I'm trying to eat better. And, I do feel wise after drinking tea. After eating vegetables, I just feel hungry.

Favorite Things > Fresh Foods

In an earlier post, I wrote about adding fresh foods to the border collies' dry food but I didn't provide any specifics. They get approximately ¼ cup to ½ cup of fresh foods per meal and their dry food is cut back accordingly. I combine fresh foods depending on what's in the refrigerator and make a batch that lasts 2-3 meals. This works for me because I'm already cooking lunch or dinner. Multi-tasking!

chop chop chop

typical veggie mix

Mixing fresh foods together results in endless combinations:

• carrots, zucchini, green beans (lightly steam veggies) + cooked chicken or cooked ground turkey
• roasted butternut squash, fresh parsley + cottage cheese or cooked chicken
• bananas, blueberries + plain yogurt or cottage cheese
• kale, carrots, celery (puree veggies) 
• sardines or mackerel + puree veggies
• plain scrambled eggs + puree veggies
• spinach (julienne) + cooked ground beef
• broccoli or cauliflower (lightly steam veggies) + cooked chicken
• peas and red bell pepper (lightly sauté veggies) + cooked chicken or cooked ground beef

Lucas waits for dinner - dry food, sauteed peas & red bell pepper w/ cooked chicken

So far, so good. The border collies love their fresh foods but we do not over do it. I'm not too worried about achieving a nutritionally complete meal each time because over a course of a week it all balances out. I do watch calorie intake by using an on-line tool such as the USDA National Nutrient Database. It's a good feeling, knowing that the dogs are getting fresh, whole foods that I happen to enjoy myself! Lucas loves anything I put in his bowl. Josey will eat around the kale and spinach if I don't chopped them down enough or puree them. And my foster BCs? Jim was like Lucas - gobble gobble. Maddie didn't like her fruits and vegetables at first.

Maddie: WTF are those things?

She's doing better at each meal now! She's venturing into the world of fresh foods - one vegetable and one fruit at a time!

Good girl!

Please visit the Favorite Things page for more fresh food ideas!