“Haley…. This isn’t people food.” Yeah. I know. BUT it (was) Christmas time, and since my sister got married this year, I am now the aunt of a golden retriever named Rusty. So I couldn’t exclude him from my presents list. Plus he is just wayyyy to darn cute to deny or forget about.
See what I mean? He’s so sweet and eager and loving. So in return for all the love he has given me, I had to make him something good. I did some research on plant based foods that dogs can eat. There are some obvious dangers like grapes and chocolate, but the trouble came with nuts. You see most plant based dog foods are based around peanuts (because they aren’t nuts – they are legumes – and dogs can’t have nuts but they can have legumes.) BUT I’m deathly allergic to peanuts, so I can’t cook with them. So I racked my brain for substitutions, and then it came to me…SEEDS. So I used sunflower seed butter (in place of the peanut butter). It worked PERFECTLY.
These treats are SUPER easy to make. 6 ingredients, 1 bowl. BOOM DONE. This is what we’re working with…
FLOUR
OATS
SUNFLOWER SEED BUTTER
CARROTS
APPLESAUCE
WATER
So technically they are people approved as well, if you wanted to snag a taste.
These were big winners from Rusty’s perspective, and I got to keep my title as “best aunt ever.” So I like that.
I also snagged a couple of pictures of Rusty with his family (aka. my sister and her husband.) They are all adorable. So check ’em.
I hope that you and everyone in your family (even the furry members) had a beautiful holiday full of happiness (and at least a little health!)

(Peanut-Free) Vegan Dog Treats
Ingredients
- 2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 1 1/5 cups oats
- 4 large carrots
- 1/3 cups sunflower seed butter, unsalted
- 1/4 cup applesauce
- 1 cup water
Instructions
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Preheat the oven to 350.
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Combine the flour & oats in a medium size bowl.
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Chop off the ends of the carrots, and toss them in a food processor. Blend until very fine.
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Throw the carrots in the bowl with the flour and add sunflower seed butter, applesauce, and water into the bowl and mix.
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The batter will become very sticky and dough-like.
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Move the batter to a floured surface, and knead the dough slightly.
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Press or roll the dough out until it is about 1/2" thick.
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Cut it into desired shapes using a cookie cutter.
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Transfer shapes to a greased baking sheet.
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Bake for 25 minutes.
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Let cool.
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Give 'em to your dog.