We all know when life gives us lemons, we make lemonade. But what do you do when your freezer doesn’t? (Freeze that is.)

I don’t know about you, but I make dog food.

Case in point, last week my freezer hit the wall and I discovered I had a “hot box” full of thawed and thawing stuff. Mostly, I discovered was meat.

Now to explain a little further, I’m from the “clean your plate” era and have a hard time throwing away anything edible.

I repurpose all leftovers AND sometimes give a second or third life to some.

I bring home so many restaurant leavings, that I’m thinking of getting my own personalized doggie bag.

Hate buffets, as everything looks good, so I dish up a little bit of a lot. Results? I overload my plate, and, with my mother’s voice ringing in my ears I clean it up and am miserable for the rest of the night.

Not good! Result? I avoid the treacherous depths of the “all-you-can-eat” spreads.

Now back to the freezer dilemma.

Since I discovered the problem soon enough, nothing had spoiled, and I was left with a plethora of potential health hazards and cringed at the thought of tossing it all.

Then I had a light bulb moment, since the meats couldn’t be refrozen and while not over the hill, did have the look and aroma of being on the edge. That’s when the dog food idea came in.

I dragged out my stew pot, added the meats, water and some chicken broth. Figuring the freezer and thawing must have taken a toll on taste, I thought to add a little something to the mix.

My bounty had yielded mostly chicken and pork but there was a smattering of beef and a couple of (sob!) lamb chops. I closed my eyes and filled the pot, then spent the day cooking. After scooping the meat from the pot, I added several cups rice and let it cook while I deboned and shredded the meat.

The results were a somewhat appetizing, in looks, mix of miscellaneous meats and rice. I packed it up in freezer bags and, since the mix resembled taco meat, labeled them “dog” then passed them onto my dog-parent friends (I have cats).

Actually, it was a simple solution and I didn’t have the guilt of throwing out the meats.

However, while lots of freezer items can be added, there are many foods that we should avoid giving our furry friends. I checked with Google and was surprised.

While we all know to avoid chocolate, coffee, alcohol, raw meats, eggs and chicken bones, it’s a surprising list. And, the one for cats is even longer … we won’t even go there.

For the most part, any fruit or veggies we humans eat are safe, there are some exceptions for pets. Avoid grapes, raisins, citrus, cherries, coconut, nuts of any kind, as well as potatoes and tomatoes.

Don’t give anything in the onion family to your dog. Sure, it would enhance the taste, but those flavorful bulbs contain toxins that can cause stomach and intestine problems.

Also, on the list of what not to give your canine companions is milk or dairy products. That one surprised me. Artificial sweeteners are on the list, too, as are candy, pickles and olives.

Yeast doughs are a no-no, too.

Who knew? I remember when the family dog was the garbage disposal, and it makes me wonder if today’s foods, packaged and prepared ones in particular, contain way too many preservatives and artificial additives to be safe for anyone?

If we can go back to basics for our pets, let’s consider doing so for ourselves and our family.

Longtime Valley resident Elaine Revelle can be reached at thewoodenspoon@juno.com.

Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.