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Food Ideas

Elmoberries

The latest hit for birds of all sizes.
Thanks to Purdey for this recipe.

We take a variety of ingredients such as  two types of pellets, a premium seed mix, quinoa flakes, pecan nuts, slivered almonds, dried banana chips, almond meal, dried mixed fruit, organic muesli, dried blueberries & dried goji berries.

Mix all with raw honey, goji berry juice & an egg to bind - then roll & bake.

Bake nice and slow so that they don't burn before they cook. They idea is to get them nice and dry.

Note the skewered ones - they make nice foot toys.

Conure Cake

I have tried using recipes but still end up doing my own thing. I start with something similar to a muffin recipe or cornbread. Then just add what the birds like.

Into a food processor, put about 2 cups of varieties of things like:

Walnuts, almonds, pistachio kernels
Fresh fruit like apples, pears, oranges, bananas (no apple seeds, but doesn’t matter about the oranges)
Cooked sweet potato if you have it
Carrot chunks, pumpkin
Chillies (one or two or three) or fresh ginger
Sesame seeds
Other seeds like Chia, Nigella, linseed, sunflower kernels,
Leftover sprouted seed
Whole curry seeds like fenugreek, anise, fennel, coriander, cumin
Cinnamon or nutmeg

Munch it all up then add 2 eggs with shells (or without, if you plan to eat it with them.
Sometimes I add vitamin E oil or flaxseed oil.

Then add:
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup wholemeal SR flour
2 cups fruit juice (100%)

Make sure the consistency is similar to a muffin batter – not too thick.
Pour into a slice tray and bake at about 160°C until it looks golden on the edges and feels firm in the middle (this will depend on how much you end up with. 40 mins to one hour) I basically go by when the smell changes to a ‘cooked’ smell.

Christmas Mix  (so-named because of its multi-coloured look)

Our birds look forward to a bowl of this mixture when we come home from work every night - plus some diluted fruit juice. You can use any quantity and combination you like, as long as it looks colourful and varied. The birds flock to it.

Seeds & Grains Sunflower seed (shelled and unshelled) Safflower Wheat grains Whole oats Barley Spelt Quinoa Dried pumpkin seeds unsalted Dried cantaloupe seeds Sesame seeds (unhulled if you can find them) Flax seeds (linseed) Rice Corn Buckwheat Poppy seed Sesame seed Nigella seed Millet	Bird Seeds Hemp seed Cockatiel mix Canary mix Millet sprays Nuts (raw and unsalted) Almonds Pine nuts Pecans Walnuts Cashews Hazelnuts Macadamias Pistachios Soy grits
Dried Fruits & Veggies (unsulfured) Banana chips Papaya chunks Pineapple dices Apple dices Apricots Cranberries (sugarless are hard to find) Cherries Raisins Currants Green peas (Surprise Peas) Dried green beans (same brand as peas) Chilli peppers	Miscellaneous Coconut shreds Cheerios Cereals (non-fortified, sugar and salt free, eg Sanitarium brand)

Libby's Old-Fashioned Soft Pumpkin Cookies
These are soft puffy cookies. Delicious!!

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups plain flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil (olive, almond, macadamia)
1 cup mashed pumpkin
1 large egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
PREHEAT oven to 170° C. Grease baking sheets.

COMBINE flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt in
medium bowl. Beat sugar and oil in large mixer bowl until well blended.
Beat in pumpkin, egg and vanilla extract until smooth. Gradually beat in
flour mixture. Drop by rounded tablespoon onto prepared baking sheets.

BAKE for 15 to 18 minutes or until edges are firm. Cool on baking sheets for
2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Tofu dessert for humans or parrots

one tub of organic firm tofu
1/3 cup good quality commercial peanut butter
1/3 cup or more of unsweetened vanilla or plain almond milk
1 teaspoon real vanilla (not imitation)
sweetener to taste - we use cane sugar or fructose, but most often use nothing when using the vanilla flavor almond milk

Drain tofu, crumble into food processor bowl. Add other ingredients and process until smooth and whipped. This may take several minutes and you will need to scrape down the bowl a few times. You may need to add a little more almond milk - it depends on how well the tofu was drained and what brand it is. When ready, spoon into dessert dishes and chill. The birds go crazy for this, and we're pretty fond of it ourselves. It is rich and decadent, so a little goes a long way.

Food for picky eaters

Carrot Mop

Food toys are great for picky eaters. By food toys I mean food presented in such a way that a finicky eater will be tempted to play with and then nibble on it and eventually learn to eat it. Here are some examples:
Take a carrot or a beet , preferably with the top (greens) still on and make a hole about 3/4 of an inch from the thick end. Put a short piece of sisal through it . Take a carrot peeler and peel down the side of the carrot without removing the peels. Do this all around the carrot or beet and you will have a carrot mop that your bird will hopefully play with and sample.

Forbidden Fruit

Brussell sprouts on the stalk hung in the cage usually winds up as a half eaten swing. In the case of very timid birds, try hanging a fruit or veggie outside of the cage almost out of the parrot's reach. What parrot do you know that won't reach for something it thinks that you don't want it to have? Be inventive! Make eating nutritiously fun for both of you!

Parrot Candy

You know the green leafy things at the top of celery stalks? Well, it's Mother Nature's natural "Bird Candy"! It's healthy as long as you don't over-feed your bird. Only one leaf will do every 2 days or so - just to be on the safe side! "Bird Candy" can also be used as a reward if your bird does a special trick! Or hang some at the top or side of your bird's cage for a snack.

Sweet Potato Chips

Preheat oven to 200 degrees. Peel one large sweet potato and cut it into strips like you would for chips. Rinse in water and shake them in a bag with a mixture of ground cornmeal and a few shakes of Cayenne pepper.
Place them on a cookie sheet and bake them for 30 minutes, turning them over halfway through.
Mix cornmeal flour, some crushed red pepper, sesame seeds, 1 egg and enough water to make batter consistency. Dip all the potato chips in this.