Happy “Friday Treats Friday” everyone!  As promised, I have finally dehydrated broccoli…and…tilapia!  I figured I would give you something extra since I’ve been promising broccoli for the last two weeks and kept changing my mind on which treat I wanted to post.  I bought organic broccoli and tilapia filets that I cut into pieces.  If your pup does not like broccoli, check out an older blog of mine:  1 Easy Way To Make Dehydrated Zucchini Medallions https://twoadorablelabs.com/1-easy-way-to-make-dehydrated-zucchini-medallions/.  A note about the zucchini medallions…Make sure you pat them dry before dehydrating them as they retain a lot of water.  The medallion chips did not come out as crispy as I would have liked and I think it was because I did not dry them properly. Jake and Maggie are not crazy in love with broccoli unless it is combined with other ingredients so we will see if they love this treat or just want to play with it and make a mess!

I do have a funny story and a little bit of an FYI for you.  I bought Jake and Maggie dehydrated cod strips for their birthday party.  I ordered them online from a small well-known business I follow on Instagram called Sea Biscuits @seabiscuitsadt.  The packaging is adorable, their product healthy so I wanted to see if the pups would like these treats.  They loved them but after eating one, Jake walked over to me and burped in my face and boy did he stink of fish.  So just an FYI…your pup might have some smell coming from him after eating fish treats.  

Can dogs eat tilapia?  Yes, they can!  But in moderation.  Tilapia is a great source of protein and contains Omega 3 fatty acids, which have anti-inflammatory properties and provide benefits for a dog’s cardiovascular system, brain, joints, skin, and fur. Tilapia also contains phosphorus, vitamin D, folate, and potassium. But you should only share cooked tilapia with your pet; raw fish can contain dangerous (even deadly) parasites.

Here is the key to serving your dog fish…do NOT season it, cook it in butter, or fry it and as I said before, only serve in moderation.

In my research on how to dehydrate fish, I found this website with a ton of great information on dehydrating meats, fish, and other foods for your pet:  https://www.bdws.co.uk/dehydrated-dog-treat-recipes/

Did you know that…

Oregon state University researched how to make homemade jerky safe and they say that:  “Jerky can be considered “done” and safe to eat only when it has been heated sufficiently to destroy any pathogens present and is dry enough to be shelf-stable.  Shelf-stable means the  jerky can be stored at room temperature and will not support microbial growth.”  

Oregon state University’s method for destroying pathogens:  “Post-drying heating.  Placing dried meat strips on a cookie sheet in an oven preheated to 257ºF [126ºC] and heating the strips for 10 minutes effectively eliminates pathogens.  This method produces the most traditional jerky.”

This is great to know considering I have made both dehydrated chicken and steak.  I am also making a small amount of fish and will put the tilapia strips on the first rack of my dehydrator and the broccoli on the second rack using only two racks instead of the 6 that I normally use. The top temperature of a dehydrator is usually around 70c (160f) which is not enough to kill such pathogens as Salmonella and E. coli.

Note:  I have finished this blog post and have to report that Jake and Maggie did not like this recipe.  They turned their noses up at the broccoli and were not interested in my dehydrated fish.  I hope your pup enjoys this recipe better than mine did :-). 

Dehydrated Broccoli and Tilapia

Ingredients:

1 cup Organic broccoli
1 Fresh tilapia filet

Instructions:

Cut up broccoli into pieces
Cut up fish into pieces
Dehydrate for 5 to 6 hours at 158 degrees