How to Introduce Kids to Tofu

Thank you House Foods for sponsoring this post.

About a year ago, my oldest son decided that he’d like to be a vegetarian. As a mom, you know how difficult it is to please all the people in your home when it comes to making dinner. When you add different diets and dietary needs to the difficulty of cooking for a crowd, it’s easy to get overwhelmed!

I spend a lot of time trying to find recipes to cook that my whole family can enjoy together- including the picky eaters and my vegetarian son. Getting dinner on the table can be a chore, and the last thing I want do is to cook my vegetarian son a separate meal, or to resort to feeing him PB&J at every night.

Recently I learned about The Tales of Tofu from House Foods, which is a free children’s e-book written with Melissa Rauch that helps introduce kids to tofu, a less familiar but good-for-you-food. (Be sure to download your own free copy here.)

My kids had never tried tofu before, and I hadn’t eaten it since college, so I thought this e-book would be a great way to introduce tofu into our lives and our meals.

Since I have little experience with vegetarians, I spend a lot of time trying to ensure that my preteen gets the nutrition he needs. I had absolutely no idea that tofu offered a good source of protein and calcium in such an easy to cook food! I think back to my picky eating toddlers, who I made countless smoothies for, and wish I’d thought to add tofu in for some protein! Since tofu is so easy to flavor, you can use it in nearly everything- from using it like meat in a main dish, as a ‘cheese’, or even using it in a dessert!

The Tales of Tofu from House Foods allows kids to follow along learning how little tofu is special thanks to its ability to easily mix with other foods. This fun storybook is also a cookbook, with several different kid-friendly and easy to prepare tofu recipes shared within the story.

After reading the story, my kids decided they wanted to try Broccoli Mac and “Cheese” made with House Foods Tofu Medium Firm first.

Trying new foods as a family is always an adventure! With 6 kids, I have a mix of both little foodies and very picky eaters. Whether picky, or ready to try anything, I’ve found that getting kids involved in both the planning and preparing of food helps them be more open to new and different things.
After giving tofu a first try with Broccoli Mac and “Cheese” they are curious about the other recipes included in The Tales of Tofu from House Foods. They plan to try Tofu Tacos as our next tofu adventure, followed by the smoothie and pudding recipes!