Freezing fresh food

[kozykitty]

A lot of people hear say that they freeze their parrot's chop. My question is--do you heat the frozen chop or just thaw it out the night before? Do things with seeds freeze well? I'm thinking pomegranate seeds etc. I already freeze cooked grains and thaw them out but I was thinking about the chopped jalapenos, sweet peppers and other fresh things.

 

[JerseyWendy]

I'm probably the minority - I do NOT freeze my chop. I freeze my homecooked stuff....this: http://www.parrotforums.com/parrot-food-recipes-diet/22594-cook-portion-freeze-my-recipe.html, but the chops I make I keep in the fridge. I make enough for a week, so it doesn't become too soggy.

Anyway, about the temperature when I serve it. The frozen stuff gets heated in the microwave until warm, and the chop is served at room temperature.

 

[Christinenc2000]

I really don't do chop. BB likes his in chunks. I save a few steps by washing under hot water. If that can't be done i nuke it for a few seconds just to take chill off

 

[littleredhen77]

i freeze alot! i make the chop and portion it in sandwitch baggies, then put those baggies in a 1 gallon ziploc freezer bag. it takes my eclectus about 3 days to eat whats in each baggie and i just thaw it in the fridge over night. i serve him this chop cold, and i try to avoid microwaving anything if at all possible because im worried that mircowaving may destroy some of the goodness in his chop i try to prepare so perfectly. i do however microwave his sweet potato servings because i will bake them and remove the skins, then mash and i put that mash into ice cube trays. each night i put a cube in the microwave for 25 seconds to thaw/warm it before i mix in his cold chop and refigerated fresh sprouts. i make the sprouts in mason jars and each jar lasts about 4 or 5 days, i just have to time it right so when one jar only has about a third left in it ill start another one and he never runs out. theyre pretty easy to keep on hand fresh this way so i havent bothered trying anything else with them.

i do not mix fruits in his chop but i did buy 4 or 5 really good looking pomegranates one day which i cut open and scooped out all the seeds. i bagged them up seperatley and froze them and they seem to have frozen perfectly! no solid cube of juice at the bottom of the bag, no freezer burn crystals, theyre apparently really good for freezing! ill put a tablespoon of these seeds into his dish in the morning, still frozen, and as they thaw he will gobble them right up! i bought a bag of already frozen organic blueberries but they were all crystally when i opened the bag and he doesnt seem to like them much.

i do find that his chop baggies need to be squeezed out after theyre thawed..ill let them sit in the fridge over night then ill give it a good squeeze to get the liquid out and transfer the chop into a small tupperware. ive tried different combinations of veggies and ive also tried adding in some uncooked 'quick oats' to the chop prior to freezing, nothing seems to prevent the juice from forming after its thawed. but squeezing out each bag doesnt bother me much. my chop usually has about 10 ingredients, and while im preparing it ive noticed that things like bell peppers and celery make ALOT of juice, but he loves those things so i choose not to exclude them just because theyll leave some liquid in the bag when i thaw it.

ive heard of some birds that only like food at certain temps, my bird doesnt seem to be one of those so i havent had to heat much of anything for him, i guess thats what makes my 'technique' work for us

i hope some of that was helpful!

 

[Mimsy01]

I make homemade food for our pet rats and then we have a bunny who needs lots of leafy greens that have to fresh. So with that the birds get fresh food almost daily. I keep some lil jars of organic baby food, frozen veggies and dried fruits/veggies for in case I run out. but I don't run out for even full days due to bunny needs.

 

[RavensGryf]

I do like Christine, I do chunks (small chunks) instead of really small tiny pieces. I don't freeze it either. I'm just afraid in hot weather about if the pieces are too tiny and soggy and getting bad since I'm gone for hours during the day. Mine are used to it chunky anyway, but one drawback of doing it that way is that it allows them to be more picky and easily sort through it if they're not in the mood for certain items that day.

 

[plumsmum2005]

I steam Plum's veg and then use my processor for a mushy consistency like mash potato, this makes it easier to disguise things he will avoid if chunky. He seems to prefer warm food and btw pomegranate is fine frozen. Unless you nuke their food in the microwave which is effectively cooking it again warming it this way should be OK IMO? I try to remember to fetch from the freezer the night before and then its ready in the morning, I also add extra fresh stuff ie sprouted shoots, spinach leaves, banana, egg. BTW i have noticed that I can fool my picky eater by giving him the same food in a clean dish because he thinks it's new! Certainly good if he has a rummage through and thinks it's done.

PS I was looking through at some of the Organic baby foods today to make his chop bit more varied but noticed several add lemon juice so didnt buy.

 

[chris-md]

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i do not mix fruits in his chop but i did buy 4 or 5 really good looking pomegranates one day which i cut open and scooped out all the seeds. i bagged them up seperatley and froze them and they seem to have frozen perfectly! no solid cube of juice at the bottom of the bag, no freezer burn crystals, theyre apparently really good for freezing! ill put a tablespoon of these seeds into his dish in the morning, still frozen, and as they thaw he will gobble them right up! i bought a bag of already frozen organic blueberries but they were all crystally when i opened the bag and he doesnt seem to like them much.

Littleredhen, save a step and give him a complete half pomegranate. its a great foraging activity for you little guy. He'll shred it up getting to the seeds. Same thing with kiwi and mini pumpkins (around October when they are available). I just throw the whole kiwi or warmed pumpkin in the bowl and Parker goes to town. I'm trying to get him there with papaya, but he's not a big fruit fan.

 

[littleredhen77]

i do feed him kiwis and mini pumpkins to shred, and when i find fresh pomegranates ill give him like a quarter of one so he has peels to shred i just froze some because i wasnt sure if id be able to find ones that good all year round

something i saw online once that i think is a ingenious way to keep their food bowls fresh for a little bit longer while youre gone during the day, is to take a second bowl that the food bowl will sit inside snugly, fill it half way with water and freeze it. that way when you sit his bowl of veggies on top it will keep it cooler and maybe help things stay better during the hot summer months? once its summer i wanna test this out and see if it keeps things cooler long enough for it to be actually helpful. just something to try

 

[chris-md]

You're fortunate, many ekkies won't eat unless the food is warm. If I were to serve cool veggies to Parker he'd fling it back in my face, literally! He will really only eat cooled kiwis, and sprouts. Even things like blueberries/raspberries/strawberries I have to warm up.

As long as the food you feed isn't wet veggies, you're fine for the day. We work 9-5 jobs but often don't get home til 7. In the morning he gets stuff that isn't very wet that won't harden over 12 hours (corn/peas/broccoli/cauliflower/bread, bits of rice/dry spelt/dry oat meal, to name a few). Wet fruits I save for when we'll be home (evening/weekend/days off).

So in my setup, there's no need for a cooling preserving method. Non wet stuff will keep much longer. Wet stuff can become bacterial cesspools with all the sugar content.

 

[kozykitty]

Do you cook your peas and corn? I get the frozen and heat it enough to thaw it out so it is a little wet. I typically put about a 1 inch slice of corn on the cob on a skewer with a baby carrot and a broccoli floret for Gloria to tear apart. Those are okay.

 

[littleredhen77]

i personally dont cook peas or corn, ill buy bags of it frozen and mix it in with the other ingredients in the chop mixture im making. it then gets thawed when i thaw out a bag for him to eat from.

i guess this is going to be a preference thing you should try out on your bird..see if he will eat anything at any temps?

it also interests me now though, is there any health benefits to heating the food? i mean, a warmed up mashed sweet potato is prolly going to cool to the point where it can grow bacteria on it just as fast as a cold dish of mixed veggies isnt it? is there a greater benefit one way or the other? does it take longer than say 10-12 hours for things to spoil to the point of dangerousness reguardless of its starting temp? this is worrying me now :/

 

[kozykitty]

Now I'm wondering. I give fresh food in the morning before work and again at dinner time. Perhaps the raw fresh--diced peppers, raw broccoli, pomegranate etc. would b best in the morning and the thawed peas, edamame, cooked sweet potato etc. would be best in the evening when I can remove the dish before bedtime.

 

[chris-md]

i personally dont cook peas or corn, ill buy bags of it frozen and mix it in with the other ingredients in the chop mixture im making. it then gets thawed when i thaw out a bag for him to eat from.

i guess this is going to be a preference thing you should try out on your bird..see if he will eat anything at any temps?

it also interests me now though, is there any health benefits to heating the food? i mean, a warmed up mashed sweet potato is prolly going to cool to the point where it can grow bacteria on it just as fast as a cold dish of mixed veggies isnt it? is there a greater benefit one way or the other? does it take longer than say 10-12 hours for things to spoil to the point of dangerousness reguardless of its starting temp? this is worrying me now :/

I'd imagine it's not so much the starting temperature as it is the fact that you had killed many bacteria by nukong it in the microwave.

Now I'm wondering. I give fresh food in the morning before work and again at dinner time. Perhaps the raw fresh--diced peppers, raw broccoli, pomegranate etc. would b best in the morning and the thawed peas, edamame, cooked sweet potato etc. would be best in the evening when I can remove the dish before bedtime.

You do what works for you My general rule is veggies in the morning, fruit at night. Mashed potatoes, pomegranates, all wet and messy, are evening stuff around here. But it's all fresh.

 

[plumsmum2005]

Everyone here is super diligent with only supplying the best for their birds and ensuring it doesn't spoil. But I was wondering:-

Do parrots ignore food if it is going 'off/past it's best' or do they eat it regardless? Can they smell or sense if it's good/no good?

 

[kozykitty]

You do what works for you My general rule is veggies in the morning, fruit at night. Mashed potatoes, pomegranates, all wet and messy, are evening stuff around here. But it's all fresh.

That sounds like a good plan though I'll give a little pomegranate both times as it gets consumed immediately!

 

[RavensGryf]

Do parrots ignore food if it is going 'off/past it's best' or do they eat it regardless? Can they smell or sense if it's good/no good?

Good question. Never thought about that, but I'd imagine just like us, sometimes humans get food poisoning after eating something that 'tastes' and looks okay if it's just past that turning point but not obvious yet.

I don't think our birds' food would necessarily get to blatant 'food poisoning' level unless it was left out overnight into the next day, but my concern would be more about bacterial infection.