Hey, fellow pet lovers!
Today’s post is a short and simple treat recipe that will keep your canines cool during warm weather! The start of Summer has been lovely but my girl Lily hasn’t been doing too well in this heat, so we have had to brainstorm and think of ways we can keep her cool during the day. If you haven’t read our post on How to keep your Canine cool during the Summer? you should head over there after reading this as it will give you many more useful tips to keep your pet safe during warm weather.
I found this recipe online and plan on changing the ingredients later on but thought I would start here. These frozen bones are really easy to make, only have two ingredients and require a few simple steps. They really are a great little hack for rehydrating and cooling your pet down in the Summer.
Let’s jump straight in and learn how to make these deliciously frozen bones that your pooches will love!
What you need to make these frozen treats?
To make these watermelon and coconut water treats all you need is
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2 Cups Seedless Watermelon.
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1 cup Coconut Water.
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Moulds for your treats.
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to make these yummy treats for your furry friends.
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Blender.
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Freezer space.
You really don’t need much.
The benefits of watermelon?
Watermelon is a fruit that our canine friends can eat, with a few exceptions, one being that you should always get seedless or remove the seeds but getting seedless is much easier. This is because the seeds can cause intestinal blockage and we certainly don’t want that. Secondly, discard the skin as it can cause your pet to have an upset stomach and result in diarrhoea, which is never good but definitely not in hot weather when they need all the fluids they can get.
Once the seeds and skin have been removed then you can feed your pet the flesh of fruit no problem. Of course, everything should be fed in moderation and that goes for these treats too.
Watermelon has many benefits and it is a great ingredient to make these rehydrating Summer treats as it has a high water content and will easily hydrate your pet after a long walk or playtime at the park. In fact, watermelon is 92% water so is the perfect fruit to make these frozen bones. As well as being full of moisture watermelon has many useful vitamins, minerals, amino acids and plenty of antioxidants that your dog will benefit from. It is also low in sugar which makes it a great fruit to feed to your pet.
Watermelon is full of,
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Vitamin A.
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Vitamin B6.
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Vitamin C.
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Potassium.
To learn more about the benefits of watermelon head over to the Watermelon Boards website.
The benefits of Coconut water?
Coconut water is quite a health trend at the minute and has been for the last few years, that is because it tastes delicious and is also really good for you. There honestly isn’t anything better than having a cold cup of coconut water on a hot day!! My girls also love it and it is a perfect ingredient for these frozen treats. Coconut water is found in young coconuts and can be fairly expensive to buy but if you haven’t tried it I definitely suggest giving it a go as it is so tasty. It is different from coconut milk which is made from the flash of old coconuts, to get coconut water the coconut must be young.
Coconut water has many benefits such as,
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It is a great source of hydration.
Coconut water is great for rehydrating during warm weather, it tastes delicious and is full of electrolytes. It contains five key electrolytes such as sodium, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and phosphorus.
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Coconut water is full of potassium.
An average green coconut provides about 0.5-1 cups of coconut water.
One cup (240 grams) contains 46 calories, as well as:
- Carbs: 9 grams.
- Fibre: 3 grams.
- Protein: 2 grams.
- Vitamin C: 10% of the RDI.
- Magnesium: 15% of the RDI.
- Manganese: 17% of the RDI.
- Potassium: 17% of the RDI.
- Sodium: 11% of the RDI.
- Calcium: 6% of the RDI.
Spritzler, F. (2016). 8 Science-Based Health Benefits of Coconut Water. [online] Healthline. Available at: https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/8-coconut-water-benefits#section2 [Accessed 1 Jul. 2018].
Know you about the health benefits of watermelon and coconut water and have everything you need, we can start making your pet their very own frozen treats.
Step One
The first step is to cut your watermelon in half and scoop out two cups worth and place into a bowl.
Step Two
The next step is to measure out your coconut water, you will need one cup.
Step Three
Now that you have all your ingredients weighed out, it is time to put them in the blender and blend into a smooth paste.
Step Four
Arrange your mould or moulds depending on how big of a batch you are making so that once you have your blended mix you can easily pour it into your chosen mould.
There are so many different fun moulds out there but I had these bones already so went with these. Make sure you have placed a chopping board under your chosen mould as you won’t be able to pick it up and move them to the freezer without spilling your mixture everywhere.
Step Five
Stick your frozen treats in the freezer and wait a good 24 hours for them to be properly frozen. Now you have perfectly frozen treats that your pooch will not only love but benefit from on seriously hot days!! The funny thing is Nia loves them and Lily is hit or miss but she did eat her first one this morning so hopefully she wants more.
It is a good job that they can stay in the freezer!!
Don’t forget that you can also eat these treats providing you stuck them in your freezer and not your pets. It is common for raw feeders to have more than one freezer as we normally buy our pets food monthly. These treats went in my girl’s freezer so therefore they are no-gos, plus I hate the taste of watermelon.
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