Lily's Kitchen Organic Bake review

Our scoring puts this one in the Average band, a step below the typical adult dry food in Good, but transparency comes back Outstanding. Two things get it there. The first is that the animal column never wavers: organic chicken is the only meat on the whole list. That is genuinely rare and genuinely useful. The second is that the label declares in detail, right down to 0.04% against the spinach. Protein and processing and nutritional balance each come back at Average. The grain share is what holds it down: rice, barley and oats between them take up more of the recipe than the chicken does.

Ingredients, as declared: Fresh Organic Chicken (40%), Organic Rice (16%), Organic Barley (16%), Organic Oats (9%), Organic Rice Protein, Organic Whole Peas (3.5%), Organic Whole Lentils (3.5%), Minerals, Organic Chicken Gravy, Organic Botanicals & Herbs* (1%), Prebiotics (Mannan Oligosaccharides 2g/kg, Fructooligosaccharides 0.1g/kg from Organic Inulin), Organic Carrots (0.1%), Organic Broccoli (0.04%), Organic Spinach (0.04%), Organic Parsnips (0.04%), Organic Honey. *Organic Botanicals & Herbs: Alfalfa, Turmeric, Cleavers, Goldenrod, Nettles, Seaweed, Dandelion Root, Celery Seeds, Milk Thistle, Burdock Root, Marigold Flowers, Rosehips.

Fresh organic chicken at 40% is the whole basis of the recipe. The only other animal entry is the organic chicken gravy that follows the minerals. True single-protein foods are unusual, and this one is a real help while you work out what your dog tolerates. Fresh chicken carries a lot of water, and baking drives it off, so the finished kibble holds less meat than 40% implies. The declared analysis still converts to 25.0% protein and 13.0% fat once moisture is taken out, both comfortable adult figures.

The grain side is organic rice at 16%, organic barley at 16% and organic oats at 9%. Cooked rice is among the gentlest carbohydrates a dog can be given, barley adds fibre along with selenium and copper, and oats bring more fibre with B vitamins and manganese. Barley does carry gluten, so check that first if gluten is being avoided. Carbohydrate is estimated at 51.7% of dry matter against 46.2% for the typical adult dry food, so the grains are pulling their weight in the bowl.

Organic rice protein deserves a straight word. This is a concentrated plant protein. For a dog, plant proteins fall a long way short of meat on digestibility and amino acid quality. Part of the figure on the panel is therefore coming from the grain, not from the bird. Organic whole peas at 3.5% and organic whole lentils at 3.5% sit behind it and are better company. At the modest levels used here they add fibre and a range of micronutrients.

The prebiotics are printed with doses attached, mannan oligosaccharides at 2g/kg and fructooligosaccharides at 0.1g/kg drawn from organic inulin. Between them they encourage the friendly bacteria that keep a large intestine in order, and few labels go so far as to put numbers against them.

The vegetable tail is small and honest about being small: organic carrots at 0.1%, with broccoli, spinach and parsnips at 0.04% each and a little organic honey to finish. The twelve-herb organic blend at 1% includes turmeric, the one entry there with a reputation beyond seasoning. None of this is where the recipe's strength lies, and the label prints percentages modest enough to admit as much.

£13.35 a kilo, sold in a 1kg bag.

As a rough guide, a 15kg adult dog in moderate condition needs around 231 grams a day, taking about 840 kcal a day as the benchmark (110 × bodyweight^0.75, the standard maintenance estimate). That comes to £3.09 a day. Let the waistline set the portion, not the scoop.