A Healthy Thanksgiving For Your Pup

Today’s post has a couple yummy recipes that you can make for the pups in your life. As many of you know, my baby Baron is a picky eater, but I couldn’t love him more. I might also be adopting a new dog, and she is BIG, so in anticipation of her arrival I’ve been thinking of some healthy treats I can make for both dogs to celebrate the season and repurpose leftovers. I hope you enjoy!!!

Turkey & Cranberry Dog Treat Recipe

The ingredients for this treat recipe are ones you’ll probably already have on hand for your Thanksgiving dinner preparations: turkey, cranberries, olive oil, eggs, flour and broth.
Turkey is a canine favorite and cranberries are incredibly beneficial for dogs, so this seemed like a great combination for treats! We all know that cranberry has a long history in use for preventing urinary tract infections. This little bundle of goodness is also great for our dogs because it is rich in Vitamin C, fiber, manganese, and antioxidants.

INGREDIENTS
• 3 ½ cups whole wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup shredded cooked turkey
• 1 cup dried cranberries
• 1 egg
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken broth, or as needed

DIRECTIONS
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease baking sheets, or line them with parchment paper.
-In a large bowl, whisk the whole wheat flour and baking powder together until thoroughly combined, and stir in the cooked turkey meat and dried cranberries. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, and drop the egg into the center; pour in the olive oil and about 1/2 cup of chicken broth. Mix into a soft dough. If mixture is too dry, mix in more chicken broth, about 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough is of desired consistency.
-Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface, and knead for 1 to 2 minutes. Roll the dough out 1/4 inch thick, and cut out with your favorite cookie cutters.
-Bake until the treats turn brown, about 25 minutes. Turn the oven off, and leave the dog treats in the oven an additional 30 minutes to dry out. Refrigerate leftover dog treats.

Round out your pup’s Thanksgiving feast with this recipe for Mini Pumpkin Pie Treats that I found and love. Here’s how to make those!

Mini Pumpkin Pie Treats

INGREDIENTS
• 1 ¾ cup oat flour (pulse rolled oats in a food processor to a floury consistency)
• ¾ cup unsweetened applesauce
• One banana
• ¾ cup unsweetened pumpkin puree
• Optional: Low-fat plain yogurt for topping

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cook Time: 8 minutes
Yield: 24 Mini Pies

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 350º

For the Topping:
-You can thicken the yogurt by placing it in a mesh strainer lined with cheesecloth or a large coffee filter.
-Set the strainer over a bowl to catch the whey.

For the Crust:
-In a mixing bowl, stir together the flour and applesauce until a nice dough ball forms.
-Divide the dough into 24 equal sized pieces.
-Place a ball in each well of a mini muffin tin and press to flatten.
-Bake the crust for 8 min or until just starting to color.
-Let cool before removing from pan.

For the Filling:
-Peel and mash the banana in a large bowl.
-Add the pumpkin puree and stir to combine.
-Divide the filling among the pie crusts and top with yogurt.