Brody’s been munching his way through a large variety of food products lately, both good and bad, so I thought this was a good time to share his latest product review. The folks over at The Honest Kitchen sent us a variety of samples from their dehydrated raw food product line to try out, and Brody was more than happy to oblige.
The food he chose to sample was Embark, one of their two “All life stages” formulations.
1. It starts off looking kind of like green soup mix (it has that bouillon aroma, as well).
2. Then you add warm water, and it kind of looks like green soupy sludge. That’s OK though, it gets better.
3. After it rehydrates, it looks rather like stew. You can serve it as is (like I do), or mix it with fresh veggies and meat like my less lazy clients do. As a person who came close to gagging during my brief foray into the world of a raw vension diet for Apollo, I sincerely appreciate the chicken soup-y non offensive aroma of this stuff. Not that my opinion matters, though.
Did Brody like it?
I think the picture speaks for itself. See the worried look on his face? Despite licking the bowl to a reflective sheen, he is angling to get the remaining bits from the side.
I attempted a video like I’ve done with other product reviews, but trust me when I say we’re all happier without me unleashing it on the blog. It was not my finest work. I had some technical difficulties with the PowerShot, which I’ve never used for video before, and let’s just say I needed a Dramamine to make it through the first 30 seconds. Next time I’ll make my husband shoot it.
Anyway, a little more about the Honest Kitchen product: One of the reasons I like this food, and use it often in my rotation, is the following (from their website):
All our products are safe for human consumption, a requirement for entry into the human food facility where our products are made… Production occurs in a FDA inspected human food facility right here in California, alongside products such as breakfast cereals and beverage mixes for human consumption.
And this: “Our meat and egg ingredients are dehydrated at a high enough temperature to kill any pathogenic bacteria that may be present.” So this is a good choice for someone like me who is interested in raw, but has a hard time with the squidgy factor.
There are lots of other great reasons to check this food out. There is tons and tons of information about The Honest Kitchen’s product line, dedication to sustainably sourced materials, and processing on their website. It’s easy to feel good about and still very convenient.
So let’s share the wealth! I have three samples to hand out: 2 one ounce samples of Thrive (this is the one I have a big box of for Brody), and a 4 ounce sample of Verve. Leave a comment with which one you’d like to try, and I’ll pick winners at random at the end of the day. Only catch is you must let me know what your dog thinks of it. 
Access the original article here: http://www.pawcurious.com/2009/12/product-review-the-honest-kitchen-embark/
I started my Bearded Collie, Picasso, on Preference with added organic dog food (lamb) from New Zealand about 1.5 years ago. At that time, my food-picky 9 year old was 20 pounds overweight, and his kidney numbers were in the “early kidney failure stage.” I was paniced! My vet whated to put me on one of those gross “prescription diets”, but I was adamantly again them. Them my breeder told me about The Honest Kitchen, and I started on a dedicated regimine.
Within 3 months, Picasso had lost all 20 pounds (a bit fast, I admit) and his kidney numbers had crept back into the normal range. One year more later and he is healthy, happy, 10.5 years old and acting like a puppy. I am sure THK has added years to his life!