Sugar for your Sugar…

Warm weather (which is exactly what we have had lately) makes me think of the hot sun, the beach, shorts, t-shirts and flip flops. But it also makes me think of all the food we have at cookouts (including desserts)! SO how happy was I when I came across this article from Modern Dog magazine? Talk about QUICK and EASY recipes. Modern Dog has featured three recipes – Poochy Pupsicles, Savoury Pupsicles and a third one that is listed without a cute name. I say we call it Some Sugar for Your Sugar. This last one is great for those that might be feeling lazy OR busy (like me).

Lucky for us – we happened to have a watermelon around for recipe No. 3.

• We cut up some watermelon cubes and tossed them in a plastic bag to stiffen them up a bit. Next time, I may get fancier.

Few cuts of sweet watermelon

Few cuts in a freezer bag

What are you waiting for? GIve it to me already!

Verdict: Our sugar loves himself some sugar .

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Sweet, sweet potato chips..

Had a really busy but productive weekend.  In the midst of a cleaning frenzy – came across a copy of Natural Dog magazine and found this great recipe – Baked Yam Chips.

The recipe calls for either  yams or sweet potatoes. Side note: I always wondered the difference between the two since people often use them interchangeably and thought this would be a good time to get down to the bottom of it.  Answer: they are different; yams actually have more natural sugar.  Who knew?!

Below is a copy of the recipe from the magazine.

Recipe from Natural Dog

I made a few adjustments to the recipe:

• Used 1 sweet potato.
• Skipped the cinnamon.

Finally done!

Verdict: These are delish!

This pic is a little blurry because Chunyo devoured his chip! Any good recipes that you have discovered recently?

Paws up to Max and Ruffy’s..

 

As some of you might recall – we recently realized that Chunyo is allergic to one of his favorite treats: peanut butter. In light of this, we are checking out some different options.  We are happy to share our recent find: blueberry grain-free treats from Max & Ruffy’s.

Max and Ruffy's

Because Chunyo can be a bit picky we wanted to give it a some time before we shared our thoughts with everyone. The verdict: a winner!

 

See pics for the real deal on the treats.  Our thoughts and considerations are also listed below but Chunyo’s last pic might just seal the deal for you and your pooch 🙂

 

The box is filled with plenty of treats that will last quite a while.

They come in different flavors.

Max & Ruffy’s website tells you where you can find them online or near you.

Only one thing to consider – they might be a little hard for some dogs (e.g., very small or young dogs, older ones, etc.). They seem to be quite crunchy.

 

Details on the back of the box.

I'm waiting... You going to give it to me or what?!?

That was delish! Another one? Maybe?!?

Chilly Bones – Gone in a Flash

Chunyo recently received a great gift  – Chillin’ Bonz.  Chillin’ Bonz are bone shaped frozen treat trays.  They are really cool and super easy to make treats with.  The package also comes with easy recipes too. I used the Peanutbutterbone recipe but it also comes with a number of other recipes (e.g., Kiwiberry Yum, Barking Wild Fruit Treat). Great treats for the warm weather!  

Here is the front of the box

The actual trays

 The pink part is great because it makes it easier to take the frozen bones out.  

Pic of the recipe we used

We used left over peanut from the organic peanut butter from treats we made for Chunyo.  We used half of a small container of organic plain yogurt instead of vanilla yogurt.

Peanutbutterbone mix

 This is what the mix looked like. I ended up adding just a little more yogurt than I expected. I do get curious about Chunyo’s taste buds sometimes, so I tried a bit.  Human opinion:  Good  – not that my opinion is what matters 🙂

This is what it looks like in tray

Perfect Shaped Bone!

Delish!!

Walaa!!  Dog’s verdict:  Delicious! Bone gone in a flash….

Perfect Distraction!

Beef Chew Strips!  We have bought different types over the past year or so.  And yes, they were starting to cost us a pretty penny ($$). So at the recommendation of a friend, we ordered a box from Pet Guys. They last quite a bit and Chunyo is a fan!

Well, well.. What do we have here ?

 

Yum..

Organic Peanut Butter Treats

We decided to do a little baking for Chunyo this weekend.  Like many dogs out there (especially Bostons), Chunyo has a sensitive tummy and some allergies so we were really excited when we found this Doggy Desert Chef’s recipe (Easy Peasy Wheat free Peanut treats) on Cooper and Lola’s website.

Like many others, we try to use organic products whenever we can so we decided to use them for Chunyo’s treats too. The original recipe does not call for them.  We  are certain that  Chunyo wouldn’t have noticed the difference 😉

Ingredients
1 cup Peanut Butter (We used organic unsalted, creamy peanut butter)
1 cup Milk (We used 2%)
2 cups Rice Flour (We used organic brown rice flour)

Directions

Preheat your over to 350 Fahrenheit. Combine all of your ingredients in a large bowl and mix well. Knead dough into a ball and roll onto a flour surface.  Try to keep dough ¼ inch thick.

Use a cookie cutter of your choice to cut out treats. The cookie cutter we had was too big so we got creative and looked around our kitchen and found that the tops of seasoning bottles make perfect small circles.

Baked treats for Chunyo, wine for me!

Bake for 10 to 15 minutes on a cookie sheet until they are brown at the edges and crackled.  Cool before serving and refrigerate.

 The original recipe says makes 60 to 70 rounds.  We had a total of 83 so they will last us a while.

Super easy recipe.  Remember to have a couple of cookie sheets on hand – you will need them.  This recipe was a hit!  Chunyo couldn’t get enough of them.  Licked up every crumb!

YUM!!!!

Tadaa!!!  Hope your pooch likes these treats as much as Chunyo!

Easy Pumpkin Treats for Chunyo

Waiting for his pumpkin treats!

Chunyo loves his treats – Kongs stuffed with peanut butter, liver treats, and the occasional bully stick.  But one of his FAVORITE treats is pumpkin.  HE loves himself some pumpkin – in a bowl, on a spoon, or in a treat.  However he can get it, he will take it! His vet was the first to recommend it. So from time to time he gets it as a treat.  Rather than putting it in a little bowl, we recently decided to change it up a bit – frozen pumpkin treats.  

Here is what you will need:

• 1 organic can of pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
• Ice tray (Put one scoop in each opening; recommend mixing it up with a little bit of water so it is not too thick) 

Frozen pumpkin treats

Tada!  Wait a couple of hours and your pooch will be happy with his new pumpkin treat!