It’s the holiday season — time for every member of your Military Family to celebrate, including the furry ones! Why not slip something into their stockings that even a vegan or vegetarian would approve. You’ll have fun baking up some bone-shaped homemade veggie-friendly treats for your dog and tiny-cookie cutter shaped treats for your cat that are good for them and super cute.
Here are 2 easy ways to make veggie treats for the holidays that will satisfy the taste buds of your favorite furry friends.
Peanut Butter Doggie Delights
Ingredients
1/4-cup, Creamy Peanut Butter | 1 15-oz. can, Organic Pumpkin Puree | 3 cups, Old-Fashioned Oats (set aside 1/2-cup) | 1/4-cup, Milk
Method
- In a medium bowl, beat the peanut butter, pumpkin puree and milk with an electric mixer on medium-high until they are well combined. Lower your mixing speed and slowly incorporate the 2-1/2 cups of oats.
- Using a teaspoon and your hands, spoon out enough mixture to roll into a ball about 1-1/4 inches in diameter. You should be able to make about 20 balls. Roll them the 1/2-cup of oats you reserved, then cover and refrigerate about 1 hour.
- You can serve your dog the Doggie Delights for up to one week.
Or, instead of rolling them into a ball, you can try cutting out the treats with a small cookie cutter instead, prior to coating with the reserved oats.
Chewy Kitty Bites
Ingredients
2 Tbsp. instant mashed potato flakes | 1 4-oz. baby food jar, carrots | 1 cup, brown rice flour | 1/4-cup, coarsely chopped parsley | 1/2-cup, white or brown rice, cooked | 2 tsp, olive oil | 2 Tbsp, water
Method
- Preheat a cookie sheet on the middle rack of a 325-degree oven. Line a second cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Whisk together the potato flakes, carrots, parsley, olive oil and water in a medium bowl. Then incorporate the brown rice flour and cooked rice into your mixture. It should be thick enough to spread onto the lined cookie sheet from edge to edge, approximately 1/3-inch in depth.
- Bake 12-15 minutes. Cool until you can safely touch it with your fingers. Slice into bite-sized pieces (or use a tiny cookie cutter to create shapes and bake 8 more minutes. Allow to cool completely outside the oven.
You can store your Kitty Bites in the fridge in an airtight container. Try to use them up within a week.
Note for both recipes: If your dog or cat enjoys eating meat and you can’t stomach using the real thing to create treats that include it, try using faux chicken and meatless crumbles instead. That way, your pet gets the satisfaction of tasting “meat”, even if it’s not really there.
