If you are a dog owner or even just a dog lover, you know your pups deserve the best! They provide us with love, unwavering friendship, and bring so much happiness into our lives.
So why give when goodies that are full of preservatives and unknown ingredients? You may call us over the top, but we love to cook for our fur babies! That way we know EXACTLY what they are eating.
In this case, that is peanut butter, oats, banana, whole wheat flour, and egg! If it sounds more like something you want to eat yourself than feed to your pup then I think that's a positive sign.
But we haven't even gotten to the best part yet. These little goodies have a health stimulating factor - Milk Thistle!
Milk Thistle may be beneficial to dogs with liver problems (and their owners) because of its content of Silymarin. One study published in the Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics found milk thistle beneficial for liver dysfunction in Beagles.
What they found was lowered inflammation, antioxidant ability, and increased protein production in the liver, to name a few of the noted benefits.
But getting our beloved pups to take a pill, no matter how beneficial, is a challenge all on its own. My sweet baby can find a capsule in ANYTHING and can strategically pop it out the corner of her mouth and enjoy her newly-pill-free treat! It is really rather impressive to see her in action.
Here's where the powder comes in...Bake that goodness right into a peanut butter cookie! No pills needed!
PROBLEM SOLVED!!
They’ll be so excited to have a new home-made treat they will eat it right up without even realizing the liver loving benefits that are headed their way.
Here is the recipe, and I hope your fur-babies enjoy them as much as ours!
Ingredients
1 large egg
1/3 cup dog-friendly peanut butter (chunky or creamy)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup mashed banana
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 300 F.
Combine all ingredients in your mixing bowl. No need to separate wet and dry.
Mix the dough well until a ball forms. Adding a little more flour if the dough is sticky.
Flour your surface, could be the counter or a cutting board, and flatten your dough either with your hands or a rolling pin. If the dough is sticky, again, add a little more flour.
Use some adorable doggie cookie cutters - bones, paws, and hearts are all great choices! If you do not have cookie cutters you can use a circle jar to make little round cookies or shape them by hand.
Prepare a cookie sheet by either spreading a little olive oil OR using parchment paper. Bake at 300 F for about 20 minutes.
This recipe will make a few dozen cookies, and all ingredients are safe for human consumption. You might even give them a try for yourself too!
Big shoutout to our models: Radar (our sweet old girl) and Shasta (our beautiful picky-eater) for taste testing these peanut-buttery bones! These sisters made quick work of these goodies!
Recipe inspired by Miss Molly Says
