Veterinary Nutrition and Integrative Medicine
You should expect to have to adjust amounts according to changes in your pets weight, because caloric requirements can vary widely.
The supplements in this recipe are NOT OPTIONAL. Dropping any of them will result in an unbalanced diet. Substituting ingredients for the chicken and rice will also unbalance the diet.
This single diet should not be used long term, as I believe that more variety in ingredients is much healthier (much as I believe that you should not limit your pet to one food by one food company). This recipe is a starting point, and if you are interested in cooking for your pet long term, you should invest in other balanced recipes.
This diet is complete and balanced for both cats and dogs. For dogs, it is a high protein, low carb, paleolithic diet. For cats, it is a more moderate diet but still is lower in carbs and higher in protein than Evo kitten/cat and Science Diet kitten food. It is NOT complete and balanced for growth in either puppies or kittens.
Ingredient Amount
Chicken, ground, pan browned 16 oz by weight (1 lb)
Rice, brown, long grain, cooked 1/3 Cup
Mixed vegetables 1/3 Cup
Salmon oil 1 ½ Teaspoon
Centrum adult multivitamin/mineral 2 tablets
Calcium carbonate (lime or oystershell) containing
1100 - 1200 mg calcium carbonate/teaspoon 1 Teaspoon
Salt, lite, mixture ½ Teaspoon
Choline bitartrate, Nature's Way (250mg choline/tablet) 1 tablet
Taurine 1 gram
Vegetables can be provided in variety depending on what your pet likes best. Try green beans, carrots, broccoli, cauliflower, spinach, winter squash and possibly a few fruits - especially apples and blue and red berries. Remember - grapes and onions are toxic to pets - do not use!
Calories in this batch: 1005 (enough to feed an approximately 40 lb dog or 4 cats)
Weight of batch: 576 grams
Approximate as-fed nutrient contents:
Protein 19% (this is about 60% protein by dry matter)
Carbohydrates (net) 3.8% (about 10% by DM)
Fat 9.9% (about 30% DM)
Moisture approximately 70%
Source of total calories: 42% from protein, 7.4% from carbohydrates and 50.2% from fat. Compare to Hill's N/D, with 27% of calories from protein, 15% from carbohydrates and 58% from fat. (The premium over the counter diets such as Nature's Variety do not report their calorie distributions in this way).
Directions: Pan fry ground chicken, draining the fat. Cook rice and steam or finely pulp the veggies. Add all ingredients except the Centrum (because the B vitamins will be destroyed if the food is cooked or reheated). The Centrum should be given as a separate supplement daily, about 1/2 tablet for pets under 20 lbs and 1-2 tablets daily for pets over 20 lbs.
