Birdie Recipes

[Jodi]

Here we go...let's list all of our fids favorite recipes here!

Come on guys!

[Deja]

Deja's Birdie Muffins

2 boxes Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix
3T. baking powder
1tsp. Spirulina*
2 eggs and shells (puree in blender)
4 Jars of Baby Food (carrots, sweet pottoes, applesauce or other fruit, veal, chicken, turkey)**
3/4 cups of Peanut Butter
2 cups of Baby Cereal (make sure it's low iron variety)***
1 cup of raisins
2 or 3 very ripe mashed bananas
1 large package frozen mixed vegetables- defrosted

*Spirulina can be found in any healthfood store. I found capsules and it's a bit of a pain, but I empty the capsules and estimate a tsp. You can skip this if you can't find it.


**I usually use applesauce, sweet potatoes, veal and pears or mixed fruit. I always keep a few extra jars of the fruit on hand because the recipe is very thick and adding a jar toward the end helps with getting it all mixed and ready to use)

***you can also use oatmeal

Warning! The batter will be thick and hard to mix!!!

Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Mix with a wooden spoon until everything is evenly distributed and mixture is combined. It will be a very thick heavy texture.

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees

Spray mini-muffin tins with non-stick cooking spray. Use a melon-baller or tablespoon to spoon mixture and drop into muffin tins.
Bake 15-20 minutes until golden brownish.
Often you can't tell by the color - pop one out and test it to see that the middle is cooked.

Try one pan - then adjust your timing accordingly. I've found that different ovens give different results as far as timing.
Once you have your first pan done and get the hang of the timing you can fill as many mini-muffin tins as you have and do them all at once until the batter is all used up.

Let muffins cool on cooling racks. They can be put in plastic freezer bags and frozen. Once frozen you can take out as many as you need, microwave them until they are warm (watch for hot spots!) and serve warm.

Be creative with this recipe and add things your birds might like-
chopped nuts
shredded low fat cheese
small bits of dried fruit
toasted sunflower seeds (I use unsalted)

This is really a fool-proof recipe! As long as you end up with a thick heavy batter you'll get muffins!

[Deja]

Daily Birdy Mush

In a large plastic container combine:

1 box of Orzo pasta
1 bag of brown or white rice
1 bag of assorted dried beans
1 bag of lentils
1 bag of split peas

Scoop out appropriate sized servings for your bird and put in microwave safe bowl covered with water.
Microwave on high for 5 minutes.
Add more water if needed.

Let cool to warm- check for hot spots!

Feed warm.

[Dena]

I have to go search for my recipies. I think I have them on file on word, but I am going to have to do it tomorrow because I just have to go to sleep after finishing reading the posts.

[Jodi]

Tortilla Soup

1 can of Black Beans
1 can of Pinto Beans
1 can of Refried Beans
1 can of Corn
2 cups of Vegetable Stock
1 Jar of Chunk Salsa
2 cups of Shredded Cheddar Cheese


Put everything but the cheese in a large pot & bring to a boil. Let the soup simmer & add more stock or water if it gets too thick (although I like it a little thick). After a half hour or so, right before you serve it, add most of the cheese.

Stir until the cheese melts. When you serve it in the bowls, sprinkle with a little more cheese for garnish.

I serve this with homemade tortilla chips, tacos or fajitas or quesadillas or spanish rice, etc.


To make homemade tortilla chips:
Spray a cookie sheet with oil (Pam), cut corn tortillas in to strips, place them on the cookie sheet & spray with Pam again. Bake in the oven at 350 until crispy. They are really yummy! Much better than store bought!


Your birdies will love the soup! And they will go crazy for the tortilla chips!!

[Laurie]

Thanks! I am going to try them all. I have to wait about a month because we are adding on to our kitchen and my stove is sitting in the garage for the time being.

Can people eat the tortilla soup? It sounds yummy!

[Jodi]

Yep, it's people soup....but also good for the birdies. It's one of Kenny's (hubby) favorite soups! And it's SOOO easy to make!

I hope that month goes by for ya quick Laurie! What a pain, huh?

[Deja]

ohh yum! I was thinking the same thing - *I* would love this soup- and I have to make the home made tortilla chips - they do sound much better than the bagged ones!

I bet Dante would dunk the chips in the soup! He's a dunker - soo funny to watch. He dunks things in his water before he eats them!
Of course his water ends up looking like some kind of mutant waste sight -ick-!
That soup sounds sooo yummie I want to go cook some right now!

Laurie- I hope the month goes quick! My sister is in the same boat. She just had her entire house torn down- and they are rebuilding from the ground up- she feels like she doesn't *belong* anywhere- and everything for her is so stressful.
Good luck!!

[SharonM]

Hmmmm ... guess I've been guilty of just lurking, and not posting much here lately ... but ...
Got a few questions for ya Deja. First - the baby food. Any certain brand that you swear by ? Some of them have the different "Stages" - is there any I should NOT use - or are they all pretty safe ? And the "large" bag of veggies - 15 oz. size, or bigger yet ??
And, one last question - how often do you feed them these ? Every day? 2 times a day ? Just as a "snack" ??

Sorry to ask so many questions, but I think feeding is the one area I stress about the most - I just don't feel that Eephus eats well enough .... I'm gonna start a new thread and get some opinions on something I've been thinking about lately ...

[Deja]

Sharon,

As far as the baby food goes, I use a brand name such as Gerber or Beech Nut. I find more fruit varieties in Beech Nut for some odd reason. The meat always comes in the tiny "stage one" jars. I use veal because to me, the smell of it isn't as strong. Chicken or Turkey would be just as good. It all mixes together anyway and I doubt they even taste the meat at all!

The frozen veggies - I think it's a 15oz bag- but again, you can be flexible with this recipe. If your bird really likes to pick on veggies - use more - if they get picked out of the muffin and thrown on the floor.... use jars of baby food- toddler stage...smaller chunks that will blend in better.

I give them every day. My Cockatoo used to get two... Dante and Dweezil get one each. Judge for yourself and see how he likes them. If he is a picky eater and decides he likes these muffins- start adding things to the batter that are healthy and that you can grind up and hide You can add fresh veggies to them too...
zuccini, carrots, peas... whatever you can think of. Up the amount of sweet potato in the recipe if he doesn't eat them just plain baked.
It's the kind of recipe that you can really play around with. I haven't seen a bird who won't at least pick on them and eat some of it- though, most birds I have given them to really love them! I think warm foods are appealing to them.

I thought about why this could be. They were hand raised on warm food. They come from hot tropical areas- the food they forage for has to be warm...

It's frustrating to have a picky eater on your hands. Sometimes all it takes it outsmarting them... and with parrots - that is no easy task!!!