The Honest Kitchen: Keen

I have been waiting a while to do this to give the food a long enough trial period.  I believe that a month and a half is sufficient time to write up a review.

Also ordered some samples and some tea.

Back in November I ordered myself a 4 pound box of The Honest Kitchen Keen and I have been testing it out since it's arrival.  Conker was getting roughly half Keen and half home-made food during the first period then exclusively Keen during the second.

Here's the nutritional info.

Ingredients:
Dehydrated cage-free turkey, organic oats, potatoes, organic flax, carrots, cabbage, organic alfalfa, organic kelp, apples, honey, garlic, rosemary, tricalcium phosphate, choline chloride, zinc amino acid chelate, vitamin D3 supplement, vitamin E supplement, potassium iodide, potassium chloride, iron amino acid chelate, copper amino acid chelate.

Guaranteed Analysis:
Protein, 21% min
Fat, 15.5% min
Fiber, 5.0% max
Moisture, 8.64% max
Calcium, 1.50% min 1.80% max
Phosphorus, .78% min .99% max
Sodium, 0.17% min 0.24% max
Magnesium 0.15% min 0.17% max
Calories per cup 470,  Calories per kilogram 4140 

Ingredients are good, but it appears to be a bit veggie heavy and low in protien. 

Keen with additions.

I frequently added in things like meats, quinoa, egg or other random things to the food.  One regular item was a chicken heart which I use to hide salmon oil capsules in.

Keen and pork.

Even though already liked food items were present, Conker loved the Keen and licked up every last bit.
During the month of December Conker ate Keen almost exclusively.  He did have a couple other Honest Kitchen varieties and some turkey on a couple days but that was basically it.

I am very fond of how healthy and in shape Conker is on his home-made diet.  One of the things I don't like about most commercial diets is the "effects" from it; namely smell, tartar buildup and grease. While on Keen I did not notice much of a change.

Conker did not smell.
Conker did not develop grease.
Conker did however get some tartar, and that is completely expected due to the nature of this food.  His breath also had a strange funk to it if he didn't have anything to chew on for a while.
Conker continued to have good energy, predictable poop and only refused to eat once.
Conker never showed any signs of intolerances or allergies while on Keen.
However, Conker's fur became a tad brittle and dull while on Keen.

I am very pleased with this food and how it compares to Conker's normal diet. The small number of ____ are easily remedied with a few extra ingredients like fresh meat and fish oil.

Reused image of Keen, no additions.

My main motivation for buying Keen was to find a good food for hiking/camping and travel.  The Honest Kitchen is a very good travel food, especially for someone who feeds raw or home-made foods since no refrigeration is required.

My overall opinion of Keen is good. Conker loves it, he does good on it (short term, I cannot say about long term), it's affordable compared to a home-made or raw diet and is easy to prepare and take with you on trips. 

A 4 pound box of Keen costs $28, 10 pounds $55 direct from The Honest Kitchen.  They do charge shipping ($7.50 for orders of $25-$49.99, $10 for orders of $50-$100.99) but they often have coupons and deals if you sign up for their e-mail newsletter or visit them on Facebook or Twitter.


Note: Keen contains grains.  People who don't feed grains may wish to try one of The Honest Kitchen's other varieties like Force, Embark, Love or Zeal.