Tofu Nuggets with Dipping Sauce

Admittedly, I am running low on good finger foods for Little Asher.  At first he was all about finger foods and gobbled them up then recently he has gotten lazy and just wants to be fed.  Awkward age I suppose.  He did seem to really like these as did Epicutie veteran Little Joy.  My husband and I both like them, they taste every similar to a chicken nugget with slightly less flavor on the "meat".  This was adapted from a recipe on wholesomebabyfood.com

Ingredients (Nuggets):

• 1/2 package firm tofu
• 1/8-1/4 cup flour (more or less)
• 1 egg yolk
• 1 cup fine dry bread or cracker crumbs (I used Italian bread crumbs)
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• A few grinds of pepper

Steps (Nuggets):

1. Preheat oven to 350
2. Cut tofu into whatever size/shape you would like (perhaps fun shapes for toddlers)
3. Spread flour on a small plate or flat dish. 
4. Beat egg yolk in a shallow dish. 
5. Mix remaining ingredients in shallow dish. 
6. Coat each piece of tofu in the flour to cover, then into the egg, then crumbs, and then to a baking sheet.
7. Chill for 30 min to an hour to set the coating (you can just bake right away if you want this isnt a totally necessary step).
8. Bake 15-20 minutes until crisp.

Dipping Sauce:  I used peach puree.  For my 10 month old I dapped a little on each nugget and for my 2 year old I gave her a little dab on her plate to dip from.  I made the peach puree too (I will have to post about that later).

Storage:  I did not try to freeze them but I imagine it would freeze well and could be thawed and reheated in the toaster oven.  I kept mine in the fridge for about 4 days before it was used up.  I reheated in the toaster oven.

Timing:  8-10 months; these are very soft but watch your little one because they may try to swallow them whole depending on the size you cut them.

Difficulty: 2 out of 5.

Epicutie Rating (see left side of page for rating descriptions):

Little Joy:  Somewhat Yummy; She liked it but I would not say she ate it with her usual zesto.  Course she is a 2 year old and most 2 year olds do not enjoy change.

Little Asher:  Yummy in the Tummy; I had to make Little Asher slow down because he was not chewing well enough.  He had them several times before they were all eaten up.

Tofu Bites

Tofu is full of protein so I like the idea of eating it, but even after all the time I spent in China--I still do not love it.  However, just because I do not love a food does not mean I should push my preferences off on my epicuties; my worst food nightmare could be my children's delight.  It is my responsibility as a parent to provide them opportunities to experience new things (including food) even if my personal preference is against it (i.e. tofu, cheerleading for Addison, football for Caleb, brussel sprouts, peas, tatoo artistry, etc, you follow me).

Here is a simple way to serve up tofu as a finger food.  It is a great food as an early finger food (particularly those without many teeth like Little Asher) because its super soft.

Ingredients:

• Firm tofu
• Dusting of your choice (crushed graham crackers, cherrios or infant cereal; wheat germ, etc.)

Steps:

1. Crush your dusting in a ziplock bag.
2. Cut tofu into cubes or shapes of your choice.
3. Place tofu in ziplock bag and shake until well coated.
4. Serve immediately, discard left overs.

Difficulty:  1 out of 5; super easy, no cooking

Timing:  8 months; Some books say 6-9 months for tofu so I suggest somewhere in the middle around 8 months.  It is soft so it does not require any teeth.

Storage:  Storage any left over tofu according to the package instructions, however I would not save any leftovers of this food.  It seems like the dusting would get mushy--yuck!

Tip:  I would air on the side of too much dusting at first.  I think my children did not like it because it was too lightly dusted.

Epicutie Rating (see left side of page for rating descriptions):

Little Joy (2 years):  Sour Puss; she was a great sport.  She TRIED her hardest to like it but she just did not enjoy it; poor thing.  She rarely turns her nose up at a food so I felt bad she hated it so!

Little Asher (9 months):  Sour Puss; he tried several bites and his face got more and more sour.  It was a texture thing I believe.

HAHAHAHA!

HAHAHAHA!

I AM TRYING MOMMY!