So, it’s the weekend and I am having a little fun with recipes – a thread on my Facebook group convinced me to develop more frozen treats for the warm summer months, and since not all dogs love fruit, I thought I’d do a few savoury, but still very healthy versions. (Berries are great, but many other foods support the immune system and help to lower inflammation).
These two frozen treats are based on chicken and yogurt. You can choose the fat level you want by using lowfat, nonfat or higher fat (always plain, unsweetened) yogurt, and ditto for the chicken. Dark meat from leg, back and thigh is much higher in fat, and therefore calories, than white meat is. I never include skin in freezies, as that too, changes the nutrient profile.If your dog is fat-sensitive, use low-fat yogurt and breast of chicken. It’s ok to use higher fat IF your dog doesn’t have a history of digestive issues, and hey. …these are treats, so you won’t be feeding a ton of them anyway.
Here’s a little info about the differences in chicken.
Ok, mini-lesson about fat content over. This simple and tasty recipe is very healthy to use as a cooling off treat, a Tbsp or 2 ladled into a Kong, plop some in water to encourage drinking – as long as your dog is ok with chicken. Some dogs who can’t do chicken can do turkey, so you can substitute here (it’s a treat recipe after all, so we don’t need every nutrient to line up). I’m sharing more fish based freezies tomorrow.
Chicken Freezie Number One
To make this lovely frozen treat, you need the following ingredients.
One cup skinless, cooked and diced breast of chicken
One cup plain yogurt or kefir
one half cup organic celery
One medium organic apple (you can use non-organic, but you need to peel it)
one half to one full teaspoon Ceylon Cinnamon
Dice celery finely and add to your blender or food processor, with the chicken and apple. Add a little spring water to moisten, and blend a minute…drizzle in the yogurt and blend very well(mine was soup consistency, but it doesn’t have to be that smooth). Remove from the blender and stir in cinnamon. Grate a few twists of organic black pepper, and freeze as desire ice cube trays, loaf pan, cute doggie molds).
OPTIONS:
-a little olive oil or coconut oil – both have health supportive benefits, so if you use coconut all the time, maybe try a bit of organic, pure olive oil
-herbs..oregano (nope not a neurotoxin) thyme, any fresh or dried medicinal herb you may be using, or an assortment of culinary herbs to taste (they all have medicinal value) and yes you can try adding turmeric or some of your “golden paste” recipe if you use it
– seeds are ok to add (chia, sesame, pumpkin) but remember they won’t be utilizable unless ground first. Use maybe a Tbsp per batch.
Nutrition Notes: This recipe, like the fruit-based one, can be divided into roughly 12 servings. Each serving will provide 40 calories, 2.2 grams sugar, 1.1 grams fat, 50 mgs phosphorus and 30 mgs calcium. No lycopene and minimal lutein in this one as well. It’s a great idea to rotate the recipes. 🙂
All three of my dogs ate this eagerly, made with just the cinnamon.
Chicken Freezie Number Two
In case I seem overly obsessed with celery and apples, this freezie has neither. 🙂
Start with the same – one cup cooked skinless chicken/one cup yogurt, but then add about 15 dried, whole shiitake mushrooms, reconstituted in a cup of boiling water (throw the liquid in as well, I usually let them sit about an hour). Whirl well, thin with a little water if necessary. Stir in a twist or two of black pepper (organic and freshly ground if you can, but good organic ground pepper is fine as well). Season if desire, pour into molds and freeze.
Options of this version are pretty similar; you can add ground chia, or a little (LITTLE!) pink Himalayan salt, you can add coconut oil (maybe 2 teaspoons, depending on the fat levels you used for the yogurt and chicken) a half teaspoon of ground ginger works nicely here as well. If you want to use other dried mushrooms, that’s fine too – I use a lot of maitake – but reishi is too bitter, in my experience anyway.
Sardines and tomato recipe to follow…soon. 🙂
Interesting mixes of ingredients. I’m sure dogs love it though.