What do you do when your dog stops eating?
What do you do when your dog doesn’t eat, has allergies & food sensitivities, and a stomach that threatens loose poo at the slightest change of diet? I think the answer is different for everyone, but for us it meant that we needed to try something different for Bean’s food. Up to this point, we had been feeding a high quality, grain-free kibble, with Super Gravy mixed in and some Stella & Chewy’s meal mixers. Everything I just listed means, her meals weren’t cheap, but she wasn’t eating more often than not (through no fault of the foods listed). Let me tell you about a food that has made a world of difference for Bean and for us worried humans.
We received food and compensation from NomNomNow in exchange for an honest assessment of our views and experiences. All opinions shared are our own and we only provide posts for products we've tried and loved.
We were approached by the folks at NomNomNow to try their prepared meal delivery service. I immediately liked their name choice since, if you follow us at all on social media, you know how fond I am using omnomnomnomnomnomnom when referencing eating food. So, we had a lot of questions and they helped give a lot of answers. We like to think our experience was kind of like “The Dating Game,” from back in the day where folks asked questions of possible suitors before they actually saw what their date looked like. Below are actual questions that were asked in the dating game that have been answered as if certain foods were giving their reply and Bean were looking for her next match!
First Date Questions
What are your best qualities?
Contestant Number 1 (Kibble) - “Well, I’m crunchy and easy to scoop!”
Thanks a lot numero uno, I’m gonna stop you right there and go to contestant number 2!
Contestant Number 2 (Canned Wet Food) - “As you can tell, I’m moist and I also like to use that word a lot. Moist Moist Moist!
Bean and her human throw up in their mouths a little bit.
Contestant Number 3 (NomNomNow) - “I am really into healthy living and being balanced!”
Do you believe in love at first sight?
Contestant Number 1 (Kibble) - “I kind of don’t have eyeballs, me being kibble and all…”
Contestant Number 2 (Canned Wet Food) - “I’m kept in this darn can, completely in the dark. I don’t know what’s happening until I’m already being nommed on!”
Contestant Number 3 (NomNomNow) - “Yes! That’s why you can see through my individual packets that are pre-measured to see all of my yummy and healthy ingredients!”
What is your greatest achievement?
Contestant Number 1 (Kibble) - “Um, I am made of bits and pieces that otherwise would be thrown away!”
Bean and I throw up a little bit more.
Contestant Number 2 (Canned Wet Food) - “I can be useful when there’s a zombie apocalypse.”
Contestant Number 3 (NomNomNow) - “I love how much I listen! My greatest accomplishment is hearing what you need, and making sure I give you exactly what will help to make your life complete! That’s why I ask questions when you check me out, keep touching base when you’re giving me a test run, and share so much information up front.”
What one word describes your life?
Contestant Number 1 (Kibble) - “Consistent”
Contestant Number 2 (Canned Wet Food) - “MOIST!”
Contestant Number 3 (NomNomNow) - “Fresh!”
I bet you can guess which of the three contestants in our version of The Dating Game Bean and I selected! NomNomNow was the clear winner, but how have they panned out for us in the past month?
First, you might have noticed that this post is down to the wire. I wanted to have the entire month to try NomNomNow before sharing an assessment of our experiences. While that means I feel a little like we’re crunching for an exam, I really think it’s important to have had a lengthy time to use the food and to also communicate with the brand regarding questions we had and input they could use for future planning. We’ll be talking more in the coming months about our experiences with NomNomNow, including an exclusive interview with a member of their team about their food prep process and their background. As a result, I’m not going to bog you down right now with too much information regarding those types of details. Here’s what you need to know right now.
NomNomNow offers food that has been prepared in their kitchen located in the San Francisco area. Each meal is packaged individually and has been pre-measured based on your dog’s weight and activity level. If your dog is overweight (and many dogs are), they will help to gradually reduce portions which, with additional exercise, will help your dog reach a healthy weight.
The meals come to you frozen. There’s a video I have uploaded that shows how the meals come to you. Fun fact, the fluffy packaging was used to mail stuff for a baby shower while we were in Myrtle Beach recently! All of the contents landed safe and sound, much like Bean’s food.
So, the food can be kept frozen for up to a year. I took out a week’s worth at a time and had it defrost in the crisper of the fridge. We received transition servings that helped us to bridge the gap between one food and the NomNomNow without messing with Bean’s tummy. The transition took about two weeks.
Bean has allergies to poultry, so the first month her protein was Beef. Each meal also included peas, carrots, egg, potatoes, and fish oil. True to form, Bean in her diva glory did manage to pick out EVERY SINGLE PEA from each of her meals, and spit it on the ground. For the most part, she ate them after the fact, but Yoda was available to offer his hoover services if there were any rogue green bits left on the kitchen floor.
We mixed her servings with about a fourth of a cup of hot water, which allowed me to mix in her pre and pro-biotic in the mornings. Did I mention Bean is a diva? Yep, that also means she won’t eat cold food. So the water was necessary for her to “warm” up to the idea of eating (see what I did there?).
So what has happened since we started on NomNomNow?
First - Bean actually eats! She not only eats, she’s enthusiastic!
Second - She poops less. Not in a “hey there may be something wrong,” kind of way more like a “I’m eating less crap which means I’m generating less,” kind of way. I’m no doctor, or gastroenterologist but I’m pretty sure there’s a correlation between the two (hehehe, I said two, like number two, because poop).
Third - She farts less. I’m sure the pre and pro-biotic helps too, but this is the least stinky Bean’s behind has been since she joined us nearly eight years ago.
Fourth - Her fur is SO SOFT, and shiny! I attribute that to the fish oil addition to her meals.
Fifth - Yoda is super jealous. I’ve given him tidbits of Bean’s food and he can clearly tell he’s gotten the short end of the stick. Maybe we’ll try a new fancy food for him next!
So, that’s our first month with NomNomNow! What questions do you have for us? What do you want us to ask when we interview their staff next month?
