A “Spring Chicken” Recipe Your Pup Will Love –Made Especially for the Season

When I think of early spring, I think of waking to the first purple crocuses that pop through the cool earth and bloom overnight. I think of simple Saturday afternoon pleasures – like planting flowers and pruning back the would-be overachievers like mint, while my pups play tag and help me dig holes.

I think of these productive afternoons followed by cool evening respites enjoyed around the grill. I’m tucked into one of my Mom’s handknit sweaters savoring treats of grilled chicken skewers interlaced with sweet juicy pineapple, served up next to crunchy cool cucumbers. I think my dogs have these visions too, because they look at me longingly as I take my first bite.  

There’s no reason why your pup can’t enjoy these delicious early spring flavors too! Spring is a time where warmth begins to seep into the cool breezes – you can sometimes feel these swirls of temperature brush past your cheeks. Chicken is a wonderful protein to enjoy during this cool-ish time of year. It has some mild warming qualities. Pineapple is an excellent source of enzymes and antioxidants and the coolness of the cucumber and other greens helps balance the warmth of the chicken.

Finding Energetic Balance With Pet Food

We’ve written about the energetic qualities of food. A balanced diet for your dog is not just one that provides the right proportions of protein, fat and fiber, reinforced with vitamins and minerals. A truly nutritious balanced healthy diet for dogs is one that helps their bodies achieve balance with external energies like the seasons and weather patterns. 

Eating a rotation of proteins and vegetables, and picking those ingredients based on what’s happening inside the body as well as what’s happing in the environment, supports a vibrant, healthy life for your dog – and you.

Our Inspiration For This Recipe

Here is a recipe for your pup to enjoy as we shift from cold of winter to more comfortable conditions. It harnesses the energetically warming properties of chicken and chicken liver with vibrant greens and touches of pineapple for antioxidants and enzymes. 

We include a few oysters to meet your dogs needs for vital minerals like zinc and copper.  We also selected a cold-pressed organic coconut oil to give your dog some healthy medium-chain triglycerides. You can swap it for 18-12 fish oil if you're focused on Omega 3s, but we like to rotate healthy fats just like we do healthy proteins and veggies, and coconut oil is a really good one.

We usually freeze or cook the ingredients in our recipes.  With vegetables, this improves digestibility.  However, if raw is your thing, then feel free to serve this up uncooked. As we move into warmer weather, raw can be energetically beneficial. This pet food recipe is built on the formula for a well-balanced homemade dog food created by Dr. Nathan Heilman, DVM of Qi Veterinary Clinic.

Making it Complete and Balanced for Puppies

This recipe is complete and balanced for an adult dog.  Nutritional information is at the end.  If you are making this recipe for a puppy, you will need to add bonemeal to get her calcium and phosphorus needs met.  We have indicated that modification to the recipe as well.  Be sure it is the edible kind of bonemeal - not the fertilizer kind.  We like NOW Brand bonemeal.  (This and other special considerations for puppies are available on our nutritional page.)

Here's How

Tools: 

Food processor, small kitchen scale (note: recipe measurements are done by weight, not volume), knife, cutting board, teaspoon, vegetable peeler.

Ingredients:  

24 oz of cooked boneless, skinless chicken (dark or white meat)

4.8 oz lightly cooked chicken liver

3 oz peeled and chopped cucumbers (We make these ahead of time and always have a bag in our freezer for our pups’ meals).

3 oz broccoli (we like to lightly steam it)

3 oz roughly chopped swiss chard (we like to pre-freeze it) 

1 egg (reserve the shell)

2 oz fresh pineapple chunks (not canned) 

1 oz canned oysters

Multi-vitamin (per package dosage). We like using 1.5 tsp of RX Essentials for Dogs 

1 tsp cold pressed coconut oil (we like Jarrows for its full and rich flavor)

1 pinch salt

Modification for puppies:  Add 4 tsp bonemeal (we like NOW brand)

Directions: 

Your chicken should be cooked slowly over low heat. Drain it of fat. Let it cool. Then roughly chop into 3 inch cubes.  

Working in batches, start by placing the 24 oz of cooked chicken in the work bowl of a food processor and process until smooth. Empty the chicken into a large mixing bowl. Add egg, reserving the shell.

Next, combine cucumber, broccoli, swiss chard, pineapple, oysters, chicken livers, coconut oil and eggshell into the large work bowl of the food processor. Puree until smooth. Add to chicken mixture. 

Add the multi-vitamin and a pinch of salt to the chicken mixture. Fold together until thoroughly combined.    

This recipe makes enough food for approximately 45 pounds of dog / day. (Serving two to three meals per day is recommended as one large meal can create dampness - an eastern medicine view of imbalance in the body related to health issues.  Adjust serving size downward or upward depending on your dog's size and metabolic needs dogs. This mixture can be stored in the fridge in a container with a tight-fitting lid for one week. It also can be turned into your own homemade kibble in a few easy steps!

Looking for Some Healthy Dog Treats?

All pups love snacks.  Parents love them when they are made with human grade ingredients.

There are some perfect compliments to this recipe that you can include in your rotation of healthy snacks. Human-grade single-ingredient chicken jerky for dogs like Hula Lula Chicken from Goodness Gracious is one option. You can also try making your own chicken jerky – but then you might not get out of the kitchen to enjoy that spring garden! 

Another great option is Bikini Chicken, a tender, limited-ingredient chicken and sweet potato strip, also from Goodness Gracious. And if your dog is a cookie-lover then grain-free Roasted Chicken Cheddar (with lactose-free Vermont Cabot cheddar) is a tasty choice! 

Goodness Gracious

Here at Goodness Gracious we are all about harnessing the power of simple whole foods to achieve optimum health and nutrition . All of our products are human grade, USA made and USA sourced. We produce everything in small batches to maintain the highest possible quality standards.

We make collections of single ingredient jerky treats for dogs; limited ingredient grain free meaty strips; high protein, gluten free cookies; species appropriate dog chews; and training treats for puppies. They cover the range of energies from cool to hot, and drying to moistening. 

There’s a perfect choice in our collections for every season and every pup, and everything is always human edible. Come visit us today to find out more.

Nutritional Facts

Calories:

Total Kcal in recipe:  1056

Kcal / Kg:  845

Daily Kcal needs of an active 45# adult dog:  1056

 

Macronutrients	DM%	Kcal%
Protein:	70.1%	64.1%
Fat:	12.9%	28.6%
Net Carbs:	8.0%	7.3%
Fiber:	2.1%
Ash:	6.9%

 

Highlights of the Recipe:

Omega 6: Omega 3 ratio:  5.85:1.0

Taurine:  140 mg

CA:P ratio for adult dogs:  1.09:1

CA:P ratio for puppies (i.e.with bonemeal addition):  1.57:1