Why I Eat Dog Food: Dog Treat Recipes and Cookbook Giveaway!

I bet you’re wondering where I’m going with this post. Well, for starters, you need to understand that I love our dogs. Like I really, really love our dogs and I always try to treat them the way I would like to be treated – with love, respect and kindness.

You see, I’m not one of those people who think that dogs are just pets. I’m the exact opposite – I think that our dogs are part of our family core and I’m grateful to have them in our life. It’s for all of the reasons and more that I find myself cooking for them just like I do for my skin-kids. In my opinion, our dogs deserve the best we have to offer – and while I’m cooking up nutritious meals for our own family, I like to make sure that I’m taking care of them too.

From leftover chicken to homemade bone broth (it sounds scarier than it really is – it’s just the leftover chicken carcass boiled down for hours on end), to pumpkin dog biscuits to these colorful ice cube dog treats, you’ll find me whipping up all sorts of tasty treats for my furry friends.

So when The Healthy Hound Cookbook, written by Paris Permenter and John Bigley, came across my desk, I just had to see what was inside. As I started flipping through the pages, I was delighted to see that many of the recipes are completely human-friendly too. So much so, that even though I made two ice cream recipes for them, the Pumpkin and the Peanut Butter and Banana, I’ve been using these tasty ice cube treats in my daily morning smoothies. Now don’t make a face – and stop that frowning! These recipes are so simplistic and tasty that I’d be remiss not to use them for myself!

Perhaps, you’re now thinking that I am a certifiable weirdo, and perhaps, that’s true. But, it’s also true that the easy-to-make, all-natural recipes found in The Healthy Hound Cookbook make it super easy to create healthy treats and meals for your fur-kids. Many of the recipes use ingredients that you most likely have just sitting in your fridge or pantry anyways – things like plain yogurt, peanut butter, pumpkin, bananas, peas, etc. Plus, this cookbook is chock-full of information on nutrition for dogs, cooking techniques, recipes for pets on grain-free, Paleo, or raw diets, and a portion calculator to adjust serving sizes according to breed.

The authors, Paris Permenter and John Bigley, also know a thing or two about dogs. They’re the masterminds behind the popular DogTipper.com website, which is full of travel advice, cleaning tips, and fun giveaways too. So how about you all enter our latest giveaway — to win your very own copy of The Healthy Hound Cookbook — so your dog(s) can start living a more natural, happier, and flavorful life with the recipes found inside this tasty cookbook.

Thanks for reading,

Denine

PEANUT BUTTER AND BANANA DOG ICE CREAM
Makes about 50 ice cubes.

Ingredients:

• 3-4 ripe bananas
• 4 cups low-fat plain yogurt (I used Stonyfield whole milk yogurt because that’s what we eat.)
• 1/2 cup organic unsweetened peanut butter

Directions:

Step 1: Peel bananas and add to a blender along with yogurt and peanut butter.

Step 2: Blend until smooth, then pour into ice cube trays.

Step 3: Freeze and serve frozen. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

PUMPKIN ICE CREAM
Makes about 36 ice cubes.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
• 1 cup low-fat plain yogurt (I used Stonyfield whole milk yogurt because that’s what we eat.)
• 1/2 cup organic unsweetened peanut butter

Directions:

Step 1: Combine all ingredients in a blender, then pour into ice cube trays.

Step 2: Freeze and serve frozen. Freeze in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

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