Help with Legumes?

[Stitchy]

I have picked the topic to research today, food. I am pretty sure I have the whole veggies and fruit ideas down and I am ready to create my plans of getting Stitchy to try some of them. So far he will only eat natural apple sauce and sweet potatoes, but I have hope! My confusion is regarding legumes. Since I do not have any plans at the moment regarding sprouting, how do I feed legumes? I am used to opening a can of beans for our dinner, so I am clueless . Can any of you give me suggestions on what kinds and how to prepare them?

 

[Bartleby]

There are lots of bird specific cookables on the market that contain legumes. Higgins Worldly Cuisines come to mind as well as some Avian Organics mashes, there's Volkman's mixes too. I use all three and they are great. Avian Organics mashes in particular are a huge hit and, honestly, I want to eat them too!

As far as just plain legumes, garbanzos, lentils, adzuki and mung are the ones that are most easily utilized by parrots. If you buy the dried kind you have to soak them overnight before cooking. I would add some grains, rice in particular, if you go this route as the combo creates a complete protein. Then in the last 15 minutes or so of cooking you can throw in a cup of a frozen chopped veggie mix. This way you've created your own mash.

 

[rocky'smom]

you can also power soak beans/ peas/ any legumes. first rinse and pick thru whatever legume you are using. make sure to pull out any bad looking bean/peas/ legumes and any rocks/stones you may find. rinse several more times to get any grit/ dirt/sand out the legumes. dump them into a large pot and cover with cold water, bring the water to rolling boil. boil 5 minutes, turn down to low simmer for another 1/2 hour. turn off the heat, cover and let soak for at least 6 hours. when you can pinch the bean/pea/legume between your finger and thumb and it has some mushiness. you can cook. Remember NO SALT please.

 

[Ark]

I second the cooked parrot food suggestion! Higgins Worldly Cuisines in particular were a huge hit here, and they have a variety of mixes that include legumes. My bird was also an apple sauce and sweet potato only kind of guy (bananas if he was feeling generous) and he took to them so quickly it shocked me. Once you get them started trying new, tasty things, it gets a lot easier to convince them to try even healthier stuff.

 

[Laurul Feather Cat]

Legumes are just simply peas and you can serve them raw, cooked or steamed. I used to feed a bean, legume, rice and grain mix I cooked until soft and then served slightly reheated when I was raising cockatiel babies. Just simmer the grains, beans, rice, legumes in water until soft and serve either room temp or slightly warm. I would cook up a very large batch and then freeze portions in ice cube trays, keep in a zip-lock in the freezer and heat up to serve. They loved it!

If they have never had cooked food before, it may take a while for them to figure out it is edible. When I have a new food I want them to try, I take some into the birdroom and I eat it in front of them, encouraging the cockatiels, Sunny and the lovies to steal from my plate or even from my lips. I give out small dollops on spoons and just "yummmm..." to my heart's content!