This is my birds' favorite food, even preferring over their pellets. I feed each quaker, cockatiel and conure, about a heaping tablespoon full each morning. My greys and cockatoo each get about a half cup apiece, so this recipe makes a lot. I use the "sandwich-sized" plastic bowls, and freeze a half dozen at a time, taking one out each morning and putting in the fridge to thaw for the next day.

Mix together bags of dried beans & rice.
Pinto & kidney beans, lentil, split peas, navy beans, brown rice, etc.
(just not black beans, turns all black).

Boil 2 cups water, add 1 cup bean/rice mix.
Return to boil, remove from heat, cover, let stand for 2 hours.




Cover bottom of 4 freezer bowls with elbow macaroni, uncooked.
Drain water from cooked mix. Spoon over noodles until half full.



Fill to top with frozen mixed veggies. Sprinkle over top, about ½ cup orange juice.



Cover & turn over several times to distribute juice, then freeze until ready to use.



Thaw, mix and serve.

The orange juice helps prevent spoilage, but remove uneaten portion after 4 hours.

THANK YOU! THANK YOU! THANK YOU!

I am going on three months with Ling now and he wont eat any veggies at all. I have tried all kinds of veggies. So far the only thing he will eat are red apples and red berries. He must like red. He Always eats the red pellets first.
He was a total junk food junkie when I got him. I still can't eat chips, chocolate or ice cream in front of him without him screaming at me to share. I don't let him have any though.

I just made up a batch of this recipe. I added some cooked brussel sprouts and some fruits that I knew Ling liked (apples and berries) to give it his favorite red color. He didn't like the big peices so I cut it into smaller bite sized peices in the food processor.

Now he LOVES it! Every time he sees me bring him his food dish in the morning he gets soooo excited.

I did it!

I did it!

Big hit for Perky .. and Sméagol is working on it!.

Sméag picks out the beans, rice and noodles but leaves the veggies behind ...

Perky is eating everything but takes out all the veggies and places them beside his bowl ..once he is done with the beans, rice & noodles he then eats his veggies last!

Thanks Gail ....

Oh, that's wonderful! It's so nice to see them eat something besides the boring pellets. And, funny to take out the bowls and see who leaves what behind. Most all of mine take the pasta and rice first, and each seem to have their own favorite parts that they pick out. But, the longer I feed this to them, the less they leave in their bowl each day! Glad to hear that your fids like it, too.

Quick question: In reading the recipe it looks like the noodles aren't cooked at all - is that right, or did I miss something?

Thanks!

I want to try this. I may substitute the rice and pasta with wheat varieties however.

Does the pasta get cooked at some point or do they eat it crunchy?

I would think the pasta is alread cooked....Good luck.....

Nope! You don't cook the pasta

I made some a while ago when the recipe was 1st posted and I asked about it then. The macaroni soaks up the juice and freezes, then when you warm it up the macaroni is soft and firm but not mushy, if that makes sense. That way the fids can hold it in their feet without it mushing all over. It's an AWESOME recipe.

Just a hint though: Do NOT forget to shake up the pasta, beans and veggies before you freeze it. If you forget then when you try to thaw it out and warm it up you'll have a doughy nasty glob at the bottom of the container......I bet you can't guess how I figured that out

Gail, I want you to know that Kiwi and Gidget absolutely LOVE this dish. Kiwi loves anything pasta but he digs in to the peas and such. Thank you for posting this recipe.

Thanks for sharing this recipe. Max, Demi and Jangles all love it!! Demi, who is extremely picky, loved it, and when she kept her head in her dish after peeking at what was in there, I knew it was a hit.

I love new recipes to make for them!!

Thanks, Gilbert's Mom, for alerting us the recipe was lost.

And, double thanks, Dee, for restoring it!

BTW - I still feed this to my fids every morning. And, all you see is tails up in the air, when they get their dish filled. Of course, they still pick out their favorites and we pitch a lot out. But, the outdoor birds are thrilled to eat their leftovers, too.

Thank you for restoring this recipe.I have been wanting to try it for awhile now.I make something similar, but it sure doesn't seem as good as this one.Can't wait to try it

Love this recipe! Can't wait to try it. I just know my gang is going to enjoy this very much.

I've been using this recipe since Gail posted it.

For an alternative option, you can use whole wheat pasta. The best thing I like about this recipe is that it's easy to change up. Sometimes I'll make up two different batches of different ingredients. This way it's still healthy, but something different for my guys each day.

Thanks so much Gail for going to the trouble of finding this recipe!! Looks like a lot of folks will be making it for their babies!! I can't wait to mix it up & put it to a taste test.My guys like people food better than their foods, so this might actually be something they'll like!! Thanks again & i'll let you know how they liked it. Gilberts' Mom or Gramma Barb

To help condense the whole long recipe, and clear up some confusion:

This recipe I got from a different website a long time ago, and just kind of adapted it to our needs.

There is no set amount on anything. I have found that the only birds who seem to eat the beans are my African Greys. Then, it is usually just black eyed peas. Now I just use the smaller beans, some navy beans, black eyed peas and lentils.

Pour in enough beans to cover the bottom of the pan, small to medium saucepan.
Add water to fill pan about half full.
Boil for about 30 minutes, turn off the heat, then add some lentils.
Allow to soak for about another 20 minutes.
(The beans and lentils may be a little crunchy for humans, but they seem to like it better.)
Then (instead of boiling) I just soak some rice, about 2 cups, in water, for about an hour.
(They seem to like these a little crunchy, too, not mushy as when cooked.)
I strain and rinse the beans, strain and rinse the rice, then mix them together.
Using the sandwich size plastic bowls, I pour a layer of dry noodles on the bottom.
(This recipe usually makes about six bowls, and I feed one a day.)
Then, spoon in a layer of beans and rice.
Next, top off, finish filling the bowls, with the frozen mixed veggies.
Pour some orange juice on top and freeze.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
There are no standard measurements, just whatever you want to use.
My birds each seem to have their favorites, and I end up throwing out more than they eat.
All love the noodles best, then the corn.
Remember, they are dry noodles, but soak up the orange juice and liquid from the frozen veggies.

For smaller birds you may just want to skip the beans all together, and use some lentils instead.
I'm also not cooking any of the veggies, but making sure they are thawed.

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Yes, my fids still eat this every morning, and just love it!