are sweet potatoes dog-friendly?
In case you are wondering whether sweet potatoes are good for your dog, the plain answer is yes they are!
According to the AKC website, these tubers are safe for dogs. Since they are whole, they dont cause an immune response in a dogs body or cause damage to his GI tract.
However, if your dog is diabetic, less active, or overweight, you need to exercise a little more caution. This is because they have a high glycemic index.
Like with all other things in life, exercise moderation when it comes to feeding sweet potatoes to your dog. Give according to the size of your dog, his activity level, and his health condition.
Also, if you can, remove the skin to make it easy for your dog to digest it.
Finally, never feed your pup raw potato or one that is extremely dry and hard as it is difficult to chew.
How to Cook Sweet Potato for Dogs
There are a number of ways to prepare sweet potatoes for your dogs. You can bake, mash, boil, and steam them.
If you want to take things to a new level, feel free to make cookies off of your sweet potatoes or mix them up with liver or pork.
To get you started, here are two of our absolute sweet potato recipes for dogs.
1. Delightful Mashed Sweet Potatoes
Most dogs enjoy sinking their teeth into a bowl of mashed potato goodness! It is savory and creamy, making it a good treat for your four-legged friend.
If youve made a mashed potato dish for your family before, you know how easy it is to whip it up.
Well, making this healthy veggie for a dog is even easier. This is because most of the ingredients such as butter, brown sugar, heavy cream, nutmeg, and salt are not included in the recipe.
Most of these condiments are not dog-friendly not to mention necessary. Dont get it twisted though, even without these flavor enhancers, the mash will taste delightful. The reason is simple: the food is already sweet in nature.
Lets get into this tasty sweet potato for dogs recipe.
What Youll Need
- Two medium-sized potatoes
Directions
I. Wash and peel your sweet potatoes
For optimal results, soak them first in vinegar before washing them thoroughly. This step helps to draw the dirt out more than water alone will do.
Use a potato peeler or a knife to peel the potatoes.
Once peeled, give them one more wash and slice them into cubes.
II. Boil the cubed sweet potatoes
The best way to do this is to bring some water to a boil in a pot. As a rule of thumb, the water should cover the potatoes entirely.
Once it boils, throw in the potatoes, reduce the heat to medium and let them simmer away for 30 minutes.
To know if they are ready, pierce into one cube with a fork or knife. If it goes through with ease, the potatoes are done.
Else, cover the pot and give it a few minutes for them to be fork-tender.
III. Mash them up
The final step is to mash the sweet potatoes. Before doing this, drain off the water in the pot using a strainer.
Then proceed to mash it up using a potato masher. This is the fun part.
Be sure to work the mash until you get a smooth consistency.
Let the potatoes cool before serving it to your pup.
IV. Serve
Thats it! The mashed potatoes are ready to be served.
You can offer it to your dog as is or mix it in his food.
Ideally, the amount to give depends on the size of your dog. If you have a toy breed, you might want to serve only a tablespoon of the mash.
Otherwise, you can serve as much as 1/4th a cup for giant breeds.
2. Yummy Homemade Sweet Potato Treats
Homemade sweet potato treats are easy to make and only require one ingredient; sweet potatoes! They are also incredibly easy to prepare.
Heres a great recipe to follow for great sweet potato treats.
What Youll Need
- Two medium-sized potatoes (or whichever amount you please)
Directions
I. Wash and peel the potatoes
Begin by thoroughly washing your veggies. If you can, soak them up in vinegar for a while then rinse them up to get all the dirt out.
You can also go ahead and scrub them up using a kitchen brush to really make them completely clean.
Then proceed to peel the up using your potato peeler or knife.
II. Slice the potatoes
The next agenda on your list is to slice the sweet potatoes. This time around, you dont want cubes but rather, thin slices that can become chewy or crunchy when baked.
You have two options here: slice them longitudinally about 1/8 inches thick.
The thinner the slice, the crunchier the treat; and the thicker it is, the chewier the treat.
Secondly, you can cut lengthwise, about the same measurements.
III. Bake the potatoes
Place the slices on a baking sheet and spread them out in one layer.
One big sweet potato (or two medium ones) will cover one baking sheet. If you have more, you might need more baking trays.
Do not add salt, oil, or any spice. The treats need to be as natural as possible.
Once ready, throw the baking tray in a 200-2500F oven for three hours. You might want to check on them after one and a half hours.
Flip them up to make them evenly cooked.
The time frame depends on the thickness of your slices and the end result you are looking to achieve. More time in the oven makes them crunchier. If you only want them to be chewy, dont let them sit for more than three hours.
Ideally, a chewy hydrated treat is great compared to a dry crunchy one.
IV. Serve
Once ready, let the potatoes sit in the oven until cooled.
Serve them to your pup and see him go bonkers over them. Keep the remaining in an airtight container. These treats can last anywhere from five days to three weeks depending on whether they are chewy or crunchy.
As you might have guessed, the latter tends to last longer than the former.
Final Thoughts
Sweet potatoes are as good to dogs as they are to humans. They have plenty of essential vitamins, are rich in fiber, and most importantly, harmless to a dog.
Hopefully, you now know how to cook sweet potatoes for dogs. The secret is to keep the recipe simple, chewy, and delicious!
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