I recently bought a terribly expensive Vitamix blender in a quest to sneak more vegetables into my diet. I can get almost a days worth of veggies past my lips if they are blended with fruit so I don’t taste them.
I felt like I needed to get fancy since I bought a fancy blender so I got thinking about smoothies that I could share with Chester and Gretel. I thought that making a smoothie for all of us would be a fun way we could all get more veggies in our diet.
I looked up the ingredients of my favorite green smoothie to make sure that none of the ingredients were harmful to pets (and they weren’t).
I made it the other day and gave it a doggie taste test. Chester and Gretel approve.
It’s not something I would give them every day but it is a fun treat.
Ingredients:
- 6 large leaves of dino kale (also known as Tuscan kale, lacinato kale)
- 1/2 cup rainbow chard
- 1/2 cup pineapple
- 1 1/2 bananas
- 3/4 cup unsweetened apple juice
- 2 Tbs plain greek yogurt
- 1/2 inch peeled ginger (optional)
*one or more ingredients can be frozen to make the smoothie colder. I like mine really cold but only use one two two frozen ingredients when I am sharing the green smoothie with my dog so ensure it is not too cold for them.
Directions: Put everything into a blender and liquefy.
This green smoothie recipe will make approximately 19 oz. I give Chester and Gretel 2 – 3 oz each and drink the rest myself.
For more ideas, check out the Irresistible Green Smoothie Recipe for Dogs from IrresistiblePets.com. I think I am going to try that one next.
Disclaimer: This is a smoothie recipe I created to share with my dogs. I am not a nutritionist nor a veterinarian. It may or may not work the same for your pet. Always check with your vet when adding anything new to their diet.
Roxy the traveling dog says
March 31, 2014 at 6:20 AMYummm, we would like those for sure.
Patti Ann says
March 31, 2014 at 6:52 AMI love my smoothies as well….I put spinach in mine. The frozen chopped spinach seems to work better, because I have a small bullet versus the vitamixer. Depending on prices for free fruit, and season, I love to add blueberries and papaya to mine. As far as the girls, I give them vanilla or plain yogurt with papaya every night for desert. Maggie stopped throwing up on occassion bile, which is an indication of a sensitive stomach? nerves? unsure. But it seems to help her Alot…
Patti Ann says
March 31, 2014 at 6:54 AMI meant “fresh” fruit…not free fruit. LOL….. I wish….not in the desert….
Jessica Rhae says
March 31, 2014 at 5:41 PMI buy fresh kale and freeze it. I used to put it in fresh but a friend told be to freeze it because it blends smoother when it does.
I am not surprised Maggie is feeling better. Papaya has great digestive enzymes. Perhaps she has a sensitive tummy. Gretel and Chester have iron guts 🙂
Jessica says
March 31, 2014 at 6:53 AMLove our Vitamix. My in-laws bought ours as a wedding gift, so I didn’t have to pay for it thank goodness.
Are Chester and Gretel afraid of the noise? Silas has gotten used to ours, but he’s still nervous about it.
Jessica Rhae says
March 31, 2014 at 5:43 PMLucky you. Honestly, I am thinking of returning it. It doesn’t completely pulverize all fruit like it claims (still some chunks in the bottom a lot of the time) and for the cost it better have the smoothie ready for me when I get up in the morning 🙂
Jessica says
March 31, 2014 at 6:50 PMMy husband runs it until the noise almost makes me crazy. His smoothies are always perfect. Mine have a few chunks of fruit.
I don’t really know how it stacks up to other blenders these days. I suspect that cheaper blenders have improved a lot as a result of the Vitamix pressure on the market.
jan says
March 31, 2014 at 9:09 AMWe have a nearby restaurant that serves green shakes. I don’t know if I will ever get the nerve to go there and drink something that has kelp in it.
Jessica Rhae says
March 31, 2014 at 5:44 PMKelp? I haven’t seen smoothies around here with kelp in them. I was skeptical of kale and spinach at first but it is pretty easy to cover up the taste with fruit.
Jenna,Mark “HuskyCrazed” Drady says
April 3, 2014 at 5:55 AMGreat recipe!! Thanks for sharing!! Looks like the pups enjoyed it especially!!
ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!
Dolly the Doxie says
April 3, 2014 at 8:22 AMSounds like we are on the same health kick! I want to make smoothies too, downloaded an app but can’t find it! The Lady
retro rover says
April 4, 2014 at 2:46 AMthis I got to try
retro rover
Kimberly Gauthier says
April 4, 2014 at 3:55 PMWe bought one of the new Magic Bullets that’s for smoothies and I’m going to make this for our pack this weekend. Thanks!
Today is D for Detox on my blog, I’m going to add a link to this post for my readers. 🙂
Jessica Rhae says
April 4, 2014 at 5:54 PMI thought about the Magic Bullet. WAY cheaper than Vitamix and I hear they work good. You have to make smaller portions at a time though right?
Kimberly Gauthier says
April 4, 2014 at 6:15 PMWe can make a smoothie for both of us at once. It’s pretty great. Perfect for two people – plus it’s fast so I love it for cooking for the dogs. I can blend veggies and fruits fast and fresh.
smoothie healthy recipes says
May 4, 2014 at 11:59 PMCan’t wait to try this green smoothie ! Sounds yummy!
Erika says
May 21, 2014 at 6:14 AMCheck out the Ninja Ultima, about half the price of the Vita Mix and has great reviews. Has a 72oz pitcher and also has personal cups that can be used on same base. I am hoping I get one for my b-day on Friday. I have never thought of smoothies for my doxies, I am going to have to try some. Blender could also make some cool puppy popsicles this summer.
Jessica Rhae says
May 21, 2014 at 8:20 AMMy friend has that blender and I considered it. She said she really liked it. I decided to try out the Vitamix because of it’s long history and now my return window has closed….so Vitamix it is! 🙂
I’ve also frozen doggy smoothies into ice cubes for a small treat.
Surati says
August 1, 2017 at 3:59 PMI have an 8 lb Bichon who will eat almost anything, I cook for her, mostly chicken and vegetables. She will eat salad (no onions) – even lettuce – as long as it has a little dressing on, not the creamy kind. I love HER sooooo much, that I never feed her any kind of purchased dog food. NOW – recently I’ve been making morning smoothies, with fruit, oat milk, few soaked almond, little cranberry juice, and spirulina, maca , r, flax seeeds, chia seeds, and hemp hearts. My little darling is 10 years old, seems like it might be a good idea to give her a little of my smoothie everyday, Oh just about 2-3 tablespoons, SHE LOVES IT. I cant seem to find any info online about if this is okay for a dog…… Anybody know anything about that ?
Jessica Rhae says
August 3, 2017 at 7:32 AMHi Surati. I am not an expert in dog nutrition so I had to ask my friend. This is what she said regarding the ingredients: “There’s nothing there that’s dangerous per se. I wouldn’t give it to dogs with kidney issues because Maca is high in phosphorus though.” Also, both her and I were more concerned about the calories in it. Between the oat milk, almonds and the juice there are a number of calories in the smoothie and a couple tablespoons can mean a lot of calories for an 8-lb dog. As long as she is at a proper weight though (can feel her ribs pretty easily through her skin) it shouldn’t matter.