April 12, 2018

DIY Apple + Carrot + Lettuce Frozen Treats

The perfect frozen snack for summer

Before this dog blog, I would give Dawson ice cubes as a summer treat/cool down. I’m happy to say I’m finally stepping up my game and adding nutritional value to my frozen treats!

When I made these treats for the first time, I had just gotten my silicone molds in (which are incredible and adorable – you can get them here) and was just messing around with what ingredients I had at home. To be honest, I was just trying to use some fruits/veggies that were about to go bad if I didn’t eat them and figured I’d use them to try and make some treats! If they didn’t turn out, I could just throw them away and not feel guilty because they were going bad anyway.

Well, they turned out and both of my dogs LOVE them! I even had a few other taste testers (mine might be biased because they saw me making them and I might have snuck them a carrot or two) but other dogs love them too!

You don’t know how happy this makes me. This little treat I threw together is something that pups actually enjoy AND it’s good for them. I knew I had to make them again so I could create a recipe for y’all.

The first time I made these, I used 1 apple and half a 16oz bag of carrots and this time, I used the remaining carrots and 2 apples. This made a bit of a color difference, I think it’s also because I used the end of the head of romaine lettuce. Anyway, they’re still full of nutrients!

I put this information in my Instagram post but I’m going to include it here as well:

Romaine lettuce is filled with vitamin A, vitamin K, and folate. This is also packed with beta-carotene, vitamin C, and has a small amount of some vitamins that will provide your dog many benefits.
Apples are a good source of fiber as well as vitamin A and C. They also help clean residue off dog’s teeth which helps freshen their breath.
Carrots are good for your dogs because they have Vitamin A. They also have with regularity, curing canine constipation and has benefits of fiber. Carrots are also low in fat and calories have have Beta-Carotene which improves your dog’s coat color & eyesight.

Here’s what you need to make the frozen treats:

Silicone Molds (or any molds that would do well in the freezer)
1-2 small/medium sized apples
8 oz of carrots
1 head of romaine lettuce

This was a learning process for me, put your molds on a sheet tray, this will help them from spilling in the freezer!
I used a NutriBullet which required me to make mine in 2 batches, if you have a food processor, just throw it all in there! Fill up halfway with water.
Blend together thoroughly
Once blended, pour into measuring cup or something that has a lip on it, it’ll make it easier to pour into the molds (the first time I poured directly from the NutriBullet cup and it made a mess!)
This should fill up the molds exactly, possibly with some extra. Feed the extra to your pup!
Put in freezer and freeze overnight.
Once completely frozen, pop out of molds and put into freezer safe container.
ENJOY!