Homemade Dog Kibble

INGREDIENTS

• 1 cup and 1 tablespoon (200 g) brown rice

• ½ cup (100 g) lentils

• 5 cups (1¼ liters) water

• 3 medium carrots (200 g), peeled and chopped

• 1 medium sweet potato (200 g), scrubbed and chopped

• 1 apple, peeled, cored, and chopped, or ½ cup (100 g) unsweetened applesauce

• ¾ cup (100 g) steel-cut oats

• 1¼ tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

• 2 small sprigs of fresh rosemary, finely chopped

• 2¼ cups (500 g) ground turkey, about 18 ounces

• ¼ cup (50 ml) olive, sunflower, or canola oil, plus additional oil for greasing

DIRECTIONS

1. Put rice and lentils into a saucepan and cover with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to medium and cook for 20 minutes.

2. Add the chopped carrots, sweet potato, apple, oats, and chopped herbs to the saucepan once the rice and lentils are cooked and gently simmer for 20 minutes more. If the mixture is too dry, add an extra cup of water.

3. Preheat the oven to 350°F/180°C and grease two cookie sheets.

4. Meanwhile, brown the ground turkey in a separate pan for about 10 minutes (or until cooked through), depending on your heat setting. Stir continuously while cooking to prevent it from sticking to the pan as it is very low in fat.

5. Next, put half the cooked veggie and grain blend into a food processor with half the cooked turkey, add half the oil, and pulse until the batter resembles a thick purée.

6. Spread the batter onto one of the sheets so that it is about ¼ inch (5 mm) thick. The batter will spread slightly as it cooks, so leave some room for this.

7. Repeat steps five and six with the second cookie sheet and the remaining batter.

8. Place both cookie sheets into the preheated oven and bake for 45 minutes.

9. Turn the dog kibble over to dry through and cook for another 30 to 45 minutes. You should have what looks like two large cookies. If it is not thoroughly dried out, leave it in the oven for up to 20 minutes more.

10. Reduce the oven temperature to 325°F/160°C. Remove from the oven, cool slightly, and cut them into small pieces. Place the chunks back onto the cookie sheets and bake for an additional hour or until the kibble is fully dried (but not burnt).

11. Remove the kibble from the oven and let cool completely. The finished dog kibble should resemble pieces of broken pita bread and will keep in the fridge for ten days.

Nutritional Information

Per 4 ounces (100 g)
Calories: 365
Protein: 20%
Fat: 9%

Adapted from Dinner for Dogs by Henrietta Morrison, The Experiment Publishing, 2013.