Tofu Barbie
Since becoming a parent, I’ve learned that things don’t necessarily have to be all or nothing. There can be a little yin to go with the yang, and that doesn’t make me a hypocrite.
I can be a woman of faith, yet religiously watch a slightly foul-mouthed and blasphemous Chelsea Handler.
I can eat a tropical breakfast on a chilly December 1st and still call myself a true Oregonian.
I can let my kids eat chocolate before 8 a.m. every morning for the next 24 days…
…but keep the calendars in a safe place to ensure that Christmas doesn’t come early this year.
We can also do two advent calendars, there’s no need to commit to only one way to countdown to Christmas.
I can go for a run, even after complaining endlessly about being sick.
I can buy my organic produce at Costco, while coughing all over unsuspecting shoppers who are looking at me like I’m carrying explosives.
And despite my previous beliefs, I can raise my girls to be strong, independent, unique and self assured women,
and let them play with Barbies (GASP!!!).
Daddy’s assistant sent him home with this Barbie paper doll set today, and the girls were so excited to play with it, I couldn’t say no.
Daddy was so funny, though, he wouldn’t let Barbie be naked for even a second, and kept throwing clothes on her.
I found this rather hypocritical seeing that he usually has the opposite reaction when it comes to my clothing status.
Barbie’s wardrobe WAS impressive.
Though the feminist part of me cried out that I was somehow misguiding my girls by letting them play with her, I thought about it more and more. We never said while we were playing, “Barbie is pretty” or “Barbie is perfect” or “Don’t you want to look like Barbie?” We said, “What do you think Barbie should wear to volunteer at the soup kitchen?,” “What should she wear to her art class?,” and “What should she wear to sneak into a party at the White House?”
I came to the conclusion that I can still be a “feminist” and let my girls play with Barbie. It’s a doll: it’s not a role model. Just as we shouldn’t judge someone for being overweight or brunette, I shouldn’t judge Barbie for being skinny and pretty. I seem to remember a Rosie O’ Donnell doll…am I only going to insist that my girls play with dolls that look like her?
That’s supposed to be Rosie? I find this replication more offensive than Barbie.
I can still instill the same values and beliefs in my girls, of acceptance, self-love and kindness, and let them play with a cardboard cutout that is pretty fun to put cute clothes on.
And then I can make them eat tofu for dinner. Just because Barbie may not respect herself, that doesn’t mean she can’t show respect for animals by eating a meat-free meal.
Vegetarian Curry
- 1 can of light coconut milk
- 1 1/2 T. of curry powder
- 1 T. flour
- 1 clove of garlic
- 2 T. minced ginger
- stevia to taste
- 4-6 c. of fresh vegetables (carrots, asparagus, red pepper, broccoli, etc.)
- 15 oz. extra firm tofu, drained, pressed, cut into cubes, and marinated as desired (I marinated mine in lime juice, honey and soy sauce)
- 1 lime
- 1/3 c. fresh basil or cilantro
- brown rice
Sautee garlic, ginger, and vegetables in a large skillet for about 4 minutes. Remove from pan and set aside.
In the meantime, broil tofu for 6 minutes on each side.
In your skillet, heat curry over medium heat until aromatic. Add coconut milk and bring to a low boil. Whisk flour into sauce and simmer until thickened. Sweeten as desired.
Add vegetables back into pan and add juice of one lime and chopped basil or cilantro.
Heat thoroughly and serve over brown rice.
I plan on finishing my evening with some organic mate tea and a vegan whole wheat cranberry orange biscotti…
…and then topping it off with some generic, artificially flavored Nyquil.
I put the HIP in hypocrisy.
I played with Barbies…and look how great I turned out!!
…JKJK I agree, you are not praising Barbie’s bod…but rather all the great things you have her do. Barbie does some pretty spectacular things like gymnastics…rather difficult for a 7 footer!
I bought that SAME calendar for Skylar. She was truly mesmerized after dinner when a chocolate squirrel came out of Door 1. Fond childhood memories for me. She wanted to put the squirrel back in the door. I had to tell her no honey, eat the candy. She looked at me like why would I eat the squirrel. Melt in your mouth, not your hands, kid!
“And despite my previous beliefs, I can raise my girls to be strong, independent, unique and self assured women”
I played with Barbies ad nauseum and I have no issues in this regard LOL
And you know what the BEST part of Barbies and Daddy’s are? Listening to your husband fully and 100% take care of your child’s needs via undressing and redressing Barbie while you peacefully cook dinner. Your man becomes more in touch with his fashion side, your girls love him, you get to cook in peace, all thx to barbies. Get about 6!
The tofu curry…nice work!!!!! Yummy!!!!!!!!!!!
Oh and yes, blame the moon for today’s antics.
And yours is Cookie Dough balance, mine was Balance Gold daily. I lost the craving. I honestly didnt even try the cookie dough bar, I just gave it to Skylar.
If being a Christian means I can’t watch Chelsea I’d be sad. She is so funny and so is Joel McHale
And I love those advent calendars. I grew up buying them when I was in Germany and trying to eat all the chocolate to make Christmas come quicker.
LOL! your pists make me laugh and smile! The food looks amazing, I feel like I can SMELL the curry! The girls are cute as ever!
With good feminist parents, playing with Barbies should never be a problem for your girls! It is only when they think that looking like THAT is their only way to achieve happiness and respect that you’ve got a problem. Or when they hear their mother/aunts/grandmother’s constantly berating their own physical appearance as being not good enough. As a fellow feminist you already know all this and I’m preaching to the choir!
I LOVE that curry! I haven’t made any in the longest time, I’ve gotta get around to that because you’ve got me so hungry!
hahaha great post! My mum OVERLOADED me with barbie – think pink pink pink!!! She still laughs when I tell her how much I STILL LOATHE the colour
Is it wrong that I think the Rosie doll is freaky? I do love Chelsea’s book tho. I read it in bed at night and laughed my butt off.
great recipe, as always.
as for the kiddies, i couldn’t agree more. you are truly rasing some wonderful, unique, beautiful and self assured young ladies. i just love gigi’s daily costume changes. hahaha, she’s hilarious. and little lulu, she’s so daggum cute, albeit quite a serious 2 year old. i love how they have their own little personalities.
Advent calendars give me such Christmas envy… I’ve almost bought them a billion times just to have an excuse to eat chocolate every day! Alas, I just get to eat potato latkes for 8 days in a couple weeks!
My two sisters and I grew up playing with Barbies, and I never thought about how perfect or pretty Baribe and her friends were. I had so much fun putting on different outfits, and making up creative story lines for what Barbie was going to do that day. You are right, she is just a doll, and there is nothing anti-feminist about her in my book!
That veggie curry looks amazing. I really need to make curries more often.
Yay for Barbies! I miss those disproportionately shaped ladies!
I was never a big Barbie, or dolls for that matter, kinda girl. I was always wanting to craft something, or cut Barbie’s hair!
And I think the thing that many feminists should wrap their heads around is that it’s about GIRL POWER, regardless if that means they are to be a high paid executive, or a Barbie playing mom who opted to leave her career at the back door!
With a house full of boys we don’t have the worry of naked Barbies lying around, but now when it comes to WWF smack down hour…well…give me a Barbie any day of the week.
I love advent calendars! makes me think of “bad santa”. your curry looks HOLY MOLY. might copy.
For all those things mentioned above…this is why we love you! You are real and you are a great mom, that is what matters. I’m going to have to make your curry, that looks delicious!
I played with Barbies all the time when I was little, I had trunks of clothes…my favorite part was cutting all their hair off. Yes I am a freak. haha
I saw those calenders at TJ’s! Yum!
There should totally be a tofu barbie! But let’s keep her still well maintained, none of this hairy legs business. I played Barbies all the time, mine lived alone and worked. Ken was a booty call.
Love the curry!
Christmas came early for me this year – 2 POSTS this morning! I don’t know how I missed yesterday’s…but either way I’m more than excited to get a double dose of the Pea family.
You can’t even imagine how fast I copied and pasted that vegetarian curry recipe into a Word document. I am so going to make this! Since I’m not a fan of stevia I’m thinking agave might work instead??
Along with blogger nominations, do they have mother-of-the-year nominations? You’ve got my vote.
You’re doing awesome with those girls, and if they grow up to be anything like you (which, duh, they will) then the world will have two awesome, smart, sassy, independent ladies roaming around. With untamed hair, at worst.
Chelsea Handler is my homegirl!
hahaha i love chelsea lately! have you read her books? hilariously funny, just like you
As always, your post has me cracking up.
You’re not being a hypocrite, you’re being true to yourself and raising your girls to be fantastic women one day. Plus, you are giving them amazing looking food that I want to eat right now
I want that curry. And you just reminded me that yes, I can broil tofu. That would make my life a lot easier, methinks.
I like the approach to playing with Barbie; one should always question what they wear to art class, in my opinion
someday your girls are going to be just like i was in college.
well, the part where they’ll read cosmo in their womens studies classes, and when the prof tries to judge they just shrug and say one thing does not make or break them as a feminist.
and then follow it up the next week by wearing a tiara for a presentation.
weird how my womens studies profs didn’t like me.
(they should maybe avoid following in my “every boy i date is a republican frat boy” footsteps though)
I have that Chelsea Handler book on my nightstand! The tofu curry looks great. And my husband just bought my 4 year old a Seaworld Barbie, muttering “mama’s not going to be happy about this…”
Mama Pea you are the role model your girls will look up to, not that hussy Barbie
And chocolate before 8am is totally ok when it’s in advent calendar form!
*Applause*
Such a sweet post! I still miss my Barbie and her gummi shoe collection, but only because she’s probably worth about $300 on Ebay today. She had an airplane, but I think I always had her sitting in First Class while a teddy bear pushed the cart up and down the aisle (he received fair wage and didn’t have to be weighed for the job).
I saw that advent calendar at TJ’s and it was all I could do not to buy it for myself. I still expect my daybook to spit chocolate at me every once in a while. Sigh.
Love the countdown chain!
Trust facts – my mom has that book, I always want to make a Christmas countdown but what 22 year old does that (just wait until I’m a teacher though), and I want that curry.
Hope you’re feeling better!
Great post, that Rosie doll is HILARIOUS
errrr…. how stylish are your kids??? I have been thinking they are a bit cool for school and then today – that photo – Gigi is rocking that outfit… especially the tutu.. And not forgetting lulu – she’s made bunches her signature look (very ANTM).
Is it wrong that I’m 28 and jealous of their style?!
YAY for this post…I adored Barbies, and I’m not ashamed to admit I bought one for Ryan, equal opportunity and all that. He promptly shoved it backat me, uh, Momma, this is a GIRL toy. Ok I smiled sweetly, settling down on the floor to change her itty bitty hot pink heels. Yes, I’m 37.
I almost bought that chocolate from TJ’s yesterday too but then I figured Maya was hyper enough!!
A little bit of everything is healthy … Last night I watched all the CNN commentary about the president’ decision, then an episode of the hills, then the blazer game… I like to call it being well rounded =)
LOVE the Rosie O’Donnell Doll!!!
Your curry looks great! How do you press the tofu? I always have a hard time with that part.
Paula, I drain the package and then slice it as thinly as I can without it falling a part on me. I usually put a tea towel on top of a cutting board, then put the tofu on top of the towel, then put another towel on top of that, followed by another cutting board. Then I take whatever I can find nearby, a few books, a pot, a toy unicorn, and stack that on top of the board, so that it presses down on the tofu. I leave it for about 20 minutes or so and that does the trick!
You always do such a great job with your girls and I love your HIP side!
I can’t tell you how much I am in love with your blog. I smile every time I read it!
MAMA PEA!!!!! I’VE MISSED YOU!!!!
OK, I’m doing a mayj catch-up, and I just have to say the “Blame it on the ny-ny-ny-ny-ny-nyquil” was brilliant. Had me rollin in my cubicle!
As for Barbies…I loved them as a young pup. I thought nothing of their appearance or bodies, though. I was too obsessed with the clothing (and making them make out with Ken–I hope your girls are better than I was/am)! I really have never thought Barbies were to blame for any of the ideal body types I had in my head. I’m blaming the Vo-vo-vo-vo-vo-vo-vo-vogue. And model MamaJ.
Anyway, I hope you recover STAT! Keep sippin the sizzurp and tea, downing juice, resting and you’ll be back in no time. Sending my LOVE
xoxo
Love Chelsea Handler. You are no hypocrite, Mama Pea! No one’s perfect, and if Jesus says I can’t waitch Chelsea Handler, well then…that’s just not fair! lol
Nice job on the tofu curry! Looks yummy! Maybe I should grill my tofu..it never comes out right when I bake it.
I am totally making that curry recipe for my husband!
i may have to bookmark this post!! that curry looks so dang good!!!!!!!!!
i brought a huge JASS salad to lunch and some tofu in a tupperware. oh and pickles which always make me think of your girls and Erin. anyway, ARENT U PROUD OF ME?!
advent calendars were what i LIVED for every Christmas when i was little.
i had a black Barbie when i was little. TRUE story. i got Caucasian ones later, but the black barbie was my numba one. (tells ya a lot about why i am how i am, huh?)
MEEEEEEEEEEE LOVES YOUUUUUUUUUUUUU
keep on chuggin dat tea!!! and pick up cold eeze if you can. it’s magic, mama, i swear.
ew, i said “when i was little” twice, and way too close together.
Tofu Barbie! Just a rite of passage for the young’uns. I too played with Barbie and turned out perfect
Sometimes I feel like I put the HIP in hypocrisy too
Good thing it’s not the end of the world.
oh barbies…i still have about 10 in perfect conditions in boxes…i’m gonna sell em’ off one day for mucho $$$$ mwhahahaha…
great tofu curry! nom.
Oh I loved those advent calendars even though the chocolate tasted like plastic!
I played with Barbie and Beanie Baby animals, and came out to be a strong and independent, vegetarian animal lover…now that must be some sort of hypocritical statement, no?
i hope christmas doesn’t come that early for you — I know if I had those chocolates in my house, christmas would have come by Thanksgiving. I hope you are feeling loads better!
xoxo
Lo
I missed you over Thanksgiving!!! I’m glad to be home so I read your wonderful blog.
I had Barbie’s Town House, not the DREAM house, but still, my point is, I turned out just fine!
And I actually have a good friend who works for Mattel…so if you are serious about Tofu Barbie, I might just be able to help you out somehow…
I so love Gigi’s style. Seriously, your girls have the cutest/coolest clothes.
Glad your girls enjoyed their time with Barbie. My mom tried to get to play with Barbie, but I kept cutting her hair off. Dolls were boring to me. I was always climbing trees or playing with my brother’s toys instead. Total tomboy, but I blame my brothers for that.
Hope you’re feeling better today Mama Pea. Loved the curry. Yum!
I need to send G^2 a Barbie for how stinking cute she is in that picture. But I’m not fooled. I know she was probably just telling you that she spilled the container of nooch all over the carpet and you conveniently threw that “silent night” link. You can’t fool me PEA!
How come advent calendars have chocolate in them now? They didn’t when I was a kid! I’m jealous of chocolate advent calendars and my lack one as a child and in protest refuse to by them. Bah humbug.
I loved my barbie when I was a kid, I truly never ever remember thinking she had a perfect body and that I wanted to look like her though. I had a special edition one tht gap did a long time ago. The Rosie doll is bloody scary.
Erm wow at the food, it looks yum and I love curry and salad together.
Your daughters are amazingly cute once again, I can’t express how much I enjoy your blog and how happy once again I am that you started writing it again, I do say it constantly, sorry.
I LOVE that book! I read it last summer on a plane, and I seriously scared the person next to me I was laughing so hard. She cracks me up
I just found your blog through the other healthy living blogs and I am loving reading it– your girls are SO cute.
I just went vegetarian, so I’ll definitely be turning to you for veggie-inspiration!
Oh, AND– my mom gave me and my husband an advent calendar just like that one over Thanksgiving, but before we could take it home, our family dog ate it.
Merry Christmas to us.
I like the advent calendar I’ve never seen one like that. That is one I could sink my teeth into though *crickets* oops cliche much?
Barbie was never a fan I always liked action figures… Batman, Mr Freeze and the like.
I think parenting does make you rethink some of those NEVER statements.
Hope you feel better soon! I miss the healthy Mama Pea. Just make sure to keep the germs to yoself I don’t need em!
All I have to say is, I like (and agree with) your style
And as a past Barbie-lover, I can honestly say that the only thing I coveted about Barbie was her hot pink convertible (and maybe Ken, but that’s another story)…
Lol. I think NYquil get’s a by for its intense artificialness when it gets the job done.
I think it’s hard to ever outgrow advent calenders. A chocolate every day? Sign me up
Things I know…
<—-played with Barbies
<—-totally independent (sole breadwinner in this house)
<—-totally awesome
<—-doesn't have an ED
And.
Veggie curry rocks my knocks. What we had tonight too. At Hubby's request.
*swoon*
I think you're an amazing mom. All or nothing is for the birds…not parents!
Oh, those advent calendars. I, too, was allowed to eat them before departing for school. Problem was, when my parents started realizing I was sneaking the next week’s worth of chocolate. So much for the 25 days of Christmas. They all went to my little 7 year old arse. Good call putting them on top of the fridge.
i freakin love you. my barbie was never able to crash that white house party, but im thinking with todays security it would be less difficult.
rosie doll = way scarier
Another reason why it should be illegal to not have a Trader Joe’s nearby..the closest one is 6 hours away! I love advent calendars, and I want that one! Yumm chocolate in the morning! That would make my day brighter. For sure!
Oh I love your blog ;-D you look fabulous with those adorable kids….I wish I could stay young as you at your age!
that veggie curry looks really Yummy!!I got to learn how to make them!
And this is the reason I like peasandthankyou.com. Incredible post.
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