For those with fur-babies who are conscious of what is going into their tummies, I set myself a task a few weeks back after realising how much I was spending on Lily Kitchen every week (£2.20 per can, 1 can per dog per day – adds up!). I set about making semi-small batch dog food on a budget. I have a rescue Westie who is 8 months old, and another Westie who is 8 years old. Both need roughly the same amount of food per day (around 1 and 3/4 cups). I use the guideline found here.
Here’s a run down of what I use, all purchased from Lidl and all British Farm Assured meat.
- Salmon Fillets (2 in a pack) – £2.60
- Beef mince (800gm) – £2.80
- Chicken Thighs (4 in a pack) – £2.60
- Long grain rice (1 bag) – £0.60
- Mixed Frozen Vegetables (peas, carrots etc) – £0.75
- Butter beans (2 cans) – £0.35
- Sweet potato (1 large) – £0.45
Cook meat separately.
In one large pan (I use one like this – it speeds the process up) cook the rice and vegetables together.
In another pan take half the vegetables and cook them with chopped sweet potato and butter beans (it’s important that they also have grain-free days so this is your base for that).
If I have eggs that are going out of date, I crack these into the hot mixture and let them cook with the hot rice to give them more protein.
Mix chosen meats & fish with the prepared bases. For Oscar and Alfie it’s 1 3/4 cups of food per day, each. I measure these into freezer bag portions.
That’s it. The whole process takes about an hour and makes enough food to last my boys around 12 days.
Comparative Cost:
£52.80 for 12 days of food with Lily Kitchen
£10.80 home-made.