Are homemade dog treats good for your dog & cat?

Do you have a cat or dog? Are they a pet or part of the family? My little furbabies are definitely part of my family. This is why I decided to cook for them and why I decided to make their homemade treats...

I know what is in the food that I make for them...Have you ever read the ingredients on the back of your furbaby's food?

So what are some other benefits of homemade food over store bought?

1. Homemade taste better...doesn't homemade lasagna, chicken, etc taste better than what you can buy at the store? It's the same for your furbaby. When you don't have all those chemicals in your food, you can taste the actual food, and so can your cat and/or dog...
2. They are healthier...you can make them meals that are low fat, you can use healthier choices to flavor the food. Plus, a lot of furbabies are starting to get allergies to foods because of the ingredients in the store bought brands, so this allows you to make foods that don't have the foods they are allergic to...
   
3. They are safer...We all remember the contaminated foods from a few years ago. If you are making these meals for your furbabies then, again, you know what is going into them and you don't have to worry about contamination.
4. Cost effective...believe it or not, making your pets food can be cheaper than buying it. Buy your meats on sale, make a batch & freeze for later...adding rice, pasta, potatoes and other ingredients can make it stretch out for several meals.

Well guess what? This year at the Farmers Market, we will not only be sharing recipes for homemade meals for your furbaby, but we will also have homemade treats for sale. There will be some for dogs and cats...And Koda says, your furbaby will love them!

Fast Food vs Fresh Food

We all love the convenience of fast food, but you know...Fresh food can be fast food too...How you ask? There are all kinds of recipes that are 5 ingredients or less and crock pots can cook anything (okay, so crock pots take all day to cook your dinner, but you don't have to do anything but toss the items in the crock and it does the rest) So with a couple ingredients from your local Farmers Market, you can have Fresh Fast Food... Here's a recipe to try when you get your tomatoes and honey:



Honey Baked Tomatoes

Ingredients (I know 7 ingredients not 5, but who counts salt & pepper these days as an extra ingredient...grin)

• 8 medium-size ripe tomatoes, cut into 1-inch slices
• 4 teaspoons honey
• 2 white bread slices
• 1 tablespoon dried tarragon
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 teaspoons freshly ground pepper
• 4 teaspoons butter

Preparation

Place ripe tomato slices in a single layer in a lightly greased aluminum foil-lined 15- x 10-inch jellyroll pan. Drizzle with honey, spreading honey into hollows.

Process bread in a food processor or blender until finely chopped.

Stir together breadcrumbs and next 3 ingredients; sprinkle evenly over tomato slices. Dot with butter.

Bake at 350° for 30 minutes or until tomato skins begin to wrinkle.

Broil 5 inches from heat 5 minutes or until tops are golden. Serve warm.

We will also have Wildtree products at the Farmers Market...these products are not only healthy, but also have easy recipes...Here's one for you to try...

Shrimp and Vegetable Stir Fry INGREDIENTS: 2 tablespoons Wildtree Natural Grapeseed Oil 1 1/2 cup shrimp, shelled and deveined 1 1/2 cup frozen stir fry vegetables 1/3 cup Wildtree Kickin’ Asian Stir-Fry Sauce 1/2 pound whole wheat spaghetti, cooked
PREPARATION: Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add shrimp and sauté until cooked through, 5-7 minutes. Remove shrimp from pan and set aside. Add the stir fry vegetables and cook until heated through. Add Stir Fry Sauce, whole wheat pasta and shrimp. Toss until pasta and shrimp are coated.

So...Don't give up on Fresh food...it's healthier...it's less expensive...and it can be just as easy as Fast Food!

See Ya at the Market!

Some of our wonderful products!