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Like most dog owners, you want to feed your dog the best possible meals. That means understanding what ingredients provide the most nutritional benefit for your dog—especially when it comes to vegetables! Knowing which vegetables are the most nutritious can help you make healthier choices for your dog’s meals. Let’s look at some of the most nutritious vegetables out there.
Vegetables I Feed to My Dogs
There are plenty of nutritious options when it comes to feeding your dog veggies! Each vegetable listed here provides its own unique benefits to support long-term health. Incorporating these into meals is an easy way to ensure your dog gets all the essential nutrients they need—so get creative with those recipes today!
1 – Carrots
Carrots are often touted as one of the healthiest vegetables for dogs, and rightfully so! They contain numerous vitamins and minerals, such as beta-carotene and Vitamin A, that work together to improve vision and immune system health.
Instead of buying organic carrots, like most raw feeders, I reach for Olewo carrots, a quality product made in Germany from 100% fresh, non-GMO carrots, with no additives, and preserved naturally through dehydration. Olewo carrots are recommended to cure diarrhea, but, as stated above, the beta-carotene and other nutrients make this supplement great for vision health and the immune system.
I add a small spoonful to my dogs’ meals several times weekly.
2 – Collard Greens
Collard greens are also a great option since they contain high levels of vitamins A, C, and K that support bone health and strengthen immunity against diseases. I stopped feeding spinach because they are high in oxalates, a naturally occurring molecule that can lead to kidney stones if we feed too much to our dogs.
Plus, it smells awful when you add it to a ferment.
3 – Green Beans
Green beans offer dietary fiber, Vitamin K, and even some protein, making them an excellent source of nutrition for dogs. I add green beans to my dogs’ dishes when they need to lose weight or during the cold winter months when the dogs aren’t getting as much exercise to prevent excess weight gain.
4 – Sweet Potatoes
Sweet potatoes pack a punch in terms of vitamins A, B6, C, E, calcium, and potassium—they are also rich in fiber which supports gut health and helps keep your dog feeling full longer. I occasionally feed sweet potatoes as a treat, dehydrating them to make dog treats.
- I slice the sweet potatoes into strips or circles and blanch them for seven minutes to retain color.
- I dehydrate the treats for 6-7 hours at 135 F (57.2 C).
These steps will get you started, but you may have to adjust based on how thick your slices are and the dehydrator you are using.
5 – Broccoli
Broccoli contains fiber and vitamins A, C & K, which help support overall health by aiding digestion and metabolism. And while broccoli is terrific, broccoli sprouts are even better. I grow broccoli sprouts at home and dehydrate them for 6-7 hours at 110 F (43.3 C) and grind them into a natural powder supplement. I add it to my dogs’ diet to fight cancer.
6 – Kale
And don’t forget about kale! It is packed with antioxidants that boost immunity and prevent disease-causing bacteria from entering your dog’s body. I used to be big on kale, but I prefer collard greens (they’re delicious). and dandelion greens.
7 – Cabbage
Cabbage contains compounds that may help reduce inflammation in dogs and it’s so easy to ferment. I pick up red and green cabbages when I plan to ferment – it’s colorful. But that’s not all. Red cabbage is more nutritionally dense than green cabbage. It’s also higher in Vitamins A and C and iron. Green cabbage is higher in Vitamin K.
8 – Cauliflower
Cauliflower is rich in nutrients like vitamin C and antioxidants that help fight infection. Cauliflower is a low-calorie food, making it a great alternatived to green beans if your dog needs to lose a couple of pounds. If you make your own veggie mix, skip the cauliflower or add very little. It doesn’t smell great.
9 – Parsley
Finally, parsley is filled with powerful antioxidants that aid in digestion and can even help reduce bad breath! And parsley is crazy easy to grow, indoors and outdoors.
10 -Dandelion Greens
Dandelion greens promote healthy digestion, is filled with antioxidants, and boost the immune system. And they’re free for many of us. We live on five acres of untreated grass – in the spring, I harvest dandelion greens and roots. I leave plenty of the bees, just digging up enough to clean and dehydrate for my dogs.
How to Add Vegetables to a Dog’s Diet
People will tell you that dogs can’t eat vegetables because they lack the digestive enzyme (amylase) but this isn’t the case. While most mammals produce amylase in their saliva, amylase is produced by a dog’s pancreas. It’s not a lot, but it’s there.
I feed vegetables to my dogs in several ways – pureed, dehydrated, fermented, and lightly cooking.
Pureed Vegetables
The main way I feed vegetables to my dogs is pureed. And because I rock a tin foil hat and don’t trust the food industry, I feed Green JuJu blends in the winter and spring and make my own vegetable blend in the summer with ingredients from my garden.
Sometimes I mix the vegetables into my dogs raw blends, sometimes I add a tablespoon full to their dish. Occasionally, my dogs will skip the vegetables. It’s not a big deal, but I don’t want to waste the food – so I mix in an organ meat or fish meal topper from Real Dog Box.
Dehydrated Vegetables
I use a dehydrated base mix from Dr. Harvey’s to balance my dogs’ raw diet. I also dehydrate and blend certain vegetables to create a DIY supplement for my dogs: broccoli sprouts, dandelion greens, and parsley are a favorite blend of mine. And I dehydrate sweet potatoes to make healthy dog treats.
Fermented Vegetables
Fermented vegetables are an easy way to boost a dog’s gut health and immune system. Fermenting is easy to do, you can find fermeting starter kits that make it easier, and it’s less expensive than many supplements. My favorite vegetable blends include carrots, collard greens, dandelion greens, and red and green cabbage.
Lightly Cooking Vegetables
And, finally, I’ll blanch vegetables for a few minutes and add them to my dogs’ dishes as a side dish. I don’t do this very often because it’s easier to buy frozen vegetables, thaw, and add them to the dishes. The vegetables I buy are usually green beans, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower. I tried feeding sweet potatoes to my dogs this way, but they weren’t interested. But they do like pureed sweet potatoes.
What if a Dog Won’t Eat Vegetables
There are plenty of dogs that won’t eat vegetables. I’ve heard of dogs eating around vegetables while others will pick them out and toss the on the floor. If you have a dog that isn’t on the vegetable train, I recommend pureeing the vegetables and adding them to their raw blend (they can’t pick these out) or using a base mix made of dehydrated vegetables. These are the easiest ways to add vegetables to their diet.
If you have more ideas or suggestions on other vegetables I should try, let me know in the comments below.