Furry Friday – Chikkie Slop

When I sat down to write the Furry Friday post today, I knew I had to make it quick because today is the day I make Chikkie Slop for my dogs.  And Bruce Wayne is already showing me his lack of patience for my delay in creating his favorite thing in the world.

What is Chikkie Slop?  Well, Bruce says it’s ambrosia.  I say it’s a healthy, and tasty, alternative to processed dog food.  If you look at your dog’s food, wet or dry, you will probably find a lot of ingredients that don’t appear in your own food.  I try to avoid eating a lot of processed food, and it’s only fair that I do the same for my dogs. 

I first decided to make my own dog food when my Beagle, Annabelle Lee, had surgery to remove her spleen and part of her liver due to a cancerous growth.  After her surgery, she didn’t want to eat much, and I started poaching chicken for her.  This led me down the rabbit hole of canine nutrition, following several holistic vets on social media and buying books on the subject.  I created the recipe below to suit Annabelle’s tastes as well as to optimize her nutrition.

When I showed the recipe to her vet, he approved it and said it sounded perfectly healthy to him.  Annabelle loved it every time I made it for her.  As for the healthfulness – she was projected to live 6 – 8 months after her spleen removal surgery in December 2019.  She passed away in March 2022.  That’s 27 months, more than three times the maximum longevity she was forecasted to have. 

You’re probably thinking that it’s very bougie and expensive to make my dog’s food, but it’s really not.  If I were to feed them the mass-market brands of wet food for little dogs, I would be spending $2 or $3 for each meal, with two meals per day.  At the low end, that $2 x 2 feedings x 7 days = $28 a week.  I pick up boneless skinless chicken breast or thighs when they are on sale.  Right now, both are Buy One Get One Free at my local grocery store.  I get extra and freeze it.  This costs me about $5 for a package of chicken.

Twice a week, I pull out the instapot, toss in a package of chicken, add veggies, and cook.  The veggies are sweet potato (less than $1), carrots (less than $1), and green beans.  Fresh beans are best, but I buy frozen otherwise.  A bag of frozen green beans is about $1.25, and I get three batches out of one bag.  Add it up and it’s less than $8 for one batch of food, or $16 for the week.  Sometimes I add to this base recipe.  My favorite things to add include celery, broccoli, and asparagus.  When I can find them, I buy a package of chicken gizzards for $1.99 and split it between two batches. 

After cooking for 15 minutes in the instapot and allowing it to cool, I run it through the food processor on low speed until it’s the consistency of chicken salad.  During the last spin, I add a ½ cup of fresh or frozen blueberries to give it a boost of antioxidants.  I store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator and feed it to them twice a day.

Recipe:

2 lbs boneless skinless chicken

1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled

1 lb carrots, peeled

1 cup green beans, fresh or frozen, not canned

½ cup chicken bone broth or water

Optional additions:

Celery, broccoli, asparagus, blueberries, chicken gizzards

In the video below, you can see Bruce Wayne’s enthusiasm for his chikkie slop.  Even Gidget McFidget gets excited when it’s time for me to make a fresh batch.