New Bread For Gracie

As mentioned in previous posts, I often include whole wheat bread in Gracie's meals. Either homemade (click here for a recipe for homemade Doggie Chef Bread) or store bought. Click here to see my post about the store bought bread (Brownberry Natural Wheat) I've fed Gracie most often in recent years.

Cooked grains, like oatmeal and brown rice, are a lot cheaper (and probably a lot healthier) than store bought bread. Yet sometimes the convenience of store bought bread can't be beat.

I recently learned about sprouted grain bread made by Food For Life and decided to give it a try. I bought two different loaves: Seven Sprouted Grains bread and Ezeikiel 4:9 Sesame bread. They're both in the freezer section at my grocery store. I suppose they're frozen to maintain freshness, as they contain no preservatives. I prefer the Ezeikiel 4:9 Sesame bread because the Sprouted Grain bread contains corn. I'd rather not feed Gracie corn. I don't think she digests it well or that it offers her much nutritional value.

Brownberry Natural Wheat bread contains no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. That's why I've used it for so long. However, I always thought it contained too much sodium and sugar.

Here's a comparison of Brownberry Natural Wheat bread and Food for Life Ezeikiel 4:9 Sesame bread:

Brownberry Natural Wheat Bread,  1 36-gram slice:

Sodium: 240 milligrams
Sugars: 2 grams
Dietary Fiber: 2 grams
Protein: 3 grams
Calories: 100
Plus added vitamins and nutrients like Vitamin A, the B vitamins, Vitamin E and Iron.

Food For Life Ezekiel 4:9 Sesame bread, 1 34-gram slice:
Sodium: 80 milligrams
Sugars: 0 grams
Dietary Fiber: 3 grams
Protein: 4 grams
Calories: 80

The Food for Life Ezekiel 4:9 Sesame bread contains less sodium, less sugar, more fiber and more protein. Any nutrients the Ezekiel 4:9 Sesame bread contains comes directly from the ingredients. To me that's a big plus even though, overall, the bread  contains less Vitamin A, Calcium, Vitamin E, Iron, etc... than Brownberry Natural Wheat Bread. I think nutrients naturally occurring in foods are better for the body (canine or human) than nutrient supplements added to foods.

The Ezekiel Sesame bread is made from: organic sprouted 100% whole wheat, filtered water, organic sprouted barley, organic sprouted millet, organic malted barley, organic sprouted lentils, organic sprouted soybeans, organic sprouted spelt, fresh yeast, organic wheat gluten, sea salt and organic sesame seeds.

It's always a bit scary to change my dog's diet. She's been doing so well for so long. Yet I believe every good Doggie Chef should strive to constantly improve their pet's diet. I was never comfortable with the amounts of sodium and sugar in the Brownberry Natural Wheat bread. I'll still use the Brownberry bread sometimes, but I feel better about feeding Gracie the Food For Life bread when I don't have time to make homemade bread.

*** POST EDITED/UPDATED MARCH 23, 2011