Vegedog™ Recipe Instructions
Start with fresh ingredients and prepare food as you do for other family members.
Transition Gradually
Mix a small amount of the new food in with the old food and adjust the proportions over a week or longer. You can start with up to 25% new food on the first day. Digestive enzymes are especially beneficial during the transition, while the digestive tract makes adjustments.
Recipe Notes & How Much to Feed
Vegedog™ is for adult dogs (over 10-12 months old). It can be used for pregnant dogs if they are allowed to eat more of the recipes, but it is ideal to use the Vegepup supplement for pregnant dogs. Lactating dogs and puppies should be given the Vegepup supplement.
The Vegedog™ supplement needn’t be cooked or heated. It should be added after meals are prepared, but it is best to mix the supplement into warm food. Ingredients can be prepared separately, then mixed together, or you may come up with your own method.
Prepared meals may be stored in the refrigerator or freezer, with or without the supplement added.
To determine how much food to feed, ask your vet how many calories per day your dog should eat, or use a calorie calculator like http://vetcalculators.com/calories.html.
If you follow our recipes, adding the amount of supplement as instructed in the recipe, and you’ll have nutritionally complete food. Each recipe lists the number of calories contained in the entire recipe under the recipe title. Measure how many cups your prepared recipe yields. Divide the total number of calories by the number of cups you measured. That answer is the number of calories each cup of food contains. For example, if the entire recipe contains 3000 calories, and you end up with 8-1/4 cups of food, your recipe contains 363 calories per cup [3000 ÷ 8.25 = 363].
You can enter the calories per cup, along with your animal’s weight, on the calorie calculator website to find out how many cups to feed per day. Once you have the number of calories per cup in the food, you simply divide the number of calories your dog needs per day by the calories per cup to find out how much to feed. For example, if you determine your food has 285 calories per cup, and you are feeding a dog that needs 1150 calories per day, you’ll need to feed 4 cups of food per day [1150 ÷ 285 = 4.03].
Vegedog™ Daily Serving Amount
If you formulate your own recipes, it’s ideal to add Vegedog™ to one day’s worth of food, using the Daily Serving Size Chart (adjacent and on the product label). The chart is based on weight. Mix the recommended amount into the total amount of daily food, or divide the amount between daily meals.
Alternatively, if you know how many calories your recipe contains, you can add 27 grams of Vegedog™ for every 3000 calories in the recipe. If your recipe contains 1500 calories, you’d add 13.5 grams of Vegedog™.
Organic & Non-GMO Ingredients
GMO (Genetically Modified Organism) ingredients and herbicides can cause gastrointestinal issues, food allergies, and more. Soy, canola, and corn that is not organic IS almost certainly genetically modified in the USA. Compassion Circle strongly recommends organic food for you and your animals!
Digestive Enzymes
Almost every process in the body requires enzymes. Digestion is no different. Digestive enzymes are produced in the body and found in plants and raw foods. These enzymes are heat sensitive, so cooking and processing food destroys the natural enzymes. We recommend adding plant-derived enzymes (lipase, amylase, protease, and cellulase) to any cooked food. Amylase is a particularly important aid for the digestion of carbohydrates. A little raw food doesn’t supply enough enzymes to compensate for the enzyme loss in cooked food. The Compassion Circle Digestive Enzymes should be available by late Summer of 2021.
Vegetables - YES, Please!
Adding daily veggies (never onions) to the diet is ideal. Vegetables add few calories, but add variety, vitamins, and minerals. Dogs are appreciative of “people” food such as raw cauliflower florets, asparagus spears, and celery stalk chew toys. Pureed raw vegetables are a wonderful addition to meals. You may also add cooked sweet potatoes, carrots, green beans, corn, or squash. Uncooked, chopped zucchini, broccoli, and green pepper are also good additions. It is best to keep the amount of veggies in the diet to about 10% or less to ensure your dog is getting enough protein from the protein sources in the following recipes.
Food Yeast - VegeYeast
Food yeast adds high quality protein, B vitamins, and flavor while helping deter fleas. Our VegeYeast is a modified brewer’s yeast. It is more acidic than other yeast powders, thus beneficial for the urinary health of dogs. Stir yeast powder into the food so chunks are uniformly coated.
You can use nutritional yeast or regular brewer’s yeast in recipes if you prefer. Nutritional yeast tastes cheese-like and comes in maxi-flakes, mini-flakes, and powder. When using maxi-flakes, double the volume (not the weight) measurement.
Initially, it is best to weigh out the type of yeast you choose to use, in grams, on a kitchen scale. The gram measurements in the recipes are more accurate than the volume measures. Yeast is required to meet the B vitamin requirements for your dog. If a yeast allergy is present, you may substitute a crushed 50mg B complex vitamin in each 2-3 day recipe.
OIL - EFAs ARE IMPORTANT
Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) are particularly important. The omega-6 fatty acid, linoleic acid (LA), is crucial. Dogs can produce the other fatty acids they need with enough linoleic acid in the diet. This includes the production of arachidonic acid.
When a recipe calls for sunflower oil, it is to meet the linoleic acid (LA) requirement. The following oils are a comparable substitute for sunflower oil: safflower oil, evening primrose oil, grape seed oil, and hemp oil. If you use a different oil, understand that your dog needs 1/2 teaspoon (2.47mL) of one of the above oils for every 15 lbs (6.8 kg) of body weight each day to meet the linoleic acid requirement.
Omega-3 fatty acids are provided by the flax ingredients in the recipes. Flax ingredients provide the omega-3 fatty acid, alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). You may substitute 2/3 teaspoon (3.3mL) of flaxseed oil for 1 tablespoon (7g) of ground flaxseed, or vice versa.
Store oils in the refrigerator. Smell and taste them before use to be sure they are not rancid.
Seasonings
Imitation bacon bits, stevia (a sweet herb)*, imitation meat, spirulina, pureed vegetables, and favorite table scraps from your own meals increase palatability, although you’ll find it hardly necessary for palatability.
*DO NOT use xylitol in dog food. It is toxic.
Textured Soy Protein (TVP)
We highly recommend using organic, non-GMO soy products! Textured soy protein (TSP), also known as textured vegetable protein (TVP®) or soya chunks, is a defatted soy flour. Measure TSP (textured soy protein) before reconstituting. Flakes and granules must be reconstituted. Add 7/8 cup boiling water (207mL) to each cup of TSP (237mL) and let it absorb the liquid. Textured soy protein chunks (which are larger) may require brief simmering before ready for use. Recipe cup measures are based on 1 cup of dry TSP weighing 96 grams.
Pinto - Quinoa - Tofu/Tempeh for Adult Dogs
Tofu: Protein 24.5% • Fat 9% / Tempeh: Protein 27% • Fat 11%
Ingredients
- 8 cups cooked pinto beans (1.36kg). Start with 3 cups of dry beans (575).
- 2 cups cooked quinoa (370g). Start with 2/3 dry quinoa (114g)
- 7 oz tofu OR tempeh (200g); roughly 1-1/4 cups cubed
- 3 tbsp VegeYeast or yeast powder (27g)
- 1 tbsp hemp, olive, OR organic canola oil (16g)
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed (7g)
- 1-1/3 tbsp Vegedog™ (18g)
- 1/3 tsp salt (1.5g) OR 2 tsp. soy sauce (12g)
Instructions
- Soak pinto beans 8 hours or overnight. The water level should be at least a few inches over the beans to allow for expansion. Cover the soaking dish with a clean towel. A method of quick soaking is to boil the legumes for 5 minutes, then allow them to sit in the hot water for 1 hour. Rinse beans and change the water before cooking.Legumes can be cooked with a potato or piece of kombu to increase digestibility. Begin with 3 cups of dry beans. If your yield is not 8 cups, that's okay. The nutrients and calories in the recipe are based on the dry measure. Soak overnight and prepare.
- Rinse quinoa. Simmer 2 cups quinoa in at least 4 cups of water for 15 minutes or follow package directions.
- Cube or otherwise chop tofu or tempeh. Mix all ingredients together well.
- Optional: Seasonings such as parsley, basil, spirulina, Green Mush,™ AND/OR up to 1 cup steamed or chopped veggies (150g).
Notes
Using tofu results in a recipe that contains 3040 calories.
Using tempeh results in a recipe that contains 3230 calories.
You can omit the tofu or tempeh for a recipe that is 2845 calories with 8% fat and 21% protein. Okay to use 3 cups dry black or kidney beans in place of pinto beans.
Lentils for Adult Dogs
Protein 28% • Fat 9%
Calories: 2940kcal
Ingredients
- 10-1/4 cups cooked lentils (2kg)
- 2-2/3 tbsp VegeYeast or nutritional yeast (24g) For nutritional yeast, check product label and aim for 24g. You might need more than 3 tbsp.
- 2-1/2 tbsp sunflower or olive oil (49g)
- 1-1/2 tbsp Vegedog (20g)
- 1/3 tsp salt (1.4g) OR 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
Instructions
- Soak lentils in cold water for 2 hours before cooking.
- Cook lentils. Remove from heat.
- Mix together all ingredients.
- Optional: Add seasonings such as parsley, basil, spirulina, Green Mush,™ AND/OR up to 1 cup steamed or chopped veggies (150g).
Notes
DO NOT cook lentils with bay leaves. They are toxic to dogs.
You may sprout lentils, but sprouted lentils need to be broken up in a food processor or blender. Sprouting lessens the protein content but increases other nutrients. Begin with the dry lentil measure; it’s okay if the cooked volume is different than the above cooked measurement. The calories and nutrients will be the same.
Yield close to 11 cups with 1 cup of veggies added. If blended or mashed, yield closer to 8 or 8-1/2 cups. Total calories 2940.
Oat & Tofu for Adult Dogs
Protein 23% • Fat 13.8%
Calories: 3355kcal
Ingredients
- 7-1/4 cups uncooked oats (595g) This makes roughly 13-1/2 cups when cooked (3.17kg).
- 26 oz extra firm tofu (735g) About 3 cups; use ounce measure from package to be most accurate.
- 3/4 cups tomato paste (198g)
- 1 tbsp VegeYeast or nutritional yeast (9g) If using nutritional yeast, check label to achieve 9 grams. It might require more than 1 tbsp.
- 1-1/2 tbsp hemp or organic canola oil (21g)
- 2-1/4 tbsp Vegedog (30g)
- 1/3 tsp salt (1.4g) OR 2 tsp soy sauce (10g)
Instructions
- Cook 595 grams of rinsed oats. This is roughly 7 cups of dry oats. See your product label to achieve 595-600g of uncooked oats. Follow package cooking instructions. Typically, add 2 cups of water for every 1 cup of oats. Cooking ties vary depending on cut of oats. Cooked oat yield will be roughly 13-1/2 cups.
- Add about 3 cups (26oz) extra firm tofu to oats.
- Mix in remaining ingredients.
- Optional: Add seasonings such as parsley, basil, spirulina, Green Mush,™ AND/OR up to 1-1/2 cups steamed or chopped veggies (225g).
Notes
The tomato paste is to add potassium. If you omit the tomato paste, cooked sweet potato or carrots are also good sources of potassium.
Yield about 18 cups with 1 cup of veggies added. If blended/mashed, yield closer to 15 cups. Total calories 3355 plus optional extras.
Oat & TSP for Adult Dogs
Protein 25% • Fat 9%
Calories: 3424kcal
Ingredients
- 8 cups uncooked oats (650g) Grams to cup measurements for oats vary. See the nutritional facts on your oats and begin with 650g of uncooked oats.
- 2-1/4 cups dry textured soy protein (TSP) (240g
- 1-1/2 tbsp VegeYeast or nutritional yeast (14g) If using nutritional yeast, see label to achieve 14 grams. You may need up to 3 tablespoons.
- 1-1/2 tbsp ground flaxseed (10g)
- 1-1/2 tbsp hemp or organic canola oil (21g)
- 2-1/2 tbsp Vegedog (34g)
- 1/2 tsp salt OR 2 tsp soy sauce (12g)
Instructions
- Cook 650g of dry oats (about 8 cups) according to product package. Makes about 15 cups.
- Reconstitute 2-1/4 cups of TSP with about 2 cups boiling water. Stir to moisten completely or simmer in water if TSP cut requires longer reconstitution.
- Combine all ingredients and mix well.
- Optional: Add seasonings such as parsley, basil, spirulina, Green Mush,™ AND/OR up to 1-1/2 cups steamed or chopped veggies (225g).
Notes
Various types of oats may be used. See package for cooking instructions.
You may use TSP or TVP. Please use organic soy to avoid genetically modified ingredients. See our Frequently Asked Questions page for information about where to purchase ingredients but also check bulk bins locally.
Rice & TSP for Adult Dogs
Protein 25.5% • Fat 9%
Calories: 3610kcal
Ingredients
- 3 cups uncooked rice (540g) This makes roughly 9 cups when cooked.
- 3-1/2 cups dry textured soy protein (TSP) (360g)
- 1/4 cup VegeYeast or nutritional yeast (45g) If using nutritional yeast, see package to determine measurement for 45 grams.
- 1 tbsp hemp oil (14g)
- 3 tbsp sunflower, canola, or olive oil (42g)
- 2-1/4 tbsp Vegedog (30g)
- 1/3 tsp salt OR 2 tsp soy sauce (10g)
Instructions
- Rinse and/or soak rice; change water. Okay to use white or brown rice.
- Cook rice with at least 2 cups of water for ever 1 cup rice. Otherwise, follow package instructions.
- The most accurate TSP measure is dry grams. Use one scant cup of liquid for every cup of TSP when reconstituting, so use roughly 3-1/4 cups of water. If using flakes, simply add boiling water to TSP and stir to combine. If using TSP or TVP chunks, you may need to simmer them in water on the stove top. See product package.
- Combine all ingredients and mix well.
- Optional: Add seasonings such as parsley, basil, spirulina, Green Mush,™ AND/OR up to 1-1/2 cups steamed or chopped veggies (225g).
Notes
You may substitute 3-1/2 cups quinoa in place of rice.
If using one cup of veggies, recipe yields about 14-1/2 cups. If blended, total yield is closer to 12-1/2 cups. Total calories 3610.
Pinto - Quinoa - Tofu/Tempeh for Adult Dogs
Tofu: Protein 24.5% • Fat 9% / Tempeh: Protein 27% • Fat 11%
Ingredients
- 8 cups cooked pinto beans (1.36kg). Start with 3 cups of dry beans (575).
- 2 cups cooked quinoa (370g). Start with 2/3 dry quinoa (114g)
- 7 oz tofu OR tempeh (200g); roughly 1-1/4 cups cubed
- 3 tbsp VegeYeast or yeast powder (27g)
- 1 tbsp hemp, olive, OR organic canola oil (16g)
- 1 tbsp ground flaxseed (7g)
- 1-1/3 tbsp Vegedog™ (18g)
- 1/3 tsp salt (1.5g) OR 2 tsp. soy sauce (12g)
Instructions
- Soak pinto beans 8 hours or overnight. The water level should be at least a few inches over the beans to allow for expansion. Cover the soaking dish with a clean towel. A method of quick soaking is to boil the legumes for 5 minutes, then allow them to sit in the hot water for 1 hour. Rinse beans and change the water before cooking.Legumes can be cooked with a potato or piece of kombu to increase digestibility. Begin with 3 cups of dry beans. If your yield is not 8 cups, that's okay. The nutrients and calories in the recipe are based on the dry measure. Soak overnight and prepare.
- Rinse quinoa. Simmer 2 cups quinoa in at least 4 cups of water for 15 minutes or follow package directions.
- Cube or otherwise chop tofu or tempeh. Mix all ingredients together well.
- Optional: Seasonings such as parsley, basil, spirulina, Green Mush,™ AND/OR up to 1 cup steamed or chopped veggies (150g).
Notes
Using tofu results in a recipe that contains 3040 calories.
Using tempeh results in a recipe that contains 3230 calories.
You can omit the tofu or tempeh for a recipe that is 2845 calories with 8% fat and 21% protein. Okay to use 3 cups dry black or kidney beans in place of pinto beans.
Soy Kibble for Adult Dogs
Protein 20% • Fat 12.5%Soy Kibble is roughly 6-days of food for a 20 lb (9kg) dog, 4-days for a 40 lb (18kg) dog, or 2-days for a 90lb (41kg) dog.
Calories: 3705kcal
Ingredients
- 4 cups whole wheat flour (635g)
- 2 cups whole soy flour (180g)
- 1/3 cup corn meal (50g)
- 2 tbsp ground flaxseed (14g)
- 3 tbsp VegeYeast or nutritional yeast (25g)
- 1-3/4 tbsp Vegedog™ (24g)
- 1/2 tsp salt (1.9g) OR 2 tsp. soy sauce (12g)
- 3-1/2 tbsp sunflower oil (49g
- 3 cups water (700mL) Use more or less as needed.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F (150˚C)
- Mix all dry ingredients together.
- Add liquid ingredients and stir with a strong spoon to form soft dough.
- Flour hands and counter top to keep dough from sticking. Empty the bowl onto the counter top. Knead the dough by folding it on itself several times until smooth, proceeding as if making a pie crust.
- Roll dough to no more than 1/2” (1.25cm) thick and smooth in place on a cookie sheet, kneading into corners. Cold dough can be easier to work with. You can freeze or refrigerate for a short time if having trouble rolling dough out.
- Prick the dough, from end to end and side to side, with a fork to prevent bubbles. You can make biscuits out of the side strips.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Don’t bake so long that the edges get brown and brittle.
- With a large chef’s knife or pizza cutter, cut the newly baked slab into 9 or 12 parts on a cutting board. Cut twice horizontally, and then cut vertically 2 or 3 times. Cut each of the resulting rectangles into kibble sized pieces by cutting first in one direction and then the other. Piece sizes are determined by the size of your dog.
- Separate kibble pieces onto two or more cookie sheets and place in a warm oven (at its lowest temperature) for two or three hours, until crunchy dry. Direct sunshine makes an energy efficient drier, too. Kibble is dry enough when you can’t compress the pieces with finger pressure.
- Refrigeration is unnecessary.
Notes
You can flavor kibble or biscuits using marinara sauce, tomato paste, or vegetable broth in place of some or all of the water used to make dough. Alternatively, you can add nut or seed butter that does NOT contain xylitol for flavor. Be sure any ingredient you add for flavor is low in sodium and sugar.
The recipe should yield about 10 cups at roughly 375 calories per cup.
No Soy Kibble for Adult Dogs
Protein 27.5% • Fat 8.5%No Soy Kibble is roughly 8-days of food for a 20 lb (9kg) dog, 4-1/2-days for a 40 lb (18kg) dog, or 2-1/2-days for a 90lb (41kg) dog.
Calories: 4635kcal
Ingredients
- 1/3 cup VegeYeast or nutritional yeast (54g)
- 2-1/3 tbsp Vegedog™ (32g)
- 2-1/2 tbsp hemp protein powder (25g) (see notes below)
- 1/3 tsp salt (1.3g) OR 1/2 tbsp soy sauce (9g)
- 5-1/4 cups whole wheat flour (815g)
- 1-2/3 cups wheat gluten flour (75% protein) (200g)
- 3 tbsp ground flaxseed (21g)
- 1/4 cup sunflower oil (56g)
- 1-1/3 cups (340g or 2 small cans) tomato paste
- 4 cups water Use more or less as needed for dough.
- 1/2 tbsp soy sauce Only add if salt was left out of dry ingredients.
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 300°F (150˚C)
- Mix together VegeYeast or nutritional yeast, Vegedog, hemp protein powder, and salt (unless using soy sauce).
- Add flours and mix well.
- Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well with sturdy spoon to make dough.
- Flour hands and counter top to keep dough from sticking. Empty the bowl onto the counter top. Knead the dough by folding it on itself several times until smooth, proceeding as if making a pie crust.
- Roll dough to no more than 1/2” (1.25cm) thick and smooth in place on a cookie sheet, kneading into corners. Working with cold dough can be easier. Freeze or refrigerate for a short time if needed.
- Prick the dough, from end to end and side to side, with a fork to prevent bubbles. You can make biscuits out of side strips.
- Bake for 30 minutes. Don’t bake so long that the edges get brown and brittle.
- With a large chef’s knife or pizza cutter, cut the newly baked slab into 9 or 12 parts on a cutting board. Cut twice horizontally, and then cut vertically 2 or 3 times. Cut each of the resulting rectangles into kibble sized pieces by cutting first in one direction and then the other. Piece sizes are determined by the size of your dog.
- Separate kibble pieces onto two or more cookie sheets and place in a warm oven (at its lowest temperature) for two or three hours, until crunchy dry. Direct sunshine makes an energy efficient drier, too. Kibble is dry enough when you can’t compress the pieces with finger pressure.
- Refrigeration is unnecessary.
Notes
Hemp protein powder adds more of the amino acid lysine to the kibble. Lysine is needed for dogs to manufacture L-carnitine. Hemp protein can be omitted if you only feed kibble occasionally. If you feed the No Soy Kibble on a regular basis, please include hemp protein in your recipe.
The recipe should yield about 13 cups at roughly 360 calories per cup.
For additional recipes and health information, see Dr. Pitcairn’s Complete Guide to Natural Health for Dogs & Cats (4th Edition) by Susan & Richard Pitcairn. Please reference the 4th Edition, as previous editions do not have the same focus on vegan dog recipes.
For More information on Green Mush™ – our plant-based, pesticide free, green superfood for animals that’s a wonderful addition to any of our recipes – please visit the Green Mush™ Information Page.
