Next up in my adventures in grain-free baking is almond flour. After baking with almond flour, my house smelled amazing! But it’s not just the smell that makes my Grain-Free Almond Delight Dog Treat Recipe a must-try – almond flour (or almond meal, as it’s also called) offers a good amount of manganese and vitamin E, a healthy serving of monounsaturated fats and protein, and is low in carbohydrates and gluten-free. I’ve also added coconut old, quinoa flour and carrot to this recipe. Both almond butter and milk are included, but can be substituted with peanut butter and water.

Why Grain-Free For Dogs?

You might ask why so many dog foods and treats are labeled ‘grain-free’ and it’s because there’s a lot of science that supports grains leading to gut dysbiosis, obesity, chronic inflammation and more.

What is a mycotoxin in dog food or treats? They’re basically the toxic byproduct of a fungus or a mold. Mycotoxins will contaminate grain crops before they are harvested or after they are stored (especially in mass quantities like feed ingredients often are). They are most commonly found in barley, wheat, corn, soybean and cottonseed as well as beets and peanuts. Mycotoxins can often affect other foods that are common ingredients in dog foods and treats: pearl millet, rice, sunflower seed sna dorghum.

A well-known (and very dangerous) mycotoxin is aflatoxin. Experts consider it one of the most naturally occurring carcinogenic we know of. Think about how many dogs these days end up with cancers? Guess what a survey that took place in 2004-2013 found? Mycotoxin contamination in over 75% of the samples they took of grains and byproducts that were going to be used in animal foods.

The saying, “You are what you eat,” may never have had more meaning. A major target for aflatoxins is in your dog’s liver. That’s a huge problem because that can create immunosuppression and toxicity–your dog’s liver is designed to filter and help prevent those things from happening. In the United States, human and pet foods are not allowed to have more than 20ug of mycotoxin per kg found. The problem is that grains typically contain several different types of mycotoxins that interact with each other as nasty toxins are prone to do and increased toxicity can occur. This exposure can build up in your pet over time.

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Grain-Free Almond Delight Dog Treat Recipe

Makes 20 cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup almond flour

1 cup quinoa flour

1 egg

1/4 cup melted coconut oil

1/4 cup almond or peanut butter

1/4 cup almond milk or water

1 shredded carrot

Directions:

Did you try this recipe on for size? How did it turn out? We’d love to see your creations – please post a picture on our Facebook page for us to ooooh and ahhhhh over!