Rating: 
Steve’s Real Food freeze-dried raw dog food receives the Advisor’s top rating of 5 stars.
The Steve’s Real Food freeze-dried product line includes two raw recipes… each meeting AAFCO nutrient profiles for all life stages.
The following is a list of recipes available at the time of this review.
- Steve’s Real Food Beef Diet
- Steve’s Real Food Chicken Diet
Steve’s Real Food Chicken Diet was selected to represent both products in the line for this review.
Steve's Real Food Chicken Diet
Raw Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Ingredients: Ground chicken (with ground bone), broccoli, romaine lettuce, carrots, cantaloupe, chicken livers, chicken gizzards, flaxseed, egg shell powder, sardine/anchovy oil, dicalcium phosphate, dried kelp, sea salt, extract of chicory (FOS), zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, copper proteinate, rosemary extract, natural flavors
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 4.1%
Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients
| Estimated Nutrient Content | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Protein | Fat | Carbs |
| Guaranteed Analysis | 39% | 31% | NA |
| Dry Matter Basis | 40% | 32% | 20% |
| Calorie Weighted Basis | 29% | 56% | 14% |
The first ingredient in this dog food includes chicken. Chicken is considered “the clean combination of flesh and skin… derived from the parts or whole carcasses of chicken”.1
Raw chicken contains about 80% water. After freeze-drying, most of that moisture is lost. And this can reduce meat content to a fraction of its original weight.
However, the reported “as fed” protein content reported on the label implies the recipe contains a notable starting amount of this ingredient.
Chicken is naturally rich in the ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.
In addition, since this item includes ground bone, this component can be considered an excellent source of natural calcium and phosphorus.
The second ingredient includes broccoli. Broccoli is a healthy green vegetable and a member of the kale family. It is especially rich in vitamin C and fiber and numerous other nutrients. Broccoli is known to provide potent anti-cancer benefits.
The third ingredient is includes lettuce. This green leafy vegetable is naturally rich in vitamins and minerals. In fact, romaine lettuce boasts an exceptionally high nutrient Completeness Score2 of 88.
The fourth ingredient mentions carrots. Carrots are loaded with beta-carotene, minerals and dietary fiber.
The fifth item lists cantaloupe. Cantaloupe contains dietary fiber, niacin, folic acid as well as vitamins A, B6, C and potassium. Its Nutritrient Completeness Score2 is 62.
The sixth ingredient includes chicken liver. This is an organ meat sourced from a named animal. So long as it’s not over-weighted in a dog food, chicken liver is a beneficial component.
The seventh item lists chicken gizzard. The gizzard is a low-fat, meaty organ found in the digestive tract of birds and assists by grinding up a consumed food.
The gizzard is a favored delicacy to a dog.
The eighth ingredient is flaxseed… one of the best plant sources of healthy omega-3 fatty acids. Provided they’ve first been ground into a meal, flax seeds are also rich in soluble fiber.
However, plant-based oils (like flax) are less biologically available to a dog than fish oil as a source of quality omega-3 fats.
The ninth ingredient includes egg shell powder… a natural source of calcium and other desirable minerals.
The tenth ingredient is fish oil. Fish oil is naturally rich in the prized EPA and DHA type of omega-3 fatty acids. These two high quality fats boast the highest bio-availability to dogs and humans.
Depending on its level of freshness and purity, fish oil should be considered a commendable addition.
From here, the list goes on to include a number of other items.
But to be realistic, ingredients located this far down the list (other than nutritional supplements) are not likely to affect the overall rating of this product.
With two notable exceptions…
First, chicory is naturally rich in a substance called inulin… a starch-like compound made up of repeating units of carbohydrates and found in certain roots and tubers.
Not only is inulin a natural source of soluble dietary fiber, it’s also a prebiotic used to promote the growth of healthy bacteria in a dog’s digestive tract.
And lastly, this food also contains chelated minerals… minerals that have been chemically attached to protein. This makes them easier to absorb. Chelated minerals are usually found in better dog foods.
Steve’s Freeze-Dried Raw Dog Food
The Bottom Line
Judging by its ingredients alone, Steve’s Freeze Dried Raw dog food looks to be an exceptional product.
But ingredient quality by itself cannot tell the whole story. We still need to estimate the product’s meat content before determining a final rating.
The dashboard displays a dry matter protein reading of 40%, a fat level of 32% and estimated carbohydrates of about 20%.
As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 41% and a mean fat level of 31%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 20% for the overall product line.
Near-average protein. Near-average fat. And average carbs when compared to a typical raw dog food.
Free of any plant-based protein boosters, this looks like the profile of a dog food containing an abundance of meat.
Bottom line?
Steve’s freeze-dried raw dog food is a meat-based product using a generous amount of chicken or beef as its main sources of animal protein… thus earning the brand 5 stars.
Enthusiastically recommended.
For even more raw diet suggestions, be sure to visit the Advisor’s Recommended Raw Dog Foods summary page.
A Final Word
This review is designed to help you make a more informed decision when buying dog food. However, our rating system is not intended to suggest feeding a particular product will result in specific health benefits for your pet.
For a better understanding of how we analyzed this product, please be sure to read our article, “The Problem with Dog Food Reviews”
Remember, no dog food can possibly be appropriate for every life stage, lifestyle or health condition. So, choose wisely. And when in doubt consult a veterinarian for help.
Have an opinion about this dog food… or maybe the review itself? Please know… we welcome your comments.
Notes and Updates
04/09/2011 Original review
04/09/2011 Last Update
- Association of American Feed Control Officials ↩
- Completeness Score is a measure of a food’s relative nutrient content and is computed by NutritionData.com from the USDA’s National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference ↩
- Completeness Score is a measure of a food’s relative nutrient content and is computed by NutritionData.com from the USDA’s National Nutrient Database for Standard Reference ↩
The Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.