With so much tasty food on Thanksgiving, it’s easy to have plenty of leftovers. If you find yourself with extras, let your furry friend celebrate the holiday with you! There are plenty of tasty treats you can make with the food we eat on Thanksgiving.
Things like ham or turkey skin, bones, stuffing with raisins, and anything with garlic should be avoided as these are toxic to dogs and cats. Instead, try making these mouth-watering snacks for your pet!
1. Turkey Meatballs
A turkey meatball has about seven grams of protein per meatball.
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One of the most common leftovers people have after this November holiday is turkey. Dogs love turkey and you can create filling meatballs with what you have remaining. These can be kept in the fridge or frozen for future treats!
You’ll need to put the turkey into a food processor until it’s blended completely. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees to allow it to warm up over the next few steps. With the blended turkey, add two eggs, two tablespoons of yogurt, and ¼ cup parsley.
Mix this until it holds together. You can add veggies such as carrots to give your pooch a bit more nutrition. Spoon this mix into meatballs and put on a baking sheet. Allow it to bake for about 15 minutes or until the meatballs turn a beautiful shade of gold.
2. Turkey Jerky
Jerky is a great treat for a dog that eats fast, as it will take them longer to consume.
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Another treat with plenty of protein for your pooch is turkey jerky. Thankfully, you don’t need a food dehydrator to get the job done. For this recipe, it’s best for Fido to use white breast meat as it has minimal fat.
You’ll need ¼ cup olive oil, chopped parsley, and leftover turkey cut into thin strips. Combine the oil and parsley in a container and shake. Once it’s mixed, add in the slices of turkey and shake again.
Let this sit for at least three hours. Once the turkey is moist, preheat your oven to 250 degrees before baking the strips for an hour. You can keep the jerky in the refrigerator or freezer.
3. Turkey and Sweet Potato Treats
Sweet potatoes have plenty of vitamins and minerals for dogs and cats.
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Another thing you can make for your pet with your turkey day leftovers is a mixture of turkey and sweet potato. This is great if you’re looking for a healthy option to give your pooch that they’ll adore!
How you form these treats is entirely up to you! You can make biscuits, cookers, or just a crumble that you add to their kibble. These are also great to make in large amounts to freeze or give as gifts to other pooch parents!
- You’ll need the following
- ¾ cup water
- 1 egg
- ½ cup plain, mashed sweet potato
- 2 cups finely chopped turkey
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
Start by preheating the oven to 350 degrees. Then, take a large mixing bowl and combine egg, water, and sweet potato until it’s fully mixed. Next, throw in the turkey and flour.
This creates a dough that you can spread out and make into whatever shapes your heart desires. Bake for around 30 minutes for the dough to turn light brown. Allow it to cool completely before giving your dog a sample.
Keep stored in the fridge or freezer.
4. Pumpkin Cookies
While pumpkin pie isn’t safe for dogs, they do love pure pumpkin.
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Pumpkin pie is easily one of the best parts of Thanksgiving dinner. Thankfully, your dog can get a taste of the goodness if you have any leftover pumpkin! For these pumpkin bars, you’ll need
- 1 egg
- 1 jar of pure carrot baby food
- 1 jar of green bean baby food
- ½ cup pumpkin
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
You’ll need to preheat the oven to 350 degrees. As it warms up, gather all of the ingredients into a bowl and combine. This creates a cookie mixture that you can cut into fun shapes for your furry friend.
Bake the cookies for about 25 minutes. Give them an additional 30 minutes to cool before giving to your pooch!
5. Chicken Biscuits
Chicken is one of the main sources of protein in whole dog food.
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Not everyone eats turkey on Thanksgiving. If you happen to have leftover chicken, try this tasty biscuit recipe for your dog. The ingredients you’ll need are a bit more than other dog treats on this list.
- ½ cup of low-sodium chicken stock
- 1 cup of whole wheat flour
- 1 ½ tablespoons of canola oil
- ¼ wheat germ
- ⅓ cup brewer’s yeast
- 1 teaspoon pink Himalayan salt
Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, white germ, yeast, and salt in a bowl. Set this aside as you take a large bowl and pour in the oil, stock, and flour mixture one at a time.
The most important aspect of this is that stock is the first and last ingredient. Take the dough and roll it out to about ¼ inch thick on a floured surface. Cut the dough into whatever shapes you desire.
Bake for just 10 minutes and allow to cool for two hours.
