Better Flour Alternatives for Dogs- Spotlight Coconut Flour & Rice Flour (co-starring Tapioca Flour)

 Always on the hunt for the best ingredients to create our treats with, Shania Bakes, has been playing with flour.  While Wheat flour is the least expensive and most commonly used flour in most dog foods and treats, there are healthier alternatives.  Not only are there healthier alternatives, but many add a unique and tastier flavor to foods we prepare for our pets.  The past few weeks have been devoted to our researching and experimenting with Coconut and Rice flour.

Initially, we were looking to use Tapioca flour and determine how it affected the flavor and consistency of our treats.  Our research found that tapioca was regularly mentioned as one of the healthier flours for pets.  Tapioca flour provides a healthy non-GMO, Gluten free, and safe alternative to other flours.  Unfortunately, we could not find Tapioca flour in the store and chose to not wait for it to be delivered.  Instead, our attention was turned to Rice Flour and Coconut flour.

Coconut flour is extremely healthy for dogs (and humans).  This flour is gluten free and contains many natural minerals and the fatty acid, Lauric acid, which benefits many different areas of a dog’s health.  As you may remember, with our Junior’s epilepsy, we are regularly looking for natural ways to introduce more fatty acids into his diet.  Lauric acid is beneficial to the immune system and can help strengthen a dog’s immunity.  In addition, the other minerals in Coconut flour are known to be beneficial to the digestive system, metabolism, and thyroid function.  In addition, the coconut flour can add a naturally sweet flavor to the food or treat.  While baking with coconut flour, we have found that it is better to cook the treat or food for less time than when baking solely with wheat flour and the coconut flour can help make a treat softer and chewier.  At this time, we have not baked with just coconut flour, but we supplement it in with either wheat flour or rice flour.

Rice flour was our dark horse.  We saw it on the shelf and knew it was considered to be a healthier alternative to wheat flour, but we were unaware of the specific benefits.  Considered a more digestible form of carbohydrate, rice flour is also gluten free.  Although we initially used white rice flour, we have found organic brown rice flour and plan to incorporate this into our treats.    Made from the inner grain of the rice, brown rice flour is (according to Bob’s Red Mill) “high in protein, iron, fiber, Vitamin B, and is rich in manganese”.  These are all vitamins and minerals that are beneficial to our pets.

Although carbohydrates are not a natural part of a dogs diet, they have become necessary additives to create dog foods and treats.  Maximizing the healthiness of the carbohydrates we feed our pets can be accomplished by knowing the differences in flour and other carbohydrate based additives and fillers used in pet food and treats.  Rice Flour and Coconut Flour are just two of the healthier alternatives available.