Please help educate me on TOFU!

[lisaE]

I plan on giving it to DS to boost his protien. I have "Super Baby Food" and she says to store it underwater in the fridge, changing out the water every day. Is this correct? What about freezing it? She says to put small cubes in ice cube trays, fill up with water and freeze it that way. Does that seem right? How long will it last in the fridge if I decide not to freeze it?

Also, how do I give it to him? Mash it up and sneak it into other foods? Do I feed it to him by itself?

I bought a block of it at Whole Foods and am a little scared to open it- intimidated, I guess. I've never really eaten it, but want him to, because I know it's super healthy.

Any advice or recipes for a tofu newbie?

DS is 7 1/2 months, BTW.

TIA!!

[rrosen]

Freezing it will change its texture. It will make it more crumbly.
You can cook them like scrambled eggs when you defrost them and squeeze a little of the moisture from them.

Keeping it in water in the fridge will keep it at its orig. texture. My DD love it just pan fried in a little sauce. We use hoisin, soy sauce, teriaki, whatever. Tofu takes on the taste of whatever you add to it. Stir fry in some veggies and you have a very healthy meal!

[luvmypeanut]

Did you buy the soft or firm tofu? The firm is good to put in soups or cut up into cubes as finger food. The soft is great to mix in with babyfood. I think in the beginning I mixed in the soft with her purees and then gradually switched over to the firm when she was able to handle the textures. It's been a while, but can they have tofu at 7 1/2 mos? If yes, I would probably mix the soft tofu in his food first. It's great because they never know it's there. Some kids like the plain cubes but dd likes hers with a bit of flavor. The Chinese restaurant near us makes a thick soup with tofu which she loves.

When dd got older, she loved having it with a white sauce or in soup:
Mix flour and butter in pan until thick. Whisk in milk and cook until it forms a thick white sauce. Add mashed carrots or any other soft veggie. I also like to add those cooked pasta stars like the kind you get in chicken and stars soup. Add mashed tofu.

Chicken soup (either homemade or cook chicken in chicken broth) with veggies and add firm tofu. She likes it over rice.

I put tofu covered in water in a tupperware container. Change the water every day. I think it will last a week in the fridge (?) but I've never had it longer than that. Don't know anything about freezing it but I'm sure it can be done. HTH! I'm sure you'll get some great info from other members.

[ett]

It should last a week if you store it underwater in the fridge and change the water every day. DS likes it in homemade chicken soup with veggies and pasta. Makes for a very healthy meal.

[miki]

You'll be able to tell when it starts to go bad. In the beginning it smells like nothing and then when it goes, it will smell kind of sour.

[Rachels]

FWIW, you might search for the recent thread on soy in the feeding forum. It's a good protein source and some of it is okay, but there are a fair number of babies who have a hard time with it for various reasons, and it has been linked to life-threatening peanut allergies. Worth reading up on before you make it a regular dietary staple for him.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02


"When you know better, you do better."
Maya Angelou

http://www.gynosaur.com/assets/ribbons/ribbon_sapphire_24m.gif Two years and counting!

[JacksMommy]

DS likes firm tofu chunks with a little bit of tamari or soy sauce.

Laurel
Working Mama to Jack, 6/4/02
EDD #2 12/24/02

[juliemiya]

Trader Joe's sells really good flavored tofu. I love the Thai flavored one. They also have teriyaki flavor, which I haven't tried yet. Probably not as spicy as the Thai one. Which isn't very spicy at all. It's baked and marinated. It's firm in texture.

I grew up eating tofu with just a little soy sauce. When I got older, it was soy sauce with a bit of grated ginger. But a lot of kids eat it plain.

julie