BACKGROUND

Values.
The genesis of the Honest Kitchen was the search for a human grade food that would be good enough for our team's own pets to eat; one that resembles a home made diet in quality, encompasses variety, is economical, nutritionally balanced, and quick and easy to prepare.

Our products provide:
The assurance of 'nutritional completeness' and considerable time savings (vs 100% home prepared diets).

The convenience, safety and cost savings of regular shipping and storage (vs frozen raw diets)

The pleasure & satisfaction of home preparation (vs conventional feed grade, cooked pet foods).

The peace of mind of production integrity, ingredient wholesomeness and minimal processing (vs extruded kibble or canning).

At last, something completely different.
Verve and Force are two exciting, new foods for dogs, produced using gentle dehydration, a unique new approach to canine nutrition. Delicious, nutritious, colorful meals made with real, recognizable ingredients, that are ready to prepare and serve at home.

Verve, Force & Embark offer many of the benefits of a biologically appropriate raw food diet, combined with the convenience and peace of mind of a nutritionally balanced, ready-blended product.

Dehydration also eliminates the safety concerns often associated with the storage and transportation of raw frozen diets, and there are none of the intrinsic astronomical shipping charges.

Variety? Absolutely!
We strongly believe in nutritional variety for optimum health, and positively encourage the addition of extra meat and other ingredients if you (or your dog!) would like. In fact, our products are designed with a focus on the joy & peace of mind that come from home-preparing pets' food, and our approach advocates dietary variation, a principle that has worked to sustain humans and non-captive animals for thousands of years.

These diets can technically be described as 'nutritionally balanced and complete' because they meet the levels established by AAFCO so far (they are tested in an independent, ISO accredited laboratory to ensure it). But we prefer just to refer to them as 'balanced'. 'Completeness' in the truest sense of the word, may come from a wealth of extras you may select yourself, which are varied over time.

Not made in a pet food rendering plant.
Our products are made in an FDA inspected and approved facility in California, that does not allow 'animal- feed-grade' ingredients onto its premises, and produces many of the same foods you actually eat yourself. They really are absolutely human food grade. Guaranteed!

No heat processing.
Our foods are not canned or extruded. They are blends of minimally processed ingredients, unharmed by the force, pressure and heat of conventional petfood processing.

Our products are widely trusted, because each whole food ingredient is actually visible in the blend, not pulverized beyond recognition, so you know just what it is you're serving up - what you see is what you get.

The Power of Pigments.
The most obvious visual difference between our foods and canned or extruded diets, is the natural, vibrant colors of the ingredients that remain in tact, thanks to the mild, temperate dehydration procedure.

Conventional, processed pet foods are predominantly brown, indicating that the pigments have been destroyed. Numerous studies have highlighted the value of these vividly colored substances, which exist in fresh fruits and vegetables: They are actually potent antioxidants, which are highly beneficial for total health and well-being.

What's up with cans and kibble?
In our opinion, dogs' digestive systems aren't designed to assimilate ingredients that have been grossly over processed with high heat and pressure, or by-products from other industries that can barely be classed as edible.

We believe optimum nutrition should come from minimally processed real foods, with the wholesome goodness equivalent to something you might prepare in your own kitchen but also resembles a dog's true natural diet.

About dehydration.

Dehydration or drying, is one of the oldest and gentlest methods of food preservation. Food dehydration works by removing only the water content from the ingredients. All other nutrients remain, and become highly concentrated. Dried foods are extremely nutritious, easy to prepare and store, and light weight to ship.

Because dehydration takes place at moderate temperatures, the ingredients are still considered raw. The only exceptions are the meat and egg ingredients, which are dehydrated at high enough temperatures to kill any bacteria present and are therefore essentially considered 'cooked'. This is becuase they must be human-edible grade, to enter our manufacturing facility.

The removal of moisture prevents enzymatic activity, which can lead to browning and decomposition of foods, and also prevents the growth of bacteria, yeast and molds. Dehydration does not actually destroy or kill the food enzymes, as occurs in baking and freezing or high pressure processing such as extrusion. Enzyme activity in dehydrated foods is simply suspended, until the food is rehydrated.

A remarkable example of the way dehydration preserves without destroying, is in Africa, where scientists have discovered live fish being hatched from fish eggs, that have been dehydrated in the sun, during droughts that sometimes last for years. When the rains fall, the lakes and rivers refill with water to rehydrate the eggs - and live fish emerge. The eggs are actually preserved and remain viable throughout the natural dehydration that takes place.

Regarding grains.
The issue of whether dogs should eat grains is a contentious one. Honest Kitchen its self, believes the diet fed should be the one that best suits the individual animal. If a dog can tolerate grains, it is OK to include them. Some dogs really need grains in their diets to maintain a healthy bodyyweight, skin & coat. If not, we suggest a grain-free alternative such as Force or Embark.

Many grains are rich sources of essential amino acids, which are not found in many fruits and vegetables. In the context of a true Biologically Appropriate diet, some believe that soaked grains actually bear a close resemblance to the intestinal contents of a wild dog's prey.

The point is to keep an open mind. Many food groups are available and the key is to source fresh, unprocessed, chemical-free ingredients, that work well for your own dog. Our foods never contain wheat, corn, soy, rice, or beet pulp which are common allergens for dogs

HONEST KITCHEN FOODS & SUPPLEMENTS