Savory Turkey & Autumn-Puree Whole Grain Dog Food Recipe

It’s like beef stroganoff, except for your canine best friend.

Most variations of shelf-stable “pet food” is not really what we would consider to be “food”. Unfortunately, many dry or wet pet food brands do not have to meet FDA or USDA regulations of safe, edible food and use unsafe ingredients like low-quality meats or meat “by-products” that are expired, diseased, or even contaminated. There are very few safety measures in place and loose product labeling laws allow for these items to be advertised as “premium,” “natural,” or “organic” pet “food.”

For best results, please consult your veterinarian regarding feeding and/or nutritional guidelines regarding your pets health.

Let’s cut straight to the good part, shall we? Below the recipe, you’ll find more information regarding the cost of ingredients, health benefits, and details about how the recipe was curated.

What you’ll need:

• 2 lbs ground turkey
• 2 cups brown rice or whole wheat pasta
• 1 container (32 oz) chicken broth, reduced sodium
• 1/2 gallon natural spring water
• 4 raw stalks of celery
• 4 raw sweet potatoes
• 1 bag frozen brussel sprouts
• 1 bag frozen sweet peas
• 1/3 bag fresh whole carrots
• 2 cups fresh leaf spinach
• 2 cups fresh leaf kale
• 1 can kidney beans, drained
• 1 can pumpkin puree
• 2 tsp basil seasoning
• 2 tsp oregano seasoning
• 2 tsp parsley seasoning
• 2 tsp rosemary seasoning
• 2 tsp thyme seasoning

Preparation:

You can make this recipe primary using a stock pot or a crockpot, 2qt saucepan, skillet, rice cooker, blender, and masher. It is not recommended to use an air fryer.

• Dice up the celery, sweet potatoes, and carrots into modest chunks or about 1/2 inch thick slices.
• Separate sweet potatoes and carrots for the autumn puree sauce.

Meat and Grain:

• Brown the ground turkey to well-done in an iron skillet. Add rosemary and thyme for flavor. Drain the grease. Set aside and allow to cool.
• Using a rice cooker or pot, boil the rice or whole wheat pasta until thoroughly cooked. Do not overcook the pasta. Drain any excess water. Set aside and/or allow to cool.

Sauce:

• Combine sweet potatoes, carrots, and spring water in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil.
• Drain the water. Puree the potatoes and carrots with 1 cup chicken broth. The consistency should be similar to the pumpkin puree.
• Blend/mix in the pumpkin puree, basil, oregano, and parsley. Set aside and allow to cool.

Vegetables:

• Combine celery, brussel sprouts, sweet peas, carrots, kale, and kidney beans in a crockpot or large stock pot.
• Submerge the vegetables in chicken broth (only 1/2 container or 16 oz) first, then add spring water, filling the pot to about 1/2 inch above the surface of the vegetables. Bring to a boil, thoroughly cooking the vegetables together.
• Drain the vegetables, set aside with ground turkey. Save the broth for future, human-grade cooking! Allow the vegetables to cool.
• Once the vegetables have cooled, mash them up into bite-sized chunks using the handheld masher. Do NOT blend them into a mix using a mixer or blender. The chunks add great texture to your dog’s food and fills their bellies more efficiently.

Putting it all together:

Starting with the grain, slowly mix in the ground turkey and mashed vegetables into the mixture. Once the meat, grain, and vegetables have been mixed, add the autumn puree sauce and oil.

Allow the entire mixture to cool before serving. You can serve it to your dogs warm, but please — do not serve it to them hot! Hot foods can burn their mouth and/or tongue, causing them to have anxiety or fear when eating steaming foods in the future.

If you are considering supplements for your pet, check out the supplements offered by Just Food for Dogs that support joint, skin and allergy, probiotic, and behavioral health. Our favorite is the Omega Plus, which promotes healthy skin and a shiny coat.

Portion sizes:

Feeding specifications are unique for dogs of every size, weight, breed, and/or special health considerations. Some pet owners may measure portions for every 10 lbs of body weight, adding 1/4 cup of food per serving. For example, a 20 lb dog may either have one (1) cup of food daily or 1/2 cup of food per serving or meal, with two (2) servings per day (totaling 1 cup per day).

Just Food for Dogs has a dog food calculator available for public use, which may be helpful in determining the needs of your pet.

For best results, please consult your veterinarian regarding feeding and/or nutritional guidelines regarding your pets health.

How to store it:

This is a bulk food recipe. You can freeze, can, or refrigerate this mixture into servings and/or portion-friendly packages. You can use freezer quart bags, storage containers, glass jars, cans, or any other traditional human-grade food storage container. Divide into daily or individual portions for each dog or collectively, depending on the unique specifications of your dogs.

Please avoid reheating and/or cooking the food mixture in plastic containers or bags wherever possible for optimum canine health and safety purposes.

You can purchase just about everything on the ingredients list at your local grocery store, like Aldi, Save a Lot, IGA, Whole Foods Market, or Trader Joe’s. We have found Aldi often has the cheapest cost-per-serving high-quality ingredients at regular price without the use of coupons.

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