Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Brothers Love Chicken Hearts

This morning as I was at the local grocery store I came across some really inexpensive chicken hearts and regular ground beef that was on sale. So I stalked up on both and came straight home to experiment with a new recipe. Now I was pretty sure my dogs would love what I was going to make for them as I haven't yet come across a meal they didn't love. But after today's recipe, I'm fairly confident I discovered Remy's and Rhino's new favorite dish. Before preparing all the food, I let my dog's try a chicken heart each as a little taste test treat, they were still frozen, but my dogs went Bonkers over them.
Why I like using Chicken hearts in my dog's recipe is because this food is low in Sodium. It is also a good source of Folate, Pantothenic Acid, Phosphorus and Copper, and a very good source of Protein, Riboflavin, Vitamin B12, Iron and Zinc. However it is high in cholesterol so this isn't something I would serve them more than twice a month. The entire time I was cooking they sat patiently at the end of the kitchen counter, not a sound, no whimpering, no begging, no jumping up, just patiently waiting as they knew mom was making something special for them. The funny thing is whenever I cook for my family my dog's seem to recognize the difference.
When I cook a meal for myself or my entire family both dog's are resting or playing in the living room. But as soon as I start getting pots and pans out for the dog's meal, they both come and sit in the kitchen watching me prepare their delicious meal! It makes cooking for them that much more fun and enjoyable, I have my own little audience. Now keep in mind many recipe's that I post don't include any omega 3 fish oils, as I already give my dog's their vitamins separately. However if you do not give your dog fish oils or probiotic pills then you need to add 2 table spoons of omega 3 fish oil to all my recipe's and a good reputable probiotic powder can be mixed in the dog's food. Here is what you will need. 600 grams of regular ground beef, 150 grams of chicken hearts fresh or frozen. 1 cup of fresh or frozen blueberries dethawed, 1 large peeled banana, 1 medium size diced up zucchini raw with skin, 4 cups of cooked gluten free white basmati rice.
I like to use a certain brand of rice called Lundberg, because it comes in gluten free and my dog's have issues with gluten. Lightly cook the ground beef till it's brown on the outside but still nice and pink on the inside and be sure to include and save all the fat juices from the beef to pour in with the rest of the ingredients. Cook 4 cups of Rice as per packaging and set aside. Puree both the blueberries and 1 large banana. I love to use my Magic Bullet to puree the fruit for my family and our dogs.
Poach the chicken hearts till they are slightly cook, and still pink on the inside. You never want to over cook the meat for your dogs as it will destroy and lose all the natural nutrients. Mix in a large bowl the beef, chicken hearts and rice, stir all together then add the puree blueberries and banana and zucchini and serve! Zucchini is a fantastic vegetable to add to your dog's meals because it plants pack a variety of important minerals. Did you know that 1 cup of zucchini contains almost 20 percent of your daily value of manganese, which is important for creating connective tissue, bones, blood-clotting factors, and sex hormones.
Zucchini also contains approximately 10 percent of the recommended daily allowance of magnesium and potassium. Our dog's need potassium for proper cellular function, affecting all tissues and organs, while magnesium is a crucial mineral for bone formation. It is also an antioxidant; it can block some of the damage caused by free radicals, byproducts that result when your body transforms food into energy. Free radicals are often the cause of many diseases. Zucchinis also contain about 10 percent of your RDA of vitamin A, and almost 8 percent of vitamin K. The vegetable also has a range of B-complex vitamins, including B1, B2, B3, B6 and folate, which is technically B9. B vitamins are important in metabolism and energy as well as nerve and blood health.Zucchini also contains some protein, omega-3 fatty acids and L-tryptophan. According to the World's Healthiest Foods, each cup gets you 6.3 percent of your RDA for omega-3s, 3.3 percent of your daily protein requirement and 3.1 percent of your recommended allowance of L-tryptophan.

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