Mini’s Fiberific nuggets of goodness

We have a pretty stinking cute (in my humble opinion) rescue dog name Mini. She’s a senior gal, she’s blind but she’s one happy doggo. Mini has always had a little trouble “going” and needed some good “fibah” added to her diet. Just pumpkin wasn’t cutting it and, due to some other health issues, I wanted to create a healthy fiber addition to her food that was more comprehensive and not full of extra stuff she didn’t need.

In my late teens and early twenties (which was more than half of my life ago!) I was a veterinary technician and I did a lot of research on pet foods and “healthy pet food”… my plan was to be a specialty dietician for ailing animals trying to help or alleviate ailments with their diet, clearly that didn’t work out! While my life took a different path pet foods have gotten better and I’m still pretty fussy about them, back then there were virtually no options that were made with just whole food; fast forward 30 odd years and that’s not so true anymore and the pet food industry is booming with great options if you do some research and learn to read labels. That said, finding a healthy, “Aly’s OK with it”, fiber wasn’t to be found so I put on my thinking cap and got my blender out to create……

CHEF

Aly Marks-Wood

CUISINE

Pets

DIFFICULITY

Easy / Beginner

SOCIAL

The Green Grocer RI

Full Recipe

INGREDIENTS

1 Large Apple
1 Large (not green) bell pepper
2 Pears
1 Can of pumpkin
1 Can of pumpkin
1 large can (or 2 small) chickpeas*(see note)
¼ C raw pumpkin seeds
¼ C healthy oil- I use pumpkin seed oil because I like the synergy but coconut, olive or hemp are equally awesome.
Ice cube trays……

DIRECTIONS

Wash, cut and seed the produce- the size you cut it will depend on the blending device you use- some blenders ( or food processors) have stronger motors than others.
Open the chickpeas, retain ½ the chickpea water for blending.
Blend the produce, pumpkin seeds, oil and chickpeas along with the retained chickpea water together- I divide it into 2 batches- adding ½ of the retained liquid in each blend to make sure the blender doesn’t struggle, if you’ve got a monster blender/ food processor feel free to do it all in one batch. Try to blend it together with very few visible chunks. Add the blended food to a large bowl and mix in the canned pumpkin till fully incorporated. Fill ice cube trays and freeze. Transfer to a freezer safe container once solid.
I thaw 1 cube at a time for Mini, overnight in the fridge works perfectly. She gets excited when I make a new batch because she gets to lick the bowl… She dances a hula. I’ve often thought about putting her in a grass skirt but that may be a bit over the top….or would it!?!?!
Clearly you can size up and make more….Mini is only 9 pounds and she gets 1 nugget per day, it is a supplement to her diet and most certainly not complete nutrition by any means.

NOTES

I have also used oat groats- I think oat groats are a great option especially for more hyper dogs or if you’ve got a “farty” dog and the beans are too tooty! It’s a bit lengthier because you need to cook the groats first- ¾-1 C dry oat groats rehydrated and cooled. The recipe is the same if using the groats- blend the same way but add enough water to allow the blender to process.
You can use 2 apples and 1 pear instead if desired or thats whats on hand.