Updated Review: Fresh Dog Food Delivered to Your Doorstep with NomNomNow

(2017 photo containing a discontinued recipe)

The evolution of dog food is an amazing thing: kibble, wet/canned, raw, cooked, dehydrated, freeze-dried, and everything in between. Now there is a new option for those who want to provide your dog a homemade cooked meal - and it is even preportioned and delivered to you fresh! The future is here with our review of the brand NomNomNow!

UPDATE: We originally posted this review on November 1st, 2017 and have the opportunity to take a look at NomNomNow once again in 2019. Keep scrolling to see how NomNomNow has improved and changed.

Started in 2015, the Oakland, California-based company NomNomNow was built on the belief that we should feed our pets better than the commercial options out there. After cooking food for their own dogs, Zach Phillips, Alex Jarrell, and Nate Phillips started cooking for their friends and family. Then, the group gained the company of Dr. Justin Shmalberg, a leading expert in dog nutrition and a board-certified veterinary nutritionist; with his help, they formulated each NomNomNow recipe to be nutritionally complete.

Now, what makes this company different is that their food is not made in bulk but actually made-to-order and cooked fresh every single week. The food is never frozen and is shipped to you freshly made and packed in dry ice.

UPDATE: NomNomNow now has not just one, but two wholly-owned facilities in the San Francisco Bay Area and in Nashville, TN where they oversee every step of the process.

So what makes NomNomNow different? Starting at their website, you put in your dog's details: Name, age, breed, any allergies, etc. Then you pick your recipe: Heartland Beef Mash, Tasty Turkey Fare, Chicken Chow-Wow, or Porkalicious Potluck.

(2017 photo with the discontinued shipping setup with freezer packs)

The food is delivered to your doorstep in an insulated box with individually packaged fresh meals inside. These meals are never frozen but do come with dry ice to keep them cold so they might become frozen on transport. NomNomNow ships their food to all of the 48 continental U.S. states (all of the U.S. excluding Hawaii and Alaska) on a weekly, biweekly, or monthly subscription - your choice! We received a month's worth of food for both Jada and Bailey. Let's just say I had to clear some room in the freezer!

UPDATE: NomNomNow now uses dry ice instead of freezer packs to keep their products cold during transport. Since the company has expanded, you can choose weekly, biweekly, and monthly deliveries no matter where you live in the continental United States compared to just monthly as it was previously.

Also, now in 2019, the insulated liner used for their boxes is made from 100% recyclable poly film with post-industrial/pre-consumer 100% recycled cotton. Everything from the box to the meal packs is reusable and recyclable! 

(2017 photo featuring discontinued packaging for transition meals)

(2019 photo featuring current packaging)

Each meal comes in their own little vacuum-sealed packet which is weighed to the gram to make sure your dog gets the right amount of food. Also, transition meals are available to mix with your current food, as completely switching foods can upset your pup's tummy. These meals are included in your first order unless you specify in the questionnaire that your dog was previously on a fresh food diet.

UPDATE: Back in 2017, NomNomNow personally marked each packet with a "J" or a "B" for Jada and Bailey. Now you can see whose is who by looking at the net weight at the bottom and corresponding it with a label in the box with your dogs' information. The new packaging has the ingredients and guaranteed analysis on each packet and opens with a flap in the corner.

(2017 photo featuring discontinued packaging)

When I met NomNomNow at Blogpaws, I mentioned how Bailey is a very particular eater. "NomNomNow is not afraid of picky eaters!" I was told. Since the food came fresh instead of frozen, we were able to dig in right away. Let's take a closer look!

UPDATE: NomNomNow used to also offer an Egg & Veggie Medley recipe. Because of low interest and increasing costs of specialty ingredients, the company decided to drop this option.

NomNomNow's Egg & Veggie Medley

(2017 photo containing a discontinued recipe)

This is the Egg & Veggie Medley that Jada munched on happily for a month. This recipe has many healthy ingredients: Eggs, Firm Tofu, Teff (the edible seeds from Teff Grass), Carrots, Green Beans, Dried Mulberries, Bamboo Shoots, Chia Seeds, Coconut Oil, and the NomNomNutrient Mix which is a combination of various nutrients. 

(2017 photo containing a discontinued recipe)

Jada is not the definition of a picky dog, but she does have varying levels of excitement for food. NomNomNow gets her jumping, barking, and whining for her breakfast and dinner! I chose the tofu recipe because it is one protein source she hasn't tried and I thought maybe with her allergies she could benefit. We didn't have spectacular results of an itch-free Jada; however, she is an advanced case. 

"Excuse me! Do not block my noms!"
(2017 photo containing a discontinued recipe)

I have to admit, these dishes are very pretty. Just look how hearty they look! One thing we would have to change if we got another order of NomNomNow is the portion size for Jada. It is perfect for her size, but she puts on weight very easily and has to eat as much as Bailey who is 4 pounds lighter. This is actually an easy fix since NomNomNow is customer friendly. They actually called me because I forgot to put Jada's age in her bio. Talk about customer service!

UPDATE: Jada still puts on weight easily. With NomNomNow you can choose if you feed your dog once a day or twice a day and portion sizes are changed accordingly.

NomNomNow's Heartland Beef Mash

Bailey was able to try the Heartland Beef Mash which includes down-to-earth ingredients: Ground Beef, Potatoes, Carrots, Peas, Eggs, the NomNomNutrient Mix, and Fish Oil. I decided on a traditional recipe because she is the type of dog who loves human food (thanks, Pop Pop). This definitely fits the bill!

As you can see, Bailey loves NomNomNow! She didn't stick her nose up the whole time she ate her Heartland Beef Mash, which is amazing. She seems to get bored of food really easily, but every day she was super excited!

UPDATE: I wasn't able to try Bailey on this food long term since we are ruling out medical issues, but she did try some and she ate with much gusto! Picky eater approved definitely stays true.

NomNomNow's Chicken Chow Chow

The chicken recipe contains diced chicken, sweet potatoes, yellow squash, spinach, fish oil, and NomNomNutrient Mix.

NomNomNow's Tasty Turkey Fare

The turkey recipe contains ground turkey, eggs, brown rice, carrots, spinach, fish oil, and NomNomNutrient Mix.

NomNomNow's Porkalicious Potluck

The pork recipe contains pork, potatoes, green beans, yellow squash, mushrooms, kale, fish oil, and NomNomNutrient Mix.

Both girls really enjoyed all the recipes. I highly recommend ordering a variety pack to see which your pup likes the most before ordering the first time.

"Must. Get. Every. Morsel."

I just love that each meal is fresh and cooked to order; the recipes have no additives or artificial ingredients and are human-grade. NomNomNow only uses U.S.A. ingredients in their FDA-compliant fresh dog food kitchens in the San Francisco Bay area and Nashville, Tennessee! 

The packets are genius. Once we got our box, I took the transition meals and put some of them in the fridge, then the rest were placed in the freezer. They are easy to relatively easy to open and it takes about a day and a half to defrost (according to our fridge); so as you take food out of the fridge make sure you replenish it! NomNomNow can keep up to 6 months in the freezer, so there isn't any rush if you need to transition longer or if you rotate your dog's meals.

Price-wise, it can get expensive. It all depends on the recipe you select and your dog's age, weight, and activity level. For an average 32-pound dog, you could pay around $38 per week. For both Jada and Bailey every 4 weeks with 23 meals per delivery (23 lbs of food) it is $31.72 a week. 

(2017 photo containing a discontinued recipe)

In a Nutshell:

• NomNomNow was founded in California in 2015 and ships individually prepackaged fresh-cooked dog food to your doorstep
• There are many different recipes you can choose from and they will calculate how much your pet needs depending on your dog's information
• The food is human-grade and made in an FDA-registered kitchen with all U.S.-based ingredients
• You can order NomNomNow online at their website. 

I think NomNomNow is a fantastic company. This is a wonderful idea - combining better nutrition for our pets as well as making it easy by having it delivered fresh! My girls loved the food, especially Bailey! I am pretty sure she thought she was getting our leftovers or something. So, this is picky dog approved! We really like NomNomNow and would definitely feed again!

Gotta love a company with a sense of humor! (Found on the underside of our box)

What do you think? Would you feed your dog NomNomNow?

Let us know in the comments!

Learn more about NomNomNow and get 50% off and free shipping on your first order!