Tag Archives: pet food

Food We Eat And Making Carp Bait

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I was searching for ingredients for making my own carp fishing bait over the last weeks as time and interest permitted. I was led indirectly to look up amino acids as the basic building blocks of life and health for any living animal. I found a web page listing ten amino acids as essential to health.

The amino acids determined by the web page to be essential to health are: Arginine, Histidine, Isoleucine, Leucine, Lysine, Methionine, Phenylalanine, Threonine, Tryptophan, Valine. That is about all I know about them except I recognize a few of the names from whatever reading about health I have done in the past, or looking through the endless rows of little bottles at health food stores. Some of these items are very expensive, and none of them are cheap.

I decided I was making this too hard, and started looking at basic foods and the amino acids they contain. I hit pay dirt, and I was pretty surprised because companies selling these amino acids leave it open to the possibility that some required amino acids are hard to come by in our normal diet. One of the foods was interesting because it seemed from my understanding of the studies I read (totally a layman’s reading), one of the foods has more of these amino acids available cooked raw. It also happens we only eat it cooked when we have a choice.

I believe going by what I have read and understood, is we naturally do a great job of making sure we are getting everything we need in our diet to survive and thrive in general. I believe this is another case of savvy marketing and greed at work, making us think that in our normal diets we do not receive all the nutrition we need. What did surprise me was wheat grains are not among the basic foods supplying the most amino acids for us.

The four foods I found to provide most of the amino acids considered essential are contained in nothing more than foods I enjoy eating and are part of everyones diet that tries to eat properly. I did not venture too far into many other foods because my intent was looking for foods attractive to carp, not a study of my own diet.

junkfood1So what are these foods that supply our bodies with everything we need in the way of essential amino acids? I think you will be surprised as I was. The four foods I looked up first, and the four foods that together supply everything we need are: Broccoli, Cauliflower, Corn, Potato. Corn and potato are pretty much a staple food in the northern hemisphere, so it should not have been a surprise to me that they are essential foods for us.

I did look up a few other foods out of curiosity because they show in some carp bait recipes, but I am guessing they are there for other reasons than for their completeness in containing essential amino acids. The exception and most surprising food was egg white. Egg white contains all the essential amino acids needed for life. I have no doubt that the egg yolk also contains other essential items we need to live. After I read it, I thought how obvious, egg is the way almost all living things start their journey into this world.

Carp bait making aside, it appears to me that if we are doing the minimum to eat right, and eat as many different foods as we enjoy or can afford, we are receiving everything we need to be healthy and happy, and giving our bodies everything it needs to survive and thrive.

The human side of good health aside, some items come up frequently for carp bait that do not seem to have much to do with complete nutrition. I am guessing from knowing what I know about my own eating habits that we do not always eat foods that are the most complete nutritionally. Sometime we eat certain foods just because they taste good.

Occasionally foods or flavors such as sugar, vanilla or chili, are addicting, and we will pass by better food to eat foods containing certain flavors we love to taste. It has been suspected since I was a child that some pet foods contained flavorings or additives to trigger a eating response in our pets. I do not think the jump from pet food to our food is so great that some commercial foods do not intentionally contain flavors or ingredients for no other reason that we prefer to eat it over other foods without it.

It seems obvious to me that whether you are trying to eat well, or design a killer homemade carp bait, you know everything you need to know by default. Looking at your own diet, and using a variety of common foods is all you need to know, the rest is in the details. It is possible that I am all wet, in both basic nutrition and homemade carp bait, but I do not think so.

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Feed your pets for less – part 2

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In my previous post, Feed your pets for less, I wrote about feeding my pets for less in a country or rural setting. Living in a rural area provides different options than living in a city or larger town does. Living in a city or less rural area rather than catching free food (roughfish) for your pets to eat, means  changing where to look for pet food.

Possibly the easiest free pet food, is to adapt Freegan methods for finding food your pets can eat. Freegans are not adverse to dumpster diving. For your pets, dumpster diving can be a cheap  food source. In the case of pet food those dumpsters you may wish to look in are not dumpsters most Freegans would be looking in. You are looking for food your pets can eat, not food for yourself.

I would try looking in dumpsters or fast food places, smaller restaurants, and convenience stores. After closing is best, because any left over food is usually thrown out as it won’t keep until the business opens the next morning.

At first it may feel a little odd to  be out dumspter diving, but when compared to spending money for pet food that is in short supply will make foraging easier to get used to.

Another possible pet food source are neighbors and friends. Most of us have leftovers in our refrigerator that we really should not be eating any longer, and usually throw into the trash. If your friends or neighbors know that things are tough for you and you would gladly take any food items that would be thrown out to feed your pets, they may be willing to help you by donating.

Any food you find should be cooked or reheated again because you do not want your pets getting sick. Either use an old pan used for nothing else or buy an old pan from a second hand store. I would not recommend you feed your pets on scavenged food alone, as their diet may not be to well balanced. They will need access to their regular food to for a more balanced diet.

If you have discovered any sources where you acquire cheap or free food for your pets, please share. Having to give up a pet that you can no longer afford is akin to putting one of your kids out on the street for some people.

Advertise! Craigslist , grocery stores, your church, or any other place you can put up a request for free food your pets to eat is an option. I am sure many people would be willing to give you a call if  they believe your request is genuine. Also check with your local human society, or city shelters. Here in Albuquerque, they city and possible others have started giving out free pet food.

One last thought, is it is now hunting season in most states. Perhaps someone you know is either going or has gone hunting. Find out where they are getting their butchering done. That may be a good sourse of scraps for you pets. Good luck, be creative, and and happy foraging!

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Feed your pets for less

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When I was in my early teens, times were pretty tough in my family. Neither of my folks were able to work full time for different reasons. At that time we owned two large dogs, one German Sheppard, and one Lab cross. They ate a lot of food and there was not a lot of extra money to buy food for them. It was getting financially close to having to find homes for them.

I helped feed our dogs for a couple of years on rough fish. We were fortunate as we had a stream close by that was over run with rough fish. The fish were mostly suckers, and chubs, but there were a lot of them. In the summer months I would go down to the stream every couple of days and fill a bread bag or two with fish.

When I caught enough fish, I took them home and put them in a coffee can or two on the stove. I then added water and brought them to a slow boil. I would boil the mixture until the fish had fallen apart, and all that was left was a fish stew of sorts.

Once the soupy fish stock cooled down enough the dogs had a banquet they would gulp down rather quickly. In the fall and winter, there were small animals that could be hunted that the dogs could eat. Usually animals that were considered pest animals were easy to find. Of course the occasional rabbit may have fallen into the mix.

There were never enough fish or small animals that the dogs could live off of what I provided, but between what I caught or scrounged up, and the scraps and dog food they were given, they did not know things were tough in the house. They may have not been as full as they would have liked, but we managed to keep them through the hard times.

If you are fortunate enough to live near a body of fresh water, odds are that it has an abundance of rough fish. Generally Carp are everywhere, but sometimes there are other rough fish that you can catch an almost unlimited supply of. Of course there is always the possibility that you will catch a fish you would like to eat too.

It is hard to pretend that these are the good times, and I read or hear daily of another family forced to part with their pets. If you have a river or lake close by, and are willing to spend some spare time fishing, you can feed your pets for free, or at least spend less for their food. You do not need to invest a lot of money, and one day of fishing a week may keep your dog or cat in food for a long time, saving you money in the process. Food for thought any way, no pun intended, smile….

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