Grain-Free Coconut and Banana Dog Treat Recipe

Coconut flour makes any treat gluten and grain free. Plus, who doesn’t like the taste of coconut – om nom nom! With the Grain-Free Coconut and Banana Dog Treat Recipe, we added a touch of coconut oil for added health benefits, as well as almond milk, which is lactose free and safe for dogs (unless, of course, they have an allergy to almonds). Add banana, peanut butter and banana to the mix, and you’ve got yourself a treat the whole family will want to eat.

In the last several years, veterinary cardiologists have been increasingly disturbed by the number of dogs who suffered from dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). DCM is a heart condition that decreases a dog’s heart’s ability to pump blood through its body. Some breeds, like Retrievers, are more prone to DCM, but cardiologists were concerned because they seemed to see more dogs of various breeds not previously having issue being diagnosed. The FDA actually opened an investigation in the matter.

They found that 90% of the dogs with DCM they studied were on a grain-free diet and 93% of those contained lentils or peas. A relationship between grain-free diets and DCM hasn’t still been fully proven, but many vets have found that when dogs were taken off grain-free diets, their conditions resolved.

Still, many dogs do benefit from the digestive help that a grain-free diet and treats can offer, so here’s a well-loved recipe.

Makes about 20-30 cookies

Ingredients:

1 cup coconut flour

2 egg

1/3 cup natural peanut butter

1 banana, mashed

1 Tbsp honey

1 Tbsp coconut oil

½ cup almond milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Stir egg, peanut butter, banana, coconut oil and honey in a bowl and mix well.
3. Stir in the coconut flour and mix well. Add almond milk as needed to help dough come together.
4. Coconut flour recipes are crumbly, so you won’t be able to roll it out. Instead, scoop your tablespoon portions and place the balls on cookie sheets.
5. Bake cookies for 20-25 minutes.
6. Remove from oven and cool on wire rack.

Now, how good did they smell coming out of the oven? Please let us know how your dog liked them by leaving a comment down below. And on a baking note, the coconut flour has a very different consistency than regular flour – it doesn’t hold together all that well. If you have any tips on how to keep coconut cookies from falling apart, please share them with us.