Silly Question But....recipe For Chicken And Rice?!?

[Guest Midnight]

Putting our new girl Minnie on chicken and rice for a week to check for dietary issues. I have read many helpful discussions here and I am also confident with the vet's recommendations.

Just have some questions.....

What is best/easiest/time saving way to make batches of chicken and rice?

Minnie eats two cups of kibble twice a day, so am I correct in assuming that I feed her two cups of the chicken and rice twice a day?

And, when you do transition to bag kibble (may try the green bag that I read about here) do you do it just as slowly when transitioning from one type of bag food to another?

Thanks!!

[Time4ANap]

Rather than cooking chicken, I use Evanger's Organic Canned Cooked Chicken when Rocket needs a bland diet. It's the consistency of other wet dog foods, with no additives.It's easier than cooking a whole chicken, and it digests very easily. He gobbles it down. You can order it online or find it at many pet stores. I keep a case on hand at all times so I can feed a bland meal as soon as I realize we need it.

 

I usually do a mix of overcooked rice (double the water and cook until it's gooey) and the Evanger's.

 

Anytime we feed a bland diet, I switch to 4 smaller meals a day to make it easier on the tummy. I sometimes mix in some scrambled eggs. Once stools are a little more solid, I will slowly re-introduce kibble 1/4 cup at a time.

 

if you do end up cooking a chicken, cook it by itself and be sure to rinse it to remove any residual grease.

[greysmom]

Canned chicken does work, though make sure it's packed in water and not oil and rinse it thoroughly if there's any residue on it. One of the reasons to do a bland diet is to cut down on the fat, so any meat you use will need to be low fat and prepared in a way to keep it that way. You can also cook up pounds of ground chicken - you'll need about a pound a day depending on how much she eats - and two to three cups of rice. As Rocket's Dad said, smaller more frequent meals are better. You can fry the ground chicken and rinse it, or boil it and drain when cooked.

 

Overcooked rice is what most people use for a carb source in a bland diet. Double the water and cook til mushy, otherwise it mostly passes right through undigested. You can also use overcooked pasta, which is what I usually use as my dogs prefer it. Other things you can use: peeled, mashed potatoes; sweet potatoes; oatmeal; mashed, overcooked beans or chickpeas; mashed green peas.

 

Depending on what exactly you are checking for in her diet, you may want to NOT do chicken (allergy or food intolerance), as the two things most dogs are allergic to are chicken and corn, with beef running close behind. You can use turkey, lamb, venison, bison, or even mild whitefish instead.

 

I also usually fast the dog for one or two meals prior to changing to a bland diet, until the diarrhea has stopped. Then begin with a 1/4 cup of protein and 1/4 cup of carb. If diarrhea doesn't begin again, after 2-4 hours, do another 1/4 cup each. Increase the amount gradually. If the diarrhea returns, fast again, change your protein, and begin again.

 

Make sure she's drinking water and staying hydrated.

[Time4ANap]

Canned chicken does work, though make sure it's packed in water and not oil and rinse it thoroughly if there's any residue on it. One of the reasons to do a bland diet is to cut down on the fat, so any meat you use will need to be low fat and prepared in a way to keep it that way. You can also cook up pounds of ground chicken - you'll need about a pound a day depending on how much she eats - and two to three cups of rice. As Rocket's Dad said, smaller more frequent meals are better. You can fry the ground chicken and rinse it, or boil it and drain when cooked.

 

Overcooked rice is what most people use for a carb source in a bland diet. Double the water and cook til mushy, otherwise it mostly passes right through undigested. You can also use overcooked pasta, which is what I usually use as my dogs prefer it. Other things you can use: peeled, mashed potatoes; sweet potatoes; oatmeal; mashed, overcooked beans or chickpeas; mashed green peas.

 

Depending on what exactly you are checking for in her diet, you may want to NOT do chicken (allergy or food intolerance), as the two things most dogs are allergic to are chicken and corn, with beef running close behind. You can use turkey, lamb, venison, bison, or even mild whitefish instead.

 

I also usually fast the dog for one or two meals prior to changing to a bland diet, until the diarrhea has stopped. Then begin with a 1/4 cup of protein and 1/4 cup of carb. If diarrhea doesn't begin again, after 2-4 hours, do another 1/4 cup each. Increase the amount gradually. If the diarrhea returns, fast again, change your protein, and begin again.

 

Make sure she's drinking water and staying hydrated.

 

I've been using the Evanger's for so long that I forgot there is such a thing as ground chicken....

[MaryJane]

I suggest not using chicken as it could be the cause of allergies - use hamburger instead (about 88% to 90% lean).

 

If you feed about 2 cups of dry food twice a day, you will need to increase the amount to about 2 1/2 cups of home-made food twice a day. Use about 1 1/2 cups rice to 1 3/4 cups rice (I don't overcook and my dogs are fine with it) mix with about 1/2 to 3/4 cup of sauteed hamburger (90%, you don't want to much fat) and add about 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cooked and mashed veggies like green beans. I would recommend that you add about 1/2 cup hot water to it to make sure that it gets mixed well and is a bit "mushy". I also warm the rice up so it is warm. You can also add a bit of shredded cheese on top or a tablespoon of applesauce.

 

You don't need to add supplements if you only do this for a few weeks however, if it continues longer than that, you will need to add calcium and vitamins.

 

Note that if diarrhea is a problem, you can add cooked oatmeal to the food.

[juliemac]

To prepare it yourself ... pull out your crockpot.

 

Put double the amount of liquid that your rice calls for (I use a mixture of broth and water, since that gives some flavor). I also like to add some basic italian seasoning (because I don't think bland has to be tasteless). Add your protein and cook on low overnight. You can use whole proteins (e.g., skinless chicken on the bone) to save money. The chicken will fall right off the bone after 8 hours in the crockpot, or if you cook it for 16 hours, you'll probably see that most of the bones will be crushable with your fingers and then they can be left in the mix (pick out any hard/sharp ones, though!) The rice will fully cook and will absorb as much liquid as it can hold, leaving you with a soupy consistency (which is just fine, and will make it a bit easier to transition back to kibble).

 

I used to cook food for Riley, and I cooked volumes of protein this way -- i'd fill the crock pot with 4-5 # of chicken or beef with organs (livers, hearts) and then freeze the cooked meat in smaller portions, which I mixed with other items (veggies, bone meal, etc) to make a balanced diet. For temporary diet, though, the organ meat and other items are less critical. You may find that adding Olewo carrots, Olewo beets, or canned pumpkin to the mixture will help firm up soft stools faster.

 

Good luck!

[cleptogrey]

i go a much faster route. i use a rice cooker, cheap white rice and chicken breast(lower fat content ). slice or mince the breast, add to the rice and water and it's done, 1,2,3. i purchased a rice cooker many many moons ago since i forgot that i was cooking rice, went for a walk and realized 3 miles away that i left the rice cooking! the pot was burnt, not the house. i was very very lucky. you can also use low sodium chicken broth as part of the water for the rice. if you warm the rice in the microwave prior to serivng it's tastier. also, rice freezes very well. if you dog can tolerate parmesan cheese, they seem to love it, i sprinkle some on when i nuke the meal.

 

"Overcooked rice is what most people use for a carb source in a bland diet. Double the water and cook til mushy, otherwise it mostly passes right through undigested. You can also use overcooked pasta, which is what I usually use as my dogs prefer it. Other things you can use: peeled, mashed potatoes; sweet potatoes; oatmeal; mashed, overcooked beans or chickpeas; mashed green peas."

mine do well with the potatoes/yams and pasta. the oatmeal, beans, etc go right thru them.

Edited April 8, 2017 by cleptogrey

[Mercsmom]

Juliemac said exactly what I was thinking: Crock pot to the rescue.

And I'm not the only one to add a few herbs (thyme, parsley, rosemary) for flavor? Good.

[Sundrop]

You can also use oatmeal instead of rice. We lost our girl last year to osteo and though her appetite was good, we knew she wouldn't be with us much longer and we wanted her appetite to be great and give her something we knew she'd love that wouldn't be hard on her stomach (w/ all the meds, it was tough on her).

 

I boiled 2 chicken breasts and used the leftover "chicken water" to cook the oatmeal. While it was cooking, I ran the chicken through the food processor to mince it up and that I mixed it all together. I think I'd make 1-2 cups of dry oatmeal, can't remember exactly. I also reserved the whatever water I didn't use with the oatmeal and added that to the mix after it had been in the refrigerator, just to moisten it up for her. I always heated it up a bit for her to bring out the aroma. She loved it and it was super easy on her tummy.

 

FYI - I also made her crockpot veggies - just throw them into the crockpot w/ chicken broth and set it for a few hours until mushy. She especially loved sweet potato and broccoli.

[sobesmom]

I'm also a fan of the crock pot. Rice, water, chicken in the pot, cook overnight. I didn't ever add seasoning. Put it in a big bowl in the fridge, and scoop it out for each meal. Cook once, good for several days. Not sure what dietary issues you're checking for? That would actually help to know how to advise you. Stomach issues, allergy, etc? It makes a difference. Also - depending on the dog's weight, you might want to use chicken breast, or dark meat. Bones or no bones. There are options depending on what you're trying to accomplish.