When I looked into switching to a better food several years ago the links on the Tails of the Tundra Siberian rescue website had some great info. I've included a link below. *********************************************************** Also, on a different forum I came across a "food grading system". . Its a method of analyzing the ingredients of the food you feed and determining whether its a high quality/healthy kibble. You will need your kibble's list of ingredients, as found on the bag (or oftentimes their website). Please note, however, this is for ingredients ONLY.... so before feeding a pup be sure to look at the protein and fat and calcium and calories in the Guaranteed Analysis. Start with a grade of 100: For every listing of "by-product", subtract 15 points For every non-specific animal source ("meat" or "poultry", meat, meal or fat) reference, subtract 10 points If there are no specific meats or meat meals, subtract 25 points For every grain "mill run" or non-specific grain source, or grain "middlings", subtract 10 points If the food contains BHA, BHT, or ethoxyquin, subtract 15 points If the same grain ingredient is used 2 or more times in the first five ingredients (i.e. "ground brown rice", "brewers rice", "rice flour" are all the same grain), subtract 5 points for each occurrence If the protein sources are not (specific) meat meal and there are less than 2 meats in the top 3 ingredients, subtract 3 points If it contains any artificial colorants, subtract 5 points If it contains ground corn or whole grain corn, subtract 3 points (subtract 5 if corn is listed in the top 5 ingredients) If the food contains any animal fat other than fish oil, subtract 3 points If lamb is the only animal protein source (unless your dog is allergic to other protein sources), subtract 2 points If it contains soy or soybeans, subtract 5 points If it contains wheat (unless you know that your dog isnÂt allergic to wheat), subtract 2 points If it contains beef (unless you know that your dog isnÂt allergic to beef), subtract 1 point If it contains salt, subtract 3 points If it contains corn syrup, molasses, or other added sweetener, subtract 10 points Extra Credit: For every different specific animal protein source (other than the first one; count "chicken" and "chicken meal" as only one protein source, but "chicken" and "turkey" as 2 different sources - do not count egg, cheese, or other similar ingredients), add 1 point If the food contains 3 or less different mentions of grains (or other high-carb plant-based foods like potatoes), add 5 points If any of the meat sources are organic, add 5 points (if the number 1 ingredient is organic meat, add 10 points) If the animal sources are hormone-free and antibiotic-free, add 3 points If the food is baked not extruded, add 5 points If the food contains probiotics, add 3 points If the food contains fruit or vegetables (NOT corn or other grains), add 3 points If the vegetables have been tested for pesticides and are pesticide-free, add 1 point If the food contains barley or oats or oatmeal, add 1 point If it contains sunflower, hemp, flaxseed, or other polyunsaturated vegetable oils, add 3 points (add 5 if it is the #1 fat) If the vitamin and mineral sources are chelated, add 5 points 94-100+ = A 86-93 = B 78-85 = C 70-77 = D **************************************************** If this info helps even one person find a better quality food then it was worth the time I spent digging it up again.

I reuse them because I start with big stuff - whole roasts or a big bunch of chicken parts. After that stuff has been used, I cut them down (maybe 2" lost?) and use them for smaller stuff like 4 pork chops (after thoroughly washing of course). When the chops are used and bags cleaned, the much smaller bags are used for cooked meat for 2 or for soup parts. After that it's toss time. The bags are expensive but then again, freezer burn is much more costly. I do the same with a ton of yellow onions, then cut down for diced carrots, then for chopped peppers, then bits of herbs. I also use the littlest bags for saving heirloom seeds to plant next year - though those never go into the freezer! There is more of the "outside" sealed edges when I get to that point, but they are still safely sealed and air tight. Perhaps you need to start out with really, really big bags of multiple burritos and progress downwards as they are used? I think I use 2" for each succession, but then, I really stuff everything in terribly tightly to start with yet you may want individual servings - which aren't economical for the volume you use over the year's time. Nancy

I have been transitioning my dogs to a raw prey model diet for the last couple of weeks, but since I still had most of a large bag of dry kibble that I couldn't afford to toss out, I've been feeding both on alternate days - raw one day and kibble the next. To my surprise, there has been absolutely no digestive upset at all - no vomiting, no diarrhea, no inappetance. I have read, though, that digestive upset is more likely to occur if you mix raw and kibble together in the same meal. The only negative affect of raw meat that I have noticed is that the dogs tend to follow me around on the kibble days demanding their MEAT! Oh, and they can get a bit constipated if there is too high a proportion of bone in their meals. One of my dogs is also a gulper, so I had to teach him to slow down and chew his bones by holding the meat and forcing him to pull small pieces out of my hands. I don't intend to add any supplements to the raw diet. It should have everything the dogs need nutritionally as long as I vary the meats as recommended. With cooked meats, however, supplementation will be required since you are cooking out some of the nutrients and you are not able to feed cooked bones. I was frankly surprised at how easily my dogs took to raw food. None of my dogs have a history of sensitive stomach, though. Still, you might want to give it a try and see if your dogs can tolerate raw meat without digestive upset. Laurie

The laundry detergent is not single serve nor is the soap refills I'm talking about. I'd wonder about the comparison of bar soap with their wrappers to a refill pouch. The reality is most people are too lazy to recycle. Method's point in what I quoted is that the pouch has lower environmental impact and I have to agree with them on it. Less fuel to transport, less space taken up in a landfill even figuring the percentage that could be recycled on a PET bottle. I do have a concern about 11 billion packets a year from Heinz alone. I'm guessing that's worldwide. But the pragmatic part of me asks are we being penny wise and pound foolish being concerned about ketchup packets when nearly twice that many disposable diapers are put in the landfills each year in the US alone? 1 ketchup packet or 2 diapers... I think I'll take the ketchup packs thank you! It's like the ones who criticize me (and others) for having a non-HE washer, but I do fewer loads to start with than my critics. I also wash my vehicles in the rain and snow where they use hoses and car washes. I don't water my lawn or flower garden. I take quick showers instead of 100 gallon whirlpool baths and I don't have or use a swimming pool or hot tub and the list goes on. Gotta put some priorities in place sometime. Not to say the packet isn't a concern and sometimes you tackle small problems first if they're easy. But we've really missed the boat ecologically on some other things. Another peeve of mine: The war on water. Why is water always the villain while pop, "sport drinks", 5 hr. Energy, and for that matter coffee cups and soft drink cups get by? Again, if you look at what's the healthier one, seems we should be endorsing water over sugar laden drinks and the HFCS folks can relax since water doesn't have it in there (yet). Again, I question priorities. I also wonder why people have to have so much stench in things. Why do laundry detergents have to smell to start with, requiring 30 different SKUs of one brand for different stench. Why not have dye/stench free and sell the stench and dye separately so you can add your own? And you can have all kinds of different stench to choose from. So much simpler, less hassles and lower costs. But that's three things the buying public don't want apparently. And they're too lazy to mix the two together. People have to have everything done for them. We really need to put on some boots. And boot some people in the aspirations. This post was edited by cynic on Wed, May 22, 13 at 15:58