Recipe Friday – Lickable Liver Treats For Cats

I may have posted a recipe similar to this before, but I thought I would share a cat treat recipe since I haven’t for a while.  Remember to feed in moderation.

Ingredients:

• ½ cup of chicken livers (fully cooked)

• ¼ cup of water

• 1 ¼ cup of whole wheat flour (for gluten free flour choice, you can use 1 cup of rice flour)

• ¼ cup of pumpkin (just the plain 100% pumpkin out of the can, or if you are ambitious, you can buy a pumpkin and cook it until you can mash it and  use it in this recipe)

• 1 tablespoon of butter (unsalted or salted)

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325 and grease a cookie sheet with olive oil or butter.

2.  Combine the flour and butter in a bowl.

3.  Blend the livers and water (in a blender or use a fork to mash well, then add to the flour and butter)

4.  Next, roll the mixture into balls and then cut it up into small, cat bite-size pieces.  Place the pieces on your greased cookie sheet.

5. Bake for 12 minutes, let cool and then serve.  You can keep these in an airtight container for about a week, then freeze.

Recipe Friday – Liver and Rye Treats for Dogs

Try these out if you want to give your dog a new treat!

Ingredients:

• 2½ cups of rye flour
• 1 tsp of baking powder
• ½ cup of water
• ½ cup of chicken livers
• 3 tbsp of canola oil

 

Directions

1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.

2. Dust the baking sheet with rye flour.

3. Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and pulse for about 1 minute, or until the dough forms a ball shape.

4. Remove from the food processor and knead briefly into a well-formed dough ball.

5. Transfer directly to the baking sheet.

6. Flatten the ball and shape it carefully into a square.

7. Lightly dust the top of the dough with extra rye flour and roll with a rolling pin into a 10 inch square.

8. Cut the dough with a pizza cutter into 1 inch squares. If you want to get creative, you can use a dog bone cookie cutter to create the cookie shapes.

9. Bake in the oven for 30-35 minutes for softer cookies and 40-45 minutes for crispier cookies.

10. Remove your homemade dog treats from the oven and let them cool in the baking sheet.

11. Once cool, break them apart on the cut lines.  Store in a container in the fridge for a week and freeze if any leftovers.

Recipe Friday – Liver BBQ Treats For Dogs (Wheat Free)

These interesting treats make dogs feel like they are eating our food!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 pound bacon
• 1 pound liver (such as calf liver, chicken liver, beef liver, etc.)
• 1 cup cooked mashed sweet potato puree (substitute carrot, pumpkin, or butternut squash)
• 1 cup rolled oats (not instant)
• 1/2 cup coarsely ground cornmeal (preferably organic/gmo-free)
• 1/2 cup flaxseeds
• 1/2 cup chicken broth (salt-free or low sodium; you can also use water)
• 2 large eggs + 1 egg, divided
• 1/4 cup bbq sauce (use a non-spicy variety, or just omit this if you do not want your dog to have BBQ sauce)

 

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 250 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper or a silpat and set aside. Arrange 2 baking racks in middle of oven.
2. Cook the bacon on a skillet over medium heat until the fat is rendered and bacon is a bit crisp. Remove from skillet and transfer to food processor. Drain all but a thin layer of fat and add the liver pieces, cooking them in batches about 2 minutes on each side, until cooked completely through (will be stiffer and shrunken a bit). Add the cooked pieces of liver to the food processor and puree into a paste. Add the oats, flaxseeds and cornmeal and puree again into a thick dough.
3. Transfer to a mixing bowl or stand-up mixer, and add the sweet potatoes, chicken broth, eggs and egg yolk (reserve the 3rd white). Mix well until a thick, sticky dough forms and gathers into a ball. If too wet, add a bit more ground cornmeal until you reach the right consistency.
4. Sprinkle cornmeal over your work surface and turn out the dough. Using a cornmeal dusted rolling pin, roll out the dough until it’s about 1/2″ thick. Use 2″ round cookie cutters dusted in cornmeal to cut out circles, and transfer them to the prepared cookie sheets (they can be placed close together). Re-roll out any remaining dough and repeat until all dough is used.
5. *No cookie cutter or just want a quicker way? You can also just cut the dough into 2″ squares with a knife or pizza cutter.
6. Place in oven and bake until dry and crunchy–3 hours in the oven. (Check about 20 minutes before end of time to make sure they’re not burning.)
7. Remove from oven and lower heat to 200 degrees.
8. Whisk together the remaining egg white and the bbq sauce. Brush on the still-warm treats and then return to the oven for another 40 minutes to allow the glaze to set.
9. Store completely cooled treats in an air-tight container for up to 6 weeks.

 

Makes about 40 2-inch treats, remember to feed in moderation.

 

PBDE’s and Your Pet

I received this interesting article from my vet and wanted to pass it along. PDBE’s are polybrominated diphenyl ethers, which will be explained in the following article:

Can PBDEs Harm Your Pet?

 

Eliminate Toxic PBDEs

An industrial chemical known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) used in home furnishings could be diminishing your pet’s health.  This chemical is a flame retardant used by manufacturers to reduce the flammability of padded chairs, sofas, mattresses and other cushy seats in homes and offices. You can reduce or eliminate the PBDE levels in your environment by choosing electronics made with alternatives to PBDEs available from Apple, Sony, Intel, Erickson, HP, Canon and Dell.  Select wild salmon rather than farmed fish.  Use lean meats, poultry, and low-fat dairy products rather than their higher fat counterparts.  Fatty tissue serves as an accumulation zone for PBDEs.

The Environmental Protection Agency indicates that polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) have a negative impact on your health and environment.  These chemicals in your home environment may be causing harm to your pet without your knowledge.

In the body, PBDEs are found in breast milk, blood and the blood of umbilical cords.  These chemical compounds persist in the environment and accumulate in wild animals.  They are thought to cause brain damage, birth defects, and contribute to disease of the liver and thyroid.

PBDE chemical compounds are used as flame retardants in industries that produce electronics, furniture and foam.  These products have a propensity of giving off airborne particles that build up in your home’s dust.  Seventeen pet dogs who live primarily indoors participated in an analysis at Indiana University.  The analysis found their PBDE concentration levels to be five to 10 times higher than that of humans.

“In the U.S., we the have highest levels of flame retardants in our dust and in our bodies,” indicates Arelene Blum, Executive Director of the Green Science Policy Institute.  Pollution in People asserts that these toxic PBDE industrial chemicals have been used for more than 30 years in the manufacturing of mattresses, furniture and consumer-used electronic plastics.

Household furniture is frequently produced with flame retardant chemicals and materials before it is shipped to consumers.  Furniture that is made with organic cotton stuffing or wool padding will be free of the hazards of PBDE.  This means when shopping for sofas, loveseats, easy chairs, mattresses and other furniture with seat, arm or back padding, it will be important to ask the contents.  Ask if flame retardants are used and if there are alternate choices.  Request that organic cotton or wool padding be provided as a condition of your purchase.  The use of flame retardant materials varies from state to state.  Its use will depend on governmental laws and regulations that are in effect.

It is estimated that approximately five percent of the weight of the petroleum-based fill known as polyurethane foam is flame retardant chemicals.  Polyurethane foam is used in nearly all sofas, easy chairs, loveseats and mattresses manufactured.

“PBDEs are an important, but generally unrecognized, persistent organic pollutant,” advised Robert C. Hale in Nature.  Hale is a professor at the Virginia Institute of Marine Sciences.  Persistent organic pollutants can remain in our environment for many years without breaking down.  Body fat in animals and humans become the storage zones for these pollutants.

”There is an enormous need to act quickly when there is a problem with a chemical that is not only toxic but is persistent and accumulates,” says Gina Solomon, Natural Resources Defense Council senior scientist.

Talk with your veterinarian about the impact of these industrial chemicals on your pet’s health and wellness.  Your veterinarian will guide you in reducing the negative impact on your pet’s health.

Sources:

Environmental Protection Agency.

Green Science Policy Institute.

Hale, Robert. Nature.

Main, Emily. Flame retardant furniture: Unhealthy, and doesn’t stop fires.

Natural Resources Defense Council.

Pollution in People.

Practically Green.

Recipe Friday – Scrumptious Sardine Balls for Kitties

Here is a great treat for your kitties that will be sure to get purrs, head butts and lip smacking.  Just remember these should only be fed once in a great while (About once a month to once every other month)

Ingredients:

• 2 flat cans of sardines in oil (do not drain the oil.  For gluten free options, make sure that the oil has no gluten, it should say on the label).

• 2/3 cup cooked rice

• 1 Tablespoon of liver pureed (or canned liver cat food)

• 1/4 cup chopped parsley

 

Directions:

1. In a medium sized bowl, combine and mix all ingredients until they are thoroughly mixed together and form a kind of mash.
2. Shape into small balls and serve directly into your cat’s bowl.
3. You can form the balls and place them in the refrigerator for up to three days.  Or you can just keep the mash in the bowl and form balls as needed.

 

 

Recipe Friday – Liver Treats

Your dog will love these treats!  Remember to feed in moderation.  Can be used when teaching new tricks.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. chicken liver

•  1 cup graham cracker crumbs (gluten free if your dog is allergic to gluten)

•   3 tablespoons molasses or honey (organic is best, gluten free molasses works best)

•   ¼ cup parsley

 

Directions:

Place all ingredients in the bowl of food processor. Process until smooth.

Pour into a microwaveable container, approximately 8″ square or round.

Microwave on high until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. This takes 7 minutes in my microwave, but your mileage may vary.

When cooked, turn out of pan immediately, allow the bottom to dry since it will be damp from condensation, and cut into squares while still warm.

Spread bits on a foil-lined cookie sheet and bake at 200° for 1.5 hours.

Freeze or refrigerate.

Recipe Friday

Well it’s Friday and it’s recipe day.  Yes you can make your dog and cat some homemade treats.  Making treats at home ensures you know what the ingredients are and the treats are usually healthier than the ones you buy from the store.

First up are pumpkin bones for dogs.  They are very natural and there aren’t many ingredients in these.  Sasha LOVES these so I have to be careful how many I give her.  I try not to give her more than one or two a day, but she has to work for them.  I make sure she does a few tricks and I break the bone up into several pieces beforehand.

Recipe for Pumpkin Dog Biscuits.

Notice, for those with dogs with allergies, they offer alternative flours to use for gluten intolerance.  Sasha does have a slight allergy to gluten, so to make sure, I use the gluten free recipe.

If you want to buy a dog bone cookie cutter, you can buy different sizes here.  I like having different sizes so that I can make some for our doggie friends that are smaller and some that are larger.  It’s nice to have variety.  If you don’t like those cutters, you can Google them, just type in “dog bone cookie cutter”.  All different types and sizes and prices.

 

Now on to the kitty recipe.

Liver Cookies-yes it sounds gross, but my picky cat, Isis goes nutso for these.   Make sure not to feed too many of these daily.  Also, some of these recipes take tweaking and don’t always turn out perfectly the first time, don’t give up and don’t worry, it will get better!

Liver Cookies-now if your cat has allergies, wheat germ can be an allergen.  You can leave it out of the recipe, or you can substitute ground flax seed (but not too much, if I use it, I will only use 1/4 cup).  You can also try rice flour as well.   When you make them, they should come out the consistency of fudge.

I’m sure that your pets will enjoy treats made by you.  I may start doing weekly recipes every Friday.  Also, these can make great stocking stuffer presents if you want to give your pets presents for Christmas or Kwanzaa, or Hanukkah.

Have fun, experiment and enjoy!  Your pet won’t care if they are perfect.  You’ll get many headbutts and purrs, or kisses and licks for all your efforts!