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something like Cheerios for
flour.
    When making birdie breads, you need butter
for consistency but I use nut butters instead – peanut butter or
almond usually but any will do – or I will often substitute with
yogurt, applesauce, hemp oil, mashed banana, mashed
potato/squash/sweet potato/yam or sometimes just Canola oil. Baby
food (preferably organic) is great too and it comes in all kinds of
nummy flavors.
    Liquids can be water, juice, coconut milk,
rice milk or lactose-free plain milk – since our birds are lactose
intolerant.
    I sometimes use brown sugar but usually, if I
need to sweeten, I use honey. Most breads do not need to be
sweetened or if you’re using fruits, that’s good enough. Being
Canadian, I’ve been known to add a bit of maple syrup at times.
    I usually add spices to the breads and you
can use anything – just be careful about using too much if you are
unsure of the spices your bird likes. If you add too much of a
spice that they don’t like, it might turn them off the entire
bread. Sometimes I add whole cardamoms, chopped up fennel, cloves
etc. but you can use either dry or fresh spices and herbs. Pickles
also likes hot peppers in his breads.
    If you are using something like papaya,
peppers, pumpkin that contain seeds, add the seeds into the mix
too. Just make sure you don’t add things like cherry pits or apple
seeds which are toxic.
    Sometimes I add vanilla. Don’t worry about
the alcohol as it dissipates when cooked.
    Your bird may like big chunks of veggies or
fruit but Pickles prefers everything chopped fine. The foods he
doesn’t like at all, I practically puree.
    I like to add chopped up nuts to each bread
and usually try to get something like grapenuts, oatmeal, beans,
rice or some sort of grains into them. I always pick up bags of
12-grain mixes from the health store. Anything you think is healthy
for them – add it. Some people like to add the shell when adding
eggs – I just do it some of the time.
    Your cooking times may vary as we live in
high altitude country so check the breads at some point before the
listed time of baking. You may also want to half the recipes until
you know if your bird likes it or not.
    When the breads are cooked, I let them cool
right down and then I cut them in rows and cut the rows into
squares. I then wrap each row in Saran Wrap and throw them in a
large plastic baggie and put them in the deep freezer, keeping one
row for the fridge freezer. Each night, I snap off one square for
Pickles’ supper. I keep about 7 breads going at once so he gets a
different one each night of the week.
    Don’t be afraid to experiment. As long as
there’s good, tasty ingredients in there, the breads should get
eaten.

Carrot/Pineapple Bread

    2 cups whole wheat flour
    1/2 cup brown sugar
    ½ tsp baking powder
    ½ tsp cinnamon
    2 eggs (with or without shell)
    1 cup grated carrots
    ½ cup applesauce
    1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
    (or fresh pineapple)
    ½ cup chopped pecans or walnuts
    1 tsp. Vanilla extract

    Mix dry ingredients. Mix the rest of the
ingredients in separate bowl then add them to the dry
ingredients.
    Pour into lightly greased & floured loaf
pan – I use a little Canola – and bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60
minutes, or until edges start to brown.

Cranberry/Raspberry Bread

    1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
    1 cup frozen cranberries
    1/3 cup mashed ripe banana
    1/3 cup plain yogurt
    ¼ cup shredded coconut
    1 egg
    ¼ tsp salt
    ¼ cup dry tapioca
    ¼ c orange juice
    1 cup chopped walnuts
    1 cup cheerios
    1 tsp vanilla
    1 ½ cups potato flour

    Beat egg. Add all ingredients except for
flour and mix. Add flour. Depending on the juice in the
raspberries, ripeness of bananas and consistency of yogurt, you may
need to add a bit more flour to a nice, doughy consistency.
    Pour into lightly greased & floured cake
pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes, or until edges
start to brown.

Autumn Melody

    The following is Pickles' favorite birdie
bread.