Turkey Loaf

[dmanduff]

• 1 Pound of Ground Turkey
• 1 Cup of Cooked Brown Rice
• 1 Egg, Beaten
• 1/4 Cup of Fresh Chopped Parsley
• 3 Tablespoons of Wheat Germ
• 1/2 Cup of Carrots

1. Combine all the ingredients in a large bowl and mix well
2. Put everything in a lightly greased loaf pan
3. Bake at 350 degrees for 60 minutes, or until done

-You can serve slices plain as a treat, or make a meal by putting slices over high-quality dry dog food, or on the side of another homemade dish.

[Celt]

Why would this not be a meal on its own?

[dmanduff]

Hi Celt, it's perfectly fine to feed this to your dog as an entire meal once in a while, just not every day. Since it wasn't meant to be a daily feeder the recipe is lacking a few vitamins and is probably a bit off balance - as almost all 'treats' are. If you add a couple ingredients or supplements that would make it fine as a daily feeder, however, I think it would be better to use this recipe as a base and tweak it by adding real ingredients instead.

If you're looking for any sort of recipe in particular just let me know and I'll search my stuff to see if I can find something close.

[Liz]

Celt,
There is no bone or eggshell, missing nutrients. I would definately add the eggshell or bone, some organ. Drop the parsley, wheat germ and carrots maybe exchange quinoa for the brown rice.

[PDXdogmom]

Thanks to this thread I'm going to try my first total home-cooked meal tonight - for the dogs that is. I'm tweaking it a little: organic turkey, organic quinoa, organic egg, organic green beans (just a little) and add some salmon oil and eggshell just before serving. I've always just added some extra meat or an egg on top of some Acana or Go Natural Endurance; so I'll be curious to see how this turns out. Or, I'm wondering if I should give half kibble and half home-cooked for the meal.

[magicre]

Thanks to this thread I'm going to try my first total home-cooked meal tonight - for the dogs that is. I'm tweaking it a little: organic turkey, organic quinoa, organic egg, organic green beans (just a little) and add some salmon oil and eggshell just before serving. I've always just added some extra meat or an egg on top of some Acana or Go Natural Endurance; so I'll be curious to see how this turns out. Or, I'm wondering if I should give half kibble and half home-cooked for the meal.

when we switched from kibble to home cooking, i would cook some of the kibble into their home cooking to help make the transition.

if i were to do it again, i probably would just switch to home cooking....if this works for you..and i hope it does....i really enjoyed cooking for my dogs, but then again, i love to cook....i think you may want to consider adding in supplementation....since home cooking needs that extra oomph.

good luck and let us know how they like it.

[PDXdogmom]

when we switched from kibble to home cooking, i would cook some of the kibble into their home cooking to help make the transition.

if i were to do it again, i probably would just switch to home cooking....if this works for you..and i hope it does....i really enjoyed cooking for my dogs, but then again, i love to cook....i think you may want to consider adding in supplementation....since home cooking needs that extra oomph.

good luck and let us know how they like it.

This week I've been feeding kibble at breakfast every day; then for dinner giving 1/3 kibble and 2/3 home-cooked. The dogs love it of course. I've used organic ground turkey and chicken, quinoa, egg, zucchini, green bean, a little sweet potato, salmon oil, etc. My ratio in the home-cooked has been about 60% protein to 40% complex carbs.

Next week I plan on feeding kibble at breakfast and only home-cooked for dinner. So, I'm planning on trying more different ingredients, adding some ground eggshell and wondering about adding a small amount of something like Berte's Daily Blend to the dinner. I think I would feel more comfortable continuing to feed kibble at breakfast while I get the hang of home-cooking for the dogs correctly. I, too, love to cook so the time spent in the kitchen is no problem for me.

Appreciate any comments you have about the supplements.

[magicre]

if you're still feeding kibble, then there's no need to add supps....because kibble has loads of supplementations...so you'd be giving twice the amount of vitamins and minerals your dog's needs..

once you stop feeding kibble, then i would suggest adding supplements....i liked berte's products....

the ratio i used was 75% to 25%.....that's what i remember reading...i would puree raw veggies and add to the mix....and i would use quinoa, since it has protein, even though it wasn't necessary, according to what i read. but it has protein in it....and i thought it would go a long way to giving the recipe some bulk....

if you feed kibble for brekkie, that's fine....and you can do that for as long as you like....but then you won't want to feed kibble with dinner....there would be no need and the kibble for dinner would take up valuable caloric real estate....

you won't need supplements ever as long as you are feeding kibble for brekkie. a lot of people have very healthy dogs doing it this way...kibble for breakfast and home cooked for dinner. the one thing i was taught was to feed low glycemic veggies and stay away from anything with sugar....sweet potatoes would fall into that category (sugar not glycemic) as well as carrots.

[PDXdogmom]

if you're still feeding kibble, then there's no need to add supps....because kibble has loads of supplementations...so you'd be giving twice the amount of vitamins and minerals your dog's needs..

once you stop feeding kibble, then i would suggest adding supplements....i liked berte's products....

the ratio i used was 75% to 25%.....that's what i remember reading...i would puree raw veggies and add to the mix....and i would use quinoa, since it has protein, even though it wasn't necessary, according to what i read. but it has protein in it....and i thought it would go a long way to giving the recipe some bulk....

if you feed kibble for brekkie, that's fine....and you can do that for as long as you like....but then you won't want to feed kibble with dinner....there would be no need and the kibble for dinner would take up valuable caloric real estate....

you won't need supplements ever as long as you are feeding kibble for brekkie. a lot of people have very healthy dogs doing it this way...kibble for breakfast and home cooked for dinner. the one thing i was taught was to feed low glycemic veggies and stay away from anything with sugar....sweet potatoes would fall into that category (sugar not glycemic) as well as carrots.

I had no idea that carrots would fall into the "sugar" category. I do like the idea of continuing to incorporate quinoa frequently - I eat so much of it myself.

Well, you convinced me. Tonight I will feed only home-cooked - no kibble. And I'll try pureeing the veggies. I had been cooking and mashing them, but suppose the raw pureed would be better. My son, a vegan, counts his Vitamix blender among his more important possessions for processing green smoothies. I may have to consider the investment for myself, also.

Thanks, again.

[magicre]

no problem....i love carrots and so do my dogs..until i looked up the nutrition data in carrots :(

great fibre. lots of sugar and a higher than normal glycemic index.

never went so far as to get a vitamix, but our cuisinart was put to some great use....

let us know how it goes.