The Holistic Parrot by Leslie Moran
Many of us care for our birds as feathered family members. Some clients I’ve worked with have told me about the challenges they face and how they feel they are not coping with these issues in a healthy manner. It is important to understand how our human emotions and stress levels can affect our parrots. If you relate to this, then this month’s column is for you. And if you feel that you’ve already have healthy coping mechanisms in place, stay tuned, something new may jump out at you to try.
In researching published papers on a wide range of nutritional topics there are several general ideas I’d like to share with you. Many of us can have adverse reactions to certain foods, such as those packed with sugar and white flour, and sugary sodas or caffeine laced beverages. If any of you have raised children you may be able to relate to having them return from an afternoon outing as you notice that they are ‘bouncing off the walls’ because of all the sugar and junk foods they ate while out. Or perhaps you yourself can recognise the ‘sugar high’ and then the inevitable ‘crash’ that follows shortly thereafter. For myself that radical up and down is just not worth the ‘fix’ of whatever junk food I ate. So for me, I find it easier to just make healthier food choices and say, “No thank you”, to that plate of cookies, potato chips, chocolate, or whatever other junk or comfort foods that are offered.
Another way to approach unhealthy food temptations is to have more nutritious food choices on hand. For example, when I want something sweet I make up a dish of my Sweet Potato Casserole. This is made from organic sweet potatoes, chopped organic pecans, and is sweetened with organic maple syrup. Healthy real foods all around. This dish also keeps well in the refrigerator. I commonly have some daily for several days. My recipe is here for you to make and enjoy. However, PLEASE DO NOT FEED THIS TO YOUR BIRDS.