Vegan Baby Food: Chard and Tofu Ricotta Stuffed Shells

At first, I was really careful about what I was giving Eames and when. I read tons of conflicting advice about when to give him tofu, wheat, and other potentially allergy-inducing foods. I introduced one food at a time--for a while. Around 9 months, though, with no reaction of any kind to any food and no history of allergies in the family, I threw in the towel and starting throwing all kinds of new foods at him, particularly stuff that I was making for us to eat.

First, he had my burrito/taco filling and loved it, which is good since I rely on that as my go to easy meal--much like my mom used to. For the following three days, he had a small bowl of burrito filling for either lunch or dinner. Then, I made stuffed shells for dinner. Since I made the ricotta out of tofu instead of nuts, I figured he could have some. Lo and behold, he ate an entire shell on his own AND did a happy dance, which is a big thumbs up.


(Sorry for the blurry shot of the food. It doesn't really look great smooshed for baby consumption anyway...)

Chard and Tofu Ricotta Stuffed Shells

Tofu Ricotta

1 lb. Extra firm tofu
1/3 cup shredded vegan cheese (one of the white varieties)
1/4 cup nooch
1 T dried basil
2 t dried marjoram
2 t dried oregano
1 T olive oil
1 t salt (or to taste)
dash of lemon juice (a teaspoon or two, I'd guess)
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 large shallots, thinly sliced
1 bunch swiss chard, cleaned and chopped

1 box shells, al dente
Marinara (you can use a jar, but I used some that I made at the end of summer and froze)

Crumble tofu into a medium sized bowl and break up with hands until it looks like cottage cheese. Add the rest of the ingredients through lemon juice. Set aside. Saute garlic and shallots over medium heat until both begin to turn a golden color. Add chard to pan, tossing to coat the chard with oil. Put on lid and leav for 2-3 minutes, until chard wilts. Remove from heat and add chard mixture to tofu mixture. Mix well.

Coat the bottom of a lasagna pan with a thin layer of marinara. Fill each shell with a spoonful of tofu mixture. Line up filled shells in the bottom of the pan. They can overlap slightly. Fill as many shells as you can (you'll probably have a few left). Cover filled shells with marinara. you want to make sure that the sauce covers it well and that non of the pasta shells remain uncovered or the exposed pieces will dry out in the oven. Bake at 350 until the sauce is bubbling around the edges. Remove, let cool, and serve with garlic bread and a nice salad.

I removed 5-6 shells for Eames to enjoy for the next few days.
Serving size for 10 month old= 1 stuffed shell