Does any one have a bird safe spiced nut recipe?

Stitchthestitch

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Friday, I am hosting a discord cheese and drinks session with a few close friends and I'm making my board as bird safe as possible (no onion, garlic etc) so albie can share with us and I want to make some spiced nuts. The problem I'm having is everything is very heavy on garlic and onions powders.

Does any one have any good recipes that both humans and bird will enjoy?
 
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Stitchthestitch

Stitchthestitch

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Knowing albie, he won't want his plain nuts he'll want mine hahah
 

fiddlejen

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Not exactly a recipe, more of a suggestion.
I watched a Townsend's video where he referenced "kitchen pepper." (18th century cooking)

Now, Townsend's is heavy on the nutmeg which is also a birdie no-no, and so when I looked up recipes I had to leave out the nutmeg.

But kitchen pepper was used as basic-seasoning for foods (like meat / poultry /fish) where nowadays we would reach for Garlic and Onion. I have done exactly that, and occasionally make up this mix to use in place of steak seasoning. I think it would work even better for nuts than it does for meats

Basic recipe is:
2 parts ginger powder
[[1 part nutmeg (leave this out, to make it birdsafe) ]]
1 part pepper
1 part Allspice
1 part cinnamon powder
1/2 part cloves powder

appx 5 parts salt (basically, salt equal in equal amount to eveyrthing else).

So... leaving out the salt... or adding it at the end to taste... you could mix up this seasoning... 1 suggest using a teaspoon or a half-teaspoon as your Unit of measure, which will give you a small-but-usable quantity of your "kitchen pepper" seasoning mix.

Mix it up in a little container, and then you can substitute it for the onion and garlic called for by your spiced nut recipe.
 
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noodles123

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Make him think your nuts are his...Use a divided bowl or something and just make them look similar. The coating on his could be bird probiotic for all anyone knows as long as it looks like the salt on yours lol--- DON'T coat nuts in avain probiotic lol-- that could be too much-- it was a bad joke. Alternative-- let him see you eat the plain ones and then sneak the good ones. They have a terrible sense of smell, so it's largely visual for them (although obviously they notice sweet, sour, etc because it's "loud" enough to reach their taste-buds). Your bird may end the evening thinking you have terrible taste, but hey--when he throws his party, he can do it up the way he wants.


I'd be very cautious with allspice and cloves-- cinnamon as well (depending on the type-- ceylon (sp?) is, but the other types (cassia) are not (from what I understand). I've given Noodles small sprinkles of cassia "cinnamon" mixed in with larger batches of oatmeal etc, but not for the past few years after reading about the differences. I think your bird would be fine if it wasn't a lot, but spiced nuts DO contain a lot of spices.
 
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fiddlejen

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I'd be very cautious with allspice and cloves-- cinnamon as well (depending on the type-- ceylon (sp?) is, but the other types (cassia) are not (from what I understand)

Uggh. Well some time back when I was looking up bird safe foods the only spice that was coming up as problematic was nutmeg. So Ive been using allspice instead. I actually realized cloves are not my fave -- but allspice and cinnamon too? dangerous to birdies? ?? In that case - what is worse - the spices, or the onion & garlic? ??
 

noodles123

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Any spice that has medicinal qualities in humans can be dangerous--not saying cloves are for sure, but they are a serious spice-- used to use them instead of dental numbing. I'd say garlic and onions are more dangerous than a hint of cassia, but it depends on how much is used and in what. Cloves will numb your tongue and mouth if you chew them-- allspice has cinnamon and cloves in it. A small dash in a pot of food doesn't concern me much (if the rest is bird safe)--I gave Noodles a small bit of a boiled potato that I cooked in probably a 1-1/2 gallon of water with a 1 tbs of ground allspice in it (plus like 1-2 lbs cabbage etc)-- but that was a lot of dilution...and that was a treat; I didn't make it for her. I'd just be careful, but a small amount of a seasoning (when diluted) and then given to a bird in an even small quantity is probably fine, but worth researching.



There are a lot of unknowns with herbs and spices. I sometimes even give Noodles a bit of something that had garlic in it if it is last on the list of ingredients, or if I can rinse a sauce off etc. She doesn't get many hand-outs, but when I cook for her, I want to feel confident that she can eat what I made without me worrying lol
 
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fiddlejen

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Any spice that has medicinal qualities in humans can be dangerous--not saying cloves are for sure, but they are a serious spice-- used to use them instead of dental numbing. I'd say garlic and onions are more dangerous than a hint of cassia, but it depends on how much is used and in what. Cloves will numb your tongue and mouth if you chew them-- allspice has cinnamon and cloves in it.....

There are a lot of unknowns with herbs and spices. ...

Well actually Allspice only Tastes like cinnamon & cloves, it's really its own spice... "Allspice, also known as Jamaica pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or pimento, is the dried unripe berry of Pimenta dioica, a midcanopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America.."(wikipedia)

.. but it seems I can only go so far in limiting what I eat for fear she will get some. I mean, I was using "kitchen pepper" as a replacement for standard onion-garlic heavy steak seasoning on my meats & veggies. Although as I adjusted to my own taste, it's mainly ginger, with some allspice and then cayenne.

I don't keep avocado in the house and I rarely cook with onions. I try to follow keto, or at least low-carb, as much as possible for my own health. I had to stop using avocado oil, the healthiest option, because I kept forgetting and would let her eat from my veggies if she wanted. I deleted nutmeg, which really makes a lot of foods taste better, for the same reason.

But it seems really difficult to remove all the main spices from cooking as well. Do you really think that's necessary? I mean peppers are okay, cayenne is the only one I really like, I try to avoid too much bell pepper due to nightshade issues my own self. Every seasoning and even every food can be considered to have health effects for humans. So that seems a bit to broad a category to limit of foods my birdie might nab.

When I originally looked up foods that were supposed to be UN safe for birds, Nutmeg I thought was the only spice on that list.
 

fiddlejen

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Okay so next suggestion for your spiced nuts, would be, to use a chili powder mixture. Maybe, like, sweet plus hot?
 
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Stitchthestitch

Stitchthestitch

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Okay so next suggestion for your spiced nuts, would be, to use a chili powder mixture. Maybe, like, sweet plus hot?

This was more the spiced nuts I was thinking a sweet chilli coating but that's where I'm falling short, everything has loads of garlic and salt in.
 

fiddlejen

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Okay so next suggestion for your spiced nuts, would be, to use a chili powder mixture. Maybe, like, sweet plus hot?

This was more the spiced nuts I was thinking a sweet chilli coating but that's where I'm falling short, everything has loads of garlic and salt in.

What is the recipe you would use if you were not concerned about birdie? (We can modify it.)
 

fiddlejen

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So... I have gone poking around online. I have found two recipes that I like. IF I were gonna prepare spiced nuts for an event and felt that my Sunny was gonna Eat some, I would probably go with one of these two recipes, WITH Modifications which I have noted:

1. CHILI LIME NUTS RECIPE
Ingredients
1 cup peanuts
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup pistachios
----Really, just use appx 3 cups or so total of whichever nuts you like best.---
1 tbs lime juice
1 tsp lime zest
– myself, I don’t usually do “zest.” I would probably just add an extra few drops of the lime juice. Which is from a jar. BUT probably will taste great if you do the zest!
1 tbs honey
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
------- SALT. This recipe has tsp instead of tBsp because the Lime decreases the need for salt. You can add some cayenne to taste… maybe start with ¼ to ½ tsp… and DECREASE the SALT even further, down to about ½ tsp for the recipe.

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
In a large bowl, stir together the nuts. Set aside.

Zest the lime and measure out a tablespoon of lime juice. Place these ingredients in a small bowl and stir in the honey. Pour these wet ingredients over the nuts, and stir to coat evenly.

Combine the chili powder and the salt --and cayenne-- in a small bowl. Sprinkle these seasonings over the nuts, and stir again to evenly distribute the seasonings. Taste the nuts, and add extra seasonings if desired.

Transfer the nuts to a 9 by 13 inch baking pan (or similar). Roast them in the 325 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve warm, or, cool completely before transferring the nuts to an airtight container for storage
 

fiddlejen

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2. ROSEMARY SPICED NUTS

1 pound unsalted mixed nuts
2 tablespoon melted butter
3 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh rosemary
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar or granulated sugar
½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon kosher salt
--About the SALT---- You can decrease the salt to ½ tablespoon (aka 1½ teaspoon) without much problem. Decrease to 1 tsp, and you may notice the lack.

Here is how I would Modify this recipe:

ADD a scant 1/4 tsp garlic powder to the mix. (AS noted elsewhere on forum recently, small quantity garlic should be ok for birdies, and you are Not giving him All the nuts!)

ADD Dried oregano to taste… probably about one teaspoon or so.

SALT: Start with only ½ tsp kosher salt in the mix. SET ASIDE another 1 teaspoon salt. After you have added all the spices & tossed, then taste-test. You probably will need more salt. Sprinkle on the salt a little at a time from the 1 tsp salt which you had set-aside, until it tastes okay. Based on the quantity of nuts, eating a Little bit of nut that has this topping, should not give Too much salt to your birdie.

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a bowl, toss nuts with butter and spread out onto a baking sheet. Bake until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring frequently.
While nuts roast, mix rosemary, sugar, cayenne and salt in a bowl. Add nuts and toss. Serve warm or cool.
 
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Stitchthestitch

Stitchthestitch

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Can I just how much I love you for this?? Those chilli Lime ones sound amazing! Thank you so much!
 

noodles123

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Any spice that has medicinal qualities in humans can be dangerous--not saying cloves are for sure, but they are a serious spice-- used to use them instead of dental numbing. I'd say garlic and onions are more dangerous than a hint of cassia, but it depends on how much is used and in what. Cloves will numb your tongue and mouth if you chew them-- allspice has cinnamon and cloves in it.....

There are a lot of unknowns with herbs and spices. ...

Well actually Allspice only Tastes like cinnamon & cloves, it's really its own spice... "Allspice, also known as Jamaica pepper, myrtle pepper, pimenta, or pimento, is the dried unripe berry of Pimenta dioica, a midcanopy tree native to the Greater Antilles, southern Mexico, and Central America.."(wikipedia)

.. but it seems I can only go so far in limiting what I eat for fear she will get some. I mean, I was using "kitchen pepper" as a replacement for standard onion-garlic heavy steak seasoning on my meats & veggies. Although as I adjusted to my own taste, it's mainly ginger, with some allspice and then cayenne.

I don't keep avocado in the house and I rarely cook with onions. I try to follow keto, or at least low-carb, as much as possible for my own health. I had to stop using avocado oil, the healthiest option, because I kept forgetting and would let her eat from my veggies if she wanted. I deleted nutmeg, which really makes a lot of foods taste better, for the same reason.

But it seems really difficult to remove all the main spices from cooking as well. Do you really think that's necessary? I mean peppers are okay, cayenne is the only one I really like, I try to avoid too much bell pepper due to nightshade issues my own self. Every seasoning and even every food can be considered to have health effects for humans. So that seems a bit to broad a category to limit of foods my birdie might nab.

When I originally looked up foods that were supposed to be UN safe for birds, Nutmeg I thought was the only spice on that list.


I know- we had a weird grater thing when I was a kid, but a lot of pre-grated mixtures aren't true allspice...kind of like cinnamon etc. I would still make sure to research allspice (real or combo platter variety) because I could have sworn I read something about it and parrots or with people and certain medications.
 
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Stitchthestitch

Stitchthestitch

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So... I have gone poking around online. I have found two recipes that I like. IF I were gonna prepare spiced nuts for an event and felt that my Sunny was gonna Eat some, I would probably go with one of these two recipes, WITH Modifications which I have noted:

1. CHILI LIME NUTS RECIPE
Ingredients
1 cup peanuts
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup pistachios
----Really, just use appx 3 cups or so total of whichever nuts you like best.---
1 tbs lime juice
1 tsp lime zest
— myself, I don’t usually do “zest.” I would probably just add an extra few drops of the lime juice. Which is from a jar. BUT probably will taste great if you do the zest!
1 tbs honey
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp salt
------- SALT. This recipe has tsp instead of tBsp because the Lime decreases the need for salt. You can add some cayenne to taste… maybe start with ¼ to ½ tsp… and DECREASE the SALT even further, down to about ½ tsp for the recipe.

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.
In a large bowl, stir together the nuts. Set aside.

Zest the lime and measure out a tablespoon of lime juice. Place these ingredients in a small bowl and stir in the honey. Pour these wet ingredients over the nuts, and stir to coat evenly.

Combine the chili powder and the salt --and cayenne-- in a small bowl. Sprinkle these seasonings over the nuts, and stir again to evenly distribute the seasonings. Taste the nuts, and add extra seasonings if desired.

Transfer the nuts to a 9 by 13 inch baking pan (or similar). Roast them in the 325 degree oven for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Serve warm, or, cool completely before transferring the nuts to an airtight container for storage

These are a amazing.... I'm not sure there's gonna be any left at this rate 🤣
 

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