Vitamin B is found in many foods, including:
- Alfalfa
- Asparagus
- Bananas
- Beans, e.g., kidney beans
- Cantaloupe
- Carrots
- Dairy products, e.g., cottage cheese, kefir, yogurt, goat’s milk
- Eggs
- Fish
- Green leafy vegetables, e.g., broccoli, parsley, spinach
- Liver
- Unsulphured black strap molasses
- Organ meats
- Poultry
- Sardines
- Spirulina
- Whole grains, e.g., brown rice
If you are thinking about adding a vitamin B supplement to your animal’s diet, check with your veterinarian or animal nutritionist first. Vitamin B should be taken as a complete complex, rather than given individually, as they work together for optimum support. They should not be given on an empty stomach.
B-Good Muffin Magic
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups organic whole grain flour, e.g. oat, barley, spelt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon Celtic sea salt
1/4 cup organic oil, e.g. safflower, sunflower, hemp, olive
1/4 cup liver broth
1/4 cup puréed chicken or beef liver
1 cup goat milk yogurt
1 free range egg
Instructions
Try to use organic products whenever possible. Preheat oven to 375ºF degrees. Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl. Whirl all other ingredients in a food processor or blender.
Add wet ingredients to dry, and mix thoroughly. Spoon into lightly greased mini muffin tins, and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and turn out onto baking rack to cool completely. Store in an airtight container or zip-lock bag. Keep a few in the refrigerator and freeze the rest.
Liver Broth & Purée
Ingredients
1/2 to 1 pound chicken livers, beef liver, or other liver of your choice
filtered water
1 clove garlic
Instructions
Put liver in a medium sized pot and cover with filtered water. Add peeled clove of garlic. Bring to a boil. As soon as the water has come to a rapid boil, turn down to simmer. Remove from heat as soon as no pink is seen in the liver. Cool, pour off broth, and then whirl liver in a food processor or blender. You will have plenty of broth and purée to make the above muffins, and you can freeze the remainder for future use, or add a little dollop to your animal’s daily meals for extra taste and nutrition. For even more zip, add a teaspoon of oregano or catnip to your mix.
If you don’t have time to make your own liver broth and purée, pick up some organic liver treats and whirl them in a food processor until you have a fine powder. Use 1/4 cup in your muffin recipe in place of the purée, and use filtered water in place of the liver broth.
Serve up the goat’s milk
Goat’s milk contains more B1, B2, B6, B12, biotin, folic acid and pantothenic acid than cow’s milk, and is easier to digest due to its protein make-up. Goat’s milk yogurt is the best choice for carnivores like cats, because it contains a higher percentage of fatty acids than any other milk.
AUTHOR PROFILE
Audi Donamor has been successfully creating special needs diets for companion animals for two decades. She founded the University of Guelph’s Smiling Blue Skies® Cancer Fund and Smiling Blue Skies® Fund for Innovative Research. She is the proud recipient of a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal, and was honored with the degree of Doctor of Laws, honoris causa, for her work in cancer, from the University of Guelph/Ontario Veterinary College. The Smiling Blue Skies Cancer Fund is also the recipient of the “Pets + Us” Community Outreach Champion Award.
