What is gourmet dog food? We’ve all seen the adjective, ‘gourmet’ from dog food manufacturers. The term actually means – according to dictionary.com – ‘to involve high quality or exotic ingredients and skilled preparation‘.
The nouns ‘gourmet’ and ‘foodie’ are used interchangeably these days. A foodie is a person who has an ardent or refined interest in food. A foodie seeks new food experiences. They, like me, love food and want to experience a whole variety of tastes, flavors and textures.
A New York Times food editor says that there are 3 qualities that characterize Gourmet Dog Food and the same applies to Gourmet Dog Food. The food is real, it is healthy and it’s produced sustainably. Real means that is has been around for many years. If the food has been here for the last century, it’s probably real. Hyper processed foods like kibble are neither real, nor healthy. Sustainable means that the farmer puts back the nutrients extracted from the soil and uses water in a way that ensures there will be enough for the future. For example, California uses about 5 thousand gallons of water to produce only one edible pound of beef. That same amount of water would grow over 200 pounds of wheat or 10 pounds of eggs.
Meats raised in feedlots are loaded with synthetic hormones, antibiotics, DDT, lead and mercury. There are more pesticide residues in meat than in dairy, grains, vegetables and fruits. As with all things, we need to have variety in our diet and balance meats with grains, fruits and vegetables. Lucky Dog Cuisine is the only company that uses dairy: both cheeses and yogurt as an additional protein source and we never use meats from feedlots.
So how does a dog food qualify as gourmet worthy? It has real ingredients, it’s healthy and it is produced sustainably!
Quality ingredients are key as well as adhering to careful preparation. We truly fit the definition of a gourmet dog food!
Quality Ingredients raised sustainably:
Our beef and pork are pasture raised by our local farmer. Our farmer uses natural fertilizers like chicken and cow manure to prevent chemicals from entering the water supply. They do not use pesticides but depend on dung beetles, chickens and local wild birds to manage the pest population. No clear cutting of the forests protects the cows and local wildlife. Cows are rotated to allow grasses to grow and maintain healthy pastures. Grass fed animals enrich the land. Buying our meats locally saves fossil fuel.
Our turkey is humanely raised without the use of hormones and antibiotics.
Lucky Dog Cuisine uses real fruits, vegetables and barley that are non-genetically modified and cooked in pure, filtered water. Our rice is tested to be free of arsenic and is grown here in the USA.
Careful preparation:
Lucky Dog Cuisine cooks all of our meals by hand in our own kitchen. Meals are cooked in the morning, cooled and packaged in the afternoon then frozen for shipment on Mondays.
Lucky Dog Cuisine is a true gourmet dog food ! We cook by hand. Our ingredients are real, healthy and raised sustainably!
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