Homemade Green Chicken Crumpets — Healthy Pet Treats for Dogs and Cats
This simple pet treat recipe contains just four ingredients but will make your dog’s or cat’s mouth water. Best of all, each scrumptious treat will give your pet a nutritional boost without any of the fillers, preservatives, and byproducts, which are common in store-bought versions.
Reviewed by Dr. Becker
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STORY AT-A-GLANCE
- Use this Green Chicken Crumpets recipe to create healthy, delicious homemade treats for your dog or cat. It takes just four ingredients, and about 30 minutes of baking and prep time
- The grass fed plain yogurt component delivers probiotics, high-quality protein, calcium, B vitamins, and cancer-fighting conjugated linoleic acid (CLA), especially when sourced from grass fed cows
- Ingredients include ground chicken, basil, plain yogurt, and organic hemp protein powder
- Chicken is an excellent source of protein and it contains all B vitamins along with minerals like selenium
- Many commercial pet treats contain grains or unnecessary fillers, rendered animal byproducts, added sugar, chemicals, artificial preservatives, undisclosed contaminants, or ingredients known to be highly allergenic to pets
Editor's Note: This article is a reprint. It was originally published June 11, 2015.
There’s nothing better than a home-cooked meal and your pet certainly agrees. While it’s possible to find high-quality, healthy pet treats at specialty pet stores (and online), you’ll be surprised at how easy it is to create your own homemade treats right in your own kitchen.
The recipe that follows, Green Chicken Crumpets, is packed with beneficial ingredients and flavors that will make your dog’s or cat’s mouth water. Best of all, it takes just four ingredients, and in about 30 minutes (including baking and prep time), you’ll be pulling these homemade pet treats out of your oven, and popping them into your waiting pet’s mouth. Be sure to let them cool before giving your pet a taste!
Ingredients:
- 1 cup ground chicken
- 1/2 cup freshly chopped basil
- 1/4 cup plain organic, yogurt
- 1T hemp protein powder
Directions:
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
- Combine all ingredients together in a mixing bowl.
- Drop into bite-sized morsels on a greased cookie sheet.
- Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until light brown.
Why Are Green Chicken Crumpets So Good for Your Dog and Cat?
Many commercial pet treats contain grains or unnecessary fillers, rendered animal byproducts, added sugar (sometimes hidden in ingredients like molasses and honey), chemicals, artificial preservatives, undisclosed contaminants, or ingredients known to be highly allergenic to pets.
In contrast, Green Chicken Crumpets contain just four health-promoting ingredients … and nothing more (no hidden fillers, sugars, preservatives, etc.).
Free-Range Chicken
Chicken is an excellent source of protein and it contains all B vitamins along with minerals like selenium. Other nutrients in chicken include zinc, copper, phosphorus, magnesium, and iron, along with sulfur-containing amino acids like cysteine, which help thin mucus in the lungs so it’s easier to discharge.
Other amino acids in chicken, notably leucine, isoleucine and valine, are important for cardiac and skeletal muscle health.1 Ideally, choose free-range, organic chicken.
- Basil — Basil contains iron, calcium, manganese, vitamin C, and potassium, along with vitamin K, which is important for blood clotting. The vitamin A in basil consists of beta-carotene, a powerful antioxidant that helps protect the cell lining and blood vessels against free radical damage. This essential vitamin also prevents the oxidation of cholesterol in the blood to avoid atherosclerosis, heart attack, and stroke.
Basil is also packed with DNA-protecting flavonoids and volatile oils such as estragole, linalool, cineole, eugenol, sabinene, myrcene, and limonene, which are important in fighting off different kinds of bacteria like listeria, staphylococcus, E. coli, yersinia enterocolitica, and pseudomonas aeruginosa. Basil also has anti-inflammatory properties and is known to help provide relief from inflammatory conditions, including rheumatoid arthritis. - Grass fed plain yogurt — Yogurt is rich in high-quality protein, beneficial probiotics, calcium, B vitamins, and even cancer-fighting conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) (the latter of which is particularly found in grass fed yogurt).
Your absolute best bet when it comes to yogurt is to make your own using a starter culture and raw grass fed milk. Raw organic milk from grass fed cows not only contains beneficial bacteria that support your pet’s immune system and can help reduce allergies, it's also an outstanding source of vitamins (especially vitamin A), zinc, enzymes, and healthy fats. All you need is a high-quality culture starter added to a quart of raw milk, which you leave at room temperature overnight.
If you’re buying a commercial brand, seek out organic yogurt and that made from 100% grass fed or pastured milk. And you'll want wholemilk yogurt, not low-fat or skim. - Organic hemp protein powder — Organic hemp protein powder is a high-quality source of plant protein that contains all nine essential amino acids vital for good health. In addition, it’s an excellent source of essential fatty acids (including omega-3 and omega-6), magnesium, iron and zinc, along with beneficial fiber.
