C.A.R.E. in the Kitchen

Do you love to cook, or maybe you get random urges every so often to whip up something fun? We do too! And this week we are going to show you a few recipes that can be made for your four-legged friends (also make great gifts for those friends/family with pets). So grab your aprons and let's head to the kitchen!

Sweet Potatoes. American Kennel Club says, "Sweet potatoes provide an excellent source of dietary fiber, which helps the digestive system function more effectively. Eating fiber on a regular basis lowers the risk of heart disease and certain types of cancers." Sweet potatoes are also low in fat and rich in vitamins A, B6, C, calcium, potassium, and iron.

Sweet Potato Chewies:

Ingredients needed... just sweet potatoes! For this recipe, 1 or 2 will work.

Preheat your oven to 250 degrees. For smaller pups you can cut into round slices. Larger pups could handle length-long slices. Make sure not to slice them too thin or they will end up more crispy than chewy! Arrange in a single layer, baking for 2 1/2 hours - 3 hours, flipping sometime in the middle!

Three Ingredient Dog Treats:

That's right! All you need is some 1/2 c. Peanut Butter (xylitol free), 1 1/2 c. Oats, and a Banana!

1. Preheat Oven to 350 degrees

2. In a food processor or blender, grind oats until they are powder

3. Mix together banana and peanut butter

4. Use some of the oat mixture to coat the area you will be rolling out dough, and mix the rest with the peanut butter and banana mixture (if it is too dry, you can add a little more peanut butter!)

5. Cut into desired shapes and put on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper

Bake for 15 minutes or until edges begin to turn brown!

And now a treat for your cat - which we all know can be a bit more... particular than our dog friends.

Tasty Tuna Treats

1/2 c. whole wheat flour

1/4 c. skim milk

1/2 can (6oz) tuna

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 egg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, and spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Mix all ingredients together and scoop out 1 teaspoon portions, then dividing into two separate balls of dough.

Bake for 10 minutes.

With the weather getting colder over the next couple of months, what better of an activity is there than making some treats for those four-legged friends that you love so dearly! Thanks for checking in to this week's C.A.R.E. Blog! Stay toasty.