Wholesome Birdie Bread for Parrots

Chef Skyla's Note:

This is a healthy meal in itself--for parrots. I cut this up into daily portions and freeze them. Then each day, I just microwave a portion and feed it to our feathered friends. All I see from the birds is tails in the air when they have birdie bread in their bowls!

• Total Time: 1 hrs
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 40 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 24

• 2 (8 1/2 ounce) boxes Jiffy corn muffin mix (dry)
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 cups oatmeal
• 4 eggs (with shells)
• 3 (6 ounce) jars vegetable baby food (sweet potato, carrots, potatoes, etc)
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 2 tablespoons wheat germ
• 2/3 cup tahini or 2/3 cup peanut butter
• 1/2 cup cheese, grated
• 3 carrots, grated
• 1/2 cup broccoli floret, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup seeds (or pellets)

Directions:

1. Pre-Heat oven to 400.
2. Place muffin mix, oatmeal, and baking powder in large bowl and set aside.
3. Wash whole eggs thoroughly and place in blender (shells and all.) Add baby food, applesauce, and wheat germ, and puree.
4. Pour blended puree into your bowl of dry ingredients and stir with a large spoon. Stir in Tahini, cheese, grated carrots, and broccoli (if you have a fussy bird, you can puree these items in the blender in step 3.).
5. Spread mixture in a lightly greased 9 x 13" pan and sprinkle the seed (or pellets) over the top.
6. Bake for approximately 30-40 minutes. (Time may vary.) Let cool and cut into squares that are the size of a daily portion for your bird and freeze accordingly.
7. Defrost daily portions in the microwave before feeding. Depending on your bird, either crumble the birdie bread into their bowl (especially smaller birds) or give them talon size chunks (bigger birds).
8. Don't be afraid to experiment with the ingredients. The recipe is very forgiving. Instead of baby food, I sometimes substitute frozen mixed vegetables, a can of pumpkin, mashed bananas, or mashed sweet potatoes.
9. Instead of oatmeal, I often use cooked brown rice, baby rice cereal, or wholegrain Cheerios. Other things I've experimented with include chopped nuts, raisins, cooked lentils, chopped kale, pureed chickpeas, or pasta.
10. Tahini (sesame seed paste) is preferable to peanut butter, if you can find it. It's very high in protein and calcium.

Reviews

[Dstzmom]

My birds love it. They are chomping in it this morning. It did take longer than 20 minutes to prepare but I'm not that savy in the kitchen so it was probably just me :). Very healthy and good for my birds.