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Pawsome Pets: Pet parents in the city whip up organic meals for pooches
Processed food still rules the market when it comes to pets because cooking for them is considered a “task." It may seem convenient to scoop a cup of kibble and place it the food bowl but fearing its hazardous effects, many Chennaiites are opting to cook organic food for their pooches.
Chennai
The meals are rightly balanced with all the required nutrients for them and include ingredients that are 100 per cent safe for consumption.
Two Cocker Spaniels and a Dalmatian by the names Bailey, Bronco and Kaju respectively, are pampered plenty by their owner Harekaran Navale, who is a lawyer by profession. He says, “Being aware of the importance of fitness and health why should I compromise when it comes to my dogs? Switching to organic food has brought about better digestion and I can see a positive difference when it comes to the coat of the dogs to their activeness. Dogs can easily get obese when overfed or given the wrong kind of food — I like my dogs to be healthy, properly nourished and fit.”
Oscar Daisy is a pet nutrition company and its owner, Praveen M, agrees with Harekaran, “Switching to organic and fresh diets for dogs will help the dogs to be full of energy, maintain a healthy weight, eliminate digestive disorders, have fresh breath, etc.” Fresh food has a shorter shelf life than preservative-filled commercial kibble but it reduces the chances of food contamination. “A vet-formulated, fresh and human-grade diet made of real and natural ingredients, will satisfy your pet(s) needs in the right way,” he recommends.
Uthra Ravikanth, a home baker says, “The diet differs from one dog to another so every animal I cater to has a different requirement. Some need to lose weight, some are puppies so they need a richer diet as they are growing, some are really skinny and need to put on weight, then there are senior dogs, etc. So I have a detailed conversation with the pet parents, find out about the routine of the dog, if they have allergies and a lot of other specifics before I customise the organic meal plan.”
Greens are important for your pets too exclaims Uthra. “I would always recommend incorporating a lot of greens and veggies along with proteins. For example, the chicken, fish and beef meal options I offer also contain plenty of vegetables,” she explains. She also makes jerky (chicken, liver and tuna), which are pure meat treats for your pets and are preservative-free. Apart from this, “Ice-creams for the summer and meat loaves are also fast selling currently,” she adds.
Easy recipes that can be made at home
Sample recipe by Oscar Daisy – makes 2 kgs approx.
Source your ingredients from the organic store
- 1.2kgs beef meat
- 120g beef liver
- 300g sweet potato
- 200g carrot
- 150g spinach (palak)
- 1 cup lentils
- 1 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 tbsp fish oil
- 2 bananas
- ¼ tsp turmeric
Method
- Boil water and add beef liver and sweet potato to be cooked. Boil lentils and drain.
- Chop carrots and spinach and make a fine blend.
- Cook beef meat in dry pan without oil and add turmeric. While its half-cooked, add carrots and spinach.
- Allow it to cool to room temperature, add the oils and mix well.
- Finally add in cooked sweet potato, lentils, liver and mix thoroughly.
Try this cookie recipe by Pawtastic - Gourmet Pet Food
Ingredients
- 2 ripe bananas
- 2 tbsp peanut butter
- 1 cup powdered oats
Method
Mix all ingredients, cut into desired shapes and bake in pre-heated oven for 20 minutes at 180° Celsius.
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