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EZComplete fur Dogs balances boneless meat. It is a true meat-completer: do NOT add any organ or source of calcium including bone to the food. This premix is not a "vitamin supplement" and the premix powder cannot be added to foods that are already balanced and complete; that said, food made with EZComplete (once prepared as directed) can be mixed with other balanced foods. Also please note, EZComplete fur Dogs already contains plant-based digestive enzymes and a source of omega 3 (a daily maintenance dose of green lipped mussel powder).
Which meat to use? Dogs can be sensitive to changes in fat content. Check the as-fed fat content of the food you've been feeding. It will have the maximum fat (as-fed) in the Guaranteed Analysis. It is typically best to use a meat with less fat than that (given it is only the "maximum" content, not the average content). It is also typically recommended that adult dogs be fed a lean diet. This is because pancreatitis in dogs is associated with the fat content of the diet. Thus, Food Fur Life recommends starting with a meat at 3%, 5% or 7% (at most), but definitely something that is lower than what your dog has been getting as listed on the label. If your dog has been eating a fatty diet, please "taper down" the amount of fat to the ideal content of 5% as-fed. When made with EZComplete, the food is nutritionally balanced per label claim at 5% fat as-fed. There is no need for each meal or each meat to be 5% fat as-fed, but the overall diet average should be targeted to 5% fat as-fed.
Which proteins to use? To prevent development of protein sensitivities, food boredom, and to provide a well-rounded nutritional variety, we highly recommend including at least three different animals sources (including different cuts of those meats) in your dog's diet rotation, if your dog manages these well. How often to rotate is up to you and your dog.
We have an article you may find helpful, How to Shop for Meat
Batch Instructions for Raw Food
Non-metric
Two pounds of boneless meat, chunked or ground. Fat should be 5% as-fed diet average to meet nutritional label claim.
1 ½ cups of water. Adjust water content to your dog’s preference. The water is needed to distribute the premix evenly throughout the food (and rehydrates the powdered food ingredients in the premix).
53 grams of premix.
Metric
One kilogram of boneless meat, chunked or ground. Fat should be 5% as-fed diet average to meet nutritional label claim.
400g water. Adjust water content to your dog's preference. The water is needed to distribute the premix evenly into the food (and rehydrates the powdered food ingredients in the premix).
58.5 grams of premix. If your scale does not weigh to milligrams, round up, not down (use 59 grams of EZComplete premix per kilogram of raw boneless meat).
To prepare the raw food, simply combine the boneless meat, water, and EZComplete fur Dogs premix. Mix / stir the supplement evenly into the meat. Portion and freeze!
Non-metric
Two pounds of boneless meat, chunked or ground. Fat should be 5% as-fed diet average to meet nutritional label claim.
1 ½ cups of water. Adjust water content to your dog’s preference. The water is needed to distribute the premix evenly throughout the food (and rehydrates the powdered food ingredients in the premix).
53 grams of premix.
Metric
One kilogram of boneless meat, chunked or ground. Fat should be 5% as-fed diet average to meet nutritional label claim.
400g water. Adjust water content to your dog's preference. The water is needed to distribute the premix evenly into the food (and rehydrates the powdered food ingredients in the premix).
58.5 grams of premix. If your scale does not weigh to milligrams, round up, not down (use 59 grams of EZComplete premix per kilogram of raw boneless meat).
To prepare the raw food, simply combine the boneless meat, water, and EZComplete fur Dogs premix. Mix / stir the supplement evenly into the meat. Portion and freeze!
Batch Instructions for Food with Cooked Meat
The decision to cook the meat for your dog's food may have health consequences. Please understand your options prior to determining the method you will use: Raw or Cooked? Which Should I Feed and Why?
*****For Cooked, several very important points!*****
1) When using EZComplete with cooked (boneless) meat, the amount of premix to use is based on the RAW weight of the boneless meat, prior to cooking. If you purchase bone-in meat, it must be de-boned prior to cooking as you need to know its raw weight in order to determine the amount of premix to use to balance the food properly.
2) If cooking the meat, cook only the (boneless) meat. Add the premix AFTER the meat is cooked and cooled. Portion and freeze immediately upon making the batch as the enzymes start to go to work when mixed with the meat. The enzymes will alter the texture of food made with cooked meat much more rapidly than food made with raw meat.
3) When making cooked food with EZComplete it is VERY important to use all of the cooking water OR to recover all of the pan drippings to include in the food: important minerals and vitamins are contained in that water and those juices! If you boil, poach, or use a slow cooker, you may not need to add more water, depending on how much water is included with the cooked meat. The water is used to make sure the supplement is mixed evenly into the meat. If there was sufficient cooking water, there is no need to add more. If your dog likes it a bit soupy or with gravy, you can add more.
4) Because EZComplete contains digestive enzymes, cooked meat will break down faster during thawing and refrigeration. It is best to portion into individual meal sized amounts, and use the rapid thawing method at meal time rather than storing in the refrigerator. Refrigerator storage will result in texture changes when using cooked meat.
Cooking the Meat
Slow Cooker Method - recommended
Add the boneless meat and 1/4 cup of water per pound (1/2 - 3/4 cup of water per kilogram) to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours if you choose to cook the meat to well done. Do not cook on the high setting unless you're in a real bind time-wise. Remember that for our pets we only need to cook the outside of the meat if cooking for safety purposes.
Allow the meat to cool, then chop, cut, shred, or use a food processor to chop/grind to a consistency your dog likes. The finer the texture of the meat, the more quickly the enzymes will go to work and thus alter the texture.
Use ALL of the water used for cooking the meat when mixing the meat with the premix. The cooking water contains valuable minerals and nutrients.
For Baking - please note that we recommend adding water to the bottom of the pan and covering the meat with foil. This is not a dry heat method of cooking and is not comparable to roasting.
If you bake the meat, please remember to retain/recover as much of the pan drippings as possible, these include valuable nutrients.
Recommended method if baking: Use a baking pan with an elevated rack for the boneless meat. Add water to the bottom of the pan, cover the entire thing with foil to retain moisture. This also makes it easier to recover the pan drippings. When the poultry or meat is done, depending on how much water is in the pan, please add up to the 1 ½ cups water (400g per kilogram of meat) to the roasting pan and scrape all of the pan drippings into the water so all of the pan drippings are included in the food. Add those to the mixing bowl when your meat is chopped or shredded OR add it (slowly) to the food processor if pureeing the meat into a smoother consistency. If using ground, just add it all to the mixing bowl and add the EZComplete premix. Mix thoroughly. It is important to recover as much of the pan drippings as possible.
Baking Instructions: Cook at 350 F (180C) for up to 20 minutes per pound (500g) of boneless meat, depending on the internal temperature you want to target. Cooking temperatures and meat "doneness" are available here. Remember, these guidelines are for humans. All we need to achieve for our pets is cooking the outer layers of the meat, and the meat is best prepared rare (or very rare). Reducing the internal temperature over time (cooking the meat less and less) can be used as a method to transition to raw if desired.
ALLOW COOKED MEAT TO COOL PRIOR TO ADDING THE EZCOMPLETE PREMIX.
The decision to cook the meat for your dog's food may have health consequences. Please understand your options prior to determining the method you will use: Raw or Cooked? Which Should I Feed and Why?
*****For Cooked, several very important points!*****
1) When using EZComplete with cooked (boneless) meat, the amount of premix to use is based on the RAW weight of the boneless meat, prior to cooking. If you purchase bone-in meat, it must be de-boned prior to cooking as you need to know its raw weight in order to determine the amount of premix to use to balance the food properly.
2) If cooking the meat, cook only the (boneless) meat. Add the premix AFTER the meat is cooked and cooled. Portion and freeze immediately upon making the batch as the enzymes start to go to work when mixed with the meat. The enzymes will alter the texture of food made with cooked meat much more rapidly than food made with raw meat.
3) When making cooked food with EZComplete it is VERY important to use all of the cooking water OR to recover all of the pan drippings to include in the food: important minerals and vitamins are contained in that water and those juices! If you boil, poach, or use a slow cooker, you may not need to add more water, depending on how much water is included with the cooked meat. The water is used to make sure the supplement is mixed evenly into the meat. If there was sufficient cooking water, there is no need to add more. If your dog likes it a bit soupy or with gravy, you can add more.
4) Because EZComplete contains digestive enzymes, cooked meat will break down faster during thawing and refrigeration. It is best to portion into individual meal sized amounts, and use the rapid thawing method at meal time rather than storing in the refrigerator. Refrigerator storage will result in texture changes when using cooked meat.
Cooking the Meat
Slow Cooker Method - recommended
Add the boneless meat and 1/4 cup of water per pound (1/2 - 3/4 cup of water per kilogram) to the slow cooker. Cook on low for 4 to 6 hours if you choose to cook the meat to well done. Do not cook on the high setting unless you're in a real bind time-wise. Remember that for our pets we only need to cook the outside of the meat if cooking for safety purposes.
Allow the meat to cool, then chop, cut, shred, or use a food processor to chop/grind to a consistency your dog likes. The finer the texture of the meat, the more quickly the enzymes will go to work and thus alter the texture.
Use ALL of the water used for cooking the meat when mixing the meat with the premix. The cooking water contains valuable minerals and nutrients.
For Baking - please note that we recommend adding water to the bottom of the pan and covering the meat with foil. This is not a dry heat method of cooking and is not comparable to roasting.
If you bake the meat, please remember to retain/recover as much of the pan drippings as possible, these include valuable nutrients.
Recommended method if baking: Use a baking pan with an elevated rack for the boneless meat. Add water to the bottom of the pan, cover the entire thing with foil to retain moisture. This also makes it easier to recover the pan drippings. When the poultry or meat is done, depending on how much water is in the pan, please add up to the 1 ½ cups water (400g per kilogram of meat) to the roasting pan and scrape all of the pan drippings into the water so all of the pan drippings are included in the food. Add those to the mixing bowl when your meat is chopped or shredded OR add it (slowly) to the food processor if pureeing the meat into a smoother consistency. If using ground, just add it all to the mixing bowl and add the EZComplete premix. Mix thoroughly. It is important to recover as much of the pan drippings as possible.
Baking Instructions: Cook at 350 F (180C) for up to 20 minutes per pound (500g) of boneless meat, depending on the internal temperature you want to target. Cooking temperatures and meat "doneness" are available here. Remember, these guidelines are for humans. All we need to achieve for our pets is cooking the outer layers of the meat, and the meat is best prepared rare (or very rare). Reducing the internal temperature over time (cooking the meat less and less) can be used as a method to transition to raw if desired.
ALLOW COOKED MEAT TO COOL PRIOR TO ADDING THE EZCOMPLETE PREMIX.
To make "ground" food if you don't have a grinder for the meat, (whether raw or cooked & cooled), cut the boneless meat into small pieces appropriate to the size of your food processor (if cooked, wait until the meat has cooled). Pulse the food processor for a few seconds at a time to chunk/mince/"grind" to your dog's desired consistency. The finer the grind, the faster the enzymes will change the texture when thawed.
Final Preparation Instructions
In a mixing bowl, add the boneless meat (raw OR cooked & cooled and prepared for mixing), the water from cooking (or if baked, the water with the recovered pan juices), and the EZComplete fur Dogs premix.
Mix thoroughly. You can add more water if your dog prefers the food a little soupier or if it is needed to distribute the supplement evenly.
Portion and freeze. Again, we note that with cooked food, we recommend portioning into individual meal sizes and freezing immediately. Use freezer-adequate containers or bags for storage.
In a mixing bowl, add the boneless meat (raw OR cooked & cooled and prepared for mixing), the water from cooking (or if baked, the water with the recovered pan juices), and the EZComplete fur Dogs premix.
Mix thoroughly. You can add more water if your dog prefers the food a little soupier or if it is needed to distribute the supplement evenly.
Portion and freeze. Again, we note that with cooked food, we recommend portioning into individual meal sizes and freezing immediately. Use freezer-adequate containers or bags for storage.
Storing & Thawing the Prepared Food
Keep frozen. Do not thaw at room temperature.
If the food is raw, you can thaw up to two days of prepared food at a time. Thaw the frozen food overnight in the refrigerator and serve at meal time.
If the food is made with cooked meat, we recommend freezing in individual meal-sized amounts, and using the rapid thawing method.
For rapid thawing, place the container of frozen food into lukewarm water just prior to feeding. Because EZComplete contains digestive enzymes, cooked meat will break down faster during thawing and refrigeration. Longer storage times will alter its texture.
Keep frozen. Do not thaw at room temperature.
If the food is raw, you can thaw up to two days of prepared food at a time. Thaw the frozen food overnight in the refrigerator and serve at meal time.
If the food is made with cooked meat, we recommend freezing in individual meal-sized amounts, and using the rapid thawing method.
For rapid thawing, place the container of frozen food into lukewarm water just prior to feeding. Because EZComplete contains digestive enzymes, cooked meat will break down faster during thawing and refrigeration. Longer storage times will alter its texture.