Keep your pup happy and healthy with this food waste hack.
The scoop
On Instagram, Alan Clabby (@c_labb123) demonstrates how to make a quick and easy treat for your dog — and reduce your food waste, too.
"This is the base of a broccoli," Alan says. "Most people will cut it off and throw it straight in the bin. [You] want to boil it for a couple minutes. [It's] cooked when it's soft all the way through."
The video continues on to show how to cool the treat in a glass of cold water before feeding it to your four-legged friend.
"A lovely little food waste hack, and your dogs will thank you for it," Alan says.
While Alan boils the broccoli in the video, it is perfectly safe for you and your pets to eat raw after washing. It may even be healthier, as boiling the broccoli may greatly reduce its nutrients, like vitamin C. But if your furbaby prefers softer food, boiled broccoli is still a healthy treat. Just be sure to give the broccoli plenty of time to cool down before feeding.
How it's working
Dog treats can be expensive, and many of them are loaded with unnecessary ingredients, like flour, oils, preservatives, and artificial flavoring — some of which can be unhealthy or even harmful in certain quantities.
Homemade treats can be as simple as carrots, unseasoned chopped chicken, or — for most dogs — hard-boiled eggs. If Frodo is feeling fancy, freeze-dried chicken heart, liver, and other meat treats are also excellent treats for most pets.
It's not just for dogs; even your cat can have a little broccoli. It's important to note that this is a treat and should only be given occasionally, as broccoli may cause stomach irritation in pets if fed in excess.
Using certain foods as treats is also a great way to reduce your household food waste. A MITRE-Gallup survey revealed that "the average household wastes an average of 6.2 cups of food per week, or 322 cups per year."
Not only are those wasted cups costing you money, but they're also affecting the environment, too. Billions of pounds of food waste are sent to landfills every year. As the food rots, it "generates greenhouse gasses — 11 percent of the world's emissions — like methane, carbon dioxide, and chlorofluorocarbons, which contribute to global warming," wrote Recycle Track Systems.
Looking to reduce your food waste? MITRE has an app for that. Tracking your food waste is the first step to reducing it — it's available for free on Apple and Google Play stores. Then, check out TCD's guide to doing more with your leftovers for easy ways to save money and food.
What people are saying
Based on the video comments, many Instagram users' pups also love their broccoli treats.
"I peel the skin and then feed raw," one user wrote. "My pup LOVES them! No more store-bought treats for us."
"I cut them in half and freeze them, my dog loves crunching on them," another said.
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