Feed the Animals....Feeding Our Pets is Not Science, It's Common Sense

If you are still buying commercial animal food for your beloved pets, please stop.

How’s that for an opening statement? But, it truly is how I feel and is based on some very interesting personal history I might add. I do not feed any of my pets anything from a factory (even when I ate it myself) and prefer to make their food at home.

Years ago, back when I worked as a Food Hygiene Inspector I saw exactly what was sent to the rendering plant for dog and cat food in particular. I was also quite aware of all the short cuts the rest of the condemned material might take to cross paths with it too.

That’s not saying all pet food is condemned food, however, what bothers me far more is the fact that we have come to believe our pets need to eat food that is made on an assembly line.

Even when we ourselves are, or should be, more aware, concerned, taking steps (hopefully) to remove this type of rubbish from our own food chain. Right now you might be thinking – so what, we don’t eat the pets?

No, but we do pay their bills! And we do care for them, so why not take steps to make their food a little better quality as well as our own and keep them healthy longer. It’s so easy to feed a dog or a cat.

I always think in terms of protein. A cat has a short digestive tract – food goes through fairly quickly – they can often eat more protein and particularly thrive on fish. But, when their favourite fish is mixed with cooked vegetables, rice, beans and so forth – they love it.

Dogs will eat what you give them (or at least mine will) so I make extra when cooking our own meals to feed to them. I just pay attention throughout the week to their needs as well.

For instance, everyone gets an egg or two a week (the cat loves eggs!). Alternate fish, beans, meat etc. as a protein source, balance it out with vegetables (both raw and cooked) and some grains. I also throw in seaweeds, oils and any other goodies they might need.

You must also look at their activity levels, age and development stages – for instance a young puppy (we have a 6 month old) has different energy requirements then an older less/more active dog (we also have a hyper Whippet).

Feeding a pet early in the day is also wise as they seem to be more settled at night when you do (and so do we). However, getting the right amount of food is important too. Perhaps two smaller meals are better then one larger dinner for some pets.

What I like about making my own pet food is that I get to stay in touch with my animals, monitor them, see what their needs are and not just throw food at them and not think about it.

I am actively involved in their health and well-being, through their diet as well as their care. Personally, I think it makes for far healthier animals, better interaction and happier, better adjusted households when we are all connected by something as fundamental as our food.

Feeding our pets is not science – it’s common sense.

April

Healthy pup! 

Homemade Shampoo – Lavender & Nettle

For years I have made my own shampoo – however I haven’t really thought to talk about it on this blog because, well, it’s a foodie focus and I didn't really put shampoo into the same category. Then this week as I was making up a fresh batch for us to use, it occurred to me as I poured nettle into the mix, shampoo IS also a foodie thing.

Sort of.

By now I hope you can see (I have certainly changed my mind about a few points when it comes to food!) how pretty well everything can be made at home, it’s generally better then something bought in a shop and for far less money.

Of course, my first comment on this is to also mention – you can also make it your own way. And that to me is always the greatest satisfaction. I love it when I can put my own spin, taste or scents into something.

It’s kind of a signature thing - just like your own energy field. 

Shampoo for me is no different and such a simple item to make at home. It really is just a few ingredients – blend them together and give it a shake when ever you want to use it (no binders or preservatives to make it all neat and uniform).

Yet, that is precisely what I love about it – life is not neat and tidy nor should it be uniform. And your own shampoo should not contain toxins which sit on your head soaking into your skin (brain?) all day long.

So – I make my own. To do this I grate down castile soap into flakes while heating pure spring water in the kettle. Then I pour boiling water over top of the flakes to melt them.

Next I decide what kind of shampoo I would like and I prepare the extract from some herbs such as nettle and lavender this time around. But I also like rose, chamomile, mint and rosemary as well.

These extracts go into the mixture which is by now in a ceramic bowl and I then add a few drops of pure oil or herbal essence from a plant. To make this shampoo today, I put in a few drops of lavender oil along with the nettle infusion.

I let the mixture cool down, pour it into a bottle and then give it a good shake. It makes a low suds lather and leaves your hair feeling refreshed and nice. But you know what is even better?

You feel great because there is not one thing going into your skin or energy field that is toxic or harmful in any way.

April

Stewed Apple & Nettle Soup

These past few days have been great for our annual ritual gathering weeds or more specifically these glorious nettles and dandelions. They are sprouting everywhere and just asking to become part of our journey each spring.

We have collected pots of them usually early in the morning when they are at their best (and so are we!), not only for us to eat in our food but also for the animals. They are great for our laying geese and ducks as well as for our milking goats.

Nettles and dandelions are also chocked full of all the minerals and vitamins needed at the moment for us to gently surge ahead in better health. And when they are young such as this time of year – they taste a little like spinach.

Usually I just make soups and stews with nettles while I add dandelion raw to salads but also stir fry it with onions, garlic and anything else I have on hand here. However like any other vegetables, nettles can be quite versatile and I plan on making a few different dishes with them in the coming days.

Today I made a pot of nettle tea with some fresh nettles – but instead of throwing out the greens afterwards (or giving them to the geese) I added them to my already cooking soup. Nothing need be wasted when it comes to great herbs!

So now I have a pot of vegetable soup that turned into nettle soup….

To make any kind of soup or stew with nettles – pick some first (the tops are enough) wash and cut the leaves off if you want. Add the leaves to your hot water or even a soup already cooked – just boil it a little longer to soften and blanch the nettles.

Once my soup was ready – with vegetables and loads of nettle – I decided to add some flavour for my taste tester with some stewed apples stirred in at the end. The nettles and apples are a perfect combination or sweet and earthy flavours.

Milk, cheese or yogurt works very well here too. No time to get a picture of the soup - it was gone too fast....!

April 

Goats feta cheese hanging to drip out the whey

Spring Nettle & Vegetable Detox Soup - Strengthen Body & Energy Field

This is the time of year when the baby nettles are in full growth – but not yet gone into flower. These lovely herbs are one of natures gifts to us during our spring time detox to cleanse the blood, boost our iron and minerals as well as strengthen the energy field.

I have long used this herb in conjunction with a few others to help myself and clients bring back a damaged or broken energy field as well as to enable energy blocks and stuck areas to move up to re-pattern.

Nettle is a versatile, healthy, natural and energetic marvel of the Universe when it comes to healing herbs. I use it for everything from feeding my goats their mash, in soups and stews, herbal teas, vegetarian rennet for cheese making, herbal medicine – have I left anything out?

The growing tips and stems can easily be harvested by simply taking a pair of scissors and cutting about 10 cm off the top of each plant in a nettle patch. This way, they will regrow quickly and you get the best leaves for cooking and eating.

I like my nettle mixed in with vegetables when I make a light detox soup – I usually only have a few ingredients in this type of meal but it also depends on what I have on hand to be used up. So, you can be very creative here....

Most vegetables are healthy and healing so throw in what you have! LOL

Today I started out by washing my nettles, removing any leaves that had brown or black edges on them and then letting them sit in water to clear out any bugs or dirt. These are to be added to the soup only for the final 10 minutes of cooking.

Then I sautéd some onions, fresh baby leeks from the garden, garlic and spices (I used ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, salt and pepper) in a little water and olive oil. I like the flavour they give to any soup or stew.

Next I chopped, sliced and diced a few vegetables I had on hand – today I had pumpkin, fennel and carrots – these were all added into a small pot with some water and a few pieces of seaweed.

I let the vegetables cook until softened and then added the sautéd onion mixture (top up a little more water if needed). This cooked for another 10 minutes and then the nettles were added.

I like to leave the soup to cook only long enough to soften and take away the sting from the nettles. Cooking too long would also destroy some of their health benefits –so 7 to 10 minutes more is long enough.

Once the soup was done – I turned it off and let cool for a while - I blended it a little for our taste tester. This soup is nice on it’s own or with something light like couscous and a piece of crusty bread.

April

Nettle tops from the garden

Happy Bacteria Cultures - Home Grown Mesophilic Bacteria

Yesterday I was busy finishing up my feta cheese making – it was a great experiment all round and fun too. It is a marvel to watch the milk curdle and then clump into solids and liquids as it separates during the ripening phase.

With my microbiology background (yes, that too) I am always curious about the bacteria normally present in raw milk and of course, then my mind goes into thinking….can I get them to grow at home?

Of course the answer for the most part is, yes. It is actually quite easy – and because I have wonderful raw milk from my own goats – the way to go about producing my own mesophilic (bacteria that grow in moderate temperatures such as 20 to 30 degrees) is relatively simple.

During the past couple of days I took a clean empty glass jar and filled it with milk right from the goats. Then I set it out on the kitchen counter (with the lid loosely on) and watched it. It feels as if I have done a lot of watching and waiting this week….

However, after a few hours, you kind of ignore it – because this process takes about 30 to 36 hours (in my case) for the milk to curdle. After 24 hours nothing was happening so I moved the jar to a slightly warmer place until I went to bed.

Just before I turned in for the night, I moved the jar back to it’s cooler location and left it there. This morning – I had soured, thick, clumpy milk – it was wonderful to see! I gave it a couple of little shakes to evenly distribute the curds and then poured it into small trays to freeze.

This was evidence that bacteria had grown and was now ready to use in some way...

If all goes well – I should be able to take one frozen cube out of the freezer and use it to inoculate my yogurt, buttermilk or cheese making adventures for at least some of the types I hope to make.

At the very least – it was nice to how more of this cheese making process can be done at home. I have an issue with mass produced, factory grown bacteria….I think they aren’t as happy as the ones grown in my kitchen.

April

Mesophilic bacteria starter in trays