A low calorie, fiber filled treat for your cat for a hot summer day!
We all know that vegetables carry an abundance of vitamins, fibers and good, healthy stuff! A cat's diet is primarily protein-based, so they don't really need vegetables, but veggies are a great way to help a constipated kitty. The additional plant fibers help move hairballs through the digestive track. Veggies are also a great low-calorie treat for your kitty (update: Lychee did not eat her veggies)!
Human food: linguine marinara and pork chops
Cat food: pork chop with green beans and carrots
It's All About Steaming & Infusing!
The dish is all about steaming and infusing! I opted to steam the veggies since steaming preserves the nutrients and more vitamins are retained.
I was worried that she wouldn't enjoy the vegetables since cats do not have the taste detectors for sweetness. So I infused the veggies in a simple bonito flake broth to add more flavor to it! You can always substitute the bonito flake with a piece of chicken to make some chicken broth. I wanted to add different textures to the dish so the carrot is in a more puréed form while the green beans are finely chopped. Guess what - after all that hard labor, she picked out all the meat out and left the veggies... Let me know how your kitty reacts to vegetables!
Using the same method, I also steamed the pork since pork itself contains a lot of fat and pan searing it will make it super oily (oily foods don't go well in a kitty's digestive system). The last step is to garnish the dish with some catnip and bonito flakes to make it extra flavorful and furry tasty!
The ingredient portions are really small as this dish is a companion dish to a human dish. Like all the other recipes, this should be fed to your cat in moderation. Pork is rich in sodium and fat, which cats do not need in their diet.
INGREDIENTS
1 tsp of lean pork
2 baby carrots
1 long green bean
2 tsp + 2 tsp of water
1/4 + 1/4 tsp of bonito flakes
Catnip (optional)
INSTRUCTIONS
Fill a small pot with water and bring it to boil over medium heat.
Add 2 tsp of water, 1/4 tsp of bonito flakes, carrots and green bean to a ramekin (or any steaming friendly bowl). Place in the pot and cover.
Steam the veggies for 10 mins until it is tender (and close to a mushy texture).
While the veggies steam, trim all the fat on the pork and cut the pork into bite-size pieces. Add 2 tsp of water, 1/4 tsp of bonito flakes and the pork to a ramekin.
Drain the steamed veggies and transfer them to a plate. Chop the veggies until you reach your desired texture.
Place the pork mixture in the pot and cover. Steam the pork for 15 mins until thoroughly cooked through and easy to break apart.
When the pork is cooled down, assemble the dish with the chopped carrots and green beans.
Garnish with a generous amount of catnip and bonito flakes and enjoy!
NOTES
This is not a meal replacement. It is a treat we give her once in a while!
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