Make “Greenies” for your dogs
“Greenies” are dog treats. If you are a dog owner you know this- and probably have very definite feelings about them. Dogs love them. There was some issues with “Greenies” a few years back about their digestibility and whether or not they are “bad” for dogs. I know MY dogs LOVE them. Like dog crack- they gobble them up. I stopped giving them to my dogs a few years back because they are pretty pricy and they never really do digest. I think you know how I know. The benefits of GREENIES were supposed to be- improved breath and dental cleaning. They were even shaped like a toothbrush! I always doubted the dental cleaning part- Greenies always seemed to stick to the dog’s teeth… like gummy bears. I have wanted to make my own greenies for a while now. I knew there was no way that I would get the texture- I didn’t want to have plastic in the treat! I knew I could get the color but also the benefits plus more benefits- and go all natural! With a real “get teeth clean” crunch I felt confident!
Franks GREEN Breath Brushes
Since I’ve been cooking so much lately, and since dog treats are my very favorite thing to bake, I went online to look for possible recipe ideas. There was one recipe floating around that made sense. It needed a few extra things so I added those. Also I wanted the treats to be something that I could roll out and shape with a cookie cutter, the other treats that I found that were breath freshening all were spoon/ or dropped treats including this one. So I added more flour to the recipe to make it roll out easily. These Breath Brushes came out pretty good! The dogs love them and they are CUTE! Today I give to you my version of greenies. Please give them a try! Recipe follows.
Dough and cute toothbrush cookie cutter
Geo “thinks” it might be good
Frank’s Breath Brushes
3 1/2 brown rice flour plus 2 cups more (rice flour for crunch)
1 tablespoon of activated charcoal (I opened 12 capsules for 1 tblspn.)
4Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
1 egg
1/2 cup packed fresh mint
1/2 cup packed fresh italian parsley
1 cup chicken broth
Liquid chlorophyll (whole foods/health food store)
Preheat over to 400F. Line baking sheet with parchment.
Combine charcoal with 3 1/2 cups brown rice flour set aside.
Put parsley, mint oil and 1/4 cup of broth or water into food processor. Process until very chopped, like pesto. Add 3-4 droppers full of chlorophyll. Pulse a few times to mix. Add this green paste to flour mixture and mix well. Beat egg lightly and mix in. Knead adding remainder of water/broth. By this time you should have a very sticky dough ball. Heavily flour the work surface and knead dough until an even green color. Divide dough into workable portions and roll out to about 1/4 inch thick, or whatever thickness you prefer. Add flour to work surface and dough surface as needed to take away stickiness as you work. Cutout with your favorite shapes, and dock with a fork to keep puffiness down.Bake for 25 or 20 minutes. Cool and store in an airtight container in the fridge.
I used a toothbrush shaped cutter from my favorite cookie cutter supplier Copper Gifts. Aren’t these presh??!!
You know they LOVE it when they go away to eat the treat! He’s moving fast!
These look great, I will have to try them out sometime. I have never been happy with Greenies as my dogs all throw up after eating them, so I am delighted to find a natural alternative
Thank you so much for this! I’m always looking for natural things for the doggies. Terrific post Darla!
thanks!!
can’t wait to try this recipe.. can you clarify the about of Brown Rice Flour needed.. is it 3 and half cups plus 2 cups…. 5 1/2 cups total?
it reads 3 1/2 brown rice flour plus 2 cups more (rice flour for crunch)
thank you!
hi, i started with the 3 1/2 cups and added the remaining 2 cups as needed to make the dough workable for rolling out. you might use all 5 1/2 cups. or you might not. have fun!
My dog loves you for this.
This is awesome. LOVE the toothbrush cutter! Makes them look even better than the Greenie counterpart!
P.S. Give Geo & Frank a big hug from me!
My dogs are so obsessed with Greenies! I will have to try these out!
let me know what you think! and what your dog thinks!
Hey there Darla! I am a dog trainer and new to WordPress… I am loving your doggie recipes!!!!!!!!!!!
I am a firm believer of natural diets and since I’m not as creative as you in the kitchen, I’ll definitely be ‘stealing’ some recipes!
If you need any training advice in return, you know how to find me =)
fantastic!! please make them, use them, enjoy them!! and thanks for visiting!
Oh my goodness, this is genius! I’m so glad I came across this because my dog has terrible dog breath and greenies are a bit too pricey. Thank you for posting this!
We love your blog and are going to follow you.
Check us out at http://www.essentjewels.wordpress.com and http://www.essentjewels.com. We love to use materials like natural stones in our jewelry, so you might be into it!
These are awesome! I have a puppy with a sensitive stomach. Maybe I’ll make these for her instead.
those pumpkin hearts are nice for the tummy. and they really liked the taste!
Darla,
This post left us drooling. We love greenies and having fresh breath. We are showing our humans the recipe. Thanks for this and for following our blog!
Bella and DiDi
thanks girls! tell your humans if you are not wheat intolerant- half whole wheat flour and half rice flour will be easier to handle when rolling out the dough. all rice flour is pretty grainy when wet- but super crunchy when dry. thanks for stopping by!
I was wondering what the purpose of the activated charcoal is? I read about its medicinal properties, but it also absorbs nutrients, and in excess can cause diarrhea, constipation, nausea and related upset. I have a 9 lb chihuahua mix (rescue) with a delicate system and wheat allergies, and I cook for him and am very careful with what I feed him [and would never give him Greenies... he gets Zuke dental bones]. I am looking to make dental treats but I might leave out the charcoal unless it’s necessary for cleaning his teeth? Or I might cut the amount in half… anyway…. does it help clean the teeth or is it added for the health benefits? Thanks so much!!
hi! definitely do what you are most comfortable with. all doggies are different just like people are! do it your way and they will love them- no doubt!!
I really want to try this out! My little dog doesnt have much problems with Greenies(yet) but now he wont eat any other treat andd they are quite pricy
This will be fun and he eats these one treats that make his breath stink so I need to hurry up and make these! 
Thankyou so much for the idea/recipe!
Hi Darla: I made these tonight. The dough was not sticky but very dry. I wonder how you got wet dough? I was also unsure about the cholorophyl. The list of ingredients says 1 small bottle, but in the recipe it says 3 droppers full. I used the entire small bottle and it was so pungent, I went in and took 3 droppers full out of it and started over. I am very curious about this and hope you see this message.
The greenies turned out crunchy and fine, but they don’t taste very minty. I ate one before I gave one to Jackpot. It’s a great recipe. Thank you for posting it for us.
hi vicki! thanks for your comments! i would maybe throw those away and try again with only 3 droppers full of the chlorophyl.
good luck.
the dough is grainy but not dry. try again, and as always read the entire recipe completely thru to the end at least once before you start working. i usually read it 2 or 3 times before it sinks in!
Hi Darla: Thanks for the reply. I DID throw that away and use 3 droppers full of the Cholorophyl. The dough was still pretty dry. I am an amateur chef and have won many video contests with my videos. I only tell you that so that you will know that I was very interested in how the ingredients came together and how the dough felt, etc. It is a good recipe. My dog likes these very much. I did find that the thicker I made them, the better he liked them. I experimented. I cut some in toothbrush shapes, as you did and others in small bones shape since he is a small dog. He loved the small bones!
The rice flour is perfect for these. It’s brilliant!
rice flour has an odd feel to it, in my opinion. my dogs liked these too. i really appreciate your commentary and appreciate taking the time to give me feedback. i’d love to see your photos!
Hi Darla: I just posted a Tweet about the greenies recipe with a hashtag of #greenies. I also listed darlacooks.com as the source. Here is the picture: http://twitpic.com/a6kvur
I would like to comment that the Cholorophyll and the Charcoal capsules can both be purchased at Whole Foods. The rice flour is available in the health section of most grocers. I got mine in Krogers. The Cholorophyll was mint flavored. The mint listed in your recipe is needed to get it a good minty flavor. Or, at least that is what I found out. The mint in the bottled cholorophyll is not enough to carry the recipe. It’s a great recipe!
thank you so much Vicki!
Could you use powdered chlorophyll instead of liquid?
i would think so, if it’s food grade. you may need more liquid for the recipe overall, but not much. let me know!!
First off, charcoal is a black powder! It flies everywhere. I suggest wearing an apron and rubber gloves and cutting the capsules in the sink. If you get it all over you and the kitchen, baking soda seems to clean it up nicely.
I set out for my favorite 2nd hand store this morning, looking for a cookie cutter, and there it was…the toothbrush…50 cents!
I did have trouble keeping the shape so I ended up just cutting bars…practice will help.
Next time I’ll add more mint, but they taste pretty good…a bit bland for a human, but a touch of salt and I’d eat them.
The dogs GOBBLED them up!
Thanks for the recipe!
Day 2: My six toy poodles have completely forgotten their teenie daily Nutra Dent…they LOVE these. Other than my black fingers, these are a godsend! Thanks!
sorry about your fingers Yvonne. wearing gloves is a good idea! and i am pleased your poodles like the greenies.
peace,
darla
Sounds like a great recipe! Did you work out the coat to make these? And how many did the dough make?
hi Marta,
i dont remember how many it made. SEVERAL dozen as i recall.
The chlorophyll I got doesn’t have a dropper. How much would you say 3-4 droppers-ful is?
maybe a tablespoon???
Darla, All Paws asked the purpose of the Activated Charcoal and you answered for her to make the treats according to the needs of the dogs. However, you didn’t actually answer the original question of the purpose of the Activated Charcoal. Would you clarify that for me please? I have 2 Greyhounds, notoriously known for having bad teeth, and I could save a boatload of money by making treats instead of buying them. Thank you! bsyldydiane
How many greenies does this recipe make roughly?
maybe 50? i rolled them out pretty thin because i wanted them to be crunchy. thicker and chewy sounds like a good idea too though!
Charcoal? I never heard of that. Isn’t it toxic to dogs? Do I have to put it in???
Activated charcoal is very different than the charcoal you use to BBQ. It can be beneficial to humans too. Take a look at a few google searches and then decide if you want to use it or not. Have fun!
thanks for the re-blog!