Sustainability = Treats for our Dogs!

Our pantry is loaded with:
a) dog food
b) 10# bag of jasmine rice
c) recycling bin
d) 10 large bags chock full with grain
e) all of the above

If you picked "E," you my friend, have seen our pantry!

Ever since Micah switched to "all grain" brewing a few years ago, we have grain in the kitchen and even in the office! We even have a grain mill in the garage (part of the brew rig).

After extracting all the goodness from the grains, "spent grain" is what is left behind. According to Wikipedia, spent grain is a byproduct of beer brewing consisting of the residue of malt and grain which remains in the mash-kettle after the mashing and lautering process.

{this is what spent grain looks like}

Some large breweries actually send their spent grain to farmers for livestock feed.

While we do dump most of the spent grain onto the flower bed, I use a small amount to make yummy (so says the dogs) doggie treats - sustainability! I have also made delicious breads with this stuff too... but that's another post.

I found this generic recipe on a Reelbeer forum but most recipes follow the same outline.

Spent Grain Dog Treats
from Reelbeer

4 C Spent Grain
4 C AP Flour
1 C Peanut Butter
1 egg

Preheat oven to 350.

You literally throw everything into a big bowl and mix until everything is thoroughly mixed.

{I like to use Jif chunky peanut butter because, well, that's what I like to eat}

Press the mixture into an even layer in a cookie sheet. Lightly score the mixture into the size you want.

Bake for 30 minutes @ 350; take it out and score it completely through.

Lower the temperature to 250 and bake for 4 hours or until the treats are completely dry. If the treats are still moist, they will get moldy in a few days - so make sure they're dry and hard!

{the doggies love the nuts!}

{nestled inside my nice Lock&Lock}

Put the treats in a large container and have them handy for your four-legged babies! Just a heads up though, these treats will make them go poo... a lot! So.much.fiber.

{Porter & Spark}