We’re all feeling the economic pinch at the
moment. It can be hard trying to balance the budget, while also trying to provide the best for your family. Making your dog’s or cat’s food at home is not known as being the most economical option, it can be done in a way that is more cost effective. We’re going to be releasing a series of budget-friendly recipes to help pet parents provide fresh food for their
pups without breaking the bank.
This is the first recipe in the budget-friendly series. This chicken, egg & quinoa recipe is packed with nutrients from whole foods and costs less than a cup of coffee a day (< $4.50 AUD) to feed a 15-kilogram dog. When creating this recipe, I didn’t want to stack the cards in my favour, so I used standard prices that you would get shopping at the two largest grocery store chains in Australia. So, the cost per day could be even lower if you buy in bulk when things are on sale, or if you shopped at lower-priced grocery stores.
Chicken & egg with quinoa, carrots & spinach
Ingredients
200 grams chicken breast (boneless, skinless) - $2.20
100 grams chicken liver - $0.70
1 cage-free, large/XL egg - $0.42
120 grams white quinoa - $1.38
150 grams carrots (Imperfects, if possible) - $0.24
70 grams spinach (frozen) - $0.27
10 grams sunflower seeds (ground) - $0.08
3 teaspoons olive oil - $0.22
Supplements (choose either human supplements or VNG CompleteMe Canine)
Human supplements
2 tablets (crushed) Blackmores Multivitamins and Antioxidants (Australian/New Zealand) OR 21st Century Mega Multi for Women (International) - $0.40
¼ teaspoon iodised salt - $0.01
5 grams eggshell (ground) - $0 (homemade)
OR
CompleteMe meal completer
6 grams CompleteMe canine - $0.90
Instructions
1. Cook the quinoa with 300 mL of water in a pot until cooked through. Thoroughly cooked quinoa should be translucent and will have broken "germ" rings. If all the water has absorbed, but the quinoa is still not fully cooked, add another 100 mL of water and continue to simmer until all grains are cooked.
2. Add the egg in a pot with cold tap water and bring to a boil. Add the chicken breast and chicken liver and bring back up to a boil if needed. After 1 minute of boiling, shut off burner, cover and leave the pot undisturbed for 20 minutes.
3. Remove the chicken breast and liver and chop into bite-sized pieces.
4. Remove the egg and when cool, peel and save the shell for grinding if using human supplements to balance the recipe. Chop the egg into bite-sized pieces.
5. Chop the carrots into bite-sized pieces and steam on the stove-top or in the microwave until soft.
6. Briefly microwave the frozen spinach for 1 minute until thawed and snip with scissors, if needed, into small pieces.
7. Grind the sunflower seeds in a coffee/spice grinder or by using a mortar & pestle.
8. Combine the chicken breast, chicken liver, egg, quinoa, carrot, spinach, sunflower seeds, and olive oil.
9. Add the required supplements, either the human supplements or VNG CompleteMe canine.
10. Mix well and serve to an excited pup 🐶
This makes about 1 kg of food (energy density 1.17 kcal per gram of diet), and I would need to feed a 15-kilogram dog about 700 grams a day to meet their energy requirement. You can use our feeding calculator to work out how many grams a day you would need to feed your pup.
I hope this recipe empowers you to feel like you can feed homemade fresh food without maxing out the bank card. If you’re finding that it’s still too costly, no worries at all, because we think feeding fresh occasionally as a topper or as a special meal once a week can have lots of benefits as well. No one should ever feel guilty about feeding within their means and doing the best they can for their loved ones.
Please feel free to leave a comment and share your tips on how to save when making your pets’ diet at home 🤑
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