start local
for freshness.....

Good cooks have always known that superior ingredients are the basis of great food for humans.  After multiple pet food recalls due to toxic grain fillers, more people than ever are learning how to make great food for dogs, too.   In addition to knowing what to avoid, the purity of ingredients is of equal concern.  So, where do you begin? 

 

We think the starting point is simple:  go back to the basics of whole foods and natural ingredients, whenever possible.

Many towns and cities have green markets with access to locally-produced food, ideal for fresh flavor and high nutritional value.  Frequenting these markets, you can get to know farmers and ranchers who get up at the crack of dawn to take care of their land and livestock every single day, year after year.  Enjoy fresh yard eggs.  Have milk, cheese and meat from cows and goats treated humanely, free-ranged, without growth hormones.  Buy fruits and veggies picked in the wee hours the same morning or perhaps the evening before, organic or naturally-grown (with no chemicals), sprayed minimally (some chemicals) or grown conventionally (even more chemicals).  Vendors should be willing to provide those production details, so that you can make informed purchases.

Local produce is often found at roadside stands.  The vendor may have purchased the products for re-sale or may be part of a co-op that brings several farmers' goods to the stand to sell.  Without organic certification, you can probably assume that the produce was conventionally grown, with chemical fertilizers and pesticides, but it would be lots fresher than produce trucked across the country.

We've also found local eggs, milk, cheese, meat and produce at health food stores and sometimes in small grocery stores---it depends on the community.   Very handy when you can't get to a farmers' market.

go green
for clean, worldwide.....

Local food is ideal for freshness, but everything can't be grown in every locale or climate---including grain for flour---and there are limits to organic or naturally-produced foods in any community.  That means, all of us have to buy food from other regions and other countries, including some that's been processed.   How can we know which imported ingredients are most likely to be safe? 

 

At the canine cookery, we use only ingredients that are either organic or all-natural (grown without chemicals, but organic certification isn't completed.)  By definition or regulation, organic and all-natural foods are free of melamine, lead, anti-freeze, rodenticide or any other toxin that's been in the news.

Can't find what you want on store shelves?  Get to know the staff at a health food store near you and learn their special order policies.  No health food store where you live?  Find a website or mail-order company for natural foods.  We get dried herbs, spices and other dehydrated baking ingredients from Frontier Natural Products Co-op---http://www.frontiercoop.com.  We like their operating principles, and their products help us make really good stuff for dogs. 
 

the canine cookery

covington, louisiana

since 1997

 

e-mail:  baking@thecaninecookery.com
 

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