Author Topic: Tofu or not to foo (Read 690 times)

StephanieShaw · « **on:** September 15, 2012, 01:27 PM »

I am working on a humorous pb (4-7 year old audience). One of the jokes is about tofu. Do kids know about tofu? the joke has to do with it replacing hamburger.

Thanks!

JennaWren · « **Reply #1 on:** September 15, 2012, 07:21 PM »

My kids know what it is, although I don't know that they've eaten too much of it! I think it's a common enough ingredient in today's kitchens to make the joke work.

StephanieShaw · « **Reply #2 on:** September 15, 2012, 07:26 PM »

Oh, yea!!!! I had taken it out but now I think I'll put it back in. This is a story based on the idea of kids asking for things that they really don't know about. I think it will work! Thanks so much.

KatieC · « **Reply #3 on:** September 15, 2012, 08:09 PM »

I'm not sure. My daughter is six and definitely doesn't know what tofu is. I would say most of the kids I know don't know what it is, but I could be wrong.

olmue · « **Reply #4 on:** September 15, 2012, 09:05 PM »

My kids know what tofu is. Their parents are good at inflicting strange foods on them!

But seriously? There are lots of vegetarian families out there. I know kids who at that age knew more about tofu than hamburger.

StephanieShaw · « **Reply #5 on:** September 15, 2012, 09:24 PM »

I know this isn't the thread for this, but if any of you wonderful gals would like to take a sneaky peek at the ms, maybe that would give you a better idea of how I am using it.

My e-mail is shaw830@yahoo.com and, of course, I'd be more than happy to swap.

Kell · « **Reply #6 on:** September 15, 2012, 09:40 PM »

I have a vegetarian family so we eat a lot of tofu. I think it's a pretty common food to feed toddlers, isn't it? I know a lot of non-veg kids who eat it.

LoriA · « **Reply #7 on:** September 15, 2012, 11:19 PM »

My kids (6 and 7 yrs) both know tofu, but like Jenna said, they haven't eaten it much. Hope the joke works out...love me a humorous PB!

wolfie712 · « **Reply #8 on:** September 16, 2012, 01:21 AM »

My kids know what tofu is, and they eat it (we don't eat red meat). They also really like Tofutti Cuties--those little non-dairy "ice cream sandwiches."

yellow_submarine · « **Reply #9 on:** September 16, 2012, 04:58 AM »

Heheh, I just fried a pan of sweet-chilli tofu for dinner. Good timing! :biggrin:

In addition to vegetarian families, quite a few of my (omnivorous) friends of Asian heritage grew up eating tofu. I would consider it a fairly common ingredient.

Kell · « **Reply #10 on:** September 16, 2012, 06:31 AM »

Good point about Asian families -- it's a common ingredient in many dishes, and not just "vegetarian" ones. Mapo tofu often has meat in it, for example.

I probably would not think a joke about meat/tofu was funny from my perspective as a mother of vegetarians.

nandini · « **Reply #11 on:** September 16, 2012, 06:48 AM »

Quote from: Kell on September 16, 2012, 06:31 AM

Good point about Asian families -- it's a common ingredient in many dishes, and not just "vegetarian" ones. Mapo tofu often has meat in it, for example.

I probably would not think a joke about meat/tofu was funny from my perspective as a mother of vegetarians.

So sorry, but I agree with Kell. I'm vegetarian and I wouldn't think it was funny either...

MaryWitzl · « **Reply #12 on:** September 16, 2012, 06:57 AM »

Tofu is something we eat a lot of in our family and we all love it--I don't know ANYBODY under the age of, say, 80, who doesn't know what it is. We've become sensitive about it as here in Scotland it is of those foods a lot of people DO joke about as being boring and over-the-top nutritious and (for some reason), icky and exotic. In our town, people who eat tofu tend to be seen as vegetarian zealots who want to change the world, or overly concerned about their diets, etc. But as long as the jokes didn't demean tofu, I'm sure I'd enjoy them.

Kell · « **Reply #13 on:** September 16, 2012, 07:25 AM »

A test for whether the joke is offensive or not might be substituting another dietary change. For example, "Mom replaced our spaghetti with yucky gluten-free noodles." I think such a joke would be upsetting to kids who eat gluten-free diets. The same joke about tofu might be upsetting to a kid who eats a vegetarian one and is already left out of eating various classroom snacks.

(I'm not a vegetarian zealot but come on, who doesn't want to change the world? It could use some changes!

)

StephanieShaw · « **Reply #14 on:** September 16, 2012, 10:35 AM »

Hi, Kell, I should have explained better. My husband is celiac and my daughter is both gluten and dairy sensitive. But, we have no problem joking about our restrictive diets. In the case of the pb, it is a cow who is saying the line about tofu. Maybe out of context it sounds mean spirited, but truly it isn't.

Kell · « **Reply #15 on:** September 16, 2012, 10:47 AM »

Then you might understand what I mean, Stephanie. Not every joke or book will work for every reader, no matter what you do. Don't get too hung up on one line!

StephanieShaw · « **Reply #16 on:** September 16, 2012, 10:52 AM »

Absolutely!

tinamariecho · « **Reply #17 on:** September 18, 2012, 01:06 AM »

My kids know about tofu and eat it in soup. Ya, Asian cuisine has lots of tofu!

RubyO · « **Reply #18 on:** September 18, 2012, 07:12 AM »

Both my daughters eat tofu and one is three and the other eighteen! Though with my three-year-old it depends on the day if she'll eat anything other than yogurt. Tofu is a staple in this house (the same as chicken or burger meat). I think all of my younger daughter's friends know what tofu is as well and many of them have older brothers and sisters that are about five or six.

My youngest loves funny books involving food and it has often helped her to try new things. DRAGONS LOVE TACOS cracked her up and she loves if we name her food after an animal. How about Cow Tofu? She loves cows too so that might work...

Good luck!! It sounds fun.

KatieC · « **Reply #19 on:** September 18, 2012, 12:39 PM »

We are obviously the odd ones out here! LOL Maybe someday we will try tofu. Maybe.

xiaotien · « **Reply #20 on:** September 18, 2012, 01:51 PM »

my tumblr is titled, fortified with mapo.

i think that says it all. haha!

i LOVE tofu--but i am chinese-american.

kell, how did i not know you were vegetarian?
my mom makes a kick butt mapo and has a vegetarian
version to boot. so delicious!

as for the tofu "joke" i think it really is how you
play it--tho it may be a culturally sensitive thing--
not just for vegetarians, but for asians as well.

sorry to get all PC on you, but something to consider.
perhaps beta the joke with asian-ams and vegetarians? ha

RubyO · « **Reply #21 on:** September 18, 2012, 02:33 PM »

I think xiaotien's suggestion is a good one. Also, my little one AND my oldest would think substituting tofu for hamburger was a positive thing!

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Author Topic: Tofu or not to foo (Read 690 times)