In Wrigley and Smash’s little corner of the world, the temperature broke 100 degrees this week. ONE HUNDRED DEGREES. If that doesn’t mark the official kick-off of summer, I don’t know what does. In an effort to keep these pups cool and happy and spoiled rotten, I whipped up some homemade doggie ice cream in not one, but three flavors! Each recipe only has three simple ingredients and is a piece of cake to make. Check them out below — and help your favorite four-legged friend through the dog-days of summer!
Strawberry Coconut Butter Dog Ice Cream
Ingredients:
32 oz. tub plain yogurt
1/2 c. pure coconut butter
1 c. fresh strawberries, washed and dried
To Make:
1. Add yogurt, strawberries, and coconut butter to a blender, blending until smooth.
2. Pour mixture into a freezer-safe container. To make individual portions, pour into ice cube trays or small food-safe containers.
3. Cover and freeze for several hours or up to a day before serving.
4. Once frozen, scoop single servings into your dog’s favorite bowl! Store leftovers in the freezer.
Makes approximately 4.5 – 5 cups.
Note: You can add more or less of any ingredient to suit your dog’s taste and/or texture preferences. Try to use pure, fresh ingredients without added sugars, salts, or weird preservatives, etc. I found the coconut butter, coconut milk, and 100 % pure (no added oils, salts, etc.) peanut butter in the health food section of my local grocery store.
And now for the other two recipes! The steps for making these flavors are the same as above.
Peanut Butter Pumpkin Dog Ice Cream
Ingredients:
1 (29 oz.) can 100% pure pumpkin puree
1/2 c. peanut butter
1 c. plain yogurt
Coconut Blueberry Dog Ice Cream
Ingredients:
32 oz. unsweetened 100% coconut milk (available in the health food section)
3/4 c. fresh blueberries, washed and dried
1/4 c. honey
For a more savory treat, try swapping out the fruits for bacon crumbles, shredded cheese, a bit of parsley, or add a handful of your dog’s favorite biscuits to the blender. The options are endless. Just make sure you don’t include any foods that your dog is allergic to or that are known to be toxic to canines.
Happy summer!
Update: Regarding concerns about yogurt — Plain yogurt in small amounts is perfectly safe for dogs. In large quantities, it could cause stomach upset due to the lactose and that’s something to be aware of (keep your giant tubs of yogurt out of paw’s reach, in other words). However, considering its use in these recipes, and the small treat-sized portions, the amount a dog would be consuming here is negligible.
