A popular idiom is to “make a dog’s breakfast”, meaning to make a mess of or completely ruin something (The Free Dictionary, Merriam-Webster dates it to 1892). How did this idiom come about?
It might have come about from watching dogs eat their breakfast; sometimes they’re not very tidy and love to play with their breakfast, as the basset hound puppies below demonstrate:
On the other hand, this Samoyed looks like they’re in heaven with a sandwich. And they’re eating it so daintily!
Whatever the term’s origins, you can indeed make breakfast for your dog with the suggested recipes below! Before embarking on making breakfast, it’s probably a good idea to check with your vet, nutritionist, breeder or other reputable sources whether there are any special health concerns you should be aware of when feeding your dog(s). Some breeds may do much better with raw meat and bones than with cooked food.
A simple recipe with oatmeal, yogurt, hard-boiled eggs and honey is a good way to get started:
3/4 cup oatmeal (cooked)
1/4 cup organic frozen blueberries
2 organic eggs (hard-boiled)
1 tablespoon organic, cold pressed coconut oil
1 tablespoon greek yogurt
1/2 teaspoon calcium powder
1/2 teaspoon Manuka honey
1 multivitamin
** Occasionally I add Spirulina for breakfast, but almost always add it to the dinner meal.
*Add the frozen blueberries to the hot oatmeal to cool it down. Always check to make sure you are not giving your dog food that is too hot, lukewarm is best.
*Boil the eggs in advance so they are not hot.
* Manuka honey has numerous heath benefits that can’t be derived from conventional honey. However Manuka honey is more expensive.
Breakfast for Dogs
Perhaps you are a fan of grits and would like to share your passion with your dog?
Heat oven to 175 C.
In a medium sized pot, boil the grits and water over high heat and cook the grits. Stir repeatedly for about 20 minutes, or until the combination begins to thicken.
Butter a baking dish.
Put the grits into a mixing bowl and beat the eggs, 1 ½ cups cheese, milk, and Worcestershire sauce. Next, put this mixture into the buttered baking dish and spread the other 1 ½ cups of shredded cheddar cheese over the mixture. Add in a little salt and pepper to taste. You can add dot in a little butter as well. Bake for 1 hour. Let the grits cool off before you serve. Wrap any remaining leftovers in plastic wrap or aluminum foil and freeze or refrigerate.
Makes 4 quarts
Baked dog grits
For something more elegant and refined, a canine quiche sure sounds yummy!
Heat oven to 375 F.
Beat eggs cream and milk together in a mixing bowl. Add in themeat or cheese and salt and pepper to taste. Put this mixture in the pie shell and bake it until it is fluffy and light brown on the top. Bake for about 30 – 40 minutes.
Let the quiche cool before serving.
Makes one 22 cm pie.
Idea: You can create different variations of this dish by adding in different types of filling for the pie, like cheese, sausage, bacon, liver, kidney etc.
Canine quiche
Just like people, dogs need greens and veggies for a balanced diet as well.
Feeding your dog a good diet of raw meats is very healthy for him. I like to add chopped (or better pureed) greens for your dog. I use a food processor whenever possible to get the veggies into a pureed form.
In this recipe I add:
Raw Venison
Green Tripe
Organic Kale
Organic Chard
Krill Oil
Spirulina
Turmeric
Vitamins and lots of love
Greens for your Dog
Organic Turkey
Organic Brown Rice
Organic Broccoli
Organic Carrots
Goat Cheese
For most every dog food recipe, be sure to steam or flash boil the veggies and chop them finely. I use a food processor (done after this picture was taken). Then everything is mixed together.
Turkey and Veggies Dog Food Recipe
Sometimes, though, you or your dogs just want something simple and very, very easy to make.
Ingredients
Bag of baby carrots (optionally peeled)
- Open fridge and take out bag of baby carrots
- Wait a few seconds for basset hounds to appear and devour baby carrots
- Give basset hounds lots of loving and tender affection (while accepting that they will climb into bed)
A simple dog food recipe from DoReMI
That’s assuming you can get them off the couch, though…!