In late 2019, we started feeding Stella a homemade, raw food diet. We worked with our vet, a nutritionist, and got lots of support from other raw feeders in our community. One of the most difficult things about feeding raw was the waste! Plastic bags, packaging, and trimmings made our trash can STINK and in a small apartment, we couldn't keep up with the mess it was making. After a few months of tinkering around in the kitchen, we have a few hacks for other raw feeders to try out to make raw feeding a zero waste, low impact lifestyle for you and your dog.
Our biggest problems with raw feeding were:
Stella picking out the pieces she didn't want to eat, leaving us with bits of spleen, kidney and fat around the house. Literally so disgusting, and I couldn't ensure she was getting all of the necessary components of her diet.
Ziploc bags in the trash, stinking to high heaven after a day or two at room temp. We would freeze her meals individually in baggies and just throw them out after feeding her, but this quickly became expensive, using two boxes of quart bag ziplocs per month. We also had to take the trash out way more often to mitigate the smell, and because of how much waste we were making.
Purchasing pre-packaged raw meals and coping with the amount of plastic waste they made. When we started DIYing her meals, we would also end up with lots of packaging from buying individual cuts of meat at the grocery store or asian markets.
So, here's how we've cut plastic out of the raw feeding process, and made feeding raw an enjoyable and low-impact practice in our home.
Freezer and dishwasher safe containers for preparing food - Amazon ($22.75)
These containers were a game changer for us. We can package her meals individually and they stack nicely in our freezer. We prepare 25 days worth of food at a time, two meals a day, with 50 containers. They take up more space in our freezer than ziploc baggies, but to be honest, we rarely use our freezer anyway. After we feed her, we just pop the lid and container in the dishwasher and run our dishwasher normally. They've held up great, and already payed for themselves in the money we've saved not buying ziplocs. And now there's no stinky trash to deal with after meals! We fast her for 5 days a month, so 25 days worth of food ends up being exactly how much food we need for a month. This makes meal prepping easy and predictable for me.
My only complaint about these containers is that the tops can crack when crushed. Make sure if you have a pull-out freezer (like we do) that you don't stack them too high and crack the tops. They sort of shatter into a million pieces, so if one cracks, we have to throw out the food inside because I'm never certain that I can find and pick out all of the plastic shards.
Coleman 24-Can Party Stacker Portable Cooler - Amazon ($22.63)
Okay, so I'm fine with being known as 'cooler lady' at my local Asian market, but if you still have some self respect, maybe this one isn't for you. When I go shopping for Stella once a month, I know exactly how much food I need, what types, and in what quantities. I purchase around 60 pounds of meat, organs and fish at one time.
This cooler has been great at minimizing the single use plastic at the meat counter. I bring the cooler empty and clean to the market, they tare out the weight of the cooler on the scale, and put everything I need directly into it. I don't care that it's all mixed together, as we grind everything up anyway when we get home. It keeps the meat chilled, and I can simply take handfuls of the meat directly from the cooler into my meat grinder, so it's really easy, and ends up being less messy than having to unwrap meat and deal with the inevitable 'meat juices' that come with it. We just pour the juices from the cooler right into her ground mix at the end, and viola! No waste!
To clean it, I scrub it out with dish soap and a scrub brush, hose it out, and let it dry. Then it's ready for next month when I need it!
I like the long slim design of this one because it's easy for two people to carry, and fits nicely in my trunk. I don't have to worry about it tipping over and spilling on the drive home which gives me peace of mind when out shopping for her.
Cabelas Deluxe Meat Grinder - Cabellas ($129.00)
To help keep Stella from leaving us 'presents' on the nice rug, we decided to try grinding up her food. We have loved it! It makes feeding her easier, less visually gross, and has given me peace of mind knowing she's getting everything she needs in each meal. This grinder is great, it works well every time and is easy to disassemble and clean. I hand wash all the parts to make sure they stay sharp and don't get banged up in the dishwasher.
It easily grinds muscle meat, fish, and organs without a problem. It can also take small poultry bones like feet and wings like a champ. We haven't tried any larger bones in it, I can get her lamb bones at our local market, so it's easy enough to just pop a whole one in her meals to make sure her bone content is accounted for.
It is a bit noisy, but other than that I have no complaints! I would definitely recommend this grinder if you're looking for a compact, powerful grinder for preparing raw foods.
POPBLOSSOM Paw Print Silicone Molds - Amazon ($6.99 for a set of 3)
These silicone molds are adorable and perfect for freezing her fruit and veggie supplements! Each tray has six molds in it and each mold holds about 3-4 ounces of liquid puree, which is perfect for her daily allotment of greens. I'll blitz up some steamed pumpkin, broccoli, blueberries and spinach and just pour it in the molds, freeze them over night, and put them directly into her food containers when I meal prep the next day.
I'll make a separate blog post on raw food supplement pupsicles! Keep an eye out for some of Stella's favorite supplements :)
They're completely dishwasher safe, and have held up great. They're also great molds for making cookies! My only complaint about them is that they're quite flimsy, so when you're going to freeze a liquid in them, you need to place the molds onto a cookie sheet.
Overall, making the transition from kibble to a raw diet was easier than I had anticipated. After a few days of diarrhea, Stella has more energy, a beautiful coat, she sheds less, and has sparkling white teeth. I can't imagine going back now. When we travel and I don't have access to a freezer, we feed her a dehydrated raw blend that she really likes!
If you're curious about raw feeding, please, PLEASE talk to a canine nutritionist. Often times vet's are skeptical of raw fed diets, so speaking to a nutritionist directly will help you make the best choice for your dog.
Let us know if you have any other zero-waste tips or tricks for raw feeding!
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