Cooking Instructions for Sara's Cooked Grain Mix

Sara Kane worked with avian vets to formulate her Cooked Grain Mix over 20 years ago. We're still feeding it to our birds daily, and they're happy and healthy because of it.

We recommend feeding Cooked Grain Mix as part of a complete diet. You can find our diet recommendations here.

How much should I cook?

Sara's Cooked Grain Mix will double in volume when cooked - two cups of dry Grain Mix will result in four cups of cooked Grain Mix, etc. As when you're making spaghetti, the amount of water to boil isn't critical, but we try to use at least one quart of water per dry cup of Grain Mix.

To Prepare	Start with this amount	In this much water (or more)
2 cups cooked	1 cup dry	1 quart
4 cups cooked	2 cups dry	2 quarts
6 cups cooked	3 cups dry	3 quarts

Cooking instructions:

1. Bring water to a boil

2. Add Sara's Cooked Grain Mix

3. Reduce heat to low

4. Simmer for 45 minutes

5. Drain and rinse

Pour the contents of the cooking pot into a fine-mesh strainer, and rinse.

6. Spoon into containers and freeze

We use small resealable freezer containers that hold no more than several days worth of Cooked Grain Mix. Freeze all the containers, then defrost one at a time to feed. That's it!

Feeding instructions:

To feed, defrost what you'll need for the next few days. We'll typically remove a container from the freezer the day before, and leave in the refrigerator overnight to defrost. Scoop several spoonfuls into your bird's cup daily. Our birds don't mind it cold, but if you prefer, you can heat it by putting it into a strainer and running hot water over it. Be careful if you defrost or heat it in a microwave to avoid hot spots that may injure your bird. Discard any uneaten grain mix at the end of the day, and keep the unused portion refrigerated for up to four days. Frozen grain mix will remain good for three months.