Chop Day Recipe

[Amanda_Bennett]

Looks good Shirre! And apparently Chili agrees if she has been eating that long!

Zilla does that every time I make a new chop, especially if I let her "help" put it in the bags. Oh wait, maybe she is just trying to eat it all before I take it away... She is a little green piggy!

 

[getwozzy]

I hope she continues to like it this much!!! (She's STILL eating!!) it's really frustrating when a batch of chop fails lol but it's REALLY rewarding when it's a hit!

It takes me the course of 24 hours to make it- I soak the beans, lentils, and chickpeas overnight, then over the day I'll work on it....but it's all well worth it because I usually get about 90 days worth of dinners for chili out of one batch- which are super easy to "make" each night!

 

[Terry57]

Shirre, that chop looks amazing! I am thrilled that Chili likes it...is she still as excited as she was the first night?

 

[Ann333]

Wow!!! Great job!

 

[getwozzy]

Shirre, that chop looks amazing! I am thrilled that Chili likes it...is she still as excited as she was the first night?

She's doesn't take as long to eat dinner as the first day, but I can tell she still likes it better than my last batch LOL

 

[Sunset_Chaser]

Are turnips ok to feed raw?? Sorry if this is a dumb question, I'm just afraid of "assuming" that something is ok and hurting my birds. Wanted to double check!

 

[jasper19]

So if i have 1 bird....is it ok to make something like this (in smaller amount obviously)...and freeze the extra?...or should i only make it as its going to be used every few days?

 

[Amanda_Bennett]

So if i have 1 bird....is it ok to make something like this (in smaller amount obviously)...and freeze the extra?...or should i only make it as its going to be used every few days?

I make large amounts and freeze in portions that last 2 to 3 days, then just defrost and add a little fresh veg & fruit and serve.

 

[Terry57]

Are turnips ok to feed raw?? Sorry if this is a dumb question, I'm just afraid of "assuming" that something is ok and hurting my birds. Wanted to double check!

We always cook turnips, but I think they would be fine raw as well.

 

[Terry57]

So if i have 1 bird....is it ok to make something like this (in smaller amount obviously)...and freeze the extra?...or should i only make it as its going to be used every few days?

I also freeze batches to thaw out for the birds when I need it. This mix freezes really well

 

[NWQuakers]

Any idea if hominy would be ok added to a chop mix? I make it myself from homegrown corn and cal. Nixtamalizing the corn makes more nutrients available, and I'm planning to make some for a batch of chili anyway.

 

[RobynnLynne]

Do I understand correctly that I prepare everything separately, pumpkin, squash, rice, veggies, blueberries, pasta; whether cooked, steamed or raw, then blend it all together, then freeze?

I just want to make sure I am doing this right.

Thank you.

 

[Ellie777Australia]

Do I understand correctly that I prepare everything separately, pumpkin, squash, rice, veggies, blueberries, pasta; whether cooked, steamed or raw, then blend it all together, then freeze?

I just want to make sure I am doing this right.

Thank you.

Hi RobynnLynne, I haven't gone back to read all pages but the critical factor to the chop mix is the inclusion of proven foods enjoyed by your parrot. If you are introducing foods then this is not the place for chop IMHO.

Some food products freeze/thaw better than others so that is a variable that I use for the frozen mix as well. I personally separate my quinoa, pasta, and brown rice from the vegetable mix. I freeze fruit mixes on their own also. I like to be able to have daily variations so this works best for me.

I always use fresh kale or appropriate fresh greens, plus fresh red capsicum or chillies, and other fresh products daily as well. Such as a green bean or snow pea as finger foods etc. And, I always have fresh sprouts as the 'super food' addition to Ellie and Bertie's daily menu.

Hope this helps. You can't go wrong if you are using safe foods for parrots and foods that your bird enjoys. The worse case scenario is you end up with mash/mush instead of chop once you thaw it out .

 

[RobynnLynne]

Thank you. That is pretty much what I did...keep like foods separated. We had a great day. He was trying everything! He liked the veggies chopped fine, and the pasta and quinoa. He made as much of a mess as I did. I was thrilled!

 

[ursulanie2012]

Interesting receipe, I would definitely give a try! Just curious, how much hemp seeds did you use? Will birds be addicted to it? Thank you!

 

[kme3388]

My friend Janine (who owns the rescue) and I decided to have a chop day on Monday, and make an enormous amount since between us we have around 120 birds. We got started at noon, and had to go to a couple of stores to gather everything, and then were back at my house by 2:00pm and got started. We had my oven and all 4 burners going from then until 10:30 pm, and finally finished with the packaging at 11:45pm...a long, but very fun day!
We also made muffins which I will make a new post for
We used over 50 ingredients in the chop:

White,red and black quinoa , Hemp Seed
Boiled popcorn kernels , Chickpeas
Yellow and green split peas , 5 bean soup mix
Mung beans , hulled sunflower seeds
Red, Green and yellow lentils , Pumpkin seeds
Millet , Vegetable pasta
Cous Cous , Zucchini
Chia seed , Green Peas
Corn , Pineapple
Long grain brown rice , Pomegranate
Papaya , Strawberries
Sprouts , Celery
Blueberries , Wheat Germ
Pot Barley , Bok Choy
Swiss Chard , Snap Peas
Broccoli , Cauliflower
Red,orange and yellow bell peppers , Jalapeno peppers
Beets and beet greens , Slivered almonds
Kiwi , Flax Seed
Parsnips , Sweet Potatoes
Cranberries , Oats
Spelt Flakes , Carrots
Amaranth , Green beans
Turnips , Pumpkin
Rutabaga , Coconut
Spaghetti Squash , Chili pepper flakes

Here are a couple of pics of the prep and finished chop:

Do you have any smaller receipes? I have a few parrots who are being picky, and I don't want to make a huge batch just to have them refuse to eat it. I do my best to not be wasteful. Is there a starter chop that you know of by chance?

 

[Terry57]

Do you have any smaller receipes? I have a few parrots who are being picky, and I don't want to make a huge batch just to have them refuse to eat it. I do my best to not be wasteful. Is there a starter chop that you know of by chance?

All of the chop that we do are in pretty large batches because we have so many birds, so unfortunately I don't have a smaller recipe. You could just pick a few ingredients to try and when those are gone try a few more. We hardly ever do a huge chop to freeze anymore, we just make fresh chop every day. Some things are staples, our birds love cauliflower, broccoli and carrots so we always at last a little of those in there.
Our birds really love quinoa and also rice, we flavour both with red chili flakes or cayenne.
When we make larger batches we alternate between fresh and frozen so they don't get sick of it, and many of our birds start eating some of the things in it that they hadn't touched before when offered it for the second or third time.
I'm sorry, I wish I could help more

 

[chris-md]

Terry, m’dear, I know this is 6 years old but I’m in awe of this! This is Amazing . Kinda jealous I couldn’t be there. Never thought id call chop day fun, but this looks FUN!

you know, I think we could use a sticky instruction manual on how to make a proper chop *poke*

kme - you don’t have to go this far. My dear friends advice of “just pick a few ingredients” is spot on. Pick some ingredients that are different colors (color = nutritional profile), different parts of the plant (grain, seed, leaf, root, stem = different nutrient profiles). That’s the base of establishing well rounded, balanced nutrition.

here’s one example of a Simple recipe. Grains and leaves make up the base of any quality chop (especially for ekkies, due to high fiber needs),, build up from there. Proportion as aren’t as important, except go easier on any beans becuase they are rather high in protein, which is to be limited. I just use all the stuff together - the full head of cauliflower, full bunch of kale, etc - so there is no waste.

brown rice
Cauliflower (including leaves and stems if they are attached)
Broccoli (including full stems)
Kale
Swiss chard (stem and leaves)
Carrot
Rolled oats
Green lentils
Chickpeas
Black beans - smaller amount than others
Quinoa
sweet potato

Blanche everything together before freezing. This helps the final product to not be too mushy when defrosted, AND enhances nutritional value.

Where I differ with Terry's original post is that I personally would never add fruit to chop intended for frozen storage - the papaya, etc - because it doesn’t freeze well, and will turn to mush once thawed. For me, any fruit addition is added as a top dressing just before serving.

 

[Terry57]

Chris, I would love to do a chop like this with you! We would have a blast but I'm not sure how much we would get done with laughing so much.
Great recipe and tips!
I also agree about the fruits, we had enough dry ingredients that it helped keep them from getting mushy in this particular chop, but for a regular chop I would also add fruits when serving.

You know, a sticky where people could add their own chop recipes may be a really good idea. I will bring it to the Mod team, but it would have to wait to be acted upon until all the Mods are able to vote on it.

 

[kme3388]

Thank you for the responses. Maybe it just takes time for my ekkie to accept chop. I have to find a way to clamp down his food bowl. He picks it up with his beak, and tosses his chop I don't have a clue what he was fed for the first 15-18 years of his life. He can be very if he doesn't like what's in his food dish.