Our Grain-Free Journey–for Ourselves AND Our Dogs

Rachael Ray Nutrish has sponsored this post, but all opinions are my own.

John and I have been on a low carb diet for many years, working hard to avoid grains as much as possible in our meals. We feel better, our clothes fit better, and I think we have more energy when we stay away from carbohydrates as much as possible.

It's not always easy, especially when we go to restaurants (tortillas…I see you looking at me…) but even at home it's sometimes challenging to avoid bread products. I don't buy any bread but I know that sometimes it would be so good to have something as simple as a grilled cheese sandwich.

Recently I found out about Cloud Bread, a recipe that's been all the rage on the Internet. Earlier this year, The Huffington Post reported that pins and repins of this popular recipe–and all its many variations–were up 76 percent this year.

I had to give it a try…and I was amazed with the results. Consisting primarily of cream cheese and eggs, the “bread” satisfied my hunger for real bread without loading me down with carbs. Although tasty right out of the oven, after overnight refrigeration, the Cloud Bread developed more of a chewy, bread-like texture and it was also easier to top to create a sandwich. Here's the basic recipe that I used:

Print

Cloud Bread

Ingredients

• 4 ounces cream cheese, softened
  
• 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar or baking powder
  
• 6 eggs
  
• 1 tablespoon honey

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. (I used one baking sheet and one muffin pan, greased.)
   
2. Separate the eggs, careful to not get any egg yolk in the egg white. Set the egg yolks aside.
   
3. Add the cream of tartar or baking powder to the egg whites and use a beater to mix completely until stiff peaks form.
   
4. In a separate bowl, add the honey and cream cheese to the egg yolks. Mix with the beater until completely mixed.
   
5. Slowly fold in the egg whites, careful to not deflate the mixture. Use a spoon to stir completely.
   
6. Pour bun-sized circles of the mixture on the baking sheets. Bake until golden brown, about 25-30 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool completely before refrigerating.
   
7. Refrigerate in a zippered plastic bag or airtight container.
   

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Irie and Tiki, of course, had to sample the Cloud Bread, too, and gave it a paws up!

I feel good about giving them Cloud Bread because it's close to the grain-free diet that they enjoy on a daily basis. After all, a dog's natural diet is low in grain (which also makes it allergy-friendly for many dogs).

Rachael Ray™ Nutrish® Zero Grain foods are made without grains, glutens or fillers. Tiki and Irie love the Turkey & Potato as well as the Salmon & Sweet Potato recipes but their favorite is Rachael Ray^™ Nutrish^® Zero Grain Beef, Potato & Bison Recipe. It's made–in the USA–with beef (the number one ingredient), wholesome vegetables and the vitamins and minerals that I know they need to receive for a complete and balanced diet. The meat is sourced from cattle and bison raised on U.S. farms. As with all Nutrish foods, it contains NO poultry by-product meal, and no artificial preservatives, colors or artificial flavors.

I also love that Rachael Ray's personal proceeds go to Rachael's Rescue, which was created to help shelter pets in need. In 2007, with help from pet nutrition experts, Rachael Ray created Nutrish super-premium food and treats for dogs inspired by recipes from her own kitchen–then, in 2014, the line added premium cat foods. In that time, Rachael Ray has donated over $14 million to provide food, medical supplies and treatments for homeless pets!

Learn more about how to Switch to Nutrish and check out special offers!

Where to Find Zero Grain

It's easy to find Nutrish Zero Grain food–I pick it up on my grocery store runs. Nutrish is sold in grocery stores and mass market retailers including Target, Walmart, and Amazon. The food is available in 3.5- and 11-pound bags. Find your closest store with the Nutrish Store Locator.

Learn More about Nutrish

Follow Nutrish on social media for more information (and keep your eye out for special offers and giveaways, too!)

• Twitter: http://twitter.com/nutrish


• Facebook: http://facebook.com/nutrish


• Instagram: http://instagram.com/nutrish


• Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/nutrishforpets

 

Windy City Pet Expo, July 23-24 #AmazingPetExpo

In the words of the classic song made famous by Frank Sinatra, devotees of dogs will say that Chicago is “My Kind of Town” as they enjoy all of the animal-themed activities at the Windy City Pet Expo, taking place July 23 – 24 in the Chicago suburb of Schaumburg.

Activities

• Clap for your canine companion as he or she works their way through weave poles and tackles teeters at the State Farm Agility and Obstacle Course. Designed for dogs of all ages, sizes and abilities, trainers will be on hand to offer tips that will help you navigate your sport-loving Spot through the activity.


• Cheer for Rovers as they run after a bogus “bunny” in the Lucky Dogs Adventures Lure Course.


• Your buddy who barks can show off his or her special ability in the Animals Got Talent! Pet Talent Contest.


• Dogs duded up in duds and fashion-forward felines will vie for a prize in the Biggest, Baddest, Bestest Pet Costume Contest Evah!


• Leaping lizards! The expo invites admirers of amphibians to the Creature Feature area to learn fun facts about reptiles.


• Potential pet parents will have the chance to find their new four-legged family member at the expo, which is also a mega-pet adoption event. Among the many area rescue groups and shelters that will bring adorable adoptables to the expo include Across America Boxer Rescue, Adoptabull English Bulldog Rescue, Almost Home Kitty Rescue, Cause for Paws Rescue, Furrever Friends Animal Rescue, Players for pits, NFP and Rescued Dog Resource Center.


• Plus prize giveaways, free nail trims and discounted vaccinations, microchipping and heart worm and flea preventative, book signings, a look at the latest pet products, and much more!

Admission: Free

When: July 23 – 24, 2016 (from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. on Saturday and from 11 a.m. – 4 p.m. on Sunday)

Where: Schaumburg Convention Center at 1551 Thoreau Drive North in Schaumburg, Illinois

For more information:

• visit www.windycitypetexpo.com

Photo Credit: Amazing Pet Expo

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Win a Paw of the Day t-shirt! (2 winners!)

Could your pet be our PawZaar Paw of the Day? We have been having so much fun seeing everyone's photos and publishing one every weekday on PawZaar! For entries published June 15-July 14, our winner, selected at random, was Garfield and Sierra's mom, who won a $50 PawZaar gift card!

We hope you'll enter your pet's photo through our online form…and, if you've already entered but haven't seen your pet featured yet, keep an eye on the Paw of the Day section. We've got tons of submissions we're still working through!

This month, we're changing the giveaway up to give everyone a chance to win. We'll be giving away TWO of our new Paw of the Day t-shirts (in the winner' choice of colors and sizes). The shirts are available in six sizes and an assortment of colors:

One will be chosen from the photos published from July 15-Aug. 14 while the second will be drawn from the widget below–so, if your photo's already been published (or doesn't get published before Aug. 14), you're still eligible to win!

How to Enter

You've got two ways to win:

• submit a photo of your pet through our online form


• enter in the widget below. As always, you can return to the widget for more entries any time during the giveaway period.

Good luck!

Entry-Form

Clear the Shelters Adoption Drive July 23

In the U.S. July is traditionally the warmest month in the calendar year, and one Saturday this July may just go down in the record books as the most warm-hearted day of the year as thousands of dogs and cats from coast to coast find forever families to love during the Clear the Shelters pet adoption drive.

In partnership with NBC owned TV stations and the Telemundo Station Group, on July 23, 2016 over 400 animal shelters in 20 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico will take part in the initiative, which features low-cost and fee-waived pet adoptions.

Celebrating its second year in 2016, all involved hope to meet or surpass the success of the initial event, which saw a total of 19,685 of our tail-wagging chums find loving homes.

How to Adopt on Clear the Shelters Day

Potential pet parents can find a participating shelter in their area on a Clear the Shelters' online map. Simply click on the dots which indicate the location of a shelter that is taking part in the event to find out that facility's address, phone number, hours of operation and website address.

As added treats, you can also follow the number of pets who find homes on the day in real time thanks to a counter on the Clear the Shelters' website.

Also on July 29th, celebrate the adoption of thousands of homeless dogs and cats by tuning in to a half-hour adoption drive wrap up special presented by soon-to-be host of Access Hollywood, Natalie Morales of TODAY fame. To find out when the program will air in your area, check your local listings.

 

Photo credit DepositPhotos.com

Fido + Fluffy's #FreebieFriday Heads to the Lake

Well, there's no doubt that we're now smack dab in the middle of summer…temperatures have hit 100 degrees and continue to soar to that level every day. With a heat index pushing 108 degrees, we've been spending a lot of time enjoying our air-conditioning…but finally decided it was time to break away and cool off the old-fashioned way with a trip to the lake.

Our favorite local lake is Inks Lake, where a very dog-friendly state park makes Irie and Tiki's short list of favorite Texas getaways. While Irie and Tiki aren't kayakers like the dog we saw loving his time on the water, they like nothing better than wading in the granite-lined shallows…

…and watching the Canada Geese that winter here…but this flock seemed to decide that it would make a good summer home, too…

We hope you'll take time from your summer fun to enjoy our weekly Fido + Fluffy's Freebie Friday blog hop which we co-host with To Dog With Love and CatTipper! Some of the giveaways below are our giveaways–but others are found elsewhere on the Internet. If you're a blogger with a pet-related giveaway, be sure to link up! Please link directly to your giveaway, not to your home page. (PLEASE don't link to non-giveaway posts.) We post a new blog hop every Thursday afternoon at 4pm ET.

And please enter some of the giveaways! You never know when you might get lucky!

Disclaimer: Each giveaway has its own entry rules. CatTipper, To Dog With Love, and DogTipper assume no responsibility for the legality of the rules governing the listings on other sites and giveaways that are posted here. We simply provide this forum as a gathering place for pet product giveaways to be offered. Fulfillment of each giveaway is done by the blog conducting the giveaway, not by the hosts of this giveaway hop; please contact the giveaway host with any questions regarding a giveaway or giveaway prize.

Recipe: Liver Logs Dog Treats

Sometimes during the summer, when the temperatures go up, up, up and won't even cool down at night, I get tired of hot foods. Cool salads seem the most soothing (and let's don't even talk about ice cream).

Our dogs like cool treats as well as celery, with its high water content and cool crunch, is a summer favorite. Our recipe for Liver Logs can be made ahead and chilled. Our recipe (reprinted from our cookbook, The Healthy Hound Cookbook, calls for chicken livers but you can substitute beef as well.)

If you're watching your dog's calories, you can reduce or remove the cream cheese from the recipe as well.

Print

Liver logs

Ingredients

• 8 ounces cream cheese
  
• ½ pound chicken livers
  
• 1 head celery
  
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
  
• 
  

Instructions

1. Remove cream cheese from refrigerator and let it soften while preparing liver.
   
2. Rinse chicken livers and fry in olive oil until liver is no longer pink. Remove from heat and use a fork to break up the liver as much as possible.
   
3. In a mixing bowl, use a fork or hand mixer to mix cream cheese and chicken liver. Mix until no large pieces of liver are visible.
   
4. Wash celery and trim ends. Fill with cream cheese-liver mixture, either with a fork or by piping it using a plastic bag with the corner snipped off.
   
5. Refrigerate.

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http://www.dogtipper.com/recipes/2016/07/recipe-liver-logs.html

Don't Miss Our PawZaar Cooking Section!

If you're planning on baking some treats, don't forget that we sell dog-themed cookie cutter sets and our dog cookbooks in the Home section of our PawZaar gift shop! Ten percent of proceeds benefit the week's featured pet rescue.

Photo: Deposit Photos