Lexi’s Dog Food

Our sweet dog Lexi was really struggling with dry dog foods. So much so that they were giving her the runs and she was loosing weight… NOT Good! So after trying different foods and some online research, I came up with a homemade, whole food, no added preservatives meal that she literally will drool while waiting for us to fill her bowl to eat.

Our dog can’t be the only one out there having digestive troubles, so I thought I would share this recipe with you all in case you are looking to feed your dog with home cooked meals as well.

Please check with your vet if you notice any trouble with your dog. I am not a vet and do not want to mislead you in anyway to the health of your dog. Our vet said that we would be fine feeding this and suggested adding in a daily vitamin if we wanted to.

Please also be sure not to add any other ingredients or spices/herbs before checking with the vet or trusted source. There are items that we can eat, but will be poisonous or toxic to our pets. As to my best knowledge, the ingredients in this recipe are all safe and our dog has been eating this for the past several months with no trouble. It even helped her gain some of the lost weight back and fixed her “pooping” situation 🙂 🙂

Lexi’s Dog Food Recipe

Ingredients:

• 5 pounds frozen chicken (we use chicken breast)
• 4 cups uncooked rice (we use jasmine rice)
• 4 ½ cups water
• 1 bag of frozen veggies (We use peas & carrots)
• 2 red apples (peeled, cored and chopped into ½ inch pieces)
• 3-4 sweet potatoes (peeled and chopped into ½ inch pieces)
• 1 bag coleslaw mix (or red cabbage, chopped into ½ inch pieces)
• 1 14oz can pumpkin puree
• 2-3 Tablespoons Olive oil
• 2 Tablespoons Powdered Calcium

Kitchen Items Needed:

• 6 Qt Instant Pot (or stove top pot)
• 8 Qt Instant Pot (or stove top pot)
• 4-6 Ounce Pot
• Cutting Board
• Knife
• Vegetable Peeler
• Large Wooden Spoon
• Fork

Directions for Cooking the Chicken:

1. Fill Instant Pot inner pot with 5 lbs frozen chicken and fill with water to the max fill line.
2. Place lid on, turn to the locking position, and put vent in the sealing position.
3. Push the “Pressure Cook” button and cook on high pressure for 15 minutes.
4. Once the cook time is up, allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes, then do a quick release.
5. Remove the meat from the pot and allow it to rest for 5-10 minutes before shredding, in order for the juices to distribute throughout the chicken and keep it from drying out.

Directions for Cooking the Veggies

1. Peel, core & chop your apples, sweet potatoes and cabbage (if using).
2. Place frozen vegetables, apples, sweet potatoes and coleslaw or cabbage in a pan with water.
3. Boil over medium-high heat and cook until all items are fork tender.

Directions for Cooking the Rice

1. Place rice and water in second instant pot inner pot.
2. Stir together to break up clumps of rice.
3. Place lid on, turn to the locking position, and put vent in the sealing position.
4. Push the “Pressure Cook” button and cook on high pressure for 5 minutes.
5. Once the cook time is up, allow the pressure to naturally release for 10 minutes, then do a quick release.
6. When done, use a fork to fluff the rice.

Putting it all Together:

1. Place the cooked rice in a very large bowl and add oil olive to rice to help separate the clumps.
2. Add the canned pumpkin puree to the rice and mix to combine.
3. Add the cooked vegetables to the rice and pumpkin and mix to combine.
4. Lastly, add in the shredded chicken to the rice, pumpkin, vegetables and calcium and mix to combine.

Feeding and Storage:

We usually feed our full-grown black lab 2 ½ cups in the morning and 2 ½ cups in the evening. This seems to work well with her and keeps her weight at an optimum.

We use reusable containers and store the food in the refrigerator. We leave about 4-6 containers in the fridge and place the rest in the freezer. As we rotate out the food already fed, we pull 2 new frozen meals out of the freezer and place in the fridge towards the back. This way by the time we need to feed her, it’s already in a thawed-out state and we don’t miss a day feeding her the food she loves (and more importantly, the food her stomach and digestive system loves).

If you so choose, you can add a multi vitamin or probiotic chew to help ensure your dog is getting all the vitamins and nutrients they need. Talk to you vet to get the best advice possible for your pet.

Notes:

If you don’t have an instant pot (or 2) you can cook your chicken and rice in pots on the stove until fully cooked. Then follow directions above in the same order.

We also sometimes add in some spinach when cooking the vegetables, to add more nutrients.

If you make this for your dog, I hope they love it as much as ours does ~