Mixed Whole Grains with Pumpkin, Mint, Apple, and Parsley Dog Treats

Mixed Whole Grains with Pumpkin, Mint, Apple, and Parsley Dog Treats

 Nourishing your beloved best friend with unprocessed, whole food.

How authentically do we live our lives? As we strive to nourish our selves and family with unprocessed, whole foods do we carry that out in all areas of our lives? Would you eat the food you provide to your pets?  Do you really know what exactly it is that you feed your pet? 

I have enjoyed making dog treats for many years. At first it was just a fun thing to do as I love to bake. I soon discovered that it was more economical for me to make them verses buying them and the love of making things myself for my beloved deepened. It just simply feels good to make my own foods/treats. 

As I began to think in terms of living in all ways authentically I made the connection that I can't just focus on local, whole foods for myself and family. I need to practice this in all ways. How is it that I can hold myself so accountable in some areas but yet feed my dog such junk? I do not deny that budgeting for extras can be a very difficult dance when having to think about all the dancers at the party. So with that in mind, I have become very skillful at using up leftover grains from my pantry.

There is a lot of research regarding proper diet/nutrition for dogs. Their systems are very different from us humans, thus they do require a different nutritional focus. Here are a few links to sights that you can peruse to better understand what diet needs dogs have:

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/dog-care/dog-nutrition-tips 

http://www.petmd.com/dog/nutrition/evr_dg_carbohydrates_key_to_balanced_dog_food#

https://www.dogfoodadvisor.com/canine-nutrition/dog-food-carbohydrates/

Over the years I have collected dog treat recipes and continue to search for new ideas. Earlier in the week I found this wonderful recipe  and put my own spin on it specifically for my dog: http://damndelicious.net/2015/09/29/pumpkin-apple-doggie-mint-treats/
My Max tends to get weird rashes and scratches a lot when he has a lot of wheat in his diet so I have intentionally reduced the amount of wheat he consumes. Plus I have a ton of mint and parsley in my garden.

In my twist on this recipe, I decided to go with a mixture of brown rice and sorghum. Sorghum for it's nutty aroma and flavor because what dog doesn't like a nutty scent/flavor? And it is a great way to use up the extra leftovers I seem to have accumulated. I made the flour fresh from the whole grains by placing them in my blender/juicer. I started out with thinking I would just only use those two grain but ended up adding cornmeal at the end b/c the dough was a bit to sticky. I needed to firm it up to hold shape. 

My recipe is: 

Ingredients

• 1 can of Pumpkin Puree
• 2 eggs 
• 1 meduim size apple
• 1 1/2 cups Sorghum flour
• 1 1/2 cups Brown Rice flour
• 1 cup Cornmeal
• 1/2 cup Flaxmeal
• 1/2 cup Mint (I used spearmint) 
• 1/2 cup Parsley (Italian flatleaf) 

Directions

Preheat oven to 350*. Shred apple, squeezing out moisture; set aside.  Blend eggs and pumpkin. Add fours by 1/2 cup until dough forms/not sticky. Add in shredded apple, mint, and parsley. Mix until well blended. If dough becomes sticky from moisture of apple just add a bit more of flour of your choice. Roll dough into 1/4 inch thickness, cut our with your favorite shape cookie cutter and bake for 20 minutes. I didn't need to use parchment paper or any oil on pan as the cornmeal helped the cookies not stick. If you are not using cornmeal I recommend parchment paper or greasing the pan. 

Store a week's worth in air tight container out of the sun and freeze the rest in weekly amount batches in air tight container. 

Making your dog treats helps the bonding experience and you best friend will be very thankful of your efforts! This is also a great activity to include your kiddos in!

Enjoy!

Chaga Tea

Chaga Tea

Medicinal nourishment!

I was introduced to the  Chaga mushroom by David Wolfe, author of "Chaga, King of the Medicinal Mushrooms" https://www.davidwolfe.com/752/ in a lecture during my Integrative Nutrition Health coaching program. Since then, I have researched and explored more about Chaga on my own. I simply love chaga tea. And most who know me, know I am all about tea! 

The Chaga mushroom can be used in many ways: oil/extract, tincture,  powder, chunked, etc. I first tried the powder form in smoothies but learned that my favorite is chunk form for tea (no surprise there!). 

I've been making tea from the herbs and flowers I grow for years. I have a special tea garden that seems to expand with each passing year. Not only have I grown into a "fresh tea snob," but I aspire to utilize my teas in a holistic manner. I value the health benefits of herbal teas. So the "fresh tea snob" thing I developed after tasting freshly made tea straight from my garden to teapot. Once you get a taste of how lovely freshly made tea is, you will notice the difference in store bought tea bags and loose leaf teas that are prepared/packaged. I do dry my herbs and dehydrate my own grown fruits and berries for winter storage of tea but by spring I'm not liking the loss of flavor that naturally happens.

I digress-let's get back to the health benefits of tea, shall we? The Chaga. It is no coincidence that Mr. Wolfe coined Chaga "King of the Medicinal Mushrooms." The health benefits are undeniably worth exploring the many ways to enjoy chaga. It has been said that chaga is one of  the only known food sources that can help eliminate radiation from the body. The documented researched benefits of Chaga are:

• Anthelmintic
• Antibacterial
• Antihypoxant
• Anti-inflammatory
• Antimalarial
• Antimutagenic
• Antioxidant
• Antiseptic
• Antitumor
• Antipyretic
• Antiviral
• Bile-expelling
• Immunomodulatory
• Infection-fighting
• Skin-protective

You can find Chaga high up on older White Birch trees in cold climates. It is most abundant along the edge of water; rivers, streams, and ponds. I encourage you to look around for some mushroom farms and/or ask a trail guide for suggestions as to where you might find some Chaga and go harvest your own-it is fun! And, it is great to get out and hike, is it not?

Here is a basic recipe I use to make my Chaga Tea:

Ingredients: 

4-5 chunks of chaga

2 Liters of filtered water

Instructions:

Bring the filtered water to a boil, remove from heat source to stop the boiling; bring down the temperature. Add the chunks of Chaga and simmering (barely) for one to four hours, depending on the strength of flavor you prefer. It is very important not to boil the Chaga as you will lose some of the health benefits. Just a slight simmer to warming is what you are striving for. Remove chunks/strain and pour in to storage container of choice.  Enjoy a fresh cup warm and store the rest in the refrigerator for up to a week. Remember to gently warm it-do not bring it to a boil for your next cup. Or, enjoy cold on a hot day! 

The basic tea has a light earthy/chocolate flavor. There are so many different recipes for the tea, so browse the internet and find something that you like. Since I live in Maine and like to promote  local foods I sometimes add blueberries to my tea. I will let the tea steep for an hour then add fresh blueberries, simmering/steeping for about 30 more minutes. Or,  in the winter time, I will place some dehydrated berries in my tea ball and steep in cup. I have most recently explored simmering a few peeled, cut in quarters, and seeded apples along with mulling spices of orange peels, lemon peels, cinnamon sticks, whole cloves, all spice, ainsie star. Chai spices also work great! 

I have developed a few resources for Chaga. I only purchase and consume Chaga harvested here in Maine. When and if I receive permission to share my resource contacts, I will update this post with their info. I encourage you to try Chaga tea! Your health deserves you to nourish it!

Share your favorite Chaga Tea recipes with us!