BIRDS N WAYS RECIPE EXCHANGE Soft Foods, Veggies, Grains, Sprouts Recipes Text Version - Downloaded from the Internet on August 14, 2000 Copyright 2000 Birds n Ways To Use: 1) Save this page to your PC Disk using 'File, Save As' and 2) Print Out Recipes from a Word Processing Program These recipes have been contributed by our visitors. We assume no responsibility for them. Please inform us if you experience any problems. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- 15 Bean Soup Posted by: Kathy Johnson kjohnson@ddc.com March 8, 1997 1 package 15 bean soup 1 bag frozen corn 1 cup raw brown rice Soak beans overnight. Add rice, cook for 1 hour or until done. Add corn 50 minutes after you started beans cooking. Drain water and serve. Store excess in leakproof containers. May be frozen in 3 day serving sized containers, and thawed before use. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Baileys Birdie Salad Posted by: Erica - mam7@wave.home.com - October 13, 1998 1 apple cut up into pieces of different sizes 1 jalepeno pepper (light green) cut into strips 1 carrot peeled and cut into different sized pieces Assorted sizes of broccoli and cauliflower A few strawberries cut into half Wash the foods and cut them up and put in a bowl. Then offer your bird all different shapes, sizes and colours. Of course this is only a small variety of foods you can use but, it is a bit of everything!! Bananas also work well sliced up into it! Nuts may work too!! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Bean, Rice and Veggie Mix Posted by: Karen - zachariasenk@ripon.edu - December 9, 1999 This mix is basically just a mixture of various grains, beans, and vegetables. It may seem complicated, but it really isn't. You can make up a big batch and freeze it into serving-sized pieces. It is very nutritious. The squash seems to be the favorite part and also probably the most nutritious. 2/3 cup mixed dried beans (the kind sold for bean soup) 1/4 cup birdseed 1/4 cup cracked corn 1 very large acorn or butternut squash (about 3 cups cubed) 1 small apple 2/3 cup cooked pasta 2-3 large leaves collard greens 1/8 cup almonds 1/8 cup alfalfa pellets 1/3 cup grapes, peaches, or other fruit 1 or 2 tbss chili powder 1 tsp cinnamon 3 tbs parmesan cheese 1 packed cup cooked rice 1 package frozen green peas fruit juice Soak the beans, cracked corn, and seed in a bowl of water overnight. Then boil the beans, seed, and corn for 20 minutes or so, until cooked. If you're using the microwave, make sure to use plenty of water. They absorb a lot while cooking. Remove the core and seeds of the apple and cut into a few pieces. Cut the squash into cubes. Squash seeds do not need to be removed, they are very nutritious. Boil the apple and squash for 10 to 15 minutes or until very soft and mushy. The squash skins can be pulled off and discarded. Combine beans, corn, seeds, squash pulp and seeds, apple, pasta, collard greens, almonds, alfalfa pellets, fruit, chili powder, cinnamon, and cheese in a food processor. This may overfill the food processor and might need to be done half at a time. Process until ingredients are well-mixed and chopped up a little. Stir in cooked rice and thawed peas. Add fruit juice to achieve a nice consistancy. Freeze into serving sized pieces. Makes about 60 ice-cube sized pieces (a good meal size for cockatiels, quakers, small conures, etc). ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Beans And Rice Posted by: Kathy Johnson kjohnson@ddc.com March 8, 1997 1/4 cup pinto beans 1/4 cup kidney beans 1/4 cup split peas 1/4 cup lentils 1/4 cup navy beans 1/4 cup garbanzo beans 1 cup cooked brown rice 1 cup cooked white rice 1 carrot (chopped) 1 cup frozen corn (thawed) Soak beans overnight. Drain, rinse, refill pan with water. Add carrots and cook with beans for 1 hour. Add corn and rice and cook till warm. Cool and serve. Store excess in leak proof containers. May be frozen in 3 day serving sized containers and thawed before use. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Birdie Goulash Posted by: Skye Weber - skye4birds@SKYEWEB.COM - June 8, 1997 I start with a bag of frozen vegetables. While they are thawing, I start cooking beans (different types on different days), biggest first, and adding the smaller ones that need to be cooked less. When they're done, I cook the pasta (and/or rice -- brown and/or white -- whatever I have) and add it to the mix of veggies and beans. I'm feeding about 30 birds each day, so I make quite a bit. It's a *very* flexible recipe! When I had less birds, I used an ice tray and put the individual servings in each "cube" so they could be thawed and used as needed. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Birdie Veggie Pita Posted by: Julette Plummer - Julespa@aol.com - January 21, 1999 corn or flour tortillas can of corn eggs white or wild rice romaine lettuce and any other veggie Cook egg (scrambled style), rice and corn. Wrap tortilla in a cloth towel and microwave for 15-20 seconds. Lay tortilla on flat surface and put egg in the middle with corn, pieces of lettuce, rice and veggies. Fold one end over and then the sides to form an envelope. Place on plastic plate and give to birds. It is best to do this right before you clean their cage or at their play perch because they will make a mess with it. My Green-cheek conures love it! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Casper's Roni and Veggies Posted by: gina maldonado - babycasper@webtv.net - July 14, 1998 Cook any macaroni shapes - 3 small (dixie bathroom size) cups. While cooking, add 2 "cups" frozen mixed vegatables. Cook until done, drain, add 1/4 tsp margarine and a few shakes of parmesan cheese. Let cool. They now have a tasty meal. All my tiels and umbrella cockatoo look forward to this. I change the macaroni shapes often. Refrigerate leftovers for next meal. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cheesy Pasta Surprise Posted by: Lorien Carrillo - carrillo@community.net - June 16, 1999 1 lb bag of small elbow macaroni 1/2-1 lb cheddar (or your preference) cheese, shredded or small cubes 1/4-1/2 cup milk 1 can (or small bag frozen) whole kernel corn, drained 1 can (or small bag frozen) peas, drained 2 cans tuna, drained Boil macaroni until desired doneness. Drain and place back into pot. Turn burner to medium-low heat and add cheese, stirring and folding gently until almost melted. Add milk as needed during melting process for creamier texture and easier melting. Add veggies and tuna and continue mixing until all ingredients are heated and cheese is fully melted. Take a small birdie sized portion for each of your birds and place it in their bowls and let it cool before serving. They'll love it! And you don't have to make something else for you and the kids. Now if yu want, you can mix in sprouts, pellets, or whatever you'd like to add. I don't...they love it just like this. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Cous-cous with Veggies Posted by: Jessica - kusine@yahoo.com - May 24, 1999 1 2/3 cup water 1 cup cous-cous 1 medium tomato (or a handful of cherry/grape tomatoes) 1 small onion (or 4-5 spring onions, if you prefer) 1/2 green pepper 1/2 sweet red pepper 1/2 cup corn (frozen or fresh off the cob) 2 cloves garlic 1/2 tsp salt 1 1/2 tsp pepper 1 1/2 tsp basil, oregano, or Italian seasoning 1 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper First, boil water. When water boils, stir in cous-cous, cover, and *remove from heat*. Allow to sit for five minutes. While cous-cous soaks, dice tomatoes, onion, and peppers. Combine with remaining ingredients and saute lightly (adding a little butter, margarine, or olive oil, if neccessary). When cous-cous has soaked up all water, combine with veggies, stir, and serve to your feathered friend according to size. Freezes well and may be served hot or cold. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Donna's Birdy Brunch Posted by: donna - dbartl3260@aol.com - February 15, 1998 2-3 eggs. 1 cup frozen veggies Whole bag of minute rice 1 1\2 cups of noodles. Boil eggs boil for at least 30 min. Boil rice as instructed on the box. Let the noodles boil till soft. Then cut up the eggs, and put them in a bowl with the rice, and noodles. Then add veggies and stir. Serve to birds and freeze remainder. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Emilie's Birdie Soup Posted by: Emilie Flack - emwtbonnie@yahoo.com - June 10, 1999 1/4 cup fresh/washed veggies (your choice-finely chopped) 1-3 hard boiled egg(s) finely chopped 1 jar baby food (veggies-your choice) 1/4 ground-up mineral block Any type parakeet seed (your bird's fave) Take a microwave-safe bowl and put the fresh veggies in. Do the same with the egg. Carefully dump the ground-up mineral block in. Heat the baby food until warm and put it in. Put in microwave for 1 min. or until warm. Let cool until lukewarm, then carefully dump the seed in. Serve (NOT TOO HOT!). All budgies/ smaller birds should love it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Grains, Pasta, & Veggie Mix Posted by: Bobbi Brinker - BobbiB@ParrotTalk.com March 11, 1997 1 cup several different grains. Cook separately so there will be many flavors. 1 cup cooked pasta (orzo) - roughly chop several hot peppers into cooking water. 1 cup brown rice - cook with 1 tbs of cinnamon. 1-2 chopped onions - boil a couple of minutes - drain Add several of the following: broccoli - steamed lightly and chopped small bag of frozen sweet peas - don't thaw small bag frozen sweet corn - don't thaw toasted sunflower kernels chopped nuts dried cranberries, blueberries, cherries mango, papaya or other dried fruits chopped variety of beans cooked separately, seasoned with a head of garlic chopped or a handful of green or red hot peppers roughly chopped Use about 2 tbss for bigger birds, and about 1 tbs for conures or cockatiels. Package into baggies in 3 day portions, about the maximum time it is safe in the refirigerator. Remaining baggies can be stored frozen for an indefinite period. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- John Sielke's Veggie & Egg Mix Posted by: John Sielke - jsielke@algorithms.com - May 8, 1996 1 large egg 2 tbs low fat ricotta cheese 1/2-1 cup bean mix (cooked up previously, mix of beans, rice, pasta, etc) 1/2 cup of some or all of the following: diced fresh zucchini, diced yellow squash, diced turnip, diced parsnip, cooked sweet potato, chopped spinach, fresh corn, chopped green pepper. also, in season, a whole jalapeno pepper, chopped. if lacking fresh veggies, use frozen corn, lima beans, peas, etc. if we have leftover pasta, that goes in, too, and finally one large clove garlic, chopped. Mix in a bowl, then spread on a large plate, covered, and microwaved for 7-8 minutes (8 if using frozen veggies). The egg holds it together. Then I usually grate a LITTLE Monterey Jack Cheese on it, and serve to the guys (Above makes 9 servings, Macaws get 2 tbl each, smaller guys get 1 to 1 1/2 tbs) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Mash, It's What's For Breakfast Posted by: Corinna Krueger - birdcage@greenheart.com - April 17, 1997 Pumpkin seeds, barley, rolled oats, sesame seeds, millet, tomatoes, apples, bananas, grapes, lemons, oranges, carrots (lightly steamed & raw), fresh corn on the cob (lightly steamed) & spinach. Put fruits into the food processor except the grapes. Put seeds & oats into a bowl then add the chopped fruit and whole grapes. Cut steamed carrots into chips & cut corn into 4 to 5 pieces. Put daily rations into zip-lock bags, add carrot chips & one corn block per bird to bag. Put into freezer. Defrost the night before in the fridge. Remove around 2pm or earlier if its warm/hot out. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Millet Sprouts Posted by: Kerri - lonnaward@msn.com - October 3, 1998 Take a millet spray and put it in a ziplock bag lined with paper towels (about 2). Spray water on the millet spray in the bag. Keep spraying until the millet is completely drenched (you can also run it under your tap, but this way is better). Close it up and place it in a dark place with no sunlight. Check on it every day and give it a few sprays a day (only a few) until you see it sprouting. Once it starts to sprout, take it out of the dark spot and take out the paper towels. Keep the millet in the bag and place it in the sun. Add only a few squirts of water and let it be. When kept in the sun, chlorophyll will form and in turn will make it more healthy. Once the sprouts turn green, give it to the birds! They'll love it! Have fun! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Multi-Salad Posted by: Sacha - rostam@cpol.com - December 21, 1997 spinach pasta (spaghetti or macaroni type) rice coriander Any and every kind of fruit your bird likes dill frozen corn (boil 2 minutes) Frozen Peas (boil 2 minutes) mushrooms celery carrots broccoli beans (soaked over night) anything else that seems healthy for your birds! Slice all the above to thin, small pieces (you can also use a food processor to cut these pieces). Then boil the rice, pasta, beans, peas and corn for a few minutes. Let these cool and add to the salad. My birds eat all of it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Peeper Salad Posted by: Alex - Shagadalex@aol.com - April 26, 2000 This is a recipe my parakeets die for! You need fresh lettuce (romaine or leaf), fresh spinach (uncooked), 1 finely chopped apple and 1 finely chopped boiled egg. Combine these ingredients in a small treat dish (shred the lettuce and spinach) and mix well. Serve as treats is small quantities. Birds love it and it's very nutritious! Have fun!!!! :) ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Petrie's Vegetable Salsa Posted by: Christine - aiko76@prodigy.net - April 25, 2000 1/4 cup each finely chopped Green, Red, and Yellow peppers 2 tbs finely chopped Jalapeno pepper 2 tbs finely chopped tomato 1 tbs finely grated carrot 2 tbs millet seed 3/4 tsp apple cider vinegar Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Stir until well mixed. Serve cold or warm. Ingredients may be added or subtracted depending on individual preferences. Store in air-tight container in refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Enjoy! ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Rice and Egg Posted by: Jerry - iron jerry@aol.com - February 11, 1999 1 cup of rice in 2 cups of water. Microwave twice on high for 5 min. Water should be pretty much gone then. Add 2 eggs and mix. Rice should have yellow tinge. Microwave 2 min. 2 times. Might have to add a little water as you don't want rice sticky. Let cool to room temp. I give as eggfood about 3 times a week but I have 100 birds. You could freeze in plastic bags. I also add corn or mixed vegtables and sometimes juice along with the water. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Soft Food Mix For Eclectus Posted by: Carolyn Swicegood - Carolyn@LandofVos.com - June 10, 1997 This is a nutritious mixture of foods relished by all Eclectus from babies to adults, including breeders who feed it to their babies in the nest. Soak overnight half a large stockpot of dry shelled whole corn or popcorn. Bring to a boil and cook over low heat the next morning for several hours, or until the corn is plumped and soft in the middle. Water will need to be added several times as it is absorbed by the corn, which more than doubles in volume. Also, soak overnight your choice of dried beans. Eclectus seem to favor garbanzo beans (chick peas) and you can also use kidney, cranberry, pinto, lima, northern, chili, black beans or others. Cook the next morning for an hour or less or until "al dente". Cook one or two boxes of Uncle Ben's Original Brown Rice or a large bag of brown rice for approximately thirty minutes. Optional foods to be cooked with the brown rice are raisins, currants, shelled sunflower seeds, shelled pumpkin seeds, wheatberries, barley, whole oats, pasta, nuts, and cinnamon, cloves or ginger for added flavor. For Eclectus, I usually include chopped sweet potato for the Vitamin A content. Combine all ingredients in a large container or clean sink. Mix and allow to cool. Seal in plastic bags in daily portions, press flat for faster thawing, and freeze. To serve, thaw and bring to a boil. Allow to cool before feeding. For faster cooling, add frozen garden peas or individually frozen fruits, such as cranberries, which act as mini-ice cubes. The heat from the mix will thaw the peas or fruits. Do not leave this mixture in the feeding dishes long enough to spoil. This mixture is very similar to the popular prepared ones, but is much less expensive and can be tailored to the individual taste preferences of your birds. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Soft Foods Recipe Posted by: Maggie Meyers - PurplWings@AOL.COM - May 28, 1997 This is what I use for my fids. They get it every morning for breakfast. I sometimes add things such as other left over veggies, brown rice, apple, or whatever, and they also get other snacks during the day. 10 lbs frozen mixed veggies 5 lbs extra frozen whole kernel corn about 10 lbs various kinds of frozen beans such as lima, black eyed peas, etc 5 lbs dry macaroni, cooked al dente, and drained and rinsed with cold water I put it all in a big, strong, new garbage bag, and mix it by kind of kneading the outside till it is all mixed together. By that time the frozen veggies have pretty much frozen the macaroni too. Then we bag it in quart sized baggies and freeze it. One bag for the 3 Suns and Ghandi (CAG) lasts abut 2 days. We thaw it and keep it in the fridge. Do NOT put in the microwave due to hot spots of course. When it's time to feed, we put a daily serving in a small collander with a fine mesh and run it under hot tap water to take the chill off, then serve. They've had this since they started weaning and love it. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Somba's Supreme Rice Dish Posted by: Tami King - stormy0@flash.net - October 4, 1999 2 cups brown minute rice (pre-cooked) 2 cups thawed frozen peas & carrots 2 eggs scrambled 1/2 cup celery chopped 1 1/2 cups of chopped leeks 1 cup chick peas (garbanzos) 1/2 cup pinneapple chunks 3 tbs red palm oil We precook all ingredients and then blend together. Garbanzo beans must be soaked over night, and then cooked until firm yet tender. Add spices of your choice. We chose cinnamon. Our Amazons love this dish. Give it a try. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Stormy's Spaghetti Posted by: Tammy King - stormy0@flash.net - September 27, 1999 1 (8oz) bag lemon/basil pasta 1 (8oz) bag red bell pepper pasta chopped cilantro 1 cup chopped zuchini 1 cup sliced carrots 1/2 cup chopped spinach fresh ripe tomatoes 8 (med size) Chopped 2 fresh jalepenos chopped 1/4 tsp garlic Powder Cook pasta until firm firm but tender, remove pasta , put into colander, run under cool water. Put above ingredients into the pot of water used for pasta. Cook for aprox. 2min, drain. Add all ingredients together. Serve immediately. Freeze any unused portions in small freezer bags. Our african grey Stormy relishes this special dish. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Sweet Potato Soup Posted by: Michelle - March 4, 1999 This is good for your bird. Feed to breeders, older birds you're trying to "win over" (reminds them of being fed and nurtured as chicks), pet birds and yourself. 1/2 can vegetable broth (add water to cover potatoes - this isn't a brothy soup) approx. 1 cup sweet potato 1/4-1/2 firm tofu 1"x1" piece ginger minced 1/4 cup corn 1/4 cup whole wheat pasta cinnamon, clove,allspice to taste (I normally use more ginger) Cook till sweet potatoes are somewhat mushy. Your bird will LOVE THIS. My Zoe loves this and she's rather picky. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Ultimate Birdie Surprize! Posted by: Tami King - stormy0@flash.net - September 26, 1999 1 (32 oz) bag 15 bean mix 1 cup Black Beans 1 cup Anasazi Beans 4 cups long grain brown rice (converted perferred) 1 cup couscous 2 cups Rottelle Vegetable pasta 2 cups Basil/ lemon pepper pasta spirals 2 cups jalepeno redpepper pasta (ziti type, or whatever is available) 2 large jars of gerber Vegetable Beef baby food 1 tbs Spirulina 3 tbs Palm oil Soak beans overnight. At least twelve hours. Drain and rinse well. Put into a large stock pot and cook 45-60 min or until al a dente. Rinse lightly with cold water to stop cooking process. Set aside. Cook coucous in 1 1/2 cups of water for 5 minutes. Fluff with fork. Stir into the bean mixture. Cook Pasta until Al dente, drain into strainer, run under cold water, shake off excess water , add to bean mixture. Cook rice until firm, add to mixture. Stir in both jars of baby food, the palm oil, spirulina. Let cool and put into 1/2 cup serving size bags. Freeze immediately. Our birds go wild for this. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Warm Veggie Food Posted by: Jean - aquarius@bellsouth.net - February 15, 1999 This recipe is enjoyed by my Cockatoo, Quaker and Cockatiels.....warm of course. 1/2 cup split peas 1/2 cup lentils 1/2 cup long grain brown rice 1 pkg. (16 oz) shoepeg corn Boil these ingredients covered for 20 minutes, drain thoroughly. Add 1/2 to 3/4 cups couscous, stir in and let sit covered 20 minutes. This will cook the couscous. This is a crumbly mixture and good for the birds who love their warm meal. I double it when I make it, then freeze it into portions of enough for about 3 or 4 days of feeding. I warm it in the microwave, one portion at a time. It really helps get a baby bird over the weaning process, they still have one warm meal a day. ;-)