You're a nice mom Lowspark! Here are some of my recipes. I've stayed away from the asian ones, since there are a lot on that EAting Well Web site. Be forwarned that I usually find those "low fat" recipes manage to be low fat because they have about half as much yummy sauce as you would want, so you might need to double the sauce ingredients. Tofu isn't that low calorie, although they do sell lowfat tofu, if you can find it. The reason I mention different techniques and ingredient amounts is I try and use as many lowfat techniques as I can, and some people do not like this kind of cooking, so you can adjust to suit your taste, just as I usually adjust regular recipes to make them lower in fat. Like in the tofu parmesearn recipe below, I'd use less parmesean cheese. Hopefully living in a metro area you can get the commercially marinated tofu. It is so convenient. The brand I get is "White Wave" and also "Tofu Kan." There's one other brand I get at Giant but I don't know the name of it. I'm not sure how they process it to get it so flavorful, but it's definately an art. You really can't just marinate tofu without baking it, it won't be that flavorful. I googled "baked marinated tofu" and came up with lots of groovy recipes. Here's how I'd do it if I was going to make the tofu salad above. Buy a tub of regular tofu, the kind that comes packed in water, not the silken tofu. Drain it and rinse it and then slice it into 1/2 inch slabs (or slightly larger). Make a "tofu press" by putting some paper towels on a tray, then laying the tofu out on the tray, then topping with more paper towels, then put another tray on top. Can use large plates for this. Then, put some heavy cans or books on top of the press to make it "press" down on the tofu. Use about 3 layers of paper towels. Enviro me uses clean dishtowels, you're just pressing water out of the tofu so it's not going to stain the towels and they can be washed. You don't have to press the tofu, but it presses water out and cuts down on the baking time. Press for about 15 min. Next, get some good italian dressing (I like Ken's brand or Newman's Own). Put a little bit in a shallow baking pan, then layer in the tofu, then cover with more dressing. You can use lowfat dressing. Bake in an oven. The temp can vary from 350-400 degrees, depending on how closely you want to watch it. I would say maybe 375. You want to bake it until the tofu dries out and is coated with the marinade. It will take 40-60 min. Turn halfway through. This baked marinated tofu will keep a few days in the fridge and can be used in salads and other dishes, or in sandwiches. Frankly, as you can see it's bit of a pain to make this compared to buying it already done in the store! You can use other marinades, such as teriyaki sauce. You can make your own marinade from scratch too. Here's a couple of my more traditional recipes. I've stayed away from the hard core stuff like curried tofu stew, lol! Tofu Stuffed Bell Peppers 4 peppers 4-6 mushrooms 1 clove garlic or 1/2 tsp. minced garlic/garlic powder 1 small onion 4 oz. tofu (can use silken extra firm or water-packed firm) 2 cups tomato sauce pinch oregano, basil, salt, pepper 1 TBLSP red wine (optional, could use maybe balsamic vinegar or leave out) 2 tsp olive oil 1 tsp. sesame seeds (to make sesame seeds digestible, I toast for about 10 min. and grind in the food processor, then keep in fridge for when I need them. Can leave out) 1 tsp wheat germ (or 2 tsp. if you don't have the sesame seeds) 1 cup cooked rice Steam peppers for 4-6 min. Put 1/2 of sauce in the bottom of a small baking pan. Saute onion and mushrooms in oil, add spices, tofu, rice and wheat germ and sesame seed. Stuff gently into peppers, top with remaining sauce. (Can sprinkle some italian shredded cheese or parmesean cheese over the top) Bake at 350 for 30 min. Low Calorie Quiche (use the crust below, which is a health food kind of thing, or whatever kind of quiche crust you like. As you know, I'm piecrust challenged so I usually use store bought, lol! I got this recipe from "Vegetarian Times" magazine, and have never made the crust, just the filling. It sounds good, and I have been known to make an oil-based pie crust.) Crust: 1/2 cup rolled oats, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup white flour 1/4 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. baking poweder 1/4-1/3 cup canola oil 2 TBLSP lemon juice 1 1/2 tsp. honey 2-3 TBLSP cold water 1-2 tsp. sesame seeds (see above for how to prep. them) Preheat oven to 375. Grind oats to coarse flour in a blender or food processor. Mix dry ingredients together. Drizzle in oil until the mixture looks like coarse sand. Add lemon, honey, and 2 TBLSP water til the dough forms a ball, add more water if necessary. Roll between two sheets of wax peper. Sprinkle sesame seeds to coat bottom of pie pan. Prick crust on sides and bottom. Bake 10 min., then remove from oven and reduce heat to 350 degrees. Filling: 1 tsp. water or olive oil (I'd probably use at least 2 tsp. or 1 TBLSP EVOO) 1 cup diced onion 1 tsp. minced garlic (or less, I don't use that much) 3 cups broccoli florets (I often use frozen broccoli) 1-2 TBLSP water 2 large egg whites 10 oz. package soft, silken tofu 1 TBLSP prepared dijon mustard 1 tsp. dried basil 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg 1/4 tsp. salt 1/4 tsp. white pepper 1-2 TBLSP grated parmesean cheese Heat oil in a skillet over med. heat. Add onion and sautee 3-5 min. until translucent. (you may need to add more oil or water, this is a low cal recipe, I probably use more oil than this). Add garlic and broccoli and water. Steam until broccoli is bright green, ~2 min. Drain veggies if necessary. Place in the pre-baked pie crust. Whip egg whites until frothy. Add tofu, spices and parmesean. Blend until smooth. Pour into pie crust. Garnish with strips of red pepper if desired. Bake at 350 degrees for 40 min. Tofu Sloppy Joes - serves 5 6 TBLSP oil 1 large onion, diced 2 med. green peppers, seeded and diced 2 cans spanish style tomato sauce 1 1/2 TBLSP chili sauce/powder 2 TBLSP tamari or low salt soy sauce 1 tsp. salt 1/8 tsp. black pepper 1/2 tsp. dried oregano 1 TBLSP prepared brown mustard 1 TBLSP brown sugar 1 1/2 lbs firm tofu, frozen, thawed and squeezed dry and crumbled Saute onion and peppers in oil, Add tofu and soy sauce. Add tomato sauce and spices. Simmer over low heat until nice and thick. Serve on whole wheat hamburger buns with sweet potato fries and coleslaw. Tofu Parmigiana 1 1/2 lbs. tofu 2 eggs (or 1 egg, 2 egg whites) 1 TBLSP tamari or low salt soy sauce 3/4 cup toasted wheat germ 3/4 cup grated parmesean cheese (or less, maybe 1/2 cup) oil for cooking 1/2 cup onions, sliced 1 carrot, shredded 2 cloves garlic, minced or to taste (I use one clove) 1 cup fresh mushrooms, sliced 2 cups tomatoes, seeded and diced, or 2 cups thick tomato puree (I use canned crushed tomatoes) 1 TBLSP fresh basil or 1 tsp. dried 1 tsp. oregano 1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes salt to taste 8 thin slices mozz cheese Press tofu until dry, or use a marinated kind. Slice tofu into 8 thin slices. Beat together egg and tamari/soy sauce. Mix together what germ and 1/4 cup of the parmesean cheese and put in a pie plate or on a large dinner plate. Dip tofu in egg, then dry mixture. Refrigerate while you prepare the sauce. (Geez, I don't know why you have to do that, you could prepare the sauce in advance!). Saute onion, carrot, garlicand mushrooms in oil. Add remaining ingredients. Simmer until thick and all flavors combined. Fry sliced tofu until golden. Heat broiler. Sprinkle baking pan with sauce and 1/4 cup parmesean. Place browned tofu on sauce in a single layer. Tof tofu with mozzarella cheese slices. Pour on remaining sauce over and around the tofu. Top with remaining parmesean. Broil until bubbly. Serve over brown rice. A fancy dish for special occasions.

Hi Mandie! I once had a work colleague with a kidney stone problem, he was extremely sick so I know what an ordeal you have been through. I thought your husband might be on a low oxalate diet because I have heard about it poisoning some animals when eaten at high levels. Actually I ended up doing some research on oxalic acids this summer because I got ambitious and made sorrel soup out of the wild sorrel weeds growing in my garden. I had read somewhere that it could be toxic but I found out only in large amounts, and also not good for people on a low oxalate diet, which was the first time I had heard of such a thing. Also obviously you would want to avoid a lot of protein and salt, both of which are very reactive substances for the kidneys to deal with. It all makes sense except the tomatoes thing. I found listing the oxalate levels of certain vegetables. Maybe it is just concentrated tomato sauce? Anyway, I don't know how your husband feels about hippie food, but I have been eating a diet lower in protein than the average American for almost all my life. We eat excessive amounts of protein, much more than is necessary in the US and it is acutally related to a lot of our health problems. I adore whole grain foods so could happily live on brown rice and whole grain pasta with some oatmeal, cornmeal, barley, wild rice and bulghur wheat thrown in for fun. I put a good stir fry made with brown rice on my list of the 10 best things I have ever put in my mouth. You could add bits of chicken or any other type of meat to it to add flavor. Luckily I see that corriander is low oxalate, so you can make delicious thai fried rice with ginger, cilantro, garlic and lime juice with a dash of hot pepper. Or go mild and make butternut squash lasagne with a white sauce. I think hubs could eat a mild white sauce if it was made with a lower salt cheese which you will have to search out. I have a lot of pasta dish recipes because I eat pasta almost every day. Also a lot of recipes for rice, like risi e bisi (italian for rice and peas). And a simple broth with tofu or a few meat pieces and lots of noodles is what the Chinese eat for lunch almost every day, it is good!! Rice stuffed squash is also a favorite of mine, and I eat a lot of roasted vegetables, many of which are on the low oxalate list. Of course if hubby is a meat and potatoes guy, this will be tough. He is just going to have to learn to be a rice or pasta plus a little meat kind of guy! Let me know if any of these kinds of foods sound good to you and I will post the recipes. Like I said, I eat some kind of whole grain based main course for every meal, but many folks aren't open to that style of eating because it is so unfamiliar. You can also eat the not whole grain versions too, which I guess are even lower in oxalates, like white rice and semolina pasta. Also, your husband can still eat bread, which for me is the staff of life. I eat bread with tea and jam for breakfast every morning. I love apple or peach jam, which is low oxalate. I also make mushroom barley soup which is good, and low oxalate. And due to being a person of very modest means, I eat cabbage almost exclusively as my salad green in the winter, and I see that it is low oxalate. I am the coleslaw queen, lol! Here is a link that might be useful: Low oxalate diet PDF from U. Pittsburgh Medical Center

TOFU SALAD SANDWICHES ÂAmerican Heart Assoc. Low-Fat, Low Cholesterol Cookbook Serves: 5Â Plan aheadÂneeds to refrigerate for a few hours. 20 oz. tofu, drained 2 small stalks celery, finely chopped 1/2 small red onion, minced 1/2 medium green bell pepper, finely chopped 1/2 medium sweet red pepper, finely chopped 3 T. reduced- fat Italian dressing 1 T. lite soy sauce or tamari 1 tsp. fresh lemon juice Pinch cayenne pepper Garlic powder to taste 5 whole-wheat pitas 10 leaves Boston lettuce, rinsed and dried 20 fresh mushrooms, sliced Place tofu between two thick layers of paper towels. Place between two plates and press down of the top plate. Pour off liquid. Place pressed tofu and the next 9 ingredients. Mix well, breaking up any large pieces of tofu. Refrigerate for a few hours to allow flavors to blend. Cut each pits in half to form pockets and line with lettuce and mushrooms. Add about 1/3 cup of tofu salad to each pita. Serve immediately. Nutritional Analysis: 1 whole pita and 2/3 cup filling equals: 164 caloriesÂ9 gm proteinÂ25 gm carbohydrateÂ4 gm fat (0.52 gm saturated)Â0 cholesterolÂ364 mg sodium

Maybe freezing the tofu first produce a better texture for croutons? Freezing extra-firm tofu, IMPE, makes it sponge-y. I also recommend pressing it to remove as much moisture as possible. The way I used to do it was to wrap the block in paper towel & place it between to plates w/ a heavy can or other weight on top several hours or overnight I haven't cooked w/ tofu in years, but my go-to marinade was flavored w/ fresh rosemary black pepper & fresh garlic . I used tamari too, but you say low to no salt, right? I thinking if you mixed seasoning into some good olive oil & marinated tofu cubes in it, then baked it, that might do the trick. You might try thin slices, rather than cubes. You can also buy seasoned pre-seasoned soy 'nuts' to add crunch to salads.