Making Baby Food Out of Tofu

Tofu is a soybean curd; it is made from unfermented. It is a fantastic source of iron, protein and calcium that is smooth and silky and easily blended into baby food…

However, as Tofu is a soy product, you should not offer it to an infant who has been identified as having any allergy to soy.

Tofu is a very versatile food and can be eaten raw, baked, sautéed and pureed into soups, broths and grain dishes. It is also the ideal vegetarian source of protein for a baby. However it is not ready to serve to a child until he or she is at least eight months old as it can be a bit hard on underdeveloped digestive systems.

Tofu comes in blocks that must be drained and blotted dry. You can then spoon it, slice it or spoon it. It is very easily blended or mashed.

Tofu keeps in the fridge for up to a week. It does not freeze well so it is better to make baby food from it in smaller batches.
For a sweet treat try adding honey and crushed graham crackers to tofu and pureeing it together. For an extra tasty treat mash a chocolate chip cookie or Oreo cookie into blended tofu.

Tofu tastes like pudding when blended with a touch of vanilla and any fruit. If the fruit is frozen it can have a texture a little more like ice cream once blended. Try blending it with apples, strawberries, blueberries or pears. You can add a bit of yogurt for a milkier taste.
Tofus also goes great mashed up with cottage cheese and avocado and pureed in a blender. A very simple meal is to cube the tofu and sauté it in olive oil. Season it with salt and pepper and then serve. Another great idea is to blend the tofu with carrots and sweet potato to make baby food.

Tofu can also substitute for scrambled eggs if mixed with olive oil or butter, green pepper, onion and tomato and fry it up. You can serve this like a scramble if you want but if the baby is very young then it is suggested that you puree it.

The other great thing about Tofu is that if you buy the silken kind you can add fruits, juices, yogurt and a bit of ice to make a delicious smoothie for your baby. This is especially healthy and refreshing for your baby on a hot day when he or she may not feel much like eating.

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Working Out Prevents Cancer in Moms

If you are like me you want to be around to enjoy your kids and grandkids as long as you can.

Two of the most common cancers in women are breast and endrometrial cancer. These are hormonally caused cancers that are caused by hormones going awry. Exercise can help with these 'female' cancers because physical activity has been shown to regulate and calm the production, metabolism and elimination of these toxins.

Studies have also shown that there is a relationship between being fatter and breast and endometrial cancer. Exercise obviously can help you lose weight so you do not become more susceptible to developing these hormonally based cancers.

This past fall, the American College of Sports Medicine published a study done in Canada that compared the activity patterns of 1,233 women who had breast cancer and 1,237 who did not have the disease. The study compared their exercise patterns over a lifetime as well as looked at how diet, alcohol and tobacco use and hereditary factors may have played into the development of cancer.
The Canadian found that the women who were least likely to develop breast cancer engaged in the moderate exercise of doing daily household or farming chores. Researchers concluded that it was not so much the intensity of the exercise that was helping, but rather the regularity of it.

In 2009 a massive study, based on questionnaires given to 121,701 women over twenty years from the ages 30 to 55 was conducted by the Nurses Health Study at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Boston. This study found that women who worked out between two to four hours a week reduced their chances of getting cancer by twenty percent. A smaller but similar study done in Norway in 1997 found the same thing. Women who exercised four hours a week were about one third less likely to get breast cancer.

In the Brigham study it was noted that the exercise reduces the level of circulating estrogens in a woman's body. The reason that this is negative is because estrogen stimulates the growth of breast cells which could mutate and cause cancer.

Women are actually vulnerable to these types of cancers their entire life. The most important thing is to exercise in moderation because if you exercise to the point that you have minimized your estrogen levels you can increase your risk of bone loss and heart disease.

Menopausal and post-menopausal women are at particular risk for cancer because they are overproducing and under producing hormones. Exercise has protective benefits for hormonal women because it helps to reduce fat and after menopause estrogen is produced in the fat cells instead of the ovaries.
The idea is that the leaner you are, the less natural estrogens you will produce. The less estrogens that are in the body, the less of a welcoming field your changing body will be to developing cancer.

You do not have to work out like a female fitness model. Simple, yet sustained activity is best. Try walking or cycling. As long as you working out consistently and every day you should be giving your body the edge when it comes to preventing breast or ovarian cancer.

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