How To Tofu- Recipe Redux + A Cookbook Giveaway

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What do chicken nuggets, hotdogs, pizza, and fishsticks have in common?

They are all on the list of typical foods parents feed their kids.  I blame convenience- what's easier than taking something out of the freezer and popping it into the microwave?  Also, they're fun for kids because they're bite size or come in cool shapes.  I'm always trying to think of more healthy options that are still fun and convenient.  I believe food should be fun AND wholesome.  In fact, playing with food (to an extent) is part of healthy child development.  Once infants start on table food, it's important to let them explore it using all their senses, especially touch.  I've held this stance since my daughter Lyla started on table-food and she has become a great eater.

Lyla enjoying her Tofu Stick

October is National Breast Cancer Awareness Month and RecipeRedux has teamed up with The Soyfoods Council to inspire family, friends and readers to add more soyfoods to their diet, specifically tofu.  There is an extensive body of evidence suggesting soy reduces the risk of breast cancer.  However, studies show that to receive the most optimal benefits in reducing the risk of breast cancer, soyfoods must be consumed starting in adolescence.  

If you're already feeding your kids tofu- keep it up!  If this is new territory for you, then I'm here to today to present you with a kid-friendly Tofu recipe.

Crunchy Baked Tofu Sticks Yields: 14 sticks Ingredients:  1 brick extra-firm Tofu ¼ canola oil 1 c crisp rice cereal 2 T nutritional yeast ¼ c cornflake crumbs Dash of paprika, pepper, cayenne powders Directions: 1.     Preheat oven to 375 F 2.     To slice tofu into 14 equal sticks, slice lengthwise once, then height wise 6 times 3.     Combine dry ingredients in a blender and pulse a few times to break down the crisped rice cereal.  Transfer to a shallow bowl 4.     Pour oil into a different bowl.  Dip tofu sticks into oil, then roll around in crumbs until well coated 5.     Place on greased cookie sheet and bake for 20 min.  Then flip over and bake for 10 more min.

Blue Corn Chip Crusted Cauliflower Gratin + a GIVEAWAY

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In honor of Celiac Awareness Month, Frito Lay is sponsoring a recipe contest for Recipe Redux members where we have to create gluten-free recipes that use at least one of their snack chips as a replacement for traditional gluten-containing ingredients.  Gluten free foods can't contain barley, rye, or wheat.  There are many alternative grains and flours on the market making it easier for people with Celiac disease to expand their palettes.  Some popular gluten free flours are corn, tapioca, rice, arrowroot, and amaranth.  Frito Lay is working hard to implement a gluten-free validation process in order to meet FDA standards.

The Reduxers were given a list of approved chips to use in our gluten free recipes.  I chose TOSTITOS® SIMPLY NATURAL™ Blue Corn Restaurant Style Tortilla Chips since they have a gorgeous hue and I love adding color to my dishes.  I crumbled them onto a healthy cauliflower broccoli gratin for a satisfying veggie-filled dinner.  

Baby's First Year of Nutrition + Baby Food Maker Review + GIVEAWAY

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Lyla @ 1 year enjoying mealtime

Since this blog is about sharing my knowledge based on my experiences and education, I feel obliged to share my experiences as a new mother specifically in providing wholesome nutrition for my daughter.  Lyla, now 18 months old, is a good eater in general.  I don’t know if that can be attributed to nature or nurture but I feel as if I’m doing something right.  On my journey to attaining my RD (Registered Dietitian status), I was exposed to child nutrition and when I worked in the hospital, I covered the Pediatric unit on occasion.  However, it wasn’t until I had my own child and was thrown into a “sink or swim” mentality, that I really got the hang of feeding a child. 

Nursing had its challenges but was an overall success.  I was able to do it for 7 months which seemed like a really long time- maybe next time I’ll attempt the recommended year but I highly doubt that’ll happen.  Yes breastfeeding is an amazing bonding experience, you save a lot of money, and you know you’re baby is getting great nutrition and antibodies, but it has its drawbacks.  It was hard being the only one who could feed my baby plus I didn’t love being ostracized to the nursery or a discrete corner of the room to nurse .  When I returned to work, I found it challenging to keep up with my workload with my two 20 minute pumping breaks.  And if we were lucky to get a baby-free night out, I had to feed her the second before we left and we had three hours max to enjoy ourselves before she needed to eat again.  In short, I felt like a slave to nursing so I traded in my pump for formula at 7 months to get my freedom back.  This is why I highly doubt I’ll be able to nurse for a full year next time.

Lyla @ 5 months trying rice cereal

When Lyla started on solids around 5 months, it was very exciting.  Well, as exciting as rice cereal mixed with breast milk can be.  It wasn’t until she started on pureed fruits and veggies that I really got into it.  I tried all the jarred flavors out there- my favorite brand being Earth’s Best.  They have such creative blends- broccoli zucchini, apple sweet potato, and carrot tomato.  I experimented with homemade blends too using a steamer and my blender.  One time I blended peas, avocado, and ricotta cheese and Lyla loved it!  I tried so hard to expose her to unique blends and added spices to help develop her palette.  I guess it worked because she is not your average toddler in regards to eating.  Some of her favorites are beans, cabbage, brussels sprouts, salmon, and all types of cheese.  I was persistent and implemented the “try it 10 times” theory.  Usually, she liked foods the first time but brussels sprouts took a while.  Since they’re my favorite vegetable, she had to like them too!

Eat.Think.Smile Giveaway winners

Thanks to everyone who entered the giveaway and to Eat.Think.Smile for providing the prize package!  My readers mean a lot to me which is the reason I love hosting giveaways.  And the winners are...
Dawn H
Tim L
Jill S
Chani W

I will be contacting each of you with more details.  Congrats!

Eat.Think.Smile Review + GIVEAWAY

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I am thrilled to introduce my new favorite snack.  Eat.Think.Smile, a subsidiary of Hershey, is an absolutely delicious line of cocoa-based snacks.  Some of their great products include Chewy Granola Bars, Baked Nutrition Bars, Granola Clusters, and Crispy Thins- each in a variety of flavors.  All the snacks use non-alkalized cocoa leaving the antioxidants intact.  For more info on cocoa, check out this post.  Fun fact: each serving of Eat.Think.Smile's snacks delivers more antioxidant power than a cup of green tea!   

Gnu bar review + Giveaway!

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My friends over at Gnu foods have sent me a sampler box = 14 bars with 7 flavor varieties!  After trying a tiny nibble from each, I decided to share the rest.  Keep reading to find out how you can score your own variety pack of 7 gnu bars!

Gnu bars are known for combining "flavor and fiber at last" and I couldn't agree more.  With 7 different flavors to choose from, you're bound to fall in love with several of the flavors.  My favorite is peanut butter.  It tastes just like a chewy peanut butter granola bar- yum!  The other flavors are banana walnut, chocolate brownie, cinnamon raisin, espresso chip, lemon ginger, and orange cranberry (second place favorite).