Last night I began my foray into the world of pet food manufacturing. For the first time I have ditched mass produced tinned pet food and begun cooking my own.

There are numerous reasons for this, not the least being financial. However I was concerned about the volume of waste that was going to landfill from pet food containers and packaging. Canned food smells disgusting. I am also sceptical about what the ingredients actually are in pet food. Each individual sachet was not recyclable. As I have two dogs and two cats that obviously equates to four packages a day that can not be recycled, or reused. So, as I normally do, I began to add on the cost of virtual water, energy, carbon emissions, food miles, supporting Australian manufacturers….the list goes on.

I researched websites that have pet food recipes. There are a plethora of websites dedicated to everything for a pampered pooch. Recipes cover everything including, shampoos, soaps, flea powders, biscuits, treats, birthday cakes. You name it and you can find it.

Being me though I did not follow any of the recipes I found. I am saving them for later to add variety and for when I am feeling more adventurous. Although, in saying that, I am going to try making doggy biscuits over the weekend.

So how did all this go? Well, for those of you who know me well, you can imagine that there were a few mishaps and ingredient exchanges with my dinner that I was cooking at the same time. However I can guarantee that I did not nearly set the kitchen on fire!

The cooking itself went well. One stock pot was used for the bulk of the cooking and the gravy was made in a jug using the microwave. I was able to multitask while cooking for ‘the little ones” by cooking my dinner for that night and the next. I have never cooked gravy before and my first experience of doing this was by no small measure a success. It was lumpy and the bits that weren’t lumpy were runny . There was enough food to fill 6 ½ x 750ml containers.

Tonight I fed the dogs their first home cooked dinner. They loved it! Plus they were looking for more. Poppy gulped it down so fast that she nearly choked on it and there was a minor skirmish over the few crumbs around their bowls. The container holds enough to fill four bowls so enough for my 2 cats and 2 dogs. However please keep in mind that my dogs and cats are about the same size (so all small).

There are a few things I will refine to make the cooking more environmentally friendly but for now while I am experimenting I will make do as best I can. For this recipe I bought the frozen no-name vegetables and no-name pasta. These are usually imported and have high food miles, energy and virtual water content. The financial benefits for my purse are huge. On average I spend a minimum of $4 a day to feed the dogs and cats. Over a 6 day period that would be $24. This recipe will feed my four pets for 6 days and cost a total of $6 or $1 a day. The most expensive ingredients was the mince meat and that was $4 for a kilo.

The round up of all this? I am pleased with the pet’s response to my cooking. It was simple and used very few pots and not a lot of mess (most of the mess caused was my clumsiness). The savings are pretty good too. The reduction to landfill and other environmental impacts are bonuses too. It does require planning and I will need to try a few different recipes. But so far so good.

So here is my recipe for basic cheap pet food.

Reg’s Delicious Doggy Dinner

Ingredients:

1kg cheap mince meat
Olive oil
Large packet pasta
1kg frozen mixed vegetables
Garlic powder
Mixed herbs
Gravy

Utensils:

1 stock pot, 1 colander, two spoons, jug, storage containers

Method:

1. Bring to boil water in stock pot. Add pasta and cook until tender. Drain.
2. Bring to boil water in stock pot. Add frozen vegetables and cook. Drain.
3. Heat oil in stock pot. Add mince and brown. While meat is cooking add garlic powder and mixed herbs. Remove from heat.
4. Add pasta and vegetables to meat in pot and stir.
5. Make up gravy.
6. Divide the mixture into the storage containers. Pour over the gravy.
7. Freeze or refrigerate. Serve only once cold.