Update on Homemade Dog food - New Recipe!!! :)

So, the food I made last week that cost me about $2 to make lasted me a week. This was giving Noah about half a cup twice per day. He is a 12 pound dog. He loved it!!!

The first day I mixed 1/2 cup of the new food with 1/4 cup of his dry dog food, he ate it all. Later that evening I gave him another 1/4 cup of his dry food with the new food and he pulled the little bits of dry food out as he ate the new food. After some stern, "eat your foods" he ate it. He did get a little more than a cup a day the first few days as we used up his dry food.

That didn't work so well the next day. So, I just didn't give him any new food til he ate the old food. He was so happy when all the dry food was gone, so was I because I wasn't going to force it down his throat and I really wanted him to consume both at the same time because his tummy doesn't handle it too well. Larger dogs don't seem to have this issue so much, at least in my experience.

In any case, the transition was fine! So, I made a new recipe today and of course, Noah loves it! I am not worried so much about transition because the basic ingredients are the same. Oatmeal, eggs and turnip greens. I just changed from carrot to lima beans (because that's what I had). And added a bit of almond meal, sunflower seeds, flax seeds and chicken, and switched up the spices a bit.

So here is the recipe (probably cost me about $2 also):

3c cooked oatmeal (not quick oats)
2 eggs scrambled in 1/2 tsp EVOO
1 c frozen lima beans (steamed)
2 c chicken soup broth
1/4 c carrots (from the soup)
1/4 c celery (from the soup)
1/4 c chicken (from the soup)
1 c almond pulp (left over from making almond milk - will add recipe here, turned out great!)
1 c oat bran
1/2 c flax seed (ground in coffee grinder or food processor)
1/2 c sunflower seed (ground in coffee grinder or food processor)
1 tsp ginger
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp oregano

I put everything but the oatmeal in the blender or food processor because Noah apparently doesn't chew. He had to chew dry food, but anyway... I suspect this is because he's so excited about getting people food that he just wolfs it down, or he's afraid that it will get taken away in short order is what usually happens if people food falls within his reach.  I'm hoping this will change soon once he gets used to the idea because I think it's good for him to actually chew stuff!

So, will let you know how this week goes! Still a little nervous about all this as I'm not a dietitian, or a veterinarian, but I do understand about healthy eating and have researched a lot and combined that with intuition and just plain common sense.

Let me know your experiences and how you like it!

Valentine Flan Recipe from scratch

So I made flan for my honey for Valentine's Day from scratch. He loves flan and the first time I made it from scratch over a year ago, well, it turned out fine, but this time it turned out really great!! I decided to just cook it in a bath as the directions state, I put the pan inside another larger pan and filled that one with about an inch of water. I had been cheating, using the box stuff, which actually tastes pretty good but I will make it this way from now on.

We didn't add any fruit to it.

Here is the recipe I used:

http://www.food.com/recipe/mexican-flan-baked-caramel-custard-12354

• 1/2 cup sugar
• 6 eggs
• 3 cups milk (I used almond milk) 
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
• 1 teaspoon orange rind, grated (I used grapefruit)
• sliced fruit (Strawberries, Kiwi or other fruit)
Change Measurements: US | Metric

Directions:

Prep Time: 15 mins
Total Time: 3 3/4 hrs

1. 1 Heat 1/2 cup sugar in a heavy skillet or saucepan, stirring constantly until it melts and turns a dark golden color.
2. 2 Remove from heat and immediately pour into a 4 1/2 cup metal ring mold, swish it around so it evenly coats the bottom of the ring mold.
3. 3 In a large mixing bowl, lightly beat the eggs.
4. 4 Stir in milk,1/2 cup sugar, vanilla and orange peel.
5. 5 Place caramel coated ring mold in another pan and place on an oven rack.
6. 6 Pour egg mixture into the ring mold and pour the hottest tap water possible around the ring mold to a depth of 1 inch.
7. 7 Bake at 325Ffor close to l hour or until a knife comes out clean.
8. 8 Cool flan on a wire rack, Chill for at least 3 1/2 hours.
9. 9 To unmold the flan loosen edges with a spatula, slip spatula down the sides to let air in.
10. 10 Place the serving platter over the mold and flip to allow the flan to slip onto the platter.
11. 11 Spoon the caramel that may remain in the mold on top of the flan.
12. 12 Pile sliced fruit in the center and serve.

Enjoy!!! :) 

Homemade Granola/Cereal

So, I've searched around on this for a few weeks and finally came up with my own recipe. It turned out pretty good, but don't cook it any longer than 45 minutes or it WILL burn, even if it doesn't look done yet.. :( not with standing, the extra toasty flavour didn't do too much to damage it. :)

Here is the recipe I made:

Dry Ingredients;
3c oats; 1/2 c bran;
1/2 c ground flax (I ground flax seeds in coffee grinder),
 1/2 c sunflower seeds,
1/2 c chopped almonds (don't use the coffee grinder - turns to a flour, try a food processor or blender and pulse, watching closely)
2 tsp cinnamon (I will use more next time)
1 tsp cloves (I will use more next time)
1 tsp ginger (I will use more next time)
1/2 tsp coffee (for mocha flavour)
1 tblsp cocoa powder (for antioxidants, and flavour if you like it)
1/4 c brown sugar (I almost didn't put this in, and I actually could have had more, trying to be careful of this kinda stuff in my diet tho...)

Wet ingredients
1/8 c honey
1/8 c agave
1 tblsp vanilla
1/3c EVOO
1/3c almond milk
1tsp salt (I know, it's not wet)
2 tblsp butter

Fruit suggestions (use about a cup total):
dried cranberries
dried cherries
raisins
dried blueberries
apricots
I only used about 1/2 c raisins  - sugar...

Simmer wet ingredients for a few minutes, then mix with dry until all coated

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F; Bake for about 45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes til well toasted in a cookie sheet. I put a sheet of parchment paper on it and I was glad I did, it barely all fit and made it easier to stir.

Remove and cool, stir occasionally (I forgot, it survived)

Add fruit, store in air tight containers.

Let me know if you tried it and how you like it! I'm going to use some when I make my dog food  - for the first time - after I am positive the ingredients won't hurt him. I set some aside for him before I put the raisins in because I know they shouldn't have grapes. Will post when I make the dog food, with or without the granola...

Happy trails to you! :)