Originally shared on Pug Squad, I created this recipe to celebrate Emoji’s Gotcha Day. I loved the original recipe by Christine M. Filardi & Dr. Wayne Geltman, DVM because you can easily customize the recipe to fit your pups dietary needs and preferences. I noted when I tweaked the original recipe so you can decide which version you prefer!.

One piece of advice I have for an immediate confidence boost, bake or cook for your dog.

Gotcha Day Banana Bision Muffins

This is a great healthy snackie for your pup, but this isn’t meant to replace a meal! Definitely talk to your vet if you have any questions

First things first, ingredients:

• 3 cups of puffed rice cereal (You can usually find this in the bulk section or in a bulk bag towards the bottom of the cereal aisle)
• 1 ¼ cups of whole wheat flour
• 1 banana
• 1 ¼ cups of beef or chicken bone broth (unsalted) (Don’t tell ManFriend we used all of his chicken broth for our recipe)
• 8oz ground meats (The original recipe called for beef, but we used bision for our version. Bision is a great meat option because it is a very lean meat without a lot of fattiness to it compared to other meat options)
• 1 large egg

Now let the fun begin!

Before we get started, make sure your supervisor has a comfortable spot to watch you as you make this yummy recipe. They will need to be nearby for any sampling need or quickly clean up.

Step 1: Preheat the oven to 350°F and coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or line it with parchment paper. We use parchment paper because we had 3 batches and we used the parchment paper for all 3.

Step 2: Place the puff rice cereal into a large mixing bowl with bone broth for 10 minutes or until the bone broth is almost completely absorbed by the cereal. While you wait, thinly slice the bananas and cut into halves or smaller.

Step 3: Once the cereal has absorbed the broth, mix in the flour and your meat choice. (Again:  for our batch, we used bison, but beef or any ground meat will do)

Step 4: Take a tablespoon of dough and place on baking sheet–give yourself ½-1 inch of space between each muffin. If using parchment paper, the uncooked muffins are pretty sticky, but once cooked, they will fall off of the baking sheet.

We only used one baking sheet. When we ran out of space we waited for one batch to bake and then quickly switched out the finished muffins with a uncooked batch. Another option is using multiple sheets! Up to you!

Step 5: Bake for 15-18 minutes depending on your oven. We set our timer for 16 minutes and the muffins came out perfectly!

Now you have to be evil and not share any of the goodness with your very deserving pup for about 30 minutes because the muffins need to cool down. If you’re in a hurry, please the muffins in an open container and place in the fridge.

Step 6: Enjoy your fresh snackies with some cuddles with your human! Enjoy these treats and store them in an airtight container! Place in the refrigerator and enjoy for up to 3-4 days of snackies or freeze them for up to 3 months! SO just have your human triple this recipe so you’ll never run out!

That’s all for now! What’s your favorite snackie?

The original recipe is from Home Cooking for You Dog by Christine M. Filardi & Dr. Wayne Geltman, DVM. If you’re interested in homecooking for your best friend, I highly recommend grabbing your own copy of Home Cooking for You Dog! It is a great resource, but it’s important to check in with your vet before making any drastic changes to your pup’s diet, especially a senior!