Patricia Sund and her African grey Parker with a fresh batch of Potpourri. Courtesy Patricia Sund

Patricia Sund of Florida did a lot of research on frozen vegetables versus fresh vegetables to minimize the amount of food that went to waste if her birds didn't consume it all. This is her African grey Parker's favorite dish.

Sund recommends bags of plain, frozen mixed vegetables without sauce or flavorings. You can also mix different types of frozen vegetables in a large freezer bag. Carrots, broccoli, corn, cauliflower, green pepper, peas, yellow squash, turnip greens, brussels sprouts, zucchini, green beans and snow peas are good choices. Fresh or frozen chopped kale or collard greens offer a source of vitamin A and calcium.

Recipe Ingredients:

2 Tablespoons each hemp, rape and flax seeds
2 cups frozen mixed vegetables (thawed)
1/4 cup frozen chopped kale, collard or turnip greens
1/4 cup chopped sweet potatoes
1 to 2 chopped jalenpeno peppers
1/4 cup chopped carrots
1/2 cup cooked brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, cooked beans or quinoa

*Optional favorite bird treats like pellets, raisins, baby food, cooked scrambled egg with shell, dried pepper flakes of nuts. See Step 5 under the recipe instructions.

Recipe Instructions:

1. Put thawed mixed vegetables in a food processor. (Chop or cut the vegetables depending on your bird's preference.)
2. Place the mixture in a bowl or large Tupperware container.
3. Chop up and add fresh vegetables and other healthy foods that your bird enjoys.
4. Add in the cooked brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, cooked beans or quinoa.
5. Add other favorite bird treats
6. After you have combined all of your ingredients, mix them together and serve alone or with other food items that your birds like.

*Since this is a mixture of fresh foods, remove any leftovers that your birds don't eat after about an hour to prevent spoilage.

Storage:

Keep the Potpourri refrigerated in a Tupperware container, or portion it into small plastic bags until you are ready to serve it again. Sund said that it keeps for about two to three days in the refigerator. Sund serves it to her birds with powdered vitamin supplement sprinkled on top and a drizzle of flax seed oil or with scrambled eggs with the shell for a calcium boost.



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