How To Add Fresh Vegetables To Your Dog's Food
Adding fresh leafy greens, seasonal squash, cruciferous and other low-glycemic vegetables is one of the easiest things you can do to add nutrients to your dog’s daily diet… especially if you’re still feeding kibble. Adding fresh leafy greens can reduce the risk of disease in your dog by up to 70%. Up to 20% of the total volume of food may be veggies.
Veggies offer many benefits:
provision of whole-food vitamins (B, E, K, C, beta carotene) and minerals to the the diet.
reducing inflammation
antioxidants, neutralizing toxins, and reducing free radicals
It may protect DNA.
strengthen the immune system
promote a healthy gut and microbiome
provision of pre-biotic fibers, increased dietary fiber
protect against cancers, may slow tumor growth
When you begin adding in these veggies you need to do a couple of things to ensure they can digest them most efficiently…
Chop Your Veggies and let them sit for 40 minutes*
Lightly steam or blanch your veggies — don’t overcook them
Add in little bit of Fractionated Coconut Oil or Omega 3 oil or Grass Fed Butter
*Cruciferous veggies release a chemical called sulforaphane. But the enzyme needed to allow this to occur is damaged in the cooking progress. Allowing the chopped veg to sit for 40 minutes before cooking allows the sulforaphane to form, and be protected from the heat. You will not achieve the same sulforaphane benefit from frozen vegetables as they are flash blanched before freezing — thus inactivating the enzyme needed.
Have you ever seen your dog poop out a carrot in basically the same way it went in? Try it — you give your dog a baby carrot as a treat and you’re going to see chunks of carrots on the back end. So the Vitamin A nutrients weren’t really absorbed and used by the body…. but a little fiber to clean things out is a good thing.
Good veggies might include: Broccoli, kale, broccoli sprouts, collards, cabbage (including purple), cauliflower, broccoli-raab. But these all come from the same basic family of veggies. Don't feed them day in an day out. Rotate with other veggies. Use them only a few times a week. Take a week off, etc.
Other veggies could include in small amounts: Brussel sprouts, cucumbers, green beans, mushrooms, carrots, sweet potato, pumpkin, Zucchini and other squashes. red peppers, radish.
Avoid peas as a frequent staple. They are higher in carbohydrates that aren't offset by other nutritional components within that food. It's basically, just starch. Though peas may also offer a protein source -- meat proteins are preferred AND you may find in kibble that pea protein is really throwing things out of balance. White Potatoes also fall into the nightshade family which can contribute to inflammation, difficulty with digestion, leaky gut, and causes difficulty for dogs (people) with autoimmune issues.
Fruits of course will be higher in carbohydrates. While it’s a good idea to share your blueberries and watermelon, don’t over do it :-)
Rotation and Moderation is always important. Feed Colorful Fruits and Vegetables.