Fennel & Brans

Here is an idea for a light and tasty meal for our vegan dogs, ours loved it!

Ingredients:
• Fennel
• Brans
• Spelt milk
• Parsil

Preparation:
• Mix some brans with chopped parsil
• Chop the fennel and cook it in spelt milk.
• Let the fennel cool down and mix with brans.
• Enjoy your meal!

Tortilla Twists

Good morning! The whether is definitely miserable so we need to put some colour on the table to cheer it up.
Here it is a tasty recipe to make our dogs and human friends smile!
Put your apron on and let’s start cooking!

Ingredients:

• Tortillas
• Blacks beans
• Courgettes
• Carrot
• Olive or Seeds Oil

Preparation:

• Cook and blend black beans in a blender. Alternatively you can use a tin of beans and blend them.
• Wash and cut the courgettes into small pieces and blend them too.
• Add a little bit of oil.
• Take a tortilla and spread the cream obtained by mixing beans and courgettes over it.
• Roll them up and place them on a non-stick pan. Warm them up both sides on a medium-high heat. This takes around 20 seconds.
• Repeat this process until you get the desired amount of tortillas for you and your furry and human friends.
• Cut the tortillas in slices and serve.
• Add some grated carrot as a fresh touch.

Tips: we used tortillas, but you can replace them with toasted bread. Regarding the stuff you can use the vegetables you have on the fridge instead of beans. Be creative!

Forbidden Food: Grapes & Raisins

Grapes and raisins are highly toxic to dogs.

Although it remains a mystery what is the element causing the toxicity. Studies reveal that ingestion of small amounts of these elements can be fatal for our friends. In fact, they can cause serious kidney failures.

Unfortunately dogs are greedy and if they ingest and manifest vomiting and / or diarrhea with pieces of grapes (after 24 hours), loss of appetite, abdominal pain and kidney failure, go to the doctor immediately!

Do not give them grapes and raisins, we can not take the risk of losing our faithful companion for a grape.

Keep it in the house where they cannot reach it and, if claiming a snack, give them an apple (without its poisonous seeds).

VeganBurgers

Ingredients:

• Mashed Beans
• Corn Flour
• Breadcrumbs
• Oats
• Olive Oil

Preparation:

• Mix a few tablespoons of mashed beans with corn flour and bread crumbs as required.
• When the consistency permits, shape several small burgers and pass them on the bread crumbs.
• Bake in the preheated oven for a few minutes, wet the baking dish with olive oil. Turn them so that you cook both sides.
• When they are lightly browned, take them out of the oven and serve with vegetables.
• Garnish with oats and a few drops of olive oil to raw.

Tips:
We used smashed beans but you can also use other vegetables cooked and blended. For example chickpeas or lentils.
The corn flour can be replaced with normal flour, it helps to mix and make the mixture more compact. The result is a fun and delicious meal for your furry friends…and for you, if you wish!

Raw Fruit Salad

Dear friends, here it is a simple and delicious idea for a light meal or an energy snack!

Ingredients:

• Banana
• Apple
• Mandarin
• Cucumber

Preparation:

• Cut the fruit into cubes.
• Eliminate the apple’s seeds which contain cyanide.
• Mix well and serve!

Suitable for a delicious and nutritious snack, this is a simple recipe, but rich in vitamins and very refreshing.

Sometimes simple things are the ones that we do not think about 🙂

Dehydrated soybeans with Lentils

Ingredients:

• Dehydrated soybeans
• Lentils
• Carrots
• Oats

Preparation:

• Cook the lentils in a pot with a chopped carrot.
• When the lentils are cooked and soft, add the dehydrated soybeans and stir so that the sauce of the lentils rehydrates it.
• As soon as everything is ready, let it cool.
• Sprinkle with oats and serve!

EASY!

Tips: If you use fresh lentils, as we do, you will put them to soak the night before. If you use a more practical tin, wash them very well in order to eliminate preservatives and additives as much as possible.

Forbidden Food: Garlic

Garlic, raw, cooked, or powder is harmful more than onion.

It is dangerous and if dogs ingest it in large doses, it impairs the ability to transport oxygen in the red blood cells. The process can lead to anemia and even death.

The key to use garlic safely in dog diet is the dosage and frequency of use. Garlic in small amounts, just a little flake and very occasionally, helps to eliminate intestinal parasites .

However,  garlic should not be administered in any way to dogs if they are anemic or in case they are going through a surgery. Even for puppies, up to two months, it is very harmful because they begin to reproduce red blood cells only after  two months.

Keep it out of their reach, and if you notice that they have ingested some garlic, consult your vet immediately.

Photo credits Francesco Baiocchi. Visit his page facebook/frbaiocchi and add your LIKE!

Forbidden Food: Chocolate

Chocolate contains a substance called theobromine that neither dogs or cats can metabolise.

This toxic component accumulates in the blood causing serious systemic effects. The symptoms of intoxication occur rapidly, in a few hours, and include vomiting, diarrhoea, hyperactivity, tachycardia, tremors, seizures, loss of consciousness, coma and death in severe cases.

So, no exception! No chocolate or any cocoa based product for our pets! We have to resist to their eyes, they do not know that it is toxic and we have a duty to protect them.

Actually, for us it is great news, so that we can keep all the chocolate for ourselves! But we tend to eat it hidden from them to avoid their begging eyes!

Vegetables Soup

Ingredients:

• Carrot
• Courgette
• Corn
• Beetroot
• Radishes
• Potatoes
• Beans
• Small pasta for soup

Preparation:

• Clean and cut the veggies. No onions!
• Put them in a pan and cover with water. Light the fire and let them cook.
• When vegetables are almost ready, add the pasta. No salt!
• When everything is cooked, let it cool down and serve!

Tips:
We use to prepare this soup for all of us, humans and dogs. What is important is not to use onion, salt, pepper and none of the harmful ingredients for dogs. You can salt to your dish once served.

If you prefer, you can use noodles, rice, cereals instead of pasta. Be creative!

Vegan Lasagna

Ingredients:

• Aubergine
• Courgette
• Rice Mozzarella
• Red Pepper
• Olive Oil

Guarnish:

• Basil

Preparation:

• Clean the aubergine removing the skin.
• Cut it into thin rectangular slices.
• Wash the courgette and cut the edges.  Repeat the previous step cutting it into thin rectangular slices.
• Now it is the turn of the rice mozzarella: same shape and size.
• Cut two flowers of red pepper.
• Grill all the veggies. The aubergine slices have to be very well done because raw is toxic for dogs.
• Serve alternating layers of aubergine, courgette and rice mozzarella.
• Add a drizzle of olive oil.
• Guarnish with basil and the red pepper flowers.
• Now you can serve it!

Tips: at serving you can cut it into pieces for an easier canine approach. Furthermore, you can keep the leftover veggies in the fridge for an upcoming doggy meal. If you wish, you can prepare this lasagna for you as well, but remember to add salt only to your portion. Salt is toxic for dogs.