Doggie Treats Gone Vegan

My two senior dogs absolutely love their treats, especially the homemade ones. After I had them sample this recipe, they wouldn’t leave my side and offered their assortment of tricks to keep the good stuff coming. More or less patiently, they even agreed to a little photo shoot. Before I put together new variations of treats, I always check and double check various online sources making sure all the ingredients are dog safe. Many food items that are not just good but very healthy for us humans are toxic for dogs. So here is an absolutely safe and sure-to-drool treat for your canine friends!

Ingredients:

• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil for baking sheet
• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 cup (190 g) brown rice
• 2 1/2 cups (600 ml) filtered water for rice
• 1 oz (30 g) parsley, minced
• 1 Tbsp unsalted peanut butter
• 2 Tbsp flaxseed
• 1 Tbsp turmeric
• 2 Tbsp olive oil (plus some more for baking sheet)

Preparation:

Follow instructions on package to cook brown rice in filtered water. Preheat oven to 400°F (200°C). Grease baking sheet with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Thoroughly wash and scrub sweet potato, then cut it into ~ 1/2 inch ( 1.5 cm) slices. If you want you can peel it too. I didn’t. Place on baking sheet in single layer and bake for 15-20 minutes until sweet potato slices are soft. Pull them out of the oven, and turn down the heat to 350°F (175°C). When rice and sweet potatoes are ready, let them cool down, then toss into a large bowl with all the remaining ingredients. Use your hands to blend and knead everything, then form little 1″ (2.5 cm) balls and place back on greased baking sheet. Use a fork to flatten them a bit. It will also give those treats a nice pattern which your dogs will surely appreciate 😉 . Bake for about 15 minutes. Make sure they have sufficiently cooled down before you offer them to your dogs! Whatever you don’t use by the next day, simply freeze in a single layer. Otherwise they might stick together. Thaw completely before giving them to your dogs!