recipe book | the honest kitchen

Check out this sweet Recipe Book compiled and sold by The Honest Kitchen:

Our first ever recipe book is now available! Made out of Love is packed with more than 65 recipes of meals and treats that you can prepare for (and some to actually share with) your animal companions. Some recipes include Honest Kitchen products and many are simply made from ingredients that you’d find in your own kitchen.

There are recipes to cook and some to serve raw, as well as a special section on ‘medicinal meals’ for special needs pets and of course a chapter exclusively for cats. Made out of Love also includes lots of beautiful photographs of finished recipes, raw ingredients and some of our canine taste testers.

The Honest Kitchen ROCKS

DEFENDING OUR STANCE

We’re sometimes asked why we are so strongly opposed to the farming of puppies, breeding on a mass scale and raising of puppies to be sold in retail outlets. We have refused to allow Honest Kitchen products to be sold in stores that sell puppies and kittens for the past seven years and remain committed to this. Some stores and distributors have taken exception to our decision and we wanted to take a moment to explain our position.
We believe that puppy mills do not constitute responsible breeders, since puppy-mill pets are not sufficiently socialized to normal every day situations, causing them to suffer various social problems and making them difficult house pets – which in turn makes them even more at risk of ending their days in a shelter. There are about 100,000 to 200,000 dogs inside puppy mills at any given time in the United States In addition, puppy mills do not offer lifetime support to puppy owners and do not agree to take back any puppy they have raised, for the duration of its entire life, as a responsible breeder does. Further, when puppies are sold in retail outlets, there is insufficient vetting of new homes to ensure that owners are sufficiently educated on how to care for their new animal, have the means to care for their new family member and properly understand the lifetime responsibility they are undertaking.
The mass scale breeding of puppies on farms, transportation across the country and re-sale in shops is the single biggest cause of massive over-population of companion animals in the United States and has caused puppies to be considered as commodities or possessions rather than members of the family. According to The Humane Society of the United States, exhaustive documentation on the problems surrounding puppy mills include the following: “over-breeding, inbreeding, minimal veterinary care, poor quality of food and shelter, lack of human socialization, overcrowded cages and the killing of unwanted animals. Many puppy-mill dogs are also born with genetic diseases, the symptoms of which, may not surface for several years into the animal’s life.
The greatest victims in the puppy mill problem are the breeding parents, because they will live their life in a cage and it generally ends fairly brutally. A number of national media outlets including American Dog Magazine, Best Friends Magazine and National Geographic’s Cesar Millan, as well as NY based radio personality and author Tracie Hotchner, are highlighting the horrors or mass scale puppy breeding and helping to inform the public, as well as showcasing success stories or businesses that are removing themselves from the trade.
If you’d like get some information on what constitutes a responsible breeder, the The Whole Dog Journal has an outstanding article. To learn more about our policies, or better still learn about where to adopt a shelter pet, please ask. We’d be delighted to help.

Honest Kitchen's Youtube

And other recipes here.

Verve with Sardines and Chicken Feet

I am a huge advocate of a dog's (and cats!) diet consisting of zero to very minimal grains. Mainly, dog's just don't seem to have what it takes (like a herbivore) to successfully mash and fully digest grains, especially in a non-cooked form. You will see evidence of this in their stool. Overly large, voluminous stool indicates a low digestion rate, and whole grains or vegetation visible in stool indicates the same thing.

Also, dogs tend to have sensitivities and outright allergies to certain grains and grasses. My Tsuki has a very profound reaction to any food containing corn. Many dogs cannot tolerate wheat (gluten) or soy. Some have issues with oats or barley, etc.

For good measure, we decided to try The Honest Kitchen's VERVE.
Ingredients:
Organic rye, organic barley, hormone-free beef, organic flaxseed, organic oats, carrots, alfalfa, potatoes, eggs, red and green bell peppers, spinach, apples, cranberries, chicory, parsley, peppermint and rosemary.
Nutrient Analysis (as served, without additives):
Protein - 10.835%
Fat - 4%
Calcium to Phosphorus Ratio - 1.6 : 1
Moisture - 75%

To this, for my dog's meal, we added 3 canned (in water, no salt) sardines each, and 2 chicken feet (raw) each.

They ate it with enthusiasm! However, as suspected with the grain intake, it was evident not a lot of digestion took place with the grains (large, detailed stool!). However, my Tsuki who has several grain sensitivities, did NOT have any reaction to this meal.

"Treats"

In addition to their regular twice-daily meals, we use treats for both training, snacks and simple rewards (you know... just for being good!)

At most, treats should only cover about a tenth of your dog's total diet.

We've tried many treats, and over time have narrowed it down to only the most healthful, tasty, readily available treats that have never had any adverse reactions (tummy upset/allergies). While it is best to treat dogs with something as close to a single ingredient as possible, this is a list of things we have found to be healthful and helpful:

• Waggers Champion Chips - 100% USDA Inspected Beef Lung
• Baked Sweet Potato Chips (made at home)
• Boiled, shredded chicken (made at home)
• Turkey Hot Dogs (for recall training, grocery store bought)
• Apple (flesh only), blackberries, raspberries, strawberries, cantaloupe
• Carrots, green beans, zucchini, peas
  
• Grizzley NuTreats Premium Salmon Treats - Smoked Wild Salmon
• Ziwi Peak Treats - Fish, Venison, Lamb
  
• Wellness Pure Rewards - Venison, Salmon [click link for full ingredients]
  
• Wellness WellBites - Lamb, Salmon [click link for full ingredients]
• The Honest Kitchen Pecks - Buffalo, Blueberry [click link for full ingredients]
• The Honest Kitchen Nuzzles - Duck, Cherry [click link for full ingredients]
• Cloud Star Farmstand - Apples, Carrots, Sweet Potato
• Cloud Star Provenance Whitefish & Potato
  
• Now! No Grain Dog Treat - Turkey, with duck [click link for full ingredients]

Embark with Beef/mackerel

(as this is the first recipe post, any constructive criticism about the content/layout/info is greatly appreciated!)

My female shiba has food restrictions which include processed chicken and beef, corn, wheat and soy. My male is a foodie just like me who has zero restrictions and loves every minute of it!

When I prepare a meal that both will be eating that includes chicken or beef, it is always fresh and usually in raw form, unless the beef is ground.


The follow recipe is prepared for two dogs, one is 18.5lbs and the other 24lbs.


EMBARK WITH BEEFACKEREL
Ingredients:
Two cups of Embark by The Honest Kitchen, rehydrated
About one pound (give or take) of beef sirloin, cut into cubes
One half can of Jack Mackeral
Two tablespoons of cottage cheese


Mix.
And serve.

We do end up with leftovers that get fed at the next meal.

Ingredient analysis per nutritiondata.com (adjust to portions used):
Hormone-free USDA turkey, organic flaxseed, potatoes, celery, spinach, carrots, coconut, apples, organic kelp, eggs, sesame seeds, bananas, cranberries and rosemary. Beef sirloin. Jack Mackerel. Cottage Cheese. Water.