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Following the success of their AllRounder Balancing Supplement for dogs and cats and Bake-Yo Crikkies treats, Bestie Kitchen recently launched a range of daily health jellies for dogs.
We first heard about this product trial in March but then came this little troublemaker called “Covid”, throwing everyone’s best laid plans into disarray! The trial was postponed until July which was disappointing as we were very keen to test The Einstein jelly with our senior dog Conner to assist with his cognitive issues.
Introducing Bestie Kitchen's Health Jellies
Like all Bestie Kitchen products, these jellies were developed by Founder Amanda Falconer because she believes in the health benefits of good nutrition and dietary supplements where needed.
They were developed based on peer-reviewed science (trials into the impact of dietary supplementation on various chronic conditions) combined with the input and expertise of Dr Kathy Cornack from Holistic Vets Newcastle.
bestie health jellies are made in Newcastle, using primarily Australian ingredients, that are natural or naturally derived. These bite-sized jellies arrive to you as a health jelly mix (powder form).
Herbs, fruit and veg powders, plant extracts (and in a couple of very rare cases, naturally-derived vitamins), are combined with Australian beef gelatin. Unlike other products, they contain no synthetic vitamins or fake animal flavourings.
The five varieties available are all designed to help with specific chronic conditions but this does not mean you couldn’t feed two at the same time. With jellies for many common issues e.g. anxiety, doggy dementia, puppy and adult stress, bad breath and more, this is a daily health supplement in an easy-to-feed jelly format.
1) The Einstein for Cognitive Decline
Standing in a daze, pacing at night, walking into walls, forgetting house training are common signs of age-related cognitive decline we are sadly all too familiar with our senior dog Conner.
This antioxidant-rich health jelly - with l-carnitine and ginkgo for brain health, is designed to help reduce disturbed behaviour and improve quality of life, as your dog ages.
This was definitely our main motivation for trialling the new Bestie Kitchen daily health jellies for dogs.
2) The Smooch for Oral Health
Stinky breath - cue dead rat smell! - is not just yucky, it can also be a sign of oral bacteria or even gum disease.
This anti-bacterial and immune-boosting health jelly, with cranberry, green tea & citrus polyphenols is designed to help reduce stinky breath, and support your dog’s oral health.
August being officially Pet Dental Health Month, we felt The Smooch was also a great product to take a closer look at!
3) The Om for Anxious Behaviour
A 2020 Finnish study examined the frequency of seven anxiety-related traits, including noise sensitivity, fear, aggression, separation problems and compulsive behaviour, as well as sub-traits within these categories, such as tail-chasing.
It found that 72.5% of dogs had highly problematic behaviour in at least one of the seven categories, and many had multiple problems. Almost a third of dogs showed high sensitivity to noise, with fireworks a particular problem, while 29% of dogs were said to be highly fearful (our Malinois Porthos fits that description) and 14% showed highly problematic aggression.
This anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting health jelly, with valerian, tryptophan, l-theanine & linden is designed to help reduce anxious behaviour, and bring a sense of calm to your dog.
4) The Chill-up for Calming Puppies
Leaving the litter, moving into a new home, weaning, growing, training: there’s a lot to stress out puppies! This immune-boosting and calming health jelly, with magnesium glycinate and antioxidants for calming & immunity is designed to support your puppy’s health as they grow.
5) The Pep-up for Immune System Health
Chronic inflammation and stress can actually suppress the immune system, and have a long term impact on health. This anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting health jelly, with medicinal mushrooms and other adaptogens is designed to support your dog’s immune function and put a pep back in their step!
If you’re not sure what would benefit your dog, we suggest to start with the free 3-minute assessment quiz on the Bestie Kitchen website. You may have to give away your email but it’s a small price to pay for personalised advice.
Please note that these jellies are not like Panadol! For starters, you have to make them yourself from the mix provided, which is easy enough.
Secondly, you need to take a long-term holistic view of your dog’s health. There is no overnight fix!
For the purpose of our review we focused on The Einstein to assist with our senior dog’s cognitive decline, then The Smooch to help everyone with their oral breath, last but least we trialled The Om to help our nervous Porthos with anxiety issues.
How to Make your Bestie Kitchen's Health Jellies
You don’t need to be a whizz in the kitchen! Can you boil a kettle? Can you stir? You’ll be fine... If you're lucky, you'll have kitchen assistants on hand to help with your mise en place!
Simply add water into your mix, stir and pour into a container and let it set in the fridge. After a couple of hours, pop the jelly out of its pack, and feed in the meal or on its own.
It is advised to make your jellies in 2-week (15 day) batches to ensure they remain fresh.
Each trial pack was 70g, which we mixed with 220g of cold water in a glass jug. For our 30kg dog, this equates to only 15 days of jellies but it’s a 2 month supply for dogs less than 10kg (small) and a 1 month supply for dogs 10kg to 25kg (medium).
You need to stir well to mix all the powder through and leave it to sit for about two minutes.
We boiled the kettle and poured the boiling water into a large bowl (large enough to fit your glass jug into it) and put it in.
After stirring well for about 3 minutes you’ll notice the grains slowly dissolve. Continue until your mix is well blended: your consistency will change to viscous and jelly-like. Just like any human dessert, make sure there are no lumps!
The last step is to pour your mix into mould trays. Don’t forget to spray with canola oil first (olive oil is also fine) so it doesn't stick!
Bestie Kitchen suggested using silicon trays with cavities of different sizes (e.g. 5ml, 10ml, 20ml). If you don’t have any, you could simply pour the liquid into a silicon or plastic container and then once set, just cut it down then across to make 15 squares. Okay, it’s not going to look as pretty but as we found out, our dogs care more for taste than appearances!
Stinky breath - cue dead rat smell! - is not just yucky, it can also be a sign of oral bacteria or even gum disease.
This anti-bacterial and immune-boosting health jelly, with cranberry, green tea & citrus polyphenols is designed to help reduce stinky breath, and support your dog’s oral health.
August being officially Pet Dental Health Month, we felt The Smooch was also a great product to take a closer look at!
3) The Om for Anxious Behaviour
It found that 72.5% of dogs had highly problematic behaviour in at least one of the seven categories, and many had multiple problems. Almost a third of dogs showed high sensitivity to noise, with fireworks a particular problem, while 29% of dogs were said to be highly fearful (our Malinois Porthos fits that description) and 14% showed highly problematic aggression.
This anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting health jelly, with valerian, tryptophan, l-theanine & linden is designed to help reduce anxious behaviour, and bring a sense of calm to your dog.
4) The Chill-up for Calming Puppies
Leaving the litter, moving into a new home, weaning, growing, training: there’s a lot to stress out puppies! This immune-boosting and calming health jelly, with magnesium glycinate and antioxidants for calming & immunity is designed to support your puppy’s health as they grow.
5) The Pep-up for Immune System Health
Chronic inflammation and stress can actually suppress the immune system, and have a long term impact on health. This anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting health jelly, with medicinal mushrooms and other adaptogens is designed to support your dog’s immune function and put a pep back in their step!
 |
| Porthos: "Reporting for duty, ma'am! What would you like me to try today?" |
Please note that these jellies are not like Panadol! For starters, you have to make them yourself from the mix provided, which is easy enough.
Secondly, you need to take a long-term holistic view of your dog’s health. There is no overnight fix!
For the purpose of our review we focused on The Einstein to assist with our senior dog’s cognitive decline, then The Smooch to help everyone with their oral breath, last but least we trialled The Om to help our nervous Porthos with anxiety issues.
How to Make your Bestie Kitchen's Health Jellies
You don’t need to be a whizz in the kitchen! Can you boil a kettle? Can you stir? You’ll be fine... If you're lucky, you'll have kitchen assistants on hand to help with your mise en place!
Simply add water into your mix, stir and pour into a container and let it set in the fridge. After a couple of hours, pop the jelly out of its pack, and feed in the meal or on its own.
It is advised to make your jellies in 2-week (15 day) batches to ensure they remain fresh.
Each trial pack was 70g, which we mixed with 220g of cold water in a glass jug. For our 30kg dog, this equates to only 15 days of jellies but it’s a 2 month supply for dogs less than 10kg (small) and a 1 month supply for dogs 10kg to 25kg (medium).
You need to stir well to mix all the powder through and leave it to sit for about two minutes.
We boiled the kettle and poured the boiling water into a large bowl (large enough to fit your glass jug into it) and put it in.
 |
| How to make your Bestie Kitchen daily health jellies - our first batch with The Einstein (70g pack) |
The last step is to pour your mix into mould trays. Don’t forget to spray with canola oil first (olive oil is also fine) so it doesn't stick!
Bestie Kitchen suggested using silicon trays with cavities of different sizes (e.g. 5ml, 10ml, 20ml). If you don’t have any, you could simply pour the liquid into a silicon or plastic container and then once set, just cut it down then across to make 15 squares. Okay, it’s not going to look as pretty but as we found out, our dogs care more for taste than appearances!
Finally place your mix in the fridge for at least two hours to set or overnight (both have worked for us).
Once you’ve made your jellies, they can be kept into an airtight container in the cold part of the fridge. You can feed them daily as a treat or served with your dog’s food.
Based on our experience with The Smooch (for oral health), all 3 dogs refused to eat our beautiful creations, aka a big blob of jelly. Admittedly they had a (very) strong herby smell!
They licked it, grabbed it, rolled it on the floor with their nose, tentatively chewed a corner and then walked away… No respect for the cook's feelings!
Please note that this does not replace neither a vet's thorough check of your dog's mouth or brushing but depending on what you feed them, some dogs are more prone to bad breath and The Smooch seems to work wonders...
 |
| "Come on Conner, now you can come and give mummy a smoochy kiss!" |
Price & Where to Buy:
RRP: from $32.00 (70g); $50.00 (140g) from bestiekitchen.com
To buy two or more varieties, use the code MOREJELLIES at checkout to receive 20% off.
You can follow Bestie Kitchen on Facebook at www.facebook.com/mybestiekitchen/
and on Instagram at www.instagram.com/bestie.kitchen/
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