Tag: homecook

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Ever tried munching on your doggo’s food? ?

Hands up if you are one of those crazy pet parents who tried their furkids’ food just to know how it tastes like ??‍♀️

Source: https://funvizeo.com/324bf80cfbd9a3c1/human-food-dog-food

Well, check out Furry’s Kitchen who recently partnered with celebrity chef Justin Quek to conceptualise a 3-course degustation meal at a pop-up restaurant called Terrier that put the brand’s home-cooked food to the ultimate taste and quality test with some of Singapore’s top food influencers.

Furry Kitchen shouldn’t be a stranger to most pet owners, given that they have been establishing a pretty active presence within the local pets community such as events & campaign with pet influencer marketing agency, The Woof Agency.

Stephen Chua, Founder of Furry’s Kitchen said: “This experiment challenges the perception that food for dogs tastes unpleasant and is made with undiscernible ingredients and preservatives unfit for human consumption.

Just like how we love to indulge in a delicious meal and feed ourselves and our loved ones with only the best ingredients possible, our furry friends deserve the same and can enjoy the same quality and freshness in their diet”.

The purpose was to break down the notion that food that dogs eat is unfit for humans. Guests were blown away by the flavour profiles, quality and freshness of the ingredients, giving their stamps of approval & demanding seconds. Some even likened it to grandma’s cooking.

Source: https://www.youtube.com/embed/dCOW851K4Ck

Chef Justin Quek added: “As with any social experiment, we had to keep certain variables under wraps to ensure the most unbiased results. We wanted to know if by removing the negative perception of dog food, we would discover that human-grade food made for dogs could taste both delicious and nutritious too. 

The dishes the food influencers enjoyed have all been taste-tested and quality-checked by me personally. You have my word that I only serve my guests food that I believe in, and food that meets my standards”.

While of course there was an element of surprise, the majority of the influencers taking part in the experiment appreciated that they had not eaten dog food, just human-grade food prepared for dogs. They understood that all ingredients such as beef, salmon, brown rice, potatoes and broccoli are sourced from the same SFA-certified suppliers used by local Singaporean restaurants, promising the same quality for humans.

Benefits of HCF feat. Furry’s Kitchen

Similar to hooman, there are different diets that you can put your furkids on depending on your budget, lifestyle and personal preference. Home-cooked food (HCF) has remain as one of the top choices amongst pet owners for its:

  1. High-Quality Proteins & Fresh Ingredients

Furry’s Kitchen is about providing your dog with high-quality proteins, fresh vegetables and fruits. Their approach is similar to how we feed ourselves and our families. They call it “balance over time”, which will, over time, meet your dog’s needs if you vary the diet enough over a week or two. Feeding a wide variety of meat and vegetables give your dog the nutrition it needs.

2. No Preservatives & Additives

Only using the good parts of the animal. No by-products. They also say no to preservatives, additives and fillers. Their recipes are made by hand in small batches and gently cooked to retain their nutritional value. They only source our ingredients from the same suppliers who supply to restaurants in Singapore, the same quality fit for humans.

3. Nutritional Needs

Nothing gives more flavour and health benefits than fresh and quality ingredients. A diet full of high quality, fresh, minimally processes ingredients help to support the immune system and all other body functions essential for everyday health. Without it, your dog will be more susceptible to disease. They also retain a lot more nutritious value compared to processed foods.

HERE’S OUR TAKE:

At the end of the day, there are pros and cons to different diet and pet owners should do proper research (not just on the nutritional value) but also to take into consideration your lifestyle and budget — e.g. it can get pricey if you are a multi-dog household or owns a large breed who eats a lot more than your small dogs.

You can also check out some articles to learn more about HCF from our resident doggo owners here.

Last but not least, check out Furry’s Kitchen influencers #approved goodies here!

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4 Simple Dog Treat Recipes To Make For Your Furkid + DIY Barkday Cake!

In today’s article, I’ll be sharing easy treats recipes and DIY Birthday cake for your furkid!

Disclaimer: I am not a professional. This article is written based on personal experience in making these treats.

If you’ve never done your own dog treats before I suggest starting with one of the dog recipes in the list below. In fact, I would recommend these recipes to everyone.  Who doesn’t love simple?

These basic dog recipes are easy to produce, even to beginner cooks like me. And if your treats don’t turn out to be as pretty as the pictures below, don’t worry — your dog will just enjoy them the same way.

Here’s some simple dog treat recipes are are made from human-grade ingredients and frozen choices, to DIYs. Owners can eat it too !

1. Quick & Easy Peanut Butter Treats

Does your dog love peanut butter as much as mine does?

LOL – over heated. try n error yourself.

Ingredients – 2cups flour, 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter or powdered (dog-friendly ones), 1/4 cup water.

Homemade Peanut Butter.

Preheat your oven to 350 F. Mix the ingredients together until combined, and then add water until it becomes wet enough to roll out as dough.

Two ingredient dog treats: about 10 minute cook time at about 150 – 180 degree.

2. Frozen Yogurt Apple/Banana/Blueberry/Strawberry Dog Treats

This dog treat recipe is so simple it doesn’t even involve any cooking.

Ingredients – 2apples/banana/blueburry/Strawberry, a cup of plain yogurt/kefir n some ice cubes trays or mould.

*Recommend you to get Farmers Union Greek Style Yoghurt – Natural

You’ve got yourself a yummy treat your dog will love. My dogs Snowy&Bella absolutely loves these treats.

Freeze for a couple hours.

You can also mix n match, your own innovation!

3. Yogurt Apple/Banana/Blueberry/Strawberry Dog Treats – eat on the spot !

This dog treat recipe is excetly same as frozen treat above but without freezing it.

Ingredients – sliced apples/banana/blueburry/Strawberry and a cup of plain yogurt/kefir. Additional ingredients Manuka Honey.

Pour the yogurt into the bowl, decorate with the fruits and serve it to your furkids ! Add a little of raw Manuka honey if you want to !

Image from @wag.n.co

4. Pumpkin Cookie Dog Treats.

These pumpkin dog treats are mega simple. They’re made with whole wheat flour, though you’re certainly welcome to use all purpose. Whole wheat flour just tends to carry a bit more nutritional value. Pump up the health value of those treats!

Ingredients – 2 cups + 2 Tablespoons whole wheat flour all purpose is fine, 1/2 Tablespoon baking powder, 1/2 cup pumpkin purée, 1/4 cup water or milk, 1 large egg.

  1. Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and baking powder.
  3. Set aside.
  4. In a medium size bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, water or milk, and egg until smooth. 
  5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix gently until everything is combined. You may need to use your hands. /roll out dough onto a floured surface and use desired shape cookie cutter, reroll, and cut again until there is no more dough left.
  6. Bake dog treats for 30 minutes, flipping treats over halfway through baking. 

ingredient dog treats: 30 minute cook time. Store dog treats covered at room temperature. Treats may be frozen, up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.

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DIY Barkday Cake (homemade from scratch)

I’m super exciting recipe to share with you: a yummy Birthday Cake just for pups!

https://www.instagram.com/p/CDtShEJj2Pk/

Ingredients List

(Cake) 300g pork – I use /beef/Tuna/etc… (steamed/baked – i baked) and 50-70g finely chopped vegetables (carrots/pumpkim/any vegetable you wanna add in)

(Frosting) 300g Mashed Potato – I use / sweet potatos (purple/orange) / Greek yogurt frosting , Liquid Food Colours – must be dog-friendly (any colour you like or you can use natural vegetable for colours)

(Decorate) Fruits – Strawberry, Banana, Blueberry, etc.. / dog cookies / dehydrated meats??

instagram @snowyxbella

STEPS

  1. Preheat oven to 160-180 degrees celsius.
  2. Mix together all the (cake) ingredients into a bowl
  3. Transfer it to a cake mould and bake for 15-25 minutes, (To check if the cake is done, place a stick in and remove. If stick comes out dry, it’s done!)
  4. Leave (cake) to cool.
  5. Prepare frosting: Mashed Potato together plain or if you adding the list below.
  6. Once cakes are cool, they are ready to frost and design to your liking! 

If there are left over mashed potato, you can use waffle/donut maker machine to cook it OR dehydrate it (personally I’ve never tried to dehydrate it, maybe you can let me know).

We hope you enjoy reading and baking it for your pup! Your pup will definitely like it because my pup likes it!!

Lemme know what other strategies did you use or what orther recipes you tried? Let us know in the comment below or DM us on our Instagram @snowyxbella , or what are the topics you would like us to share! 

Example – Dog-friendly (cafes, restaurants, hotels, daycare, services, fun places) , Organised for a doggie pawty, Training, Dog parks, Life (tips – photos, recipes – how to dehyrate treats), Shop pet suppliers (accessories, shops on stores/online/instagrams), etc…

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The No Sweat Meal Prep for Busy Dog-moms

Disclaimer: I am neither a professional nutritionist nor a vet. This article is written solely based on personal experience and what I wish I knew when I first got Ori.

Time for pictures > Time for cooking

If you are like me and tired of cooking the same food over and over and over again, then this article is for you. I used to cook enough for 2 meals each day and it got tedious. First, I could not vary his proteins much (Erm, how much variety of meat can you find in our local supermarkets?). Second, what a waste when I buy offals and throw away the bulk of it because Ori should only have 5% of such proteins. Third, it got boring.

I chanced upon @aki_no_kumo’s food preparation one day and I knew then that that was what I wanted to do for Ori. It’s been working well for two months now and I hope that this little tip will help you as well.

Part 1: The nutrients dogs need

I found most of my information on DogAware.com but also chanced upon information from @thelazygoldiemax (who has nicely summed everything up in this article: Home-Cooked Food – Facts and Myths). Truffleruffel also wrote a fantastic article on a Beginner’s Guide to Home-Cooked Food so do check those links out.

In general, dogs require 2-3% of their body weight in food every day and with no thanks to my post-graduation-not-really-functional-brain, I armed myself with my trusty phone calculator and headed down to my nearest supermarket. 

Love how easy meal prep becomes with these babies!

Oh, I should mention that these silicon food containers are life savers. Each compartment has a capacity of 100ml (perfect for each meal for my 9.5kg furkid). Do also note that the weight of raw food =/= cooked food so you’ll have to account for that when shopping. Since I mix kibbles with HCF, this was not so important for me as I can top up the balance with kibbles.

Part 2: Ingredients

I like ingredients that are readily-available in our local supermarkets. If you’re looking to vary your proteins, there are many online suppliers that can provide others such as lamb, crocodile, kangaroo, yada yada yada.

Again, check out the links above for ingredient ideas!

* You do not have to include everything in this list all the time. I mix the portions up and exlude/include items each week depending on my mood. 

Part 3: Getting to work

Your job will be 10x easier if you have a meat grinder, which sadly, I don’t, so a pair of food-grade scissors are now my best friend. I like to cut everything in as small a piece as my patience can manage just so they’re easier to contain.

Throw in all the meats and turn on the gas for a good steam. Remember to stir it occasionally. 

While waiting, I cut the vegetables. A blender will save your life, but since mine is spoilt, I use this opportunity to practice working my fine motor skills and chop everything up instead.

Got these cutting boards from Modori because how can anyone resist its look?

Put the chopped/blended vegetables in bowl in the fridge and wait for the meat to be ready. 

Part 4: It’s ready!

All you need to do is to partition and contain the meat into the different silicon boxes.

I prefer adding some vegetables to top it off but you can always vary portion sizes to suit your dog’s needs (e.g. 1 container for meat, another for vegetables; half for meat, half for vegetables). The key is, it should be something that works for you. 

Add the remaining soup and top it up with water to form a perfect cube. Freeze your food prep and it is now ready to go!

Part 5: The yum yum in their tum tums

Defrost one portion overnight (it helps, trust me) and simply add hot water to mix it all up before serving. Reheating vegetables releases nitrates, and ingesting anything high in nitrates increase the chance of developing cancer, which is why I don’t cook the vegetables first. I was not able to find the original study I read this and am unable to provide the link here. This is when I add Ori’s supplements (e.g. Coconut oil, rosehip powder, egg shell powder) as well as his portion of kibbles. 

And voila! One happy pupper and a happier hooman who no longer needs to cook each and every day. 

Do leave a comment or drop me a PM over at @orithespitz if you have any queries!

P.S. I store other canned/packaged food too and I use them to take cooking breaks in between cycles. Can’t be cooking a week’s worth of food on days when I reach home late, can I?