LickiMat recipes

The most straightforward toppings for your LickiMats require no work and make great treats and quick enrichment options.

These come straight from a can, carton or other container and are easily spread or poured on your LickiMat.

• Kefir
• Yogurt
• Cream cheese
• Canned fish
• Canned pumpkin
• Raw egg
• Banana (mashed)
• Minced meat
• Peanut butter

If you feed your dog canned food, you can spread it on their LickiMat or dry kibble soaked in water.

Although bananas are rich in potassium and vitamin B6, they are also high in natural sugars, so don’t go overboard on the sweet stuff.

Please note: Ensure you use peanut butter that DOES NOT contain the artificial sweetener Xylitol or Birch Sugar, which is very toxic to dogs.

With more effort, especially if you give your dog a fresh or raw food diet, there are many more exciting possibilities for LickiMat toppings.

For example, you can combine ingredients your dog might otherwise refuse to eat, such as bananas, with food they will eat, such as meat.

For example, my Border Collie, Sidney, won't eat many fruits alone, but if I mix them with yoghurt, he laps them up.

Don't forget to squish the food well after piling it up on the LickiMat to make the experience last longer!

Combine one of these ingredients …

• Canned fish
• Minced meat
• Cream cheese
• Pre-made raw dog food mix
• Raw egg

… with one of these ingredients

• Steamed sweet potato
• Steamed pumpkin
• Steamed broccoli
• Steamed carrot
• Banana

A note about steamed vegetables:

You can use raw veggies, but you must chop them finely for them to mash down into your LickiMat.

Large food lumps will be swallowed quickly, and your dog will not benefit from licking. Steamed veggies can be pureed, which mixes well with other ingredients and sticks to the LickiMat.

Prepare ingredients with a food processor

A food processor or stick blender allows you to serve up just about anything on your LickiMat! Blend until the food is pureed, and mix it with any other ingredients you wish to include.

More complex raw fruit and vegetables and lumps of meat that are ideal for this type of preparation include:

• Liver
• Apple
• Carrot
• Raw meat chunks
• Blueberries
• Broccoli
• Raw fish
• Red capsicums
• Green beans

This recipe is 100% nutritionally complete so that it can be fed as a meal in itself rather than as a treat or a supplement to the main meal.

However, you may not have all the ingredients to hand, so if you skip a few elements, you can still use the recipe as a great LickiMat topping rather than a complete meal.

Reduce the quantities if you wish to make a smaller batch. However, this recipe freezes well, so if you make a large batch, try filling an ice cube tray with the mixture and freezing it like that.

This will give you the advantage of taking a couple of cubes out of the freezer the night before you need them and having the recipe ready to spread on the LickiMat as soon as it's defrosted.

Ingredients

• 400 g minced meat
• 40 g milled hemp seeds
• 66 g beef liver
• 56 g sardines
• 3 g ginger
• 28 g broccoli
• 28 g red pepper
• 28 g spinach
• 3 g kelp powder
• 1 raw egg, including the eggshell

Method

1. Throw all the ingredients into a food processor.
2. Mix until it has a relatively mushy consistency that you can spread on the LickiMat.
3. You may need to do this in several batches, as the complete recipe will be too much for some domestic food processors.

You can also freeze this mixture into smaller portions using an ice cube tray to make defrosting easier when needed.

Most LickiMats are dishwasher-safe and can be thoroughly cleaned after use. You can also easily clean them by soaking them for a few minutes in hot water and then scrubbing them clean of any food.

Once they're super clean, you can add a topping and pop them in the freezer – a fantastic summer day treat for your dog!

Creamy

Pour or spread any of the following over your LickiMat and freeze.

• Natural yogurt
• Kefir
• Low-fat cream cheese
• Goat milk

Berry

Blend summer berries such as blueberries, strawberries or raspberries and mix with an equal part of water, yogurt or kefir. Pour or spread over your LickiMat and freeze.

Fruity

Mix two parts watermelon (no seeds) with 1 part water, yogurt or kefir. Blend to make a puree. Pour over your LickiMat and freeze.

Meaty

Make some bone broth or use meat broth (no onions) from your cooking. Pour over your LickiMat and freeze.