Kiwi's summer 'menu'

In addition to fresh foods daily, I also like to do a seasonal chop mix to ensure he gets a wide variety of fruit and veg daily. To conserve freezer space (and space in general) I dehydrate my chop. Every morning I do a 1/8 cup scoop of dehydrated chip and rehydrate it in a little dish (basically just soak in a little water and it fluffs right back up). I also like to experiment with other dehydrator snacks for him, and this time did some "candies" (2 flavors, orange and cherry). Here's what he got for summer!

Chop: Apricots, apple, pear, peaches, kiwis, bell peppers, spicy peppers, broccoli, carrots, kale, collard greens, almonds, walnuts, hemp seeds, flax seeds, chia seeds and rolled oats!

Candies: Sweet potatoes, aloe vera, bananas as a base, one batch with orange the other batch with sweet cherries.



For the chop I just pulse the ingredients in the food processor and spread onto aluminum baking sheets (my dehydrator has pull out trays). I find it easier to contain the chop on them since they have a bit of a lip rather than spread them on the silicone dehydrator sheets. This batch covered 4 baking sheets. I dehydrate at 120 degrees for 12 hours, break it up to expose any still moist spots, then dehydrate for an additional 6 or so hours until it is dry. It keeps about 6 months, but we'll go through this MUCH faster!:





For the candies, I steamed the sweet potatoes until soft, then blended half with half a banana and about 2" of aloe gel then added the cherries or orange. I poured each batch into a pastry bag and made "dots" on the silicone sheets (ya, I know, a candy maker I am not and my pastry bag use skills are poor lol):


(Orange)


(Cherries)

I got the idea at this website for the candies:Paleo "Skittles" - Taste the (Real Food) Rainbow - Joyful Abode
Unfortunately, I am allergic to coconut and was just going to substitute in soy butter, but had second thoughts about whether or not that should really go in treats specifically for him and used the banana and aloe instead. My candies came out kind of flat as a result. If you can handle coconut it may make prettier candies like this blog post instead of my slightly deformed ones (they still taste fine and came out similar in consistency to gummy bears)!

Anyways here is how everything came out!



All that produce into these containers. I love dehydrating stuff!

Wow, April! Thank you for sharing, this is a great project! Kiwi's dehydrated chop is surely safer and more nutritious than most anything you can buy off the shelves, with the added bonus of being able to soak the dehydrated chop and add new ingredients anytime. The candies are a great idea too. Does Kiwi have a favorite, cherry or banana?

Allee said:

Wow, April! Thank you for sharing, this is a great project! Kiwi's dehydrated chop is surely safer and more nutritious than most anything you can buy off the shelves, with the added bonus of being able to soak the dehydrated chop and add new ingredients anytime. The candies are a great idea too. Does Kiwi have a favorite, cherry or banana?

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He devoured the cherry and nibbled the orange (he loves both cherries and oranges, which is why I tested those 2 flavors first). I think though that is because the cherry ones came out "plump" and gummy-bear like. The best comparison I can make to how the orange ones came out was kind of like chewy corn flakes:33: We'll see though, he'll probably eat the orange ones too

April, you have given me so many good ideas, and I am itching to get that dehydrator now!
How long do you soak it to rehydrate it?

April thank you so much! Can't wait to give these a go

In the meantime .. Gracie would like to place an order to go lol

Looks awesome!

Terry57 said:

April, you have given me so many good ideas, and I am itching to get that dehydrator now!
How long do you soak it to rehydrate it?

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Depending what's in it, maybe 10/15 minutes on the counter before it rehydrates. If it has a lot of leafy greens and low sugar veg it rehydrates much quicker than if it has a lot of high sugar fruit (TBH, many fruits never fully rehydrate, so if you do a fruit/veg mix you have to chop them super fine, if you dehydrate your fruit/veg separate, you can do bigger chunks of fruit which do not really need rehydration). Most veggies dehydrate to a 'crispy' state, while most fruits dehydrate to a 'chewy' state.

Really fascinated by this. Gosh you are an inspiration to us all.

I am wondering, is there any nutritional loss by dehydrating?

Wow! Looks delicious!

plumsmum2005 said:

Really fascinated by this. Gosh you are an inspiration to us all.

I am wondering, is there any nutritional loss by dehydrating?

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There is some nutritional loss via dehydration (as there is with any form of food preservation). It is on par with the nutritional loss of freezing. It is also not intended to replace fresh produce in the diet, rather to supplement it

OMG thats so nice I almost bought a dehydrator in amazon. Maybe Ill do that in a few months I love the candy ones the are so nice.

Wow! I love this, April! You are seriously an incredible little chef when it comes to creative parrot goodies. Not to mentioned a talented and creative DIY'er for many other things too (I still dream of making my own cage bottoms... alas I am a clumsy fool). I recently just stumbled upon a ginormous dehydrator from my boyfriend's dad's storage that he bought years ago for a hefty price but only used occasionally, and I can't wait to pull it out and try doing some of this stuff. Plus I can make some tasty treats for me and my rabbit, too!

How long does chop last in the fridge? I made a batch for Tiki, froze most of it but kept about a weeks worth out in the fridge. She's pretty new at chop so she didn't really eat much of it at all. I offered it everyday but she just wasnt a huge fan. Still prefers her pellets over just about everything else. Any tips?

I can't afford a hydrater,so just chopping an giving to him fresh like that will work also?

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I just bought a dehydrator at the thrift store for$5 but I haven't tried it yet.

wter5989 said:

I can't afford a hydrater,so just chopping an giving to him fresh like that will work also?

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Absolutely! People also freeze chop as well. I just personally prefer dehydrating because it takes up less room to store and can be put anywhere since it's shelf stable instead of taking up valuable freezer space

gracebowen said:

I just bought a dehydrator at the thrift store for$5 but I haven't tried it yet.

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Dehydrating is awesome (for pets and people, mine is mainly used for people food). Please share what you make in it

I tried the dried apples he wouldn't have anything to do with them,even soaked in apple juice,however, I put the rest of the apple in a sandwich baggie an put in fridge an suprisingly,it works it last up to three or 4 times me using It, works great

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wter5989 said:

I tried the dried apples he wouldn't have anything to do with them,even soaked in apple juice,however, I put the rest of the apple in a sandwich baggie an put in fridge an suprisingly,it works it last up to three or 4 times me using It, works great

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Special preparations are by no means necessary for parrots. A lot of owners just find it easier to provide a varied diet by making "chop" or "mash" in large batches. It's also good for picky eaters because it's harder to pick out things they don't like, but not every bird is picky. My mom is pretty 'old school' in how she cares for her birds. They've never had chop or specially prepared food in their lives and get a few big chunks of various fruit and veg every day instead. But those birds are avian garbage cans- if it shows up in their dish, they'll eat it (wish my bird was like that about produce!). Her fridge is always full of half cut up produce for the birds and it does last a while. If you do plan to feed like that, you just have to be sure they aren't eating too much of any one thing nor being overly picky so they get the full spectrum of nutrients they need Might be a good idea to shoot for a few different types each of fruit, veg and leafy greens every week to keep the variety wide enough.

How long does the dehydrated chop usually stay fresh for?

jiannotto9492 said:

How long does the dehydrated chop usually stay fresh for?

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Fully/properly dehydrated and stored in an airtight container (preferably in a cool/dark spot), dehydrated chop will last at least 6 months, if not longer. Though we go through the size batches I make quicker than that.