Just give tofu a chance

For some reason, people who have never tried tofu are a bit squeamish about it. There’s probably merit to this feeling: it looks funny; it’s wet; it’s mushy; and it’s white, which is unappealing to the pallet. However, these qualities actually make tofu a great Whole Food, Plant-Based (WFPB) option to work with.

Tofu originates with the soybean. Non-processed soy foods are a great addition to one's diet.  A product of soy beans, tofu is made by curdling soymilk. Not so appealing, but the health benefits are amazing. 

Tofu is like a chameleon. It is basically tasteless.  Its consistency allows it to take on the flavor of the foods with which it is paired, so it’s easy to hide. Perfect. You can add a layer to lasagna and it acts kind of like cheese. Chopped into squares, it can be used in soups. Its uses are endless. 

Years ago, I remember making a tofu parmesan. I sliced it into thin layers at the bottom of a baking dish and added marinara sauce and melted cheese. We called it pizza. Okay, the girls were younger then and much easier to persuade.

When tofu made an encore performance in our house months ago, I chose to cut it into blocks and put three tiny, tiny chunks of tofu on each girl’s plate. 

My strategy:

1.     Respect. I engaged their minds first and talked about the merits and health value of eating tofu. We don’t talk a great deal about cancer, but the girls’ great-grandmother has lung and bone cancer, so they are familiar with it. There is some evidence that eating tofu from a young age can actually prevent breast cancer in women (Honestly, I can’t remember where I read this, as I have devoured many books on WFPB eating. I think it is from The Anticancer Diet.). I can’t expect my children to blindly agree to follow the food changes we are making without respecting them as people who can make a good decision for themselves. I need to know why I am making changes; so do they.

 2.     Require just one taste. This is the baby steps method.

 3.     Keep it consistent with the way they like to eat. Neither daughter likes their food items to touch other food, so I served the tofu with rice, one of their favorites, and veggies. The tofu was a football fields’ length away from the other foods.

 The results:

When I told the girls they used to eat tofu when they were little that seemed to be enough for Lourdes to re-engage. She almost relished each bit, probably reminiscing about her early childhood and her mom loving her so much…. I don’t know. She just liked it. Score one. Fast-forward: Lourdes’ favorite dish is now red quinoa, with tofu squares and diced cucumber…mixed together.  Cucumber is one of her favorite veggies and she loves quinoa. She has taken this to school for lunch a couple of times.

Nelia wasn’t too happy about the tofu. She balked. She complained. She was left at the table alone after everyone else finished. All she had to do was eat one bite. You can see what I am up against. As my husband was doing dishes, he noticed her feeding a tofu square to the dog. That is not WFPB success. Where do we go from here? 

I kept offering it over the next few weeks; I made lasagna with it, chili, soup, and a stir fry. Nelia still doesn’t relish tofu like Lourdes does, and her countenance does not light up at the sight of tofu on her plate at dinner, but the dog’s diet is no longer supplemented with anti-cancer foods. I can call that a WFPB success, can’t I?