SALLY BLANCHARD’S FAMOUS ‘GLOP’ RECIPE
The following recipe feeds my 6 parrots of various
sizes and appetites for their morning or evening meal. ‘Glop’ also makes a great
hand-weaning food to finger feed your bappy.
- 1 jar of baby food carrots, sweet potatoes, or winter squash
(I use Earth’s Best because it is organic - they also have high
vitamin A vegetable varieties with chicken and turkey. I occasionally
use apricot, peach, or papaya baby food.) You can also use baked yams,
winter squash or cooked, mashed carrots.
- 3-4 slices of coarse whole-grain crumbled toast. (I vary the bread
but use the healthiest bread I can find without sugar. I particularly
like a jalapeno cornbread loaf I buy at Trader Joe’s.) You can
also use high quality cooked grains such as quinoa, amaranth, etc.
and/or oatmeal. I usually add some Flax Seed Meal to the mixture.
- 2-4 Tablespoons of nonfat plain yogurt.
- I highly recommend adding a a few drops to a 1/2
teaspoon of Essential Fatty Acids (EFA). There are several varieties
available including Flax Seed Oil. Adding EFAs to the diet has
helped quite a few parrots with feather destructive behaviors.
- Optional: 1/8 cup high quality handfeeding formula or a sprinkle
of a spirulina or wheat grass type supplement.
Put in a large bowl and mash together until toast is
saturated with baby food and yogurt and everything is evenly mixed.
Consistency can be changed according to your parrot’s preference. Mine
like the toast chunky and the mixture thick - about the consistency of
turkey dressing. ‘Glop’ is ready to feed - it does not have to be
cooked.
Anything that is nutritious can be added to the glop
for a variety in texture, color, and shapes. I will feed it plain or mix
one or more of the following: finely chopped collard (mustard or turnip)
greens, kale or broccoli flowers, grated carrots, wheat germ, oat bran,
Flax seed meal, no sugar breakfast cereal, low salt V-8 juice, grated tofu-cheese,
nonfat cottage cheese, chopped nuts or raisons, chopped very hard boiled
egg, pasta, brown rice, well, cooked chopped chicken, powdered pellets.
Remember that any soft food will develop bacteria if
left too long in the cage. I serve each batch fresh & never use
leftovers as ingredients. I never have to worry about this mushy mixture
going bad because all of my birds eat it as soon as I put it in their
food bowls. My grey, Bongo Marie, loved her ‘glop’; and my
double-yellows, Paco and Rascal, relish this food — barely coming
up for air when I serve it. This nutritious mixture as a part of their
diet has kept them healthy for over 25 years. Their feather condition is
superb.
If you only have one bird and want to make the whole batch, the
‘glop’ can be rolled into balls or placed in an ice cube tray and
frozen. Thaw as needed but don’t overcook. Add any supplement after
heating since heating can destroy the vitamin A. If at first your bird
doesn’t like this nutritious mixture — keep trying and trying.
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