Happy Belated Banana Bread Day-Banana Bread for Dogs

Plenty of us know that a lot of people foods are beneficial to our canine companions.  In fact fresh raw or cooked foods are a lot healthier then the over-processed kibbles on the market.   The healthiest option for pet guardians is to serve raw or cooked foods, but its not always the most practical option.  First off, its a lot of work to make sure a home-made diet meets all of your dogs nutritional needs and the preparation and storage is not necessarily a snap, particularly for those of us with big dogs or multiple dogs, or both! A good compromise, and the method we use in our home, is to supplement quality kibbles with home cooked food and treats and other healthy add ons.  One food I regularly give the hounds is bananas.  The dogs love them, they are high in fiber, and they help alleviate stress (a banana before a trip to the vet may be a good idea).  Our friend Bunk has a great post on the benefits of bananas here.


So why all the talk of bananas?  Because Thursday February 23 was National Banana Bread Day.   I bought a big bunch of bananas and planned to make the hounds some tasty dog friendly Banana bread in honor of the day, but come Thursday I was feeling staycation lazy and the bananas where still not quite ripe enough.  So I put it off until this morning.   I decided to use coconut flour since its wheat free and high in protein, the one draw back is it's pricey!  Luckily my babies are well worth it.   The only other changes I made to a human friendly banana bread recipe where to replace sugar with molasses, add peanut butter, and use dog treats in place of nuts.   

Banana Bread for Dogs

1 1/3 cup Coconut Flour 
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup molasses, preferably Black Strap Molasses 
1/4 cup canola oil
2 heaping tbsp. of peanut butter
2 eggs beaten
3 mashed ripe bananas
1/4 cup of broken up high quality dog treats, I used  Plato Duck Strips


Preheat the oven to 350.   Spray a loaf pan or an 8 x 8 inch cake pan with non-stick spray.  Whisk together the flour and baking powder in a small bowl.   In an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment beat the wet ingredients and the bananas together.    Stir in the flour mixture and fold in the treats.   Pour in the pan and bake half hour to 45 minutes, watch closely!  I burned mine but then the dogs didn't mind one plus of cooking for hounds vs. humans, all your efforts are appreciated!

"Hey Ma, Gimme  Some!"