Making chop

[camo]

Hi all,

I have been using chop for a few months now, and every time I go to make it again, I forget what I put in the last time, so I figured I would list what I put in this time, and then I can refer to this post next time (with that said, I think it is good to change things up a bit each time). Of cause the other reason for posting, is just in case anyone wants to suggest something that should be added or removed.

So this mix of chop has:

Herbs:

bunch of mint
Bunch of coriander
Green Kale
Red Kale

Vegies:

1kg brussel sprouts
0.4kg Broccoli
1.5kg Sweet Potatoes
1kg carrots
1 cauliflower
1kg frozen veg (peas, corn, capsicum mix)

Pasta: (precooked quantities)

3 cups wholemeal pasta spirals (lightly cut in the processor after cooking)
1 cup wild rice
1 cup quinoa
100g cous cous

Dry stuff: (to take up the moisture)

900g rolled oats
500g shredded coconut

*Process consists of running veggies and herbs through the processor, until fine.

*Use a strainer to remove moisture after processing. Cook pasta and rice about half recommended time (so they still have some substance to them).

*Mix it all together thoroughly, you will need a very big bowl (I clean out my kitchen sink very thoroughly and then add baking paper to the bottom to stop things going down the drain)

*Put into bags, I use 1 cup per bag, seems to cover Gizmo and Pebbles per meal (twice daily).

*Obviously this is not the only thing they eat, I also supply fresh fruit daily and vegies for foraging.

* I have not been supplying any seed mix at all (not sure if this is a good or bad thing)

Anyway, that's what I am doing. Like I said if you see any deficiency or excess in any of this, feel free to let me know (I am far from an expert and always willing to learn).

Thanks,

Cameron

 

[Christinenc2000]

Great Idea Cameron

 

[camo]

Christine,

Wish I was smart enough to think of it, not sure who came up with the idea, but there are some good examples around. Being in Australia, some of the recipes I read didn't match the ingredients I could source, but I think the point is to mix things up anyway.

When I first got Gizmo, I spent a lot of time cutting things and mixing it on a daily basis. I had 3 problems, firstly, Gizmo has his favourite foods and would pick them out of any mix I give him, secondly it was very time consuming, and I worried I couldn't keep up, and might slip into giving him less variety on days that I didn't have time, and lastly there was a lot of wastage.

The things I like about chop, is, he can't easily pick out of it, it all sticks to each other, so he has to eat some of everything (and the good news is, they both love it). Secondly, although time consuming to make (I've got it down to about 3 hours start to finish, although you could probably do it in stages), once bagged it goes in the freezer and then you just thaw enough for a few days at a time. Of cause you still add fruit and other vegies daily (I do this in my foraging locations). Lastly you don't end up throwing out food (this chop mix cost me about $45, which I don't think is bad when you consider it made up 36.5 days of chop for 2 eccies).

One thing I didn't mention, in the first post, the chop is put in the freezer and defrosted in the fridge (I keep 2 days worth in the fridge, that seems to mean the chop is defrosted when used). I'm not sure how critical it is, but I squeeze out all the air and put them in seperate zip lock bags and then put 20 in a large zip lock bag (I get the large ones from a stationary supply place), my aim is to prevent freezer burn. I'm not sure if this process is necessary, but it is working.

Cheers

Cameron