Recently I was texting a client who’s newly switching from kibble to a whole food diet. She’s taken it on w zeal and I’m excited to be taking this to a higher level of education for her so quickly. I thought other readers here would appreciate the information too,. It’s somewhat converted from conversation form and in response to some of her specific questions. Then I added layers of extras I’m always inspired to give. Keep that in mind if it seems a “ strange read.”

Discussing where to shop on a budget but without compromising quality for staples in a whole food diet including meats, produce and raw bones:. I added in the extras when prudent discussing sustainability + ethics to take her education farther :

“I use Aldi’s for select items too w one nearly across the street. I agree they have good prices but low selection.” Aldi’s sells real grated cinnamon, a staple in my morning tea, for $.99 in the spice aisle. Normally spice and store -bought tea bags have no medicinal value. They’re only expected to deliver flavor or color enhancements. If you only grate cinnamon vs overly process it, it’s a rare exception in that it has retained its high medicinal values. Nothing more should ever be done to cinnamon. Aldi’s also sells 90% cocoa Lindt chocolate bars which is now my new migraine solution + in use for a loved one with dementia… … yes “chocolate-medicine” yay!

*Lindt does sustainable farming (really important these days in the chocolate industry) and also not only doesn’t use child-laborers (rampant in the chocolate industry) but actually enhances those communities w outreach programs so that no other co will utilize child workers either as these families are better sustained and children don’t need to work any longer. ✔️(A+ for Lindt!) Black and Green lable chocolate is likely the leader in both these areas but isn’t sold locally. If I have a migraine I need a 90% cocoa-chocolate bar that day. A local source is then a must.

MEATS & RAW BONES:

Ive adjusted somewhat against my will (where I used to prefer 1-store -shopping only for time management) to now doing “circuit-shopping” to get all the staples from, as no one store suffices any longer. I’ve become a more picky shopper because of this change and made great improvements w my product selection so now I’m thankful Walmart disappointed me! Walmart was my 1 store and at fair prices + used to carry everything I needed but has failed that more and more over the years. I’d always needed even then, at least a 2nd store for my specialty-meats (see next paragraph) But now I include 4-5 stores for my routine purchases. It’s become a fun day and even a “hobby” if you will, as now I’m more invested in finding the best of everything and totally enjoy that. With changes in income from COVID pandemic, budgeting these days is important to all. Shopping for my once a month “big buys” is like Christmas morning, providing many gifts, instead of a chore.

For my “specialty meats” (less popular in our common agriculture practices ) I shop a Spanish grocery and buy things there like rabbit meat, duck meat, goat meat … etc. All better than than the highly agricultural “common meats” like beef, pig, chicken and Turkey. The more agriculturized, (both in raising the meat-animals plus processing the meat) the worse they are.

Bison, trout, emu, pheasant, duck, rabbit, goat and sheep meats for example are better protein sources today for these reasons.
But the other agriculturalized-meats are at least “approved for human consumption.” (and Cole n Leroy will never eat lesser grades of meat… certainly not what’s approved by FDA to feed dogs…. Shame on FDA! ). I still do buy manufacturer-packaged grass-fed beef and bison from Walmart. Walmart recently started selling marrow bones too. I have nothing against them but I typically get those from Western Beef which gets fresher meats in routinely.

*Build a rapport w your butcher/s… no matter where you shop. All of mine know me by site/name and routinely hold aside special items for me. The day of that interpersonal relationship between butcher : customer is long gone and my butchers all love it. Aside from hopefully making your butcher love his/her job more…You’ll likely be amply rewarded as I’ve gotten great items for a few pennies since parts of animals may not be routinely sold at his/her grocery store w/ no skew # or bar code. I’ve gotten pounds of awesome food for literally one dime.

*Free range + grass-fed is not only better for the welfare and short life of the meat-animal but better for us and our dogs to consume. Corn fed beef gives cows heart distress, kidney disease and other painful maladies and is less healthy for our consumption as well. These days were all supposed to avoid corn and particularly sugars derived from corn. Let’s look more into corn as a fuel for automobiles and other combustion-engines vs as a food source…Win:Win!

*When it comes to fresh fish however I choose farm-raised (the more agricultural) vs wild caught as the fishing industry is dangerous to other animals caught in fishing nets and every vessel on the ocean contributes to pollution from engine fuel/oil (here’s where corn fuel may be beneficial! Lol) . Plus I’d rather my consumed-fish never know and loose the wild lifestyle and as such, experience panic and fear in aggressive-harvesting of them (don’t get me started on cows and chickens here! Another topic for another day) … to end up on my plate & in my dogs dish. Farm raised fishes are both used to being around people daily & it’s a far more sustainable practice. There is question as to which meat is healthiest but the differences may be negligible. It’s my preference to go farm-raised vs upsetting the balance of the ocean ecosystem. We need improvement across the board & in every industry when it comes to utilizing or taking from our oceans.
**Never buy shark cartilage for example, as only the dorsal fins are used w the meat/ rest of shark wasted. Mostly, fins are sliced off sharks right from the boat and shark released w obviously no medical attention. A shark cannot navigate well at all without its dorsal fin. It will suffer from pain before it’s inevitable premature death from infection or being an unfair & easy target for another predator. Babies, pregnant mommas and mature sharks are equally at risk. It’s the exact same thing as taking tusks from elephants which is illegal but taking the dorsal fin of a shark is legal…. Go figure that logic. There are other joint supplements that are equally good or better anyway. …Never a need for a shark’s fin. End this by never buying it. Spread the word.

Depending on the price I often get my canned salmon/ anchovies/ sardines at Walmart too. Canned fishes like salmon (having one of the highest anti-inflammation values) , have a higher anti-inflammation rating than a salmon steak or filet… anti-intuitive, but true. I like the ease of using canned fishes too.

PRODUCE:

Though I ALWAYS keep a great stock-supply of canned-veggies, feed fresh whenever possible. Cole won’t eat some veggies unless they’re canned so I’ll always include some canned for his overall variety. The younger you start your dog the more likely they’ll consume raw veggies vs canned. Cole started whole food at age 9.

Leroy eats everything well cuz he only just coming off kibble and is therefore nutritionally deprived (and gut-flora + food-enzyme deprived). He craves everything! He’s only “just coming off kibble” as he was recently returned to me. Two homes were big failures (being abused at his last home) and he’s already had a long run w multiple fosters at only age 4. It looks like I’ll be keeping him and at his size budget may stay an important factor! Lol

Cole has had a pure and natural diet for 4yrs now (again acquired by me at age 9) and so he’s got “clean cravings” that I can use to micro-support him and he’s appropriately selective. His blood values this year put him at the equivalent of an 8yr old and he’s 13yrs this year. This is all diet. It may be more important or at least is equally important to AVOID foods (like kibble and other processed foods w dangerous preservatives and dangerous food ingredients like corn, wheat / other grains, soy / other legumes, white potatoes, etc ) than selecting foods to feed our dogs.

Here are Great places to shop locally for fresh produce w variety and great prices:
•Roerbucks farmers market (90% organic and as fresh as it gets… from field to table for-sale) great great prices.. So when budget is a major concern this is my spot. It’s been shown organic veggies is not as important as once thought, and they’re pricey. Carrots & bananas/ most apples though, should always be organic. But here you get the best of both: organic and inexpensive … cheap actually.
• Western Beef (which is like a mini version of the pricier Whole Foods with it’s amazing produce dept ) has unique finds like purple cauliflower, purple asparagus, rainbow chard, mushrooms galore! , etc
*While it’s another great place to shop, I cannot afford Whole Foods on a regular basis but do go from time to time when money is better. It’s both far from home & very expensive. But you can trust every product in a Whole Foods for health & sustainability. I do my little part to support them for this. It’s also GREAT to peruse for product knowledge… and I’ll buy a few things when I’m on one of my “education-tours!” Lol

*I never buy canned squashes (as this client pictured containing onions: toxic to dogs) as those almost always contain onions or seasoning or at least high salt. Purée is impossible to rinse. Pumpkin might be that one exception but read ingredients to be sure the can only contains pumpkin. I almost always buy canned pumpkin and almost never fresh outside of at Halloween where I might also make a jack-o-lantern & then use seeds + meat too… but haven’t made one in long time. Squashes and root veggies/ crucifers are highly valuable in the diet and those I always buy fresh/ whole and cook for myself & dogs simultaneously.

I buy fresh veggies for me (but I’ve been known to eat a can of my dog’s beets w a handful of olives+ cottage cheese for a quickie -breakfast a few times per month) and so most of the time I’m using fresh everything for the dogs and just cook more when I make some for me. That makes this diet really easy to maintain for dogs as there’s no extra time needed for food prep re produce if I’m already prepping & cooking for me. Meat fed raw vs cooked also makes this diet almost as easy as dispensing a scoop of kibble. Portioning for freezing is the most time consuming for me (typically 2-3 additional hours) as I buy high quantity on my once per month big-buy day. Portioning is just the second part of that day now. This works best for me but if it’s overwhelming for you, make frequent smaller shopping trips and less to portion after each.

*I’ll have you know it’s really improved my diet as I was never as concerned as I should be for one thing, getting something from every color-group into my own diet, and eating enough crucifers. I’m sure I’ll age better now and glad I’m starting to care more about my own food intake in my 50’s vs in my 70’s when it might be too late to see enough impact. It would still have an impact (always) but maybe not correct every thing that went wrong over 20 more years!

EXTRA TIP:

Veggies best cooked vs raw 

These veggies are healthier when fed cooked: 

Tomato (great when dogs have basic pH stones)

Potato (avoid feeding to dogs always)

Brussels 

Spinach 

Asparagus 

Artichoke 

Eggplant (healthy but some dogs are allergic)

Green beans 

Carrots 

Celery 

Mushrooms 

Kale (in moderation due to high calcium oxalate)

Everything else  fed raw if he/ she will consume that way. Lightly steaming is the next best option. Boiling third best option. Frozen and thawed is often a trick helpful to get uncooked veggies in as light “cooking” occurs in prep of some. Canned is your final option but buy no salt or low sodium and still rinse salt before  feeding