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To make Whisky feel better I decided to cook him some treats all of his own. I found some great recipes using ingredients I already had, and this one on the Austing Astronomist particularly caught my eye! I wanted to make it as healthy as possible, so made sure I used as much veg and as little flour by sifting in flour little by little. I also added in a little honey - I wanted to eat some myself!! Finally, I popped some turmeric in there. It's a natural antiseptic and antibacterial agent - so hopefully it's going to help Whisky's foot heal, who knows?
1 cup (450g) butternut squash, roasted then puréed
2 eggs
1 1/2 tbs. peanut butter
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. turmeric.
2 1/2 cups (300g) plain flour, try rice if your dog doesn't do well eating wheat.
The quick and easy instructions:
1 cup (450g) butternut squash, roasted then puréed
2 eggs
1 1/2 tbs. peanut butter
1 tsp. honey
1 tsp. turmeric.
2 1/2 cups (300g) plain flour, try rice if your dog doesn't do well eating wheat.
The quick and easy instructions:
- Preheat the oven 180 centigrade.
- Mix wets together,
- Mix in turmeric.
- Then mix in flour, bit by bit, until the mixture pulls away from the bowl.
- Pop the mixture in the fridge for 30 mins to harden up.
- Roll it out, on a liberally floured surface, to about 1cm thick,
- Cut into squares - appropriately sized for your pooch.
- Cook for 20-30 mins depending on the biscuit size on baking sheets.
I made 500g of treats in total, and Whisky doesn't seem to mind if they are a little crisp or more chewy. I froze most of them into 100g portions.
I decided to do some maths -
cost of squash - £1 per kg, so I used 50p.
cost of flour - 45p for 1.5kg, so I used 9p.
eggs - 6 free range is £1.20, so 40p for 2.
The honey, peanut butter and turmeric were cupboard basics, so I'm not really including those.
Total cost - £1 for 500g of treats. (£2 per kg).
Wowzers! It sounds cheap, but is it really? I decided to compare my 6 ingredient treats with some shop bought alternatives.
The cheapest treats treats I found were "Mr Happy's Marvellous Munchies Dog Treats". They are cheaper, just, by weight, at 20p for 120g - £1.66 per kg, the ingredients read: Cereals, Meat and Animal Derivatives (Chicken 6%, Beef 4%), Oils and Fats.
A treat I have got for Whisky before, with a promise of no artificial colours or flavours is "Misfits Scruffy Bites" - costs £1.29 for 180g, £7.16 per kg. Despite the promises, the ingredient list doesn't actually give us much more information: Derivatives of Vegetable Origin, Oils and Fats, Meat and Animal Derivatives (10% Meat), Cereals, Various Sugars, Vegetable Protein, Extracts, Minerals, Milk and Milk Derivatives
The cheapest treat of good natural quality, I feel, is "Wainwright's Training Treats" at £1.30 for 140g. This adds up to £9.29 per kg. The ingredients list, the first with actually named ingredients: Salmon (min 20%), Corn, Pea Pieces (min 4%), Molasses, Whole Brown Rice (min 4%), Sunflower Oil (min 4%), Beetroot Powder.
This makes my homemade treats almost 5x cheaper than those of equal quality - i.e. an ingredients list they can share without shame. Plus, Whisky has never looked more determined to get into the treat ball - yum!
I decided to do some maths -
cost of squash - £1 per kg, so I used 50p.
cost of flour - 45p for 1.5kg, so I used 9p.
eggs - 6 free range is £1.20, so 40p for 2.
The honey, peanut butter and turmeric were cupboard basics, so I'm not really including those.
Total cost - £1 for 500g of treats. (£2 per kg).
Wowzers! It sounds cheap, but is it really? I decided to compare my 6 ingredient treats with some shop bought alternatives.
The cheapest treats treats I found were "Mr Happy's Marvellous Munchies Dog Treats". They are cheaper, just, by weight, at 20p for 120g - £1.66 per kg, the ingredients read: Cereals, Meat and Animal Derivatives (Chicken 6%, Beef 4%), Oils and Fats.
A treat I have got for Whisky before, with a promise of no artificial colours or flavours is "Misfits Scruffy Bites" - costs £1.29 for 180g, £7.16 per kg. Despite the promises, the ingredient list doesn't actually give us much more information: Derivatives of Vegetable Origin, Oils and Fats, Meat and Animal Derivatives (10% Meat), Cereals, Various Sugars, Vegetable Protein, Extracts, Minerals, Milk and Milk Derivatives
The cheapest treat of good natural quality, I feel, is "Wainwright's Training Treats" at £1.30 for 140g. This adds up to £9.29 per kg. The ingredients list, the first with actually named ingredients: Salmon (min 20%), Corn, Pea Pieces (min 4%), Molasses, Whole Brown Rice (min 4%), Sunflower Oil (min 4%), Beetroot Powder.
This makes my homemade treats almost 5x cheaper than those of equal quality - i.e. an ingredients list they can share without shame. Plus, Whisky has never looked more determined to get into the treat ball - yum!
Dinner is served
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