Tofu Edamame Nuggets

I love getting the mail.  I’m not sure why, it’s usually just full of Josh’s medical school loan statements, but for some reason I enjoy walking to the mailbox each day after work.  One thing I get very excited to see when I open the mailbox is the Fearless Flyer; Trader Joe’s newsletter highlighting some of their products.  Each time I read their newsletter I usually find one or two new items I can’t wait to try and a few months ago they featured Tofu Edamame Nuggets. 

Found in the freezer section for $2.99

I don’t normally buy pre-packaged items like this, but I thought I would give it a try because I pack my lunch every day.  I usually eat leftovers of things I make that week or make something in bulk on the weekend to eat on all week, but it’s nice to have a back-up item in the freezer.  I purchased these a couple months ago and yesterday I was in a bind and needed something to bring for lunch. I opened the freezer searching and there were my Tofu Edamame Nuggets to the rescue!

I am sure you can microwave these, but I put mine in the oven so they could get nice and brown and crispy on the outside.  While these are a great option for adults, as I ate them yesterday I was thinking:

“Oh, good, there are healthy options out there for when I have kids!” 

If I'm being completely honest, I still haven’t figured out what I am going to do when my kid wants a Happy Meal.  I may not be able to watch. Those chicken nuggets sick me out and we all know they aren’t healthy.  Before you start thinking I should never birth a child, don’t worry, I realize a Happy Meal SPARINGLY isn’t going to be the end of things.  It just may lead to my first panic attack.  No big deal.

Some of you moms are probably laughing by this point.  Silly, naïve, me thinking I can sub tofu and edamame for chicken.  In my perfect little future bubble I will give these to my kids to start off with because they look just like chicken nuggets on the outside.   Then, maybe they will think this is how chicken nuggets are supposed to be and think everyone else’s is weird.  A girl can dream…

While the outside is a dead ringer for a chicken nugget, the inside is a different story. There are carrots and whole edamame so you see white with orange and green.  It’s quite beautiful actually, but having witnessed a picky little brother I know the faces that come with a “foreign” object inside.  If you have little ones I still say give it a try.  You may be surprised. Just a couple months ago my friend Brittany had a BBQ and was kind enough to tell me I could feel free to bring my own veggie burgers.  I didn’t have any homemade ones in my freezer so I grabbed a box of black bean ones at the store.  I ended up forgetting one at her house and I got a text the next day asking me what brand, what kind, and where I got them.  She fixed my leftover one for her 10 month old and he devoured it!  Who would have thought black beans?  You never know.  Worst case scenario, your kid hates it and you have an excellent option for lunch in a crunch!

I ate one serving of these (5) with some sweet potato chips and strawberries and had no problem getting full.  The only drawback is they are high in sodium (but what pre-packaged product isn't) so I wouldn't recommend this if you're watching your sodium.