Recipe: Peanut Butter & Banana Ice Cream for Dogs!

New England summers can be so weird.  Last week we were suffering through a heat wave, then this week we’ve had some nights that got so chilly I broke out wool socks and a hoodie.  We don’t have air conditioning, which most of the time is no big deal but, as you can imagine, can make getting through heat waves a bit tough.  I’m always on the lookout for fun ways to help keep my dogs cool during the heat of the summer.  I’ve purchased them doggy ice cream from our local grocery store in the past, and both Kitsune and Fenrir really liked it.  During last week’s heat wave I decided to break out my ice cream machine and try my hand at making them homemade ice cream – because why not!?

Making Homemade Treats For My Dogs

For the most part, I home make my dogs’ treats.  Yes, it’s more work, but I enjoy cooking.  I like knowing exactly what ingredients are in my dogs’ treats and hey, if your dog is anything like mine you’ll never find anyone more appreciative of your home cooking than your dog!

Today I’m going to share the recipe I came up with last week.  I’d say it was a success, as both Kit and picky Mr.Fen enjoyed it.  I like to keep my dog treat recipes as simple as possible, easy to make with a limited number of ingredients is the name of the game.  This not only makes the treats easier to make, but cheaper, and easier to adjust if your dog has allergies or you don’t have a certain ingredient on hand.

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Peanut Butter & Banana Ice Cream for Dogs:

You will need…

• A base for your ice cream (2 cups).  I used goat’s milk made with The Honest Kitchen’s powdered goat’s milk (powder mix that you add to water).  I originally wanted to use regular goat’s milk, but my local store was sold out.  Goats milk is full of healthy probiotics and enzymes that are good for your dogs’ digestion.  If you can’t get goat’s milk, regular milk or dog safe (no xylitol) yogurt should work too.
• Bananas (2). Bananas are low in calories, cholesterol, and sodium, but high in potassium, biotin, fiber, and vitamins.  Many dogs enjoy the taste of bananas.
• Dog safe peanut butter (1/2 cup). Always check the ingredient lists of foods to make sure they don’t contain any ingredients that could be dangerous to your pets.  I try to use peanut butter brands that are as natural as possible, without a lot of added ingredients like sugar.  Peanut butter is high in calories and should only be fed in moderation, but is a good source of protein, niacin, healthy fats, and vitamins B and E.
• A blender.  I’m kind of obsessed with my immersion blender, but any blender should get the job done.
• A mixing bowl.  To mix and chill your ingredients in.
• An ice cream maker, ice cube tray, or some other container to freeze your ice cream in.  When I was experimenting with this recipe I tried freezing the ice cream with both an ice cream maker and just in regular ice cube trays.  The ice cream frozen in the ice cube tray came out much harder.  I preferred the results I got in my ice cream maker, but both worked.  My dogs readily ate the ice cream both ways.
• A measuring cup and spoon. For measuring and mixing.

Steps:

1. Prepare your ice cream base.  Since I used powdered goat’s milk, I followed the instructions on the milk container to make 2 cups of goat’s milk.  This basically involved mixing two teaspoons of the powder with 2 cups of warm water.
2. Blend your base together with 2 bananas and 1/2 a cup of peanut butter.  I used my immersion blender to blend all my ingredients until they were mixed thoroughly.  A regular blender, or even hand mixing, would work too.
3. Chill your mixture.  If you’re using an ice cream maker, prep your machine.  Next I stuck my ice cream mixture in the fridge to chill, and my ice cream machine bowl in the freezer.  Skip this step if you’re using ice cube trays, or some other type of container, to freeze your ice cream.
4. If you’re using an ice cube tray, fill your tray with your ice cream mixture and freeze!  Making the ice cream this way is actually a bit easier, but leads to harder/denser frozen treats.
5. Once your ice cream machine bowl is frozen, follow machine instructions to make ice cream.  Using my ice cream machine is super simple.  Once the bowl was frozen I just put it on the base, popped in the ice cream mixture, and turned it on.  It took around 20 minutes or so for my ice cream to be complete.  You’re looking to achieve a texture similar to soft serve.
6. All done!  Enjoy.  Ice cream can be stored in the freezer.  If it hardens too much in the freezer, you may want to let it sit out for a bit before giving your dog a scoop or two.  Remember that treats should be offered in moderation. 

Kit and Fen have really been enjoying their own personal doggy ice cream!  Even Fenrir, who doesn’t normally like bananas and is a super picky eater, has been enjoying this special treat.  It’s so funny, the boys have been getting super excited every time they see me open the freezer now.  Their doggy ice cream is an excellent way to help them cool down a bit on a hot day.  Because I know exactly what’s in it I can feel extra good about treating them.

What do you think?  Have you ever made ice cream for your pet?  Do you think he/she would like it?  What other flavor ideas can you come up with?