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This is a balanced dog food recipe that my veterinarian recommended to me a few years ago. I want my dogs to live long & healthy lives, so I make their food myself! I like knowing exactly what is in their food. It can get pricey, but hospital bills are even pricier. Healthy food = good health!
This recipe is completely balanced and my dogs LOVE it. They have super shiny coats, healthy teeth, and good breath!
Why you’ll love this recipe
For health reasons obviously! But it’s also perfect for making in bulk, which makes it much more convenient.
You can make a large batch of this once or twice a month, keep it in the freezer, and thaw overnight as needed until you run out. I make about 11 pounds of food (uncooked) and it will last almost 3 weeks for my two small adult dogs (about 10 lbs each).
This recipe can also kinda count as 3 recipes! You can switch out the ground beef for ground turkey or chicken, and just add a little extra beef liver to make up for the iron, zinc, and protein. That way your dog has a little variety in their meals.
How much should I feed my dog?
Check with your veterinarian for how much food your dog needs per serving. My two dogs are about 10 lbs each, and we feed them 2/3 of a cup (each), twice a day.
Nutritional info
This recipe has 40 calories per ounce. To see the original recipe posted on Youtube by Dr. Karen Becker and Rodney Habib, click here. This video can provide more information on the nutritional value of all the ingredients in this recipe.
Cooked or Raw?
I gently cook the food for my dogs, but this is still a great recipe if your dog is on a raw diet.
If you choose to cook the food, do so without any oil on a nonstick pan on low heat. Be careful not to sear the meat- you want to gently cook it until it is just done. You can make patties, large chunks, or break it down into mince if you prefer.
Ingredients:
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Very lean ground beef or poultry- This is the main source of protein and has to be lean since dogs have a high amino acid requirement. Compared to ground beef, ground chicken and turkey are lower in protein, iron, and zinc, so you’ll need to make up for it with extra beef liver.
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Hempseed– excellent source of essential fatty acids, omega-3 and omega-6. This balances the fats. I buy mine from Sprouts or Costco but it is also available an Amazon here. You can use hempseed oil but be very careful with the heat if you are going to cook it. Hempseed oil becomes very unpleasant to dogs if exposed to high heat.
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Sardines – meets vitamin E & D requirements. You can also use cod liver oil. Use canned sardines in water, not oil.
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Ground ginger- packed with manganese, which supports connective tissue health. This benefits ligaments, tendons, joints, and muscles.
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Kelp powder- packed with iodine and is AMAZING for teeth and coat health! You can purchase the one I use here. I highly recommend this stuff- my dogs have great hair & teeth, and their breath NEVER stinks!
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Eggs & eggshells- eggs are a great source of folic acid and vitamin b12. The eggshells are totally edible and provide the calcium needed for adult dogs, but not puppies.
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Beef liver- provides copper, zinc, and iron. Sprouts sells them in frozen packages that are convenient to use- 4 individually wrapped 4 oz portions.
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Broccoli, red bell pepper, & spinach- veggies add antioxidants, phytonutrients, enzymes, and fiber.
- Leave out the spinach if you have a senior dog with kidney issues. Spinach is not good for dogs with kidney failure because of its oxalates and high sodium content, but this small amount is perfectly fine for healthy dogs.
How to make it
(measurements and instructions provided in recipe card at the end of this post)
Begin by mixing together the ground beef (or chicken or turkey), eggs, kelp, ground ginger, hempseed, sardines, and pumpkin puree (if using). Sometimes I add pumpkin puree for digestive health, but it is not part of the original recipe.
Save half of the eggshells and set them aside.
Drain most of the water from the sardines before you add them in. Try to break them up as much as you can before mixing so that it is evenly distributed throughout the recipe. When it is well combined, set it aside.
Next, add the veggies, eggshells, and beef liver to a food processor and blend until everything is evenly chopped. You may need to do this in batches if your food processor is small.
I use a Hamilton Beach food processor! I love this one because it’s affordable and has a built in side scraper that can be used while the food processor is on.
Add the blended ingredients to the beef and mix until well combined.
How to store it
Portion out the food according to your dog’s daily food intake requirements. Remember that the uncooked food will be ok in the freezer for weeks, but only for a few days in the fridge. Portion accordingly. I do not like to keep cooked dog food in the fridge for more than 4 days.
If you’re going to consistently make this recipe, consider buying reusable freezer bags! I’ve had these for almost a year now and they’re still holding up great. Let’s try to reduce our plastic waste 🙂
The food is ready to serve raw, or you can gently cook it. Cook without any oil on a nonstick pan on low heat. Be careful not to sear the meat- you want to gently cook it until it is just done. You can make patties, large chunks, or break it down into mince if you prefer.
Meet Remy & Leeloo!
Here is a recent picture of our pups! Remy (left) and Leeloo (right) are mother and daughter. We adopted them in 2021 and we love them so much!
I fed this recipe to my previous dog Lucy, who passed away last year from kidney failure and arthritis. She was very old when she passed, but I am not sure exactly how old. I miss her so much.
It is so important to me to make sure I am feeding my dogs the best food possible. I have received SO many messages from readers saying that this recipe saved or improved their dog’s life, and that sincerely brings me so much joy!
Healthy homemade dog treats
If you’re interested in making this recipe for you dog(s), consider making them some healthy treats too! I am working on adding more to the blog, but for now here is an easy one my dogs love:
Green-lipped mussels are packed with nutrients! They are particularly effective in relieving joint pain in dogs. My dogs are dachshund mixes, so I am constantly worried about their impending back and joint pain. They love these little fishy snacks and it gives me peace of mind to know it is helping to reduce inflammation! You can read more about the benefits of green-lipped mussels here.
Balanced Dog Food Recipe
Ingredients
- 7 lbs 90% lean ground beef , or lean ground turkey or chicken
- 1.5 cup hempseeds, or 1/3 cup hempseed oil
- 16 oz canned sardines in water, or 4 tsp cod liver oil
- 4 tsp ground ginger
- 4 tsp kelp powder
- 8 eggs, pasture raised
- 4 egg shells
- 15 oz pumpkin puree, NOT pumpkin pie mix!
- 8 oz beef liver, 12 oz if using ground turkey or chicken instead of ground beef
- 8 oz broccoli
- 8 oz spinach, omit if your dog has kidney issues
- 8 oz red bell pepper
Instructions
- Begin by mixing together the ground beef, eggs, kelp powder, ground ginger, hempseed, (or hempseed oil), sardines, and pumpkin puree (if using). Drain the water from the sardines before you add them in. Save half (4) of the eggshells and set them aside.
- Break up the sardines as much as you can so that it is evenly distributed when mixed.
- Next, process the veggies, eggshells, and beef liver. You may need to do this separately if your food processor can't fit everything. I process everything separately, except for the bell pepper and eggshells- I process those together. I use a Hamilton Beach food processor. I love this one because it has the side scrapers that can be used while the processor is on!
- Add the blended ingredients to the beef and mix until well combined.
- Portion out the food according to your dog's daily food intake requirements. The dog food will be good in the freezer for weeks, but only for a few days in the fridge. Portion accordingly. I do not like to keep cooked dog food in the fridge for more than 4 days.Reusable freezer bags are the way to go! Let's try to reduce plastic waste 🙂
- The food is ready to serve raw, or you can gently cook it. Cook without any oil on a nonstick pan on low heat. Do not try to sear the meat over high heat- you want to gently cook it until it is just done. *Note- If using hempseed oil, cooking the food on high heat for a long period of time will make the hempseed oil taste really bad to the dogs, so be really careful about "gently" cooking it!
- Drain the fat and let it cool completely before storing in the fridge, for up to 4 days.
Notes
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Aloha! Can I sub out the red bells for carrots?
my dig can not have liver due to health reasons. can I just leave it out?
what about green beans carrots my mini weiner dog is allergic to eggs. he throws them up no matter how you fix it
maybe with a taurine supplement? others may know better than me. but it does have stuff like iron and other nutrients that dogs need as well
For example, a 6 month baby food chart in Kerala will have a different diet chart compared with a 6 month baby food chart in Kolkata .
Hi Stella, so I watched the original video, and I noticed that you multiplied most of the recipe by 8. Except for the hemp seeds. According to the oringal recipe it calls for 3 tbsp of hemp seeds, so when I do the math I get 24 tbsp which equals to 1.5 cups. But your recipe calls for 3/4 of a cup. I could be doing the math wrong. I’m sorry, a little confused. Could you please explain. Thank you!
If I’m cooking with Ground Turkey or Ground Chicken, do I cook the meat and?
I haven’t made the recipe yet, so I won’t give a rating, but from the research I’ve done it looks very healthy (no rice, no grains). My question is about the sardines: I have several cans of olive oil packed sardines, and I’m wondering if they’re ok to use if I drain and squeeze out the oil. My dog is a 10yo jack russell and she is not at all overweight. Wouldn’t a bit of olive oil be okay for her?
Also, I notice you don’t specify organic or grass fed meats, but I have to believe they are healthier for the dog. I found organic ground beef at Costco for about $8/lb, but it wasn’t grass fed. So my question is, which is more important: organic, or grass fed? My inclination is grass fed, but it’s much harder to find.
Thank you for a very helpful article and recipe!
Hi Melanie, thanks for leaving a comment!
First off I would like to clarify that I am not canine nutritionist, so I would strongly advise doing your own research and/or consulting with one. I’m happy to share what I know, but again I am not an expert!
I would not use sardines packed in olive oil. Olive oil is actually a great source of fat for dogs, but sardines are somewhat high in fat already.For this reason, it is not recommended to give dogs sardines in olive oil.
I use grass fed ground beef from Sprouts but I do not necessarily think it has to be grass fed or organic. Just make sure it is high quality ground meat- I would avoid anything that comes in a tube or highly processed from a large factory. Hope this helps!
Thank you for sharing, this is great! I am always looking for recipes for my furbaby. I wanted to know, since you don’t supplement this with kibble anymore, do you still feed your dogs 2/3 cup a meal?
Hello! I am excited to try out this recipe! I wanted to know if you could tell me if you measure
Out the serving for your dog when uncooked or after cooked ?
I was gonna vote gable jjim as my fave recipe, but my dogs love this recipe so much that my opinion doesn’t matter at this point. lol
Thanks to this recipe, my fur babies have been so much more energetic and happier over all. They have the smoother, softest, silkiest furs ever since I put them on this diet! And the pickiest one rushes to finish his bowl and begs for more.
This recipe is so versatile, even if I don’t have all the ingredients it still seems to taste great for my little one.
With portioning, I found that 2-3% of their body weight seems to keep them in a healthy weight category along with their regular exercise.
NGL, I’m tempted to grab me a bowl and season to try it myself. haha
Looking forward to trying more of your amazing recipes in the future.
I am going to try this for my obese dog. she has been on diet kibble for 3 years as suggested by the vet, and she is getting bigger. I think it’s time for real food. thanks for your site.
Hey Nique, My Vizsla was very much over weight so I put him on a diet. I used a crockpot to make his veggies and set it to low for the entire time. Never on high. He loves it. This is what I fed him for a few months and he lost from 91 pounds to 74 pounds and now he has so much more energy and looks so much healthier. Every now and then I’d add a little kibble and he got vitamins every day to cover anything else he needs. For snacks I gave him mini cucumbers and sometime small pieces of dehydrated sweet potatoes which I make for all my dogs.
Thank you for sharing this dog food recipe and introducing me to Dr. Becker and Rodney Habib. My dogs love it!! Thanks,
any suggestions on how to transition from kibble to this?
Hi Karen! Lots of resources I’ve found online say the best way to transition your dog’s food is to introduce/replace about 10% of their kibble with the new food on day one, 20% on day two, and so on until it has fully replaced their kibble by 100% on day 10. This way you can slowly transition them, monitoring negative effects along the way, if any.