A Tutorial on Tofu

I just asked Raigan if she wants me to do a tutorial on tofu and she went crazy in baby babble. So I guess I will, because she's the boss.

I made a resolution at the beginning of the year to live more simply. I'm struggling with it, and working on it daily every once in awhile. I try to double up on things., do them when I think about them so I don't forget or have to spend time even remembering that I had to do them.

I use the same logic with feeding my children. I'm very much interested in nutrition and establishing good eating habits in my children. On the otherhand I still need it to be simple and easy, because there is too much in my life is not simple and easy.

Tofu is a great choice in the meat and bean group. What the heck is tofu? I used to wonder the same thing. Tofu is soybean curd, there are many types, consistences, and it's been around awhile. I'm trying to keep this simple.See? I'm working on it.

Tofu is a great alternative to meat because it contains little fat, and little to NO cholesterol, which is huge when trying to find protein. Tofu is super rich in protein, iron, and calcium. It contains Omega 3s, which lower the bad cholesterol and raise the good. It's got a pretty big bang for it's buck.

Tofu doesn't taste gross either like kale some other healthy foods that are high in vitamins and minerals. In fact tofu doesn't really taste like anything. At least when it's by itself. Tofu is like a sponge, it soaks up whatever flavors you want it to, so you can marinate it to whatever you like. I'm talking baby food talk though here, so there is no need to season it, because babies don't yet know too much about seasoning yet.

My point from all this:

Tofu as a baby food is a great idea. It's very simple, easy to make, soft already for baby, and packed with nutrition. Babies can start eating proteins at around 8 months.

What you need:

Hungry baby? 

 Check.

Package of extra firm tofu?

 Check.

There are all different kinds of tofu for different things, but in my opinion extra firm is best for baby food.

Drain the fluid off of the block of tofu.

Place the block of tofu on a towel or paper towel...

and wrap it up.

The goal is to press out as much of the moisture as you can.

Use pressure from your hand or put a book on top and push down on the book.

Once you've squeezed the heck out of it cut it into tiny little cubes for the babe.

And serve. Easy as tofu pie!

Since tofu is bland I fed this to my little Raiggie with applesauce.

I couldn't shovel it in fast enough so she was grabbing some herself in between bites.

Disclosure: I am not a Registered Dietitian. This is not professional advice. I'm just a mama wanting to feed her kids well while living simply.