Lesson 3

Safe Ingredients, Variety, and Balancing Over Time

Now that you understand the core components of a balanced meal, the next step is choosing the right ingredients and learning how they fit together across days and weeks. In this lesson, you’ll learn how to select safe, high-quality foods for your dog, how variety naturally supports nutritional balance, and how to decide whether you want to balance each meal individually or balance your dog’s diet over time.


These are the principles that help homemade feeding feel flexible and sustainable—while still meeting the nutrient requirements you calculated in Lesson 1.

  • 60–80% Muscle Meat (Protein & Amino Acids)

    Muscle meat is the foundation of the bowl because it supplies most of the amino acids your dog needs to meet the NRC protein requirements you calculated earlier. The wide range (60–80%) exists because different dogs have different needs—active dogs, puppies, or dogs recovering from illness may benefit from the higher end, while seniors or low-activity dogs may do better with less.


    Meat alone doesn’t meet all NRC requirements, but it determines the bulk of the meal’s protein and energy. Choosing a variety of proteins over time—chicken, beef, turkey, pork, lamb, fish—helps support balanced amino acids and micronutrients.

  • Up to 5% Secreting Organs (Optional but Extremely Nutrient-Dense)

    Organs are optional, but incredibly helpful. They naturally provide many of the micronutrients on your NRC list, including vitamin A, copper, folate, and other vitamins and minerals that muscle meat alone cannot supply.


    Including up to 5% secreting organ (like liver, kidney, or spleen) helps meals meet NRC targets with fewer supplements. If your dog cannot tolerate organs or you prefer not to use them, that’s okay—balanced meals are still possible, but you will likely rely more on supplement support to fill the micronutrient gaps organs normally cover.

  • 10–30% Complex Carbohydrates or Vegetables (Energy & Fiber Support)

    Carbohydrates and grains are optional in a homemade dog diet, and opinions vary widely about whether dogs should eat them. Some dogs digest grains and starchy foods very well, while others do better without them. 


    We’ll explore this topic in depth in a dedicated blog, but for now, it’s important to understand that carbs are not required to meet NRC nutrient needs—they are simply an optional tool you can use based on your dog’s health, preferences, and your veterinarian’s guidance.


    When included, complex carbohydrates such as sweet potatoes, regular potatoes, oats, quinoa, and lentils can provide digestible energy, fiber, and certain vitamins and minerals. They help support healthy stools and can be useful for dogs who need additional calories without increasing fat or protein levels too high.


    Low-starch vegetables—like broccoli, zucchini, green beans, carrots, pumpkin, and leafy greens—are also optional but beneficial. They contribute fiber, antioxidants, phytonutrients, and digestive support, helping round out a homemade meal even though they aren’t used to directly meet NRC nutrient requirements.


    Whether you choose to include carbs, vegetables, both, or neither, balanced meals are still achievable. The key is making sure the ingredients you select fit your dog’s needs and work alongside the nutrient targets you calculated in Lesson 1.

Choosing Safe Ingredients for Homemade Feeding

Selecting safe, high-quality ingredients is one of the most important parts of home cooking. Not everything that is “edible” for humans is safe for dogs, and certain foods may interfere with digestion or nutrient absorption. Choosing well gives you a strong foundation to build balanced meals.

What Makes an Ingredient Safe?

Safe ingredients share a few traits:


  • Human-grade whenever possible — fewer fillers, better freshness, and clear sourcing.
  • Lean to moderate fat levels — extremely fatty meats can overwhelm digestion.
  • Fresh and properly handled — old or improperly stored ingredients may cause GI issues.
  • Minimal seasoning — avoid sodium-heavy or processed meats like ham, deli turkey, sausages, or bacon.
  • Simple ingredients — single-ingredient foods reduce the risk of digestive upset.


Your goal is to choose foods that support digestibility, safety, and the NRC nutrient targets you identified.

Foods That Are Generally Safe for Dogs

Here are the most dependable, dog-friendly whole foods used in balanced home-cooked meals:


  • Proteins: chicken, turkey, beef, pork, lamb, venison, whitefish, salmon
  • Veggies: carrots, broccoli, zucchini, spinach, green beans, squash, pumpkin
  • Optional Carbs: sweet potatoes, potatoes, rice, oats, quinoa, lentils
  • Healthy Fats: sardines, salmon, hemp oil, chia seeds, eggs


These foods provide a wide range of nutrients and are gentle enough for most dogs, but keep in mind that not all dogs can tolerate all food.

Foods to Avoid or Use With Caution

These foods can be unsafe, toxic, or disruptive to digestion:


  • Grapes, raisins
  • Onions, garlic (in significant amounts)
  • Chocolate
  • Xylitol
  • Macadamia nuts
  • Ultra-processed deli meats
  • Excessively fatty cuts
  • High-sodium canned foods
  • Ingredients that interfere with mineral balance (too much liver, too much kelp)


These examples represent some of the most common concerns, but there are others. When in doubt, keep ingredients simple, unprocessed, and dog-friendly—and always verify before introducing a new food.

Rotational Diet

Why Variety Matters in Homemade Feeding

Variety is one of the most powerful tools in homemade feeding because no single food contains everything your dog needs. By rotating proteins, vegetables, and nutrient-dense add-ins, you naturally help fill micronutrient gaps and reduce reliance on supplements.

Rotating Proteins Improves Nutritional Balance

Each protein source has a unique nutrient profile:


  • Beef is rich in iron and zinc.
  • Chicken is lean and highly digestible.
  • Pork offers excellent B vitamins.
  • Fish provides omega-3s.


Rotating proteins weekly or biweekly helps your dog receive a broader range of vitamins and minerals, supporting the nutrient targets from your NRC chart.

Using Different Carbs for Digestive Support

Vegetables and carbs support digestion and help maintain healthy stools. Rotating them improves fiber diversity, supports gut bacteria, and prevents boredom.


Examples of gentle rotations:


  • Carrots → green beans → zucchini
  • Sweet potatoes → white potatoes → pumpkin



Rotating Nutrient-Dense Add-Ins

Powerful whole-food “boosters” help fill common nutrient gaps:


  • Eggs
  • Kefir or yogurt
  • Sardines or salmon
  • Oysters
  • Mussels
  • Small amounts of liver or kidney


These foods supply choline, selenium, manganese, omega-3s, copper, and other micronutrients that are often low in homemade diets.

Balancing Method

Balancing Per Meal vs Balancing Over Time

One of the most common misunderstandings about homemade diets is the belief that every bowl must include every nutrient in perfect amounts. In reality, balanced feeding isn’t always achieved in a single serving. There are two valid approaches: balancing each individual meal or balancing the diet across several days.


Balancing per meal means each bowl is built to meet all of your dog’s NRC requirements at once—ideal for puppies, sensitive dogs, or owners who prefer consistency.


Balancing over time means that not every meal has to be nutritionally complete on its own; instead, nutrients are spread out across multiple meals in a rotation that still meets your dog’s overall daily or weekly needs. Both approaches can be safe and effective when done intentionally and guided by the nutrient targets you calculated in Lesson 1.

Here's a Detailed Explanation

  • Balancing Per Meal

    Balancing per meal means every single meal your dog eats is complete on its own. Nothing is “saved for later”—each meal includes all the nutrients your dog needs for the day based on the NRC numbers you calculated in Lesson 1. Very much like a commerical brand of food.


    This method is simple to understand:

    If your dog eats two meals a day, each meal is a full, balanced recipe.


    Why this approach is helpful


    • Your dog gets consistent nutrition every time they eat.
    • Easy for beginners who want clear structure and predictability.
    • You don’t have to think about whether yesterday’s meal covered a certain nutrient.

    How it looks in real life


    Every meal includes a protein, a little organ meat, a calcium source, healthy fats, optional veggies/carbs, and any needed supplements so the meal is complete right away.


    Your dog finishes eating thier meals for the day → they’ve met their nutrient requirements for the day.

  • Balancing Over Time

    Balancing over time means each meal does NOT need to be complete as long as your dog’s nutrition evens out across several days. Instead of putting everything into one bowl, you spread nutrients throughout the week.


    Think of it like human eating:

    You don’t eat perfectly balanced meals at every single sitting—but across a few days, it all adds up.


    Why this approach works


    • Dogs don’t need every nutrient in every bowl.
    • It allows flexibility and natural variety.
    • It’s easier for owners who cook different foods on different days.
    • It helps fill nutrient gaps by rotating different ingredients.

    How it looks in real life


    One day you serve a protein-rich meal.


    The next day includes organ meat for vitamins and minerals.


    Another day includes sardines for omega-3s.


    Veggies rotate throughout the week.


    Calcium is the only thing added every day.


    By the end of the week, your dog has met all their nutrient targets—even though each bowl wasn’t perfect on its own.

Lesson 3 Wrap Up

You’re now familiar with the principles that make homemade feeding safe, varied, and flexible. You know how to choose safe ingredients, why variety supports better nutrition, and how to decide between balancing each meal or balancing over time. With this foundation in place, you’re ready for one of the most important parts of homemade feeding—understanding calcium and mineral balance.


In the next lesson, you’ll learn why calcium is essential, why it’s missing in cooked diets, and how to add it correctly so every meal you serve is safe and nutritionally complete.