Snacks that are yummy to me (but probably not to you)

Since we're on the subject of snacks, I wanted to share some of my favorite snacks that are so yummy to me, but probably not to your moms or dads...and they are things like chicken or beef hearts, liver or kidney, yum!! Lots of articles written by super smart people (like veterinarians) recommend even more different types of organs than what I just listed because of the high nutritional value of these animal parts.

Remember, us pups are actually predators and in the wild, we'd be eating tons of organs and muscle meat. So I've seen recommendations that organ meat should actually make up anywhere from 10-25% of a pup's diet. Anyhow, knowing that something in that range is really good for me, my mom cooks me up a fresh batch every week, keeping a container of pre-cut pieces handy in the refrigerator!

In case you were wondering, I get pieces of liver, heart or kidney after every good photo session. That's why I LOVE to have my photo taken!

So mom's found that it's pretty easy to get chicken livers or hearts at your normal grocery store. But I really like beef liver and beef heart, and you can find these less common organs at Asian grocery stores, where they are also very inexpensive. These come in bigger pieces, and after roasting the whole organ until it's cooked all the way through, mom cuts it up in tiny cubes that are just the right size for me! I also really love beef kidney, but judging by my mom's reaction, she finds that one a little less appealing, lol.

Cooking instructions

• Preheat oven to 350 F
• Rinse whichever organs you are using in cold water
• Place large organ or spread smaller chicken organs out in shallow baking pan
• Roast in oven until cooked. Chicken hearts or livers take roughly 20 mins. Larger organs like beef liver, heart or kidney will take longer depending on size. You'll know when the organs are cooked when they are firm to touch, all the way thru. (The good news is that I don't mind it if my snack cubes are roasted a little longer, so it would be pretty hard for any moms or dads to mess this up!)