Recipes for your Parrot (Birdie Bread, etc)

Banana Treats

 1-1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas
 1 teaspoon cinnamon
 3 cups oats
 1/2 cup chopped peanuts (or almonds or walnuts)
 1/4 cup applesauce
Combine all ingredients and stir thoroughly. Drop by small spoonfuls onto an ungreased baking sheet. Press flat with a fork. Bake at 350F degrees for 15 minutes. Cool on a wire rack. Store in airtight containers. Makes about 20.


Beans / Grain / Pasta Mix

 2 cups unpopped popcorn
 ½ cup red beans
 ½ cup white beans
 ½ cup garbanzo beans
 ½ cup dried peas
 ½ cup brown rice
 ½ cup pasta of your birds choice
 1 cup diced fresh carrot
Soak popcorn two days, and beans and peas for one day, changing the soak water every eight hours.
Cook popcorn for 1 hr in lots of water in a big covered pot
Add beans and peas, cook 15 min
Add rice, cook 10 min. Add pasta & carrots, cook five min.
Drain, cool, bag & freeze.
Serves a crowd for a month
Stays semi-hard. Our birds don’t like mushy food, like canned beans. You can dress it up with other veggies, add peppers to the pot or change the pasta types.













Beans & Rice

 25 oz 13 or 15 bean mix
 1 16 oz bag long grain natural brown rice
 1 16oz bag long grain natural brown rice
 1 2lb package frozen mixed vegetables (corn, carrots, green beans, peas)
Wash & rinse beans. Soak overnight, rinse, cover with water & simmer uncovered for 1 ½ hrs. WATCH closely since it can boil over easily. Add vegetables to beans at end of cooking time. Simmer 5 min. and drain through a colander.
While beans are cooking, cook the rice in a separate pan in water until absorbed. Do not cook with the beans since it turns into a mush, which the birds will not eat.
Combine beans/vegetables with rice & mix. Cool. Put 2 cups mix into 1 qt freezer bags. Flatten, remove as much air as possible and place in freezer.
To serve, break off an appropriately sized chunk. Other frozen vegetables can be added. Place in water & heat in microwave until warm, not hot. When thawed, drain off water. Serve to your lucky bird(s).




Birdie Cookies

 1 cup cockatiel seed mix*
 1 cup chopped veggies*
 2 tbsp honey, molasses, peanut butter or baby food
 One box Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
Mix together in a bowl with enough fruit juice until the batter is very thick (and will drop by teaspoonfuls). Stir in various other "goodies" as desired for variety (for example, cranberries, dried fruit, almonds, walnuts, Grape Nuts, Cheerios, Raisin Bran, Pellets, etc.).
* Note: 2 cups of a good quality seed mix like Hagen's Tropican, Volkman's, etc. which contains dried fruit, vegetables can be used, if desired, for ease of preparation.
Place a piece of waxed paper (wax side up) in a glass baking dish, or on a paper plate. Use approx. one teaspoonful of batter per "cookie" or "biscuit." Microwave 30-40 seconds on high. Serve warm, or let cool completely then freeze.


Birdie French Toast

 Several pieces of day-old multigrain whole wheat bread
 4 eggs (no shells)
 Two tablespoons plain or vanilla yogurt
Beat the eggs with the yogurt, then dip the bread in the mixture coating
well. Cook on skillet as you would regular French toast. These pieces can
be used immediately, or can be refrigerated or frozen for later use.
Take warm toast (either fresh cooked or toasted) and spread with a thin layer
of chunky peanut butter and sprinkle with raisins and/or chunks of walnut.
Cut into small pieces and serve warm.


Birdie Bread

 1 cup whole wheat flour
 1 cup yellow corn meal
 2 tsp baking power
 3/4 tsp salt
 ½ tsp baking soda
 1 Tbs sugar
 2 eggs with shells
 3 Tbs oil (your preference)
 1 cup buttermilk
Grease an 8" pan with Pam. Mix dry ingredients. Wash eggs then pulverize in blender. Mix in oil and buttermilk, then mix in dry ingredients. Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool and cut into small squares and freeze.

Variations: Fruits, veggies, peppers, nuts, etc. can be added to the mixture if you like.


Bird Bread For Eclectus

This recipe makes a "heavy" bread, not as light as you would prepare for yourself, but the birds love it! Notice that it contains very little baking powder (some baking powders contain aluminum), no added sugar or other sweeteners, and no added salt. In a large bowl combine the following ingredients:
 2 cups yellow corn meal
 2 cups yellow corn meal
 1 cup whole wheat flour
 l cup currants or raisins
 1 cup nuts (pine, almond, walnut, pecan)
 1 cup shelled sunflower seeds
 1 twenty-nine ounce can of solid pack pumpkin
 1 thirty-two ounce bottle of papaya nectar
 1/2 cup of sunflower or safflower oil
 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
 1 tablespoon baking powder


Add enough water or juice to make a pourable batter. Use two large well-greased baking pans. Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes or until done. Cool and slice. Can be frozen.




An Easier version (but not as nutritious as others) Birdie Bread Recipe

 2 boxes of Jiffy Corn Bread/Muffin Mix
 2 eggs (crush the shells in blender/food processor
 Apple or carrot juice, as called for in recipe
 Large jar of baby food sweet potatoes or squash
 Large jar of baby food green vegetables with rice
 Fresh broccoli put thru blender/food processor
 Fresh carrots put thru blender/food processor
 Handful of fresh walnuts & almonds put through blender/food processor
Mix all ingredients well and place in greased baking dish. Bake according to package instructions (a little longer with added ingredients). Cool, cut into squares & freeze. Bread should be served a bit warm as your birdies will love it much more that way!