Romp!

Here are the player pieces to a game called Romp that my son made for me for Mother's Day. He is still finishing the game board and I'll get to play it soon. For now, here are what the pieces look like. They are designed after some of our pets, Loopy the duck, Rooster the female cockatiel, Bean the parrotlet, and DeDe the mini-lop.

@beanie_boy 's Birdie Bread Recipe!

beanie_boy’s Birdie Bread
Made from scratch!
more pictures!
If you want to avoid the work below then buy a healthy mix. Try Mama's or Harrison's mixes. They look like they have good ingredients.

Dry Ingredients: (use organic when possible) Almost 6 Cups!
Mix together with a fork in a large bowl.
2C Flour (unbleached organic)
1C Cornmeal Bob’s Red Mill (stay away from Jiffy)
½ C Bob’s Red Mill wheat-less 8 grain cereal
½ C Quinoa
½ C Harrison’s High Potency pellets
¼ C Millet (save some for top)
¼ C Whole Barley (save some for top)
¼ C Almond Meal
¼ C Pumpkin Seeds
¼ C Hemp Seeds
1/8 C Flax Seeds
1 tsp. Cinnamon
3 tsp. Baking Powder
Set aside.

Wet Ingredients: Almost 61/2 Cups!
2 eggs (We use duck eggs when ours are laying)
1 C cooked sweet potato
1 small apple cubed
1 carrot cut coarse
½ C chopped dark greens (collards, spinach, kale are all good)
½ Cooked beans (favas are toxic raw)
A few chives
---
½ cubed strawberries.
1 ½ C cooked beans, dried corn, lentils, split peas whole barley, brown rice
(-no particular ratio- this is a mixture that you make up and cook before making bread- save leftovers in the freezer for another batch)
½ C Peanut Butter (peanuts only as in Laura Scudders or Adams organic, NO Skippy!)

Assemble Ingredients:
In food processor with metal blade, start with egg shells (save egg contents)
Add sweet potato and pulse until shells get crushed. Set aside.
Add rest of the wet ingredients up to the chives and pulse until coarsely chopped. Set aside.

In a stand mixer, add wet eggs and mix until beaten, then add wet ingredients until mixed. Next, gradually add dry ingredients until it all sticks together. If it is way too dry, add a little organic apple sauce until it sticks. It will be very thick!

In a lightly oiled 9x12 pan add the mixture and pat down with clean fingers or the back of a spoon. When even, sprinkle the reserved millet and barley for an attractive topping. Bake in 400* degree Fahrenheit oven for 30 minutes, then at 350* an additional 10-15 minutes on the top shelf.

Let cool completely.
Cut into squares large enough for a daily feeding to your bird. For parrotlets, the squares will be much smaller than for a macaw or amazon.
Lay the squares out on a baking sheet with spaces in between each square and freeze.
Once frozen, separate into freezer bags for future use. When ready to use, take one cube out and microwave for 12-20 seconds and place in treat cup for your bird.

It’s a lot of work but with so many treats frozen, you won’t have to make it again for at least a month.

caveats to beanie_boy’s birdie bread

The original recipe came from an online source.
I started substituting ingredients when I read the contents of a box of jiffy. Yuck! I make corn bread from scratch and didn’t know what was in that box. I refuse to feed that to my bird. I believe in doing the extra work it takes to make baked foods from scratch. You are in total control of what is in your food and pass the favor on to your pets if you create wholesome and healthy snacks for them.

You may substitute most of the ingredients except the flour, corn meal, baking powder and peanut butter. For all the varied grains and flours, you might get away with substituting the Bob’s Red Mill 8 grain cereal. It’s full of goodies and might save you some work scouting for variety.

For each batch, I pick from my garden or buy organic fruit and veggies that are in season and come from local sources. Did you know that all certified organic stickers on fruit start with the number 9 in the USA? Good to know! You can substitute any fruits and veggies for what is listed, just trade one for another and use apple sauce if you get too dry. It’s fun to experiment and your bird will enjoy the variety.

Please share this with your friends and their feather friends.