Beef Bone Broth

I very frequently get these bones for our dog. I always boil them first because I can't imagine giving raw meet to my dog, even though in the wild it's all he would get,  and he eats old tissues from my wastebasket so I am sure he'd be fine. But all in all, I prefer to boil them first.

Imagine my homesteading horror when I realized what I have been dumping down the drain each time after I cook them.

Perfectly good BONE BROTH!!!!! Ack!

I have been searching for effective natural replacement for collagen for our faces as an ongoing companion for our face creams.
Plus something for healthier hair.
Plus something with protein. 
Plus bone broth has glycine, which makes our livers stronger.
Plus glucosamine and chondroitin for building muscle and repairing joint tissues.
Plus better nails (remember when everyone was drinking gelatin for nails and hair?)
Bone broth has all of these. It's a cold fighter sister to chicken soup with many gelatin and protein benefits.
Plus doggie gets a bone. Win Win.
The best method to get all of the minerals and healthy bits out of the meat is to let it cook for a long time at a lower heat. So crock pot is best here.

Put the bones in your crockpot and add a few finely chopped vegetable to make it taste the way you like. You can use celery, onions, potatoes, garlic, carrots, maybe ginger for as snappy taste...
The vegetables are better left in with the broth and enjoyed in each bowl, but you can always cook them in a cheesecloth or food grade food strainer and pull them out when cooking is over if you want pure broth that is easier to sip out of a cup.
Add 2-3 tablespoons of apple cider or regular vinegar. This helps draw the minerals and proteins out of the bones.
Put everything in the crock pot and cover with water and let it cook on low heat for 8-10 hours.
Then enjoy. A cup a day would be so good for you. Store leftovers in the fridge. If you have a ton of left overs, you can freeze it until you need it.

4 Home Made Dog Treat Recipes, (Biscuit, frozen, vegetarian, sweet potato or cookie)

This one is a home made frozen dog treat idea perfect for beating summer heat.

Brett Winn writes on HubPages, "In today's Internet age, it's the rare "dog mom" who hasn't purchased, made or at least heard about Frosty Paws® for dogs. Those who haven't have been missing out, or more perhaps accurately, their dogs have been missing out! Frosty Paws® are creamy, nutritious, healthful (but unfortunately somewhat expensive) frozen treats that dogs adore. Enjoyable year round, they're especially welcome in the summer months as they're the canine equivalent of ice cream. Homemade versions, which lack preservatives, are more healthful than store brands, and cost less as well!"

Read More... 

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SallysBakingAddiction.com has a great recipe for Home Made Peanut Butter Bacon Dog Treats.

 After all... bacon.

Sally write's, " After doing a lot of research on homemade dog treats, I confirmed with our vet that the combination of whole wheat flour, egg, milk, baking powder, oats, and peanut butter is perfectly healthy for a pup. I added chopped bacon because it completely drives him nuts."

Read More....

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Third, we have a vegetarian option from KingArthurFlour.com. They said, "Whether or not you have a vegetarian dog, these non-meat biscuits will be snapped up — literally! The recipe comes courtesy of King Arthur friend Elaine Aukstikalnis, who works in a veterinary office; Elaine regularly bakes these biscuits (which have been "vetted by the vet") to bring to work for "the patients."

Read More...

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And fourth, we have an organic sweet potato treat that we make right on our own farm regularly for our family and for clients. You can check out how to make them right here...

Our new dehydrator came in! Here come treats for us and our dog~

dehydrating bananas in excalibur dehydrator on Heading Home Farms

sweet potato dog treats in dehydrator on Heading Home Farms

We are so excited that our new Excalibur Dehydrator came in this weekend. We had some orders for dog treats that we needed to get filled. Plus we did banana chips and apple slices. We sprinkled the apple slices with cinnamon and did the banana chips straight up. We find (especially with this dehydrator) that we don't need to dip the fruit in anything prior to drying and I prefer that. The color change is nominal and the health levels with no additives are supreme.

For the dog treats, we slice sweet potatoes at around 1/4 inch thick and dry them to a pliable and leathery texture. Its a nice chew for dogs and our client's dogs love them. I got this quote from Modern Dog Magazine, which also speaks to making sweet potato treats, too. They say, "Sweet potatoes are a source of dietary fiber and contain vitamin B6, vitamin C, beta carotene and manganese. Most dogs love the chewy sweetness of a delicious dehydrated sweet potato treat. And you can rest easy knowing there's no additiives, preservatives or anything extraneous added." Click here to read their article.

I am looking forward to making fruit leather for the family and also yogurt leather per the instruction book that came with the dehydrator.

I love to dehydrate everything that would normally get wasted. Even left over tomato slices can be dried and stored to make tomato powder. We use tomato powder on pizza's, in soup, and canned dry meals.

What's your favorite thing to dehydrate?
Here's how to dehydrate apples.