Pet Friendly Holiday Recipes
With the holidays here, we can look forward to tasty, delicious home-cooked meals: turkey, mashed potatoes, casseroles, and pies galore. With all this great food, why not share the wealth with our pets? Below are some delicious and nutritious recipes for our pets that’ll fill your house with purring kittens and wagging tails, and maybe help get rid of all of those Holiday leftovers!
As always, be mindful of your pet’s dietary needs and restrictions before giving them any new foods. All of the ingredients and quantities listed below are safe for pet consumption, but should not be used as a replacement for regular dog or cat food, and should be used like a treat. The holidays have many delicious treats for you and your pets, but some ingredients are dangerous. Some common holiday foods that are toxic to pets include:
Stuffing - Stuffing typically contains onions, scallions, and garlic. These are toxic to pets as they can cause anemia.
Turkey (or chicken) bones - Poultry bones can not only cause indigestion, but also are fragile and may splinter in your pet’s mouth or stomach.
Chocolate desserts - Chocolate is highly toxic to pets, and can cause vomiting and food poisoning. While dogs are known to love the smell and taste, keep this treat far away from their reach.
Grapes and raisins - Grapes and raisins are highly toxic to pets, and can cause fatigue, weakness, and vomiting.
Nuts - Nuts contain high amounts of oils and fats, and are known to cause vomiting, diarrhea, and other illnesses in pets (particularly macadamia nuts, almonds, pecans, and walnuts).
For Dogs
Pupkin Treats
36 Biscuits
Ingredients:
2 eggs
½ cup canned pure pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons dry milk powder
2 ½ cups white or whole wheat flour
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, stir together the eggs, pumpkin puree, milk powder, and flour; add 2 tsp. water, or enough so that the dough just comes together.
On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough 1/2 inch thick. Cut into shapes with 1-inch cookie cutters. Gather the scraps, combine, roll and form more biscuits; repeat until all the dough is used.
Place the biscuits 1 inch apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Bake for 20 minutes, then turn over and bake until hardened, another 20 minutes. Let cool on the pan for 5 minutes.
This recipe is perfect for puppies and dogs, as pumpkin is great for their gut health, as well as contains vitamin A and zinc, which is great for your pet’s fur and skin health. This recipe is perfect for using leftover pumpkin for your pies to make your puppies happy.
(Written by food.allwomenstalk.com, 7 dog-friendly recipes to make for your sweet little dog to enjoy)
Doggy Donuts
12 Donuts
Ingredients:
Doggy Donuts
1 cup mashed bananas (about 2 ripe bananas)
¼ cup peanut butter*
¼ cup coconut oil (melted)
2 tablespoons honey
1 large egg (room temperature)
1 cup whole wheat flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
Peanut Butter Frosting
½ cup greek yogurt**
¼ cup peanut butter*
*Use natural, creamy peanut butter that doesn’t separate in the jar. Avoid peanut butter with added sugar or palm oil.
**Use plain, unsweetened Greek yogurt
Doggy Donuts
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 6-cup donut tins and set them aside
In a mixing bowl, combine mashed bananas, peanut butter, coconut oil, and honey. Mix well until combined. Add egg and mix until incorporated. Stir in flour and baking soda just until combined.
Transfer batter to prepared donut tins. Bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in one of the donuts comes out clean. Let donuts cool for a few minutes in the pan before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.
Peanut Butter Frosting
In a mixing bowl, combine greek yogurt and peanut butter until smooth and creamy. Use a knife or offset spatula to spread the frosting on the cooled donuts. Sprinkle with crushed biscuits, treats, or bacon if desired, and serve to your pup!
Your dogs will love this delicious peanut butter treat almost as much as they love the one who made it for them! The bananas are great treats for dogs, with high potassium, vitamins, and fiber. The greek yogurt will be great for your dog’s gut health, as long as they can tolerate lactose. These treats keep well, and can be refrigerated for up to 3 days, or frozen (unfrosted!) for up to a month!
(Written by Haley, If you give a Blonde a Kitchen)
Thanksgiving Turkey Treats
Ingredients:
1 lb shredded or ground turkey
1 egg
1 sweet potato
1 cut gluten-free quick cook oats
1 ½ cinnamon
2 tsp. Honey
2 tbsp. Fresh or dried parsley
Poke 4 or 5 holes in sweet potato, place sweet potato in the oven preheated to 400 degrees, bake for 35-40 minutes until soft. You can also microwave for 8-10 minutes. Set aside and allow to cool.
Pull skin from sweet potato and scoop inside into a large bowl. In a blender, mixer, or food processor combine parsley and egg, mix until parsley is well chopped. Add sweet potato to mix. Add turkey, oats, cinnamon, honey, and parsley. Mix with hands until well combined.
Spray a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Roll turkey mixture into balls, slightly smaller than golf balls. Place in an oven that has been preheated to 350 degrees. Cook for 15-20 minutes. Allow to cool, store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
This recipe will make great use of any leftover turkey or sweet potatoes you had this year, and will let your furry friends participate in your holiday meal!
(Written by Pet Coupon Savings, Turkey meatball treats)
For Cats
Pumpkin Smoothie
Ingredients:
½ can pumpkin puree*
½ cup plain non-fat yogurt**
*Be sure to get plain pumpkin, with no added fat and sugar
*Make sure yogurt has no additional sugar added
Blend the pumpkin and yogurt until smooth, then serve!
This pumpkin smoothie is not only super easy to make, but your cat will be sure to love it! Pumpkin is a great source of fiber for our feline friends. Most cats love yogurt, but shouldn’t eat it regularly because of its high dairy content, so keep this recipe as a special treat. If your cat is particularly sensitive to lactose, feel free to omit the yogurt and give them regular puree pumpkin instead.
Turkey Triangles
Ingredients:
½ cup ground or finely shredded turkey
½ cup whole wheat flour
1 egg
½ tbsp olive oil
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, mix flour, turkey, oil, and egg to create a meaty dough. Lightly flour a clean workspace, place dough on to floured space, and roll or flatten out to about ¼ inch thickness. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Use a knife to score tiny, bite-sized triangled/diamond shapes into the dough, being careful not to cut the shapes out yet. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, until the dough has hardened into typical treat hardness. Once treats have cooled, snap the triangles apart.
Your cat will love this meaty, turkey treat. This will be a delicious treat to give your cat, and full of protein and healthy fats.
(Written by Stephanie Bown, Homemade cat treats: Turkey triangles)
Sassy Kats Special Dinner
Ingredients:
1 egg
1 tablespoon minced, steamed green beans
1 teaspoon shredded carrot
⅓ cup cooked brown rice (wild rice is good)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons baked chicken breast, or turkey (no skin, white meat), minced or ground
Mix all of the ingredients thoroughly with a wooden spoon or in a blender/food processor. Make sure rice is mixed in well enough so it can’t be picked out. Cook in a small skillet over low heat, stirring and ‘chopping’ constantly until the egg is at least soft-set but well done. Let cool and serve! If leftover, refrigerate in an airtight container- make sure to use it within 36 hours (refrigerated). Or, freeze for up to a month.
This protein and fiber-rich meal will have your cat purring in no time! A delicious treat to share the holiday spirit with your pet.
(Written by Entirely Pets)
