Making the Change to Homecooked On My Own

2DogsMom

Especially with Cooper's chronic diarrhea.

I've homecooked, I've done it all with Willow.  If I were you, I'd just start with your base like Callie said of beef or whatever meat you choose and potato or rice and see if he can even tolerate just that before you go crazy with supplements and spending all kinds of money.  I've been there, done that.  Assuming he's healthy right now, you've got months before any kind of damage will be done because it's not balanced correctly.  If he was going on a homecooked elimination diet he'd be getting one protein and one carb and that's it for about 12 weeks.  So, don't worry about that right now. 

 All ingredients have to be on the label, so if it says veggies and water, chances are really good there's nothing else.  I guess you could do it, but it would greatly increase your cost.  I pay about $1 per bag of frozen veggies and there's something like 14-16ozs. in each bag.  Compare that with the cost of a 1 oz. jar of baby food. 

I feed very minimal amounts of vegetables and try to stick with fresh, nutrient-dense ones like dark leafy green vegetables and bright orange vegetables run through the food processor. However, if you bought a "total" supplement like Balance it I doubt you'll need to add any vegetables- if your dogs have finicky digestive systems the simplest diet of beef, rice, and balance it might be best for them.

Here's my thoughts on the veggies. I think they should be cooked (steamed if possible) and mashed. I believe dogs are omnivorous but I think they have an easier time digesting veggies if they are already broken down. For example, I don't think Shadow would care to eat a raw chopped sweet potato but he does like my cooked and mashed sweet potatos with a little cajun seasoning. As for any loss of nutrients steaming is the least destructive and the supp package can make up for the loss quite easily. The only thing I know of that can rob nutrient out of the vegetables is boiling and then draining away the water it was boiled in. And you can steam vegetables into a mashable (?) state. Did it last weekend with some sweet potatos, as a matter of fact.

We've got a metal steamer stand that fits perfectly inside our regular stew pot. Easy to use. Water in the bottom, beneath the steamer platform, vegetables on top, cover, simmer for about whenever, voila! instant gastronomic delight.

Now, here's getting fancy with something I just realized that I have done many times for my own dinner.

I've roasted chickens in a roasting bag. Chop up potatos put them in the bag. By a bag of peeled baby carrots and put that in the bag. Put the chicken in the bag. Bake about 1.5 hours at 350. The vegetables are soft and will have chicken flavor all over them. Make a serving out of that with some supps, good to go. I once got Shadow to eat a celery stick because it had been cooked inside a turkey I roasted.

I give Willow baby food all the time--ham, turkey, sweet potatos, fruit-just make sure it's the first stages and not the stuff for older kids with onions added. 

Good to know! I'll be sure to buy first stages only. I'll also give my friend the heads-up. She feeds her dog baby food all the time, but I'm not sure if she's using first stages so I'll be sure to let her know as well.

And thank you Ron for all of your advice! Your chicken recipe sounds wonderful! Can't wait to make it for the pups!

BCMixs

BalanceIT recommends that if you ever feed commercial food in a day that you don't use the supplement with homecooked in that same day because it can throw the balance off

  I asked petdiets.com if I could feed a commercial food for one meal ( in case DH didn't have time to warm her food in the morning) and one of their recipes for the other, and they said that feeding 2 different diets was fine, and their recipes use the balanceit supplements. I decided not to use their recipes, but wonder who's right?

Hi again!

So we started the dogs on the new-and-improved diet and I need some more advice as DH and I are feeling a bit overwhelmed.

At this point, what concerns us most is the cost associated with homecooking. That said, I wanted to check in with you guys to see if I can get some tips on how to save on homecooked. 

Also, DH and I were talking today about cutting back on the homecooked, putting them back on commercial food and doing 1/2 cooked, 1/2 commercial for their meals. Wondering if that might help save a few pennies... Of course, we'd put them back on a good quality kibble, which would cost a bit more, but a big bag of kibble lasts for over a month in my house. And if we are adding homecooked to their meals, it will last even longer than usual. What do you guys think?

Thanks in advance for suggestions!!

jessies_mom

BCMixs

BalanceIT recommends that if you ever feed commercial food in a day that you don't use the supplement with homecooked in that same day because it can throw the balance off

 

  I asked petdiets.com if I could feed a commercial food for one meal ( in case DH didn't have time to warm her food in the morning) and one of their recipes for the other, and they said that feeding 2 different diets was fine, and their recipes use the balanceit supplements. I decided not to use their recipes, but wonder who's right?

Hmm, not sure.  I believe BalanceIT's supplement dosage is based on a daily requirement.  I'm inclined to believe the manufacturer of the supplement and go with their guidelines.  It makes sense to me since every commercial food has such different nutrient profiles, it's bound to throw something off.  If I feed kibble and then homecooked in one day, I just skip the BalanceIT that day.  I do feed Hill's z/d on occasion if I'm busy and don't have all the homecooked stuff prepped or if the dogs are boarded somewhere, but it's generally not more than a one or two day deviation from their normal diet so I don't worry too much about deficiencies, etc.

2DogsMom

Hi again!

So we started the dogs on the new-and-improved diet and I need some more advice as DH and I are feeling a bit overwhelmed.

At this point, what concerns us most is the cost associated with homecooking. We expected to spend a little more than we have been on commercial dog food, but the groceries for 1 week's worth of food for our 2 dogs is costing us around $30. Veggies and beef aren't that big a deal, but we have to buy nearly $15 of rice each week. At this rate, we'll be spending around $120 a month - much, much more than we were spending on commercial.

So now we are rethinking homecooked. Much as want to do this for our dogs, we can't afford to spend this much money every month.

That said, I wanted to check in with you guys before throwing in the towel to see if I can get some tips on how to save on homecooked. Try a different carb instead of rice? Would potatoes be cheaper?

Also, DH and I were talking today about cutting back on the homecooked, putting them back on commercial food and doing 1/2 cooked, 1/2 commercial for their meals. Wondering if that might help save a few pennies... Of course, we'd put them back on a good quality kibble, which would cost a bit more, but a big bag of kibble lasts for over a month in my house. And if we are adding homecooked to their meals, it will last even longer than usual. What do you guys think?

Thanks in advance for suggestions!!

 

What kind of rice are you using?  There are huge bags available for very little at places like Sam's Club and Costco.  You can get the really big boxes of oatmeal at places like that also.  And yes, potatoes are used in some diets, so that might be an option for you also.  Again, the big bags from the discount clubs would help costs as well.  I think if you needed to feed one day homecooked, one day kibble for cost reasons, as long as the homecooked days are properly balanced, your dogs would still get benefits. 

I edited my original post because I have since discovered that we bought too much rice. We bought based on dry measurements, thinking we'd need a 3-4 bags worth, when it turns out that we only need 1 1/2 bag cooked. I don't cook much - can you tell??? LOL.

So now we have a couple of weeks worth of extra rice. No biggie. 

Speaking of rice though, I am having hard time findng unenriched. We bought organic rice at our grocer. Not even sure that it's the right kind. It was the only bag that didn't say enriched on it, so we figured it was the closest we would get. Cost an arm and leg though. Nearly $5.00 a bag. Know if Sam's Club or Costco has unenriched rice?

Also, I have another question re: prep. Ok for me to mix supplements in (BalanceIT), then freeze? Or should I add the supplements just before serving?

Thanks! 

 I'm not sure on the unenriched thing, I've never looked actually.  I just use standard brown rice (usually from Walmart).  You don't want to mix in the supplements until you serve, don't freeze it. 

DH already put the supplements in! Ugh!!!

Do I need to throw out this week's batch then?