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Balanced Natural Diet - Ingredients List

Approved vegetables and herbs used on rotation in Flock About Nutrition’s Freeze-Dried Chop.

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​Ingredients are selected according to freshness, quality and seasonal availability, so the exact combination may vary between batches. Individual mixes typically contain approximately 7–10 ingredients from this approved list.

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Download the Parrot-Safe Chop Ingredient Quick Reference Guide HERE.

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The Balanced Natural Diet Approach

A balanced vegetable chop is built around a rotating selection of fresh, parrot-safe vegetables and herbs chosen for seasonal availability and the best quality available at the time. Rather than relying on a fixed recipe, aim for a varied mix of approximately 7–10 ingredients, rotating suitable choices as availability changes.
 

Within each batch, build the bulk from Foundation ingredients, add Supporting ingredients for variety, and use Limited ingredients in smaller amounts. As a practical starting point, aim for approximately 50% Foundation, 35–40% Supporting, and 10–15% Limited ingredients.
 

This approach forms part of the Balanced Natural Diet framework taught in my Parrot Nutrition Course. Treat foods are listed separately because they may have a place in the wider diet as occasional offerings, but they are not included in the vegetable chop itself.


Learn more about the Balanced Natural Diet approach in my course here.

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How Ingredients Are Categorised

All ingredients in this guide are parrot-safe foods when appropriately prepared and offered in a suitable context. The categories describe an ingredient’s practical role in a regular vegetable chop, not whether it is simply “good” or “bad,” and not calories alone.
 

Categories consider energy density, sugar and starch contribution, nutritional value, palatability, storage suitability, and how readily an ingredient may displace leafy and fibrous vegetables. This is why broccoli, cauliflower, kale, Chinese broccoli and fennel bulb remain Foundation ingredients, while sweeter or starchier vegetables such as carrot, beetroot, parsnip, corn and sweet potato are kept Limited.

Foundation Ingredients

Foundation ingredients form the main, vegetable-forward base of chop. Choose most of your batch from these leafy greens, fibrous vegetables, selected brassicas and herbs.
 

  • Rocket / arugula

  • Spinach

  • Silverbeet / chard

  • Asian greens (pak choi, bok choy, choi sum)

  • Green cabbage

  • Red cabbage

  • Beet leaves

  • Radish leaves

  • Carrot tops

  • Herbs (parsley, coriander/cilantro, dill, basil, oregano, thyme, marjoram, rosemary and fennel fronds)

  • Celery leaves only

  • Fennel bulb

  • Zucchini

  • Pattypan squash

  • Okra

  • Kale

  • Broccoli

  • Cauliflower

  • Chinese broccoli(gai lan)

Supporting Ingredients

Supporting ingredients add useful colour, texture and rotational variety. Use them alongside a strong Foundation base rather than allowing them to make up most of the chop.
 

  • Kohlrabi

  • Radish (including daikon and small red radish)

  • Capsicum(bell pepper)

  • Pumpkin

  • Turnip

  • Swede(rutabaga)

  • Brussels sprouts

  • Chilli

  • Ginger*

  • Turmeric*


    * Ginger and turmeric are micro-amount additions, not bulk chop ingredients.

Limited Ingredients

Limited ingredients can be included, but should remain smaller additions. They are generally sweeter, starchier, more energy-dense, more highly preferred, or easier to overuse in chop.
 

  • Sweet potato

  • Corn

  • Beetroot

  • Carrot

  • Parsnip

Treat Foods

Treat foods are not included in the regular vegetable chop. They may be offered separately as occasional, small controlled additions to the wider diet.

  • Green beans

  • Snow peas/sugar snap peas

  • Cucumber

  • Fruit: apple, banana, pear, orange, mandarin, grape, kiwifruit, pineapple, melon, strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, blackberry, lemon, mango, passionfruit, papaya(pawpaw), pomegranate, guava and grapefruit

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