My kids love tofu. Raw, cooked, plain, marinated, baked, fried or in soup. At a recent family gathering where there was some Chinese takeout being served, my son got up with a delighted look on his face and said ‘I’m going to get more tofu!’, even with the option of other meat dishes available. So if you  think your kids wouldn’t ever like tofu- think again!

As any parent can attest to, finger foods usually rank pretty high on the dinner desirability list for kids, and these follow suit. They only take about 12-16 minutes to bake, so get their favorite sauce to dip, add a couple of sides like some rice pilaf or mashed potatoes, and let them go to town!

Tofu Sticks

Yield: 24 sticks

Ingredients:

1-15 oz container extra firm tofu

1/2 teaspoon garlic salt

½ cup whole wheat flour

2 teaspoons salt, divided

1 Tablespoon dulce flakes

1 cup non dairy milk

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 cup whole wheat breadcrumbs

3 Tablespoons nutritional yeast

pepper to taste

Procedure:

Press tofu for 10-15 minutes.

Arrange the tofu blocks so the long edge is facing you. Cut the block in half vertically.

Cut each half in 4 equal pieces, so you end up with 8 slabs. Stack 2 slabs at a time and cut those into 3 equal sticks so that you have 24 pieces total. Sprinkle the pieces evenly with the garlic salt.

Preheat oven to 450. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper and spray with oil.

Set out 3 wide, shallow dishes. In the first dish, mix the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, dulse flakes and pepper to taste. In the second dish mix the milk and vinegar and set aside to curdle for 5 minutes. In the third dish, add the breadcrumbs, nutritional yeast and remaining 1 1/2 teaspoons of salt.

Dip each piece of tofu into the flour mix, shaking it off to remove the excess flour before dipping into the curdled milk and dredging in the breadcrumbs.

*Note: As you continue, the milk mixture gets thick because of the flour that gets incorporated. Just thin it out with water when necessary.

Lay the crusted tofu on the prepared baking sheet and spray with oil.

Bake 6-8 minutes per side or until golden brown.

Serve them with cocktail sauce or make a quick tartar sauce by mixing 1/2 cup of vegan mayo with 1/2 Tablespoon sweet relish, 1/2 Tablespoon minced onion, 1 Tablespoon of  lemon juice, and a pinch of salt.

*Tip: Make 2 batches and freeze one whole recipe. Just lay them on a piece of wax paper on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer.

Once frozen, you can put them in a freezer safe bag or container and cook as many or as few as you need. Just place them on a prepared baking sheet, spray with oil and bake according to the directions, or until golden brown.