Chop mix and some questions

[Brittany741]

One VERY important piece of advice: ALL vegetables and items which aren't cooked must be sufficiently washed, even organic or pre-washed items! Put them in a large sterilized bucket or sterilize your sink and rinse VERY well. I use 1/2 gallon of vinegar plus fill my sink the rest of the way with water. Make sure everything is pushed into the water. I allow everything to soak for at least 30-60 minutes, agitating and rotating items top to bottom to ensure proper removal of pesticides, bacteria, bugs, unseen mold, etc. I recommend taking all leafy greens apart and closely inspecting for signs of spoilage or aging. Throw out anything that isn't perfect and new. You can also add clean ice to the disinfecting mix if you feel the temp has risen too much.

Before disinfecting carrots or other underground veggies, wash under water with a stiff vegetable brush to remove dirt. Carrots should be purchased whole with the tops intact. Carrot greens are good for Ekkies.

The only items I cooked were the following:

Beans (pre-soak and then boil and stand according to package directions)
Veggie pasta
Rice
Carrots - blanch ONLY. Do not boil! Blanching activates the beta-carotene whereas boiling removes it completely. To blanch, have a big bowl filled with ice and water and drop the carrots in. Broccoli can be provided raw but blanching is good, too.

For my chop, I followed the guidelines at this website: diets

I only use veggie pasta. Barilla makes a Rotini pasta from Zucchini and Spinach.

I use a very small bag of brown rice

I also don't use any corn in mine. I only give corn cob wheels as a treat on occasion.

This is an excellent thread!

For my chop, I used one bunch of each vegetable and 1-2 of each vegetable piece, such as yams. Keep in mind, this is going to make a HUGE amount of food! If you check my thread, you'll see I made just as much food above. I spent roughly $140 on everything and it will feed my entire flock for a few months.

I also invested in mason jars to protect against plastic leaching into the food. This is a heavily debated and controversial topic, but for me it was also a matter of cost-effectiveness. I invested in a commercial vacuum sealer and can vacuum seal my jars prior to freezing.

On one more note- I tried to make a fruit mash and it was an EPIC failure. It turned into a jar of juice and was seriously rejected by my fids. I only feed fresh fruit now but smaller variety every day. Maybe 2-3 different items each day but rotating what they get. Definitely buy Papaya as its huge and my Ekkies go insane for it.

 

[jtidwell]

I have now added a couple of different mixed beans to the list (about 3 cups measured uncooked), which I then cook according to the instructions (I imagine I could cook them less, but I have read it is bad for beans to be given to birds under cooked, happy to be corrected on this, if someone knows otherwise).

This is also true for humans! Kidney beans are especially toxic when raw. Apparently humans can get sickened after eating only a few of them:
Raw Kidney Beans ? Home Food Preservation ? Penn State Extension

Not all raw beans are this bad, of course, but they all have lectins and anti-nutritive chemicals in them. I'd be safe and cook all legumes thoroughly for our feathered babies!