Sweet Potato Chews - for furbabies.

A couple of weeks ago, I read a fabo article about homemade doggie treats and it really opened my eyes to all the possibilities out there - not only could I save a buck or two, I could also give my babies some tasty treats that would be kind to their tummies.  

The first treat I made for my bunch was the homemade frozen treats (aka, Ice Cream).  They went nutso for it!  I've made it several times since that post and they've come to expect a nice refreshing treat in the afternoons after play time.  

These Sweet Potato Chews are even easier than the frozen treats because it contains only ONE ingredient!  A sweet potato.  That's it.  

Your babies will love it!  Want to make it?  Here you go...

How It's Done

Slice it sort of thin and layer on baking sheet.

The first time I attempted this, I used a chef's butcher knife for my slices.  It worked okay but most of my slices were uneven.  The sweet potato is really hard and dragging a knife through it almost killed my wrist.  <sighs dramatically>  This time, I implemented a wonderful little contraption called a Mandoline.  This thing is awesome!!  I was looking for things to slice - super easy.  

Place in 200 degree oven and let bake for 4-5 hours depending on how your oven performs. Your dog may like their treats a little more soft, if this is the case, then lessen the cook time. Essentially, you are drying the slices of potato until they resemble a chew, or jerky.

Mine were done after about 5 hours.  

After getting them out of the oven, I usually place on a cooling rack for a few minutes, then place on a plate, covered loosely with a paper towel.  The next day, just pop in a ziptop bag to keep fresh.  I'm honestly not sure how long they keep since ours are gone pretty quick.  But, I have learned to make a butt-load of these at one time now...  And just so you know, one or two potatoes is plenty for a one dog family for a week.

Emmy is always the first one wanting a bite.  Here she is waiting on me to finish snapping pics so she can eat!  

Make At Home - Healthy Doggie Treats

I don't know if you know this about me but my family raises and breeds shih-tzu's.  Currently, we have 6 and keeping them happy and content with treats and goodies can be quite expensive.  

Since we are changing our eating habits, going more au-natural and choosing a more plant based diet, I wondered if I could whip up something that my fur-babies would love that would be more beneficial to them.  

I wondered around pinterest and searched on google and found some really great dog snacks but nothing I thought my babies would enjoy.  They really love cold stuff and sharing a bowl of ice cream with Mr. Wonderful in the evenings is kinda their thing.  Because we've been raising dogs for years, I know that they can tolerate honey, peanut butter and yogurt and a quick call to Dr. Doug (our most wonderful Vet) gave me the idea of bananas.

After that, it was simple enough.  

You want to use bananas that are very ripe and somewhat mushy. 

2 Mashed bananas

2 Tbsp. honey

2 Tbsp. peanut butter 

Big container of plain yogurt.

You can use just about anything to freeze your portions.  These portions are big enough for me to split each container into 2 servings (my babies have little mouths.)  :)  I think next time I may use the small paper cups and put Popsicle sticks in them - you know, like mini-furbaby Popsicles! 

Surely I don't have to remind anyone using the paper cup idea that they to remove the paper before giving to Fido.

As you've probably noticed, these are completely edible so if you think you would enjoy a frozen yogurt snack, you can change up the recipe.  I haven't tasted these yet - my aversion to bananas is winning out and I just can't bring myself to trying it.  But, Mr. Wonderful has agreed to eat one later this evening so I'll report back and let you know what he thinks!  

If you try this or have a similar recipe, please comment!  I'd love to hear your thoughts and ideas!  

Happy Whisking!