If you are a dog owner, then you know that your pet has special dietary needs. After all, they need to eat food that is good for them and will keep them healthy! One great way to do this is by making smoothies.
Smoothies can be healthy treats or meals depending on what ingredients you use. In my blog post today I am going to list a few recipes for dogs so that you can find the one that best fits your needs!
Here I will not discuss if dogs can eat (or drink?) smoothies or not, I already answered this question in the Can Dogs Eat Smoothies? blog post.
Your dog can improve their health by absorbing the nutrients from smoothies. There is a range of vitamins and minerals that are really beneficial to your dog and smoothies help to improve dogs’ immune systems, improve their bowel movements, and also support their growth, bone structure, and eyesight.
Be mindful of the ingredients that you include in your dog’s smoothie but if you ensure that none of the ingredients include any allergens or anything artificial then an improvement in your dog’s health will be the positive result. The smoothie recipes below are both for you and for your pup, so you can both enjoy them as a treat or as part of your healthy lifestyle.
Celery, Spinach, and Apple Smoothie
Due to the high fiber content in spinach, including a range of vitamins that include vitamin A, C, and B, this smoothie is an appealing option for your dog to incorporate into their diet. Additionally, celery helps to reduce the risk of illness and infection and the apple helps to support digestion.
There are four staple ingredients, including water, in the smoothie and they are all cost-effective and easily accessible from your nearest supermarket.
Alternatively, you can also alter the ingredients that you choose to include in the smoothie for dogs if you want to adjust some of the flavors. Beet greens, celery, and avocado are all suitable and healthy options.
What is in the Smoothie?
The Spinach, Celery, and Apple Smoothie consist of two stalks of celery, one apple, eight spinach leaves, and 1/2 a glass of cold water.
Preparation Tips
All of the ingredients in the smoothie need to be washed well before they are chopped and put into a blender. Both the celery and the apple need to be chopped into smaller pieces, placed into a smoothie maker and then the ingredients can be strained. Then, you have prepared a delicious smoothie for dogs.
Forest Fruit Smoothie
This Forest Fruit Smoothie includes a real kick of flavor with its range of berries, banana, and mango ingredients. Blackberries are known for boosting brain health, the potassium in the bananas contributes to healthy bones and mangos contribute to a healthy heart.
There is also a mild sugar content within this recipe from the fruit to the honey so you might want to be mindful of this if you are monitoring your dog’s sugar intake; however, the fruit includes natural sugars and by selecting honey that is low in content for your dog and providing it to them occasionally, they will gain the health benefits.
This smoothie for dogs is ideal for a summer day to help keep them refreshed and satisfied.
What is in the Smoothie?
The Forest Fruit Smoothie includes 1/2 a glass of cold water, one cup of blackberries – or you can opt for five large strawberries; one sliced mango; one banana that needs to be ripe; and half a tablespoon of honey.
Preparation Tips
The Forest Fruit Smoothie is a suitable option if you have a very active dog and a busy schedule as it only takes five minutes to prepare.
Ensuring that you have included the preparation details above in the ‘What is in the Smoothie?’ section for the ingredients, the ingredients then need to go into the blender and keep blending until the ingredients run smooth.
Once the ingredients have been blended, they can then be put into little bowls and go to the freezer. Once the smoothies have been set, they can then be placed on the floor for your dog to enjoy.
There are four servings for your dog to enjoy from this recipe, so don’t put everything in one meal!
Peanut Butter and Jelly Smoothie
If you are seeking a smoothie that you and your dog can share (not from the same plate of course), then the Peanut Butter and Jelly Smoothie is a great way to indulge whilst remaining healthy. The contents of this smoothie, including peanut butter, are based on leaving you fuller for longer and there is also the added sweetness of a hint of maple syrup.
This particular smoothie should be offered to your dog as a treat so don’t use it to substitute their usual meal plan, otherwise, they could miss out on essential nutrients.
It’s important to note that this recipe contains greek yogurt. It is not toxic to dogs, and dogs can eat yogurt, but some dogs may have trouble digesting it.
What is in the Smoothie?
To prepare your Peanut Butter and Jelly smoothie you will need fives ounces of Greek yogurt – opt for non-fat; two generous tablespoons of peanut butter – you can alter the serving size here if you prefer and reduce them to small amounts if you want to reduce fat content; eight small raspberries which should ideally be frozen; and for that fine sweetness, include a tablespoon of maple syrup.
You can decide what flavor you think that you and your dog will enjoy the most but the recipe suggests ‘grade B’ syrup.
Preparation Tips
Once you have gathered all of your ingredients together stated above you can then add them together and mix them into a blender. If you want even smoother results, you can then also go on to sift it.
This recipe is not only delicious and an amazing smoothie for dogs but it is also really easy to make.
Final Top Tips
Lastly, when you are preparing your smoothies, to produce a totally smooth texture that will allow your dog and even you with human and dog-friendly smoothies, you can then proceed to sift the smoothie with a fine-mesh sieve or a cheesecloth. This final process will make your results and smoothie for dogs even more enjoyable.
If you find that you want to mix the ingredients up a bit, there are a breadth of different recipes online and smoothie recipes that can be adapted to suit your dog. However, if you are planning to trial a new recipe, ensure that all ingredients are dog-friendly.
There are so many benefits to feeding your dog a healthy and nutritious diet. Smoothies can be an easy way for you to do it in the morning, but there’s no reason why they can’t also work as meal replacements!
By giving your pup smoothie treats on occasion, you’re not only providing them with great flavors that they might enjoy more than traditional food; you’re also helping out their digestive system and overall health while giving them another option if they need to eat up something quickly because of separation anxiety. So next time you make yourself a delicious blender drink – save some for your pup too!