LAYERED SALAD

by Pamela Clark

The following instructions will allow you to feed a diet high in live, raw foods with minimal effort. This diet has several advantages, not the least of which is that I can feed fresh foods to multiple parrots on a daily basis, while only chopping fruits and vegetables once a week. I have successfully used this recipe to feed anywhere between 12 and 40 birds.

For those of you with only one or two parrots, this recipe will need to be modified. You may find it easier to create a similar “salad” every two to three days, or to try creating two or three smaller containers, each of which will last two days… giving you a week’s worth of food. (Bear in mind that every time you open a previously mixed container and dish a serving out, you are introducing bacteria. Thus, a salad that is served over the course of two or three days must be watched closely for signs of deterioration.)

The size of containers you use will depend upon how many parrots you are feeding. When feeding 30-40 parrots, I used seven 2-gallon containers. Currently, I feed 13 parrots and use seven containers that each hold 1.1 gallons. My daughter uses this recipe with her single parrot and makes three containers that hold 4 cups each. Some experimentation may be necessary to achieve the correct quantity, but the end result will justify your efforts.

Once a week, I layer in plastic storage containers the following:

Layer 1 (bottom layer) - chopped greens, which are varied each week. One week, I'll use collard greens and parsley and mustard greens, and the next I might use Swiss chard, kale and dandelion greens.
Layer 2 - chopped (1/4 to 1/2 inch cubes) vegetables, including any of the following: Brussels sprouts, zucchini and other summer squash, jicama, red or green peppers, fresh hot peppers, chayote squash, green beans, fresh peas, cucumber, cauliflower, celery, anise root, etc.
Layer 3 - chopped broccoli and chopped, sliced or shredded carrots
Layer 4 - a mixture of chopped apples, oranges and whole grapes
Layer 5 - frozen mixed vegetables.

The containers are then placed in the refrigerator (don't freeze).

This mix stays fresh in these tubs for up to seven days for three reasons. First, layered salads stay fresher longer than those that are mixed up. Second, the orange juice from the chopped oranges filters down and slightly acidifies the mix. The frozen mixed vegetables placed on top super-cool the mix immediately (cold air sinks/warm air rises). I do also wash all the fruits, vegetables and greens with Oxyfresh Cleansing Gele, which not only gets them clean but also has some anti-bacterial action.

Use: each morning, I empty out one container into a large mixing bowl. At that point, I add the following:

Cooked beans (I prefer to soak and cook dry beans, which are then stored in the freezer in bags until defrosted and added to the mix. However, canned beans can also be used.)
Cooked or sprouted grains. (A rice cooker is an invaluable kitchen appliance. Any grain can be cooked to perfection in a rice cooker, then cooled, and frozen in serving sized portions.)
Dry, uncooked, whole wheat pasta.
Other soft fruits in season (blueberries, peaches, plums, kiwi fruits, melon, etc)
A small amount of high quality parrot seed mix.

*Sometimes, in order to generate a little excitement, I'll sneak in some pine nuts, walnut pieces, flax seeds, Molucca nuts or other item of interest. (Usually, I feed nuts separately, but I like to use this fresh mix to surprise the parrots – since it also offers them a true foraging experience.)

When making the mix each week, strive for variety, alternating the vegetables, fruits, grains and beans that you include each time you make the mix. Also keep in mind appropriate proportions when creating the mix. I suggest the following: Cooked beans 15% - 20%, cooked or sprouted grains 20%, raw pasta 5%, fruit no more than 20%, greens 5%, seed mix no more than 4% - 10%, vegetables at least 30% - 40% of the mix.

This recipe can be adapted for any number of birds with a little creativity, by reducing either the number or size of the containers used or both.