Review: Balanced Blends Species Balanced™ Raw and Steamed Formulas

This post is sponsored by Balanced Blends*

We’ve been fans of Balanced Blends for quite some time, and we were delighted to see that they recently introduced their enhanced raw formulas as well as brand new steamed formulas, ideal for cat parents who want to feed a species-appropriate whole food diet, but aren’t quite comfortable with the idea of raw feeding.

About Balanced Blends

Based in Boulder, CO, Balanced Blends was founded by enthusiastic pet parents with a distinct curiosity and interest in pet nutrition. Initially, the three founders each prepared raw foods at home for their four-legged family members. They wanted to create a commercially available complete and balanced raw diet for cats and dogs that would help make raw feeding easy for pet parents’ busy schedules. Working with veterinarians and a PhD nutritionist, they created Balanced Blends.

Their Species Balanced™ Raw and Steamed recipes are based on a high-protein ancestral prey diet combined with the minimal amount of supplementation needed to exceed the accepted nutritional requirements for all life stages. They do not use species-inappropriate, cheap plant-based fillers for nutrition or cost reduction. This means no grains, grain-free alternatives, starches, carbs, chickpeas, or other legumes. Their formulas are 97.5% animal protein, organ meat, egg and fish oil. They do not contain bone. Their recipes do not contain veggies, fruit, seed oils, preservatives or coloring agents of any kind.

Balanced Blends uses test and hold independent pathogen testing for both their raw and steamed formulas.

Species Balanced™ Steamed Formulas

The Species Balanced™ Steamed recipes are carefully crafted to maximize the natural goodness of fresh ingredients. Pasteurization at 140°F kills pathogens without the need for preservatives, and preserves nutrients.

The raw and steamed formulas are available with chicken, turkey, and beef heart and offal.

Putting Species Balanced™ Raw and Steamed Turkey to the test

Since Allegra and Ruby only eat poultry, we asked for the raw and steamed turkey formulas.

Balanced Blends recommends gradually transitioning your cat to any new food. Transitioning will avoid any potential GI upsets. While I generally agree with this recommendation, I’ve found that transitioning usually doesn’t cause issues when going from one grain-free food to another, but when in doubt, it’s always a good idea. Transitioning has never been necessary with Allegra and Ruby, so I didn’t do it for the purpose of this review, either.

The first time I offered the raw formula, neither Allegra nor Ruby were all that thrilled with it. I realized that it was probably a texture issue: the formulas are much denser than the other raw foods they’re used to. Adding a couple of teaspoons of water to each meal solved that problem, and they happily munched away.

They weren’t quite as enthusiastic about the steamed formulas, which wasn’t surprising to me since they are raw fed kitties. Even though my two little product testers didn’t care for the steamed formulas, I think they’re an excellent choice for anyone who isn’t comfortable with the idea of feeding raw, but wants to feed a whole food diet.

For more information, visit BalancedBlends.com

*FTC Disclosure: I received these products for review at no charge. I also received a fee to feature these products. Receiving the free product and the fee did not influence my review. All reviews on The Conscious Cat will always reflect my honest and unbiased opinion. Or, as the case may be, Allegra and Ruby’s honest and unbiased opinion.

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