May 13, 2013

Monday Mischief: Smoothie Mischief

If you've read my novel, What the Dog Ate, you know that Maggie, the main character, enjoys a smoothie for a post exercise recovery food. She always lets Kona, her chocolate Lab, have a go at her glass when
she's done.
Kona doesn't just eat undies. Lots of things make him lick his lips throughout the story.

A big ol' cup o' goodness
That part of the story is taken from real life since the hubs and I are big smoothie drinkers, especially after a workout.

Both our previous pups LOVED our smoothies. Bailey, our beagle, would take any chance she could to try and get her head in the blender (we make HUGE smoothies so I get a big glass full, and the hubs has whatever is left and drinks it straight from the blender).
Bailey with her head in the blender. Watch the blades, babe!
Abby was instantly interested in our smoothies. The second day after we brought her home from the shelter she knocked over an entire blender full of purple deliciousness. Good thing she was so cute:
Abby - cutest puppy ever.
I don't have a pic of the mauve lake flooding our beige living room carpet. (I wasn't blogging back then, so didn't realize I should be documenting absolutely every move the dog made!) Oxiclean to the rescue that day!

"Okay, yeah... it's not bad."
As for Rita, she's got a very "meh" attitude about smoothies. She has never once tried to check out what's in the blender, even if we sit outside to drink them and the hubs sets the blender on the ground. But after Taryn at A Tail of Two Cardis posted recently about making smoothies for breakfast, and the boys being huge fans, I thought maybe I'd give Rita another shot at them. I made myself a big ol' smoothie for lunch, and poured a little in her bowl.

I wish I'd been quicker with my camera, because at first she looked at me like I'd offered her ... wait, what's something gross that a dog won't eat?? Dogs love to eat gross things... hmm... Something not gross, but still bad... maybe arsenic... yeah, she looked at me like I'd offered her arsenic. Or butterless popcorn (she hates that). Anyway, after a little coaxing she finally realized that smoothies are good!

She's not so convinced of their deliciousness that she'll come beg for some, or try to steal some out of the blender, but she'll at least join us in a little bit if I pour it in her bowl.

Remember - if you make your own smoothies and want to share a little with your pup, go easy on the dairy since dogs' tummies don't do well with dairy. (That's a kind of mischief you want to steer clear of.) For our smoothies we include: 1/2 a frozen banana (makes them good and creamy!), soy or almond milk, whatever fruit we have handy (usually frozen organic mixed berries, cherries, or peaches), cherry juice (or whatever juice we have handy - OJ is nice w/ peaches), some veggies (raw kale &/or beets) and we usually add a scoop of vanilla or chocolate protein powder. (We have a Vitamix, so it makes easy work of the hard raw beets.) Yum!!

Have you ever shared a smoothie with your pup? Happy Monday Mischief!

30 comments:

  1. I bet our puggies would love those, especially stella cos she loves all fruits, and most veggies!
    I wanted to tell you we really enjoyed "through frankies eyes" mom laughed and cried!
    stella rose

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    1. Oh, I'm glad you enjoyed "Through Frankie's Eyes." I laughed and cried too. I'll let Barbara know!

      If Stella loves fruits & veggies, she'd love a bit of smoothie!

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  2. Mmmmm, we love when mom makes smoothies, especially when she shares.

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    1. Oh, your mom is so nice to share! I have to remember to share since Rita doesn't beg for smoothies like Bailey & Abby used to!

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  3. Whenever I try to share fruits or veggies with Finn, I find them hours or days later hidden under the ottoman. Ick! Maybe I'll try him with a smoothie - definitely harder to hide! :)

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    1. That's too funny. Maybe he'd like a smoothie though, since they are sweet. Rita loves sweet things. (Well, most sweet things...)

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  4. Yum-Yum.... Zeus wants to know where he can get his paws on a nice smoothie!

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  5. SlimDoggy Jack approves - smoothies are great pick me ups, especially if you put only fruits and or veggies or a little of both!

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    1. Ours are mostly fruit, plus a bit of veg. And we just give the pups a wee taste.

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  6. Taryn just sent us a copy and we are about to start reading it. Can't wait. Have a marvellous Monday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  7. Now I'm wondering why I don't enjoy smoothies more often. Or why I've never thought of adding veggies to them. [goes off to dig out blender]

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    1. We usually only make them on the weekends, but I should really start making them for breakfast or lunch during the week as well. They're so delicious and nutritious!

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  8. That's a pretty good idea! I might have to give that a try with the dogs this summer!

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    1. I'm sure the boys would love it on a nice hot day!

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  9. Have to say no I've never shared my smoothie with Gizmo...It's usually veggie juice froom the juicer...But I have made him brownies with the juicer pulp and he loved them

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    1. Oh... brownies with juicer pulp sounds intriguing!

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  10. Abby is sooo cute! Our pups love smoothies and licking the empty cups.

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  11. I figure my guys are getting a nice nutrition boost with all those finely ground fruits and veggies! They don't seem to mind the yogurt as far as a dairy problem goes, (Jimmy definitely has issues with string cheese!) so they get a nice dose of probiotics, too.

    I've been wanting to try grapes in my smoothies but since dogs can't have grapes, I don't have the heart to use them. The boys would be horribly disappointed to hear the blender and then get no smoothie!

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    1. Hmmm. I never thought of putting grapes in a smoothie. But, yes, the boys would definitely be disappointed if you start whipping up grape smoothies!

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  12. That is making me crave a tasty frozen treat! Mmm...

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  13. I don't recommend deepfrying the veggies before adding them to the smoothie. :)

    Seriously - you barely know the beets/kale are in there!

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  14. Humm...will have to see if Max would try one...he's pretty picky but banana flavored might be a winner :). But beets...ewww...Rita run from that! :)

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  15. I really have to start trying smoothies!!! I mean the healthy kind, haha that seems delicious!

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  16. We aren't smoothie fans here. The pack gets their veggies as mashed Kong stuffings which they seem to enjoy. Well, at least the Kongs are emptied every time!

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  17. Um Jackie? Most of my smoothies have alcohol in them. That's why we bought the smoothie maker to begin with. :-)

    Sampson is the one hesitant to try new things but I've found if I can coax him to eat the dried banana chips, he's now willing to eat the fresh ones (something he would never do before.) :-)

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  18. Just purchased your book as a bday gift to myself! Headed to the pool to get started on it. Could you bring me a smoothie??? :)

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