Have you heard about Balanced Blends Starter Packs yet?
Note: Unfortunately, the brand discontinued its sales in 2021.
A new blog reader, Anna, recently mentioned that she’s looking into making the switch from home cooked meals to raw ones for her pup Rocky who’s suffering from allergies.
She was wondering if I had any suggestions or tips on how to make the transition a smooth one.
You bet I did – this post is for you, Anna, and anyone else looking to feed their fur kids a healthier diet!
I recommend starting a raw dog food journey with pre-made raw meals and starter packs, like the ones from Balanced Blends.
They’re a new raw dog food company from Boulder, CO, I backed on Kickstarter earlier this year.
Feeding pre-made raw meals is the easiest way to switch over to a raw diet. Because, let’s face it, beginning raw feeders just don’t have the necessary experience to put together a balanced, nutritious raw meal.
I know I didn’t when I made the switch from kibble to raw via the detour of home cooked in early 2015.
Just like I gave Anna the advice of easing herself into the new diet with pre-made raw meals, I received similar advice. Back then, it was from fellow raw feeder & dog nutrition blogger Kimberly from Keep The Tail Wagging. She suggested I start out with pre-made raw meals where all I had to do was peel & serve.
Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Balanced Blends. I am being compensated for helping spread the word about their Starter Packs. Here on K9sOverCoffee, I only share information I feel is relevant to my readers & always provide 100% honest reviews. Balanced Blends is not responsible for the content of this blog post.
5 lb Starter Pack With Free Shipping & No Minimum Order
Balanced Blends offers trial Starter Packs for dogs which consist of 5 lbs of raw food.
They’re available in chicken for $30 and beef for $35.
Each pack comes in 10 eight ounce packages and ships for free without the need of a minimum order amount.
Simply use code STARTERPACK at checkout.
This is a great opportunity to give your pups a chance to sample raw dog food as free shipping for raw dog food is not very common.
I have ordered from three other raw food companies and only one of them offers free shipping once a certain dollar amount is met ($199).
By the way – Balanced Blends extends their free shipping special on regular orders of 20 lbs or more.
Balanced Blends Starter Packs: Raw Chicken Dinner for Dogs
Ingredients:
Chicken, Chicken Necks, Chicken Livers, Chicken Hearts, Chicken Gizzards, Cabbage, Carrots, Peppers, Flaxseed Oil, Cranberries, Salmon Oil, Psyllium Husks.
Vitamins: Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, D-Calcium Panthotenate, Biotin, Riboflavin, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin B12, Pyridoxine HCL, Folic Acid.
Trace Minerals: Sea Salt, Iron Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Oxide, Sodium Selenite, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate.
Balanced Blends Starter Packs: Raw Beef Dinner for Dogs
Ingredients:
Beef, Beef Hearts, Beef Spleens, Beef Kidneys, Beef Livers, Cabbage, Carrots, Peppers, Bone Meal, Cranberries, Hemp Oil, Salmon Oil, Psyllium Husks.
Vitamins: Vitamin E Supplement, Niacin, D-Calcium Panthotenate, Biotin, Riboflavin, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Vitamin B12, Pyridoxine HCL, Folic Acid.
Trace Minerals: Sea Salt, Iron Sulfate, Zinc Proteinate, Zinc Oxide, Sodium Selenite, Copper Sulfate, Manganese Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganous Oxide, Calcium Iodate.
How Long Will The 5 Lbs Last?
Dogs on a raw diet are fed 2-3% of their ideal body weight per day, so it’ll depend on your dog’s size and activity level how long 5 lbs will last you.
That amount can go a long way for a smaller breed such as a Chihuahua or even a Beagle while it won’t last quite as long for larger breeds.
Assuming a Chihuahua weighs 10 lbs and eats 3% of his ideal body weight, he’d be eating 3 ounces per day, or 1.5 ounces per meal.
That means 1 lb (16 ounces) would last 5 days, and 5 lbs would last 25 days.
Assuming a Beagle weighs 23 lbs and eats 3% of his ideal body weight, he’d be eating 7 ounces per day, or 3.5 ounces per meal. That means 1 lb would last a little over 2 days, and 5 lbs would last a little over 10 days.
Also, keep in mind that you’ll be going through a transitional phase of 7-10 days.
During that time, you’ll slowly be introducing the raw dog food, so you won’t feed 100% raw meals right away.
5 lbs of raw dog food last my girl Missy 5 days. She weighs 50 lbs and eats about 8 ounces per meal, twice daily. That means she needs roughly 30 lbs of food per month.
5 lbs of raw dog food last my boy Buzz 2.5 days. He weighs 70 lbs and eats about 10.5 ounces per meal, twice daily (1.5 lbs). That means he goes through 45 lbs of food every month.
I’ll be honest with you here – I did feed pre-made raw meals for the first 9 months of our raw dog food journey.
However, I can no longer afford 75 lbs of pre-made raw dog food on a regular, monthly basis.
So I add individual raw dog food components from other sources to the pups’ meals.
High Quality Raw Dog Food Formulated By Veterinarians & Nutritionists
Balanced Blends works with veterinarians and nutritionists.
They ensure that their raw meals are, indeed, balanced and formulated to meet the nutritional levels established by the AAFCO Dog Food Nutrients Profiles for All Life Stages.
On top of all best practices in making their raw food – Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP), Sanitation Standard Operating Procedures (SSOP’s), Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP’s) – Balanced Blends’ raw diets are applied with high pressure processing (HPP) in their final packaging to eliminate recontamination.
They also use the “Test and Hold” protocol.
That means that their foods are lab tested by a third party laboratory and only released for sale after the pathogen test results come back negative.
Bottom Line – Feed Them Like They’re Family
Just like Anna considers Rocky part of her family, my pups are full-fledged family members.
This is exactly why I didn’t hesitate one second to spend thousands of dollars on Missy’s cancer surgery/preventative chemotherapy treatments. Those were followed by implementing many lifestyle changes, the biggest one certainly being the raw dog food diet.
After all, we are what we eat, humans and dogs alike.
Eating/feeding fresh food keeps our bodies healthier and stronger than they would be on processed junk food stuffed with empty fillers.
Here’s to many more years with Missy & Buzz, along with shiny coats, less allergies & less poop, no dog smell, and strong immune systems.
Want To Learn More About Balanced Blends?
If you’d like to find out a few more details about Balanced Blends and their raw dog food, I invite you to read my previous two blog posts about the company:
- Making The Switch To A Balanced Raw Diet Was Never Easier
- Making Raw Feeding Fun With Balanced Blends Pet Food
- Balanced Blends Raw & Steamed Dog Food – Review
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