Gay’s Homemade, Plant Based Dog Food for Max and Willie

I began making home made dog food for my sweet Riley after he was diagnosed with cancer in 2016. During that time I took a long hard dive into the ingredients that were going into his body via his commercial dog food. Long story short – after 6 months of veggies and a new vegan kibble, his stage 4 renal failure was at stage 2 and he went on to live 2 more years, to the ripe old age of 15 1/2. I still miss him.

{Riley – the best dog ever}

Currently I feed my two dogs Max and Willie  V-Dog Vegan kibble topped off with my homemade food. V-Dog is a nutritionally complete vegan dog food that contains all the vitamins and minerals your dogs will need.

I researched quite a bit before deciding on what ingredients to include in their homemade food, and I encourage you to do the same. There are some foods that are not suitable for dogs (natural peanut butter, Sugar substitutes, onions, nuts – for example).  I suggest having your dogs try the ingredients you want to include in small amounts individually first to see how it sits in their tummies.

If you decide to feed only homemade food, you will need to supplement. There are many websites available to help you choose the exactly what supplements they need. I feed my dogs kibble, which includes all the vitamins and minerals. so I do not  have to worry about supplementing.

{my big buddies – Maximo and Willie}

My dogs are 11 and 22 pounds. This recipe makes enough food for them for 4 weeks, using one tablespoon a day at feeding time. It freezes well.

Again, each dog is different and I encourage you to research on your own before deciding to home cook for your dog.  The veggies need to be blended well –  into a mush-like consistency – to aid in digestion.  I use a pressure cooker for fastest cooking (they get very soft which is great). Stovetop cooking works well too, as long as they are soft enough to mash like mashed potatoes.

Good luck and I would love to know what your dog loves and how you make their food!

{before mashing}

Here are a few links to aid you in your research to see if this is something you want to consider.  Also please check out Facebook for many more sources and groups you can join for information. Please contact me if you need  more information or advice – I am not an expert, just want my dogs to eat the best food they can.

https://www.akc.org/expert-advice/nutrition/dogs-vegetarian-diet-supplements/

https://vegworldmag.com/5-things-to-add-to-your-dogs-food-for-a-balanced-vegan-diet/

One of the most informative books on the subject, you can purchase through my Amazon store:

https://amzn.to/3iRG9Wk

{beautiful color when you include beets}

{recipe without beets}

Gay’s Homemade, Plant Based Dog Food for Max and Willie

Ingredients

6 small or 4 large sweet potatoes, sliced lengthwise

2-3 zucchinis, skins peeled (skins do not soften up and do not mash well), cut in thirds

6 large carrots, cut in half

2-3 fresh beets, halved (You can also buy the freshly cooked beets. If using fresh, do not add to the pressure cooker)

1 cup lentils, canned or cooked

3 Tbsps. Creamy Peanut Butter (do not use natural – I use Skippy or Jif)

1 package frozen peas, cooked

Optional Ingredients:

Frozen spinach, cooked and finely chopped

One cup cooked rice

3 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast

Instructions:

For the InstaPot:

Place two inches of water in the bottom, add potatoes, zucchinis, beets, and carrots. Set to high pressure for 40 minutes. You can set to warm for up to an hour, Release steam and set aside.

Remove ingredients from the pressure cooker. Remove the skins from the sweet potatoes and beets and add to a very large mixing bowl.

Add the lentils. If you cooked them yourself, add about one cup. If you are adding canned, rinse them in a colander for a few minutes to ensure all salt has been washed off. If you purchased cooked beets, add them now, with the peanut butter and peas.

Using a potato masher or large spoon, stir and mash the mixture until you see no large lumps. Store enough in the fridge for the current week and freeze a the rest in worth in individual weekly containers.

A few notes:

The mixture in the fridge may become watery – this is normal when using zucchini. Just stir to incorporate.

I try to keep the recipe down to about 4-6 ingredients.

My dogs love broccoli and cauliflower but it is a bit hard on their tummies, so we avoid it.

Never use any artificial flavors, salt, pepper, spices, sugars, etc. All natural is best and healthiest.

5 from 4 votes

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Gay’s Homemade, Plant Based Dog Food for Max and Willie

Author: Gay Van Beek for Canterbury Cottage Designs

Ingredients

• 6 small or 4 large sweet potatoes sliced lengthwise
• 2-3 zucchinis skins peeled (skins do not soften up and do not mash well), cut in thirds
• 6 large carrots cut in half
• 2-3 fresh beets halved (You can also buy the freshly cooked beets. If using fresh, do not add to the pressure cooker)
• 1 cup lentils canned or cooked
• 3 Tbsps. Creamy Peanut Butter do not use natural – I use Skippy or Jif
• 1 package frozen peas cooked
• Optional Ingredients:
• Frozen spinach cooked and finely chopped
• One cup cooked rice
• 3 Tablespoons Nutritional Yeast

Instructions

1. Place two inches of water in the bottom, add potatoes, zucchinis, beets, and carrots. Set to high pressure for 40 minutes. You can set to warm for up to an hour, Release steam and set aside.
2. Remove ingredients from the pressure cooker. Remove the skins from the sweet potatoes and beets and add to a very large mixing bowl.
3. Add the lentils. If you cooked them yourself, add about one cup. If you are adding canned, rinse them in a colander for a few minutes to ensure all salt has been washed off. If you purchased cooked beets, add them now, with the peanut butter and peas.
4. Using a potato masher or large spoon, stir and mash the mixture until you see no large lumps. Store enough in the fridge for the current week and freeze a the rest in worth in individual weekly containers.

Recipe Notes

The mixture in the fridge may become watery – this is normal when using zucchini. Just stir to incorporate.
I try to keep the recipe down to about 4-6 ingredients.
My dogs love broccoli and cauliflower but it is a bit hard on their tummies, so we avoid it.
Never use any artificial flavors, salt, pepper, spices, sugars, etc. All natural is best and healthiest.