Rating: 
Steve’s Real Food raw frozen dog food earns the Advisor’s highest rating of 5 stars.
The Steve’s Real Food raw frozen product line includes four raw diets… each said to meet 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 Raw Frozen
- Steve’s Real Food Turkey Diet Raw Frozen
- Steve’s Real Food Chicken Diet Raw Frozen
- Steve’s Real Food Turducken Diet Raw Frozen
Steve’s Real Food Beef Diet Raw Frozen was selected to represent the others in the line for this review.
Steve's Real Food Beef Diet
Raw Dog Food
Estimated Dry Matter Nutrient Content
Ingredients: Ground beef, beef hearts, broccoli, romain lettuce, carrots, apples, beef kidneys and livers, beef bone dust powder, flaxseed, safflower oil, sardine/anchovy oil, dried kelp, extract of chicory, sea salt, zinc proteinate, iron proteinate, copper proteinate, rosemary extract, natural flavors, ground chicken (including bone).
Fiber (estimated dry matter content) = 4.2%
Red items when present indicate controversial ingredients
| Estimated Nutrient Content | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Method | Protein | Fat | Carbs |
| Guaranteed Analysis | 10% | 6% | NA |
| Dry Matter Basis | 42% | 25% | 25% |
| Calorie Weighted Basis | 33% | 48% | 20% |
The first ingredient in this dog food is beef. Beef is defined as “the clean flesh derived from slaughtered cattle” and includes skeletal muscle or the muscle tissues of the tongue, diaphragm, heart or esophagus.1
Beef is naturally rich in all ten essential amino acids required by a dog to sustain life.
The second ingredient is beef heart. Although it doesn’t sound very appetizing to us humans, heart tissue is pure muscle… all meat. It’s naturally rich in quality protein, minerals and complex B vitamins, too.
The third ingredient is 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 fourth item is 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 fifth ingredient mentions carrots. Carrots are loaded with beta-carotene, minerals and dietary fiber.
The sixth ingredient is apples… a nutrient-rich, high-fiber fruit.
The seventh ingredient is beef kidneys and liver… both natural organ meats low in fat and rich in essential minerals.
The eighth ingredient is ground beef bone… an excellent source of natural calcium.
The ninth 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 tenth ingredient is safflower oil. Safflower oil is nutritionally similar to sunflower oil. Since these oils are high in omega-6 fatty acids and contain no omega-3′s, they’re considered less nutritious than canola or flaxseed oils.
However, in this product, this item appears to have been added to help maintain a proper balance of fat types.
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 three notable exceptions…
First, we note the inclusion of sardine/anchovy 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.
Next, chicory is naturally rich in a substance known as 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 Real Food Raw Frozen Diet
The Bottom Line
Judging by its ingredients alone, Steve’s Real Food Raw Frozen Diet 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 42%, a fat level of 25% and estimated carbohydrates of about 25%.
As a group, the brand features an average protein content of 42% and a mean fat level of 27%. Together, these figures suggest a carbohydrate content of 23% for the overall product line.
Average protein. Average fat. And near-average carbs when compared to a typical raw dog food.
Free of any plant-based protein boosters, this looks like the profile of a raw product containing a significant amount of meat.
Bottom line?
Steve’s Real Food Raw Frozen Diet is a meat-based product using a generous amount of beef or named poultry 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
04/11/2011 Original review
04/11/2011 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 ↩
The Dog Food Advisor publishes independent reviews to help pet owners make better choices when shopping for dog food.