Creative ideas for introducing your baby to 9 common food allergens
Dr. Panchal
Pediatrician
Pediatricians recommend introducing babies to common food allergens as soon as they’re able to handle the size and texture. This means giving your baby a taste of one at a time: If you see an allergic reaction, you know which food was the culprit. After a safe introduction to one of these foods, try to keep it in your child’s weekly rotation.
- Scrambled
- In an omelet cut in strips
- Baked in muffins
- Hard-boiled, mashed with avocado
- Salmon, cod, halibut, sole, all cooked soft
- Fish cakes
- Canned salmon, tuna, or sardines (choose salt-free)
- A bit of melted peanut butter mixed in oatmeal or full-fat yogurt
- Bamba puffed peanut snack
Avoid these choking hazards: chunky peanut butter, whole nuts, or a spoonful of nut butter.
- Whole-milk plain yogurt
- Whole-milk plain Greek yogurt
- Plain full-fat cottage cheese
- Full-fat ricotta cheese
- Melted cheese on strips of toast
- Shrimp broth (you can just boil the shells)
- Crab, with shells removed, cooked soft and shredded into bits
- Crab cakes
- Puree of shrimp and sweet potatoes
- A whole jumbo shrimp, peeled
- Cooked soft tofu
- Mashed edamame
- Plain soy yogurt
- Soy milk mixed into oat or rice cereal
Watch out for whole edamame, as it is a choking hazard. You can chop it up or puree it.
Tree nuts include almonds, Brazil nuts, macadamia, cashews, hazelnuts, pecans, pistachios, and walnuts.
- Nut butter mixed in yogurt or oatmeal
- Nut butter in a smoothie
- Nut butter spread on a piece of whole-grain toast
- Sesame seed sprinkles on anything, including steamed vegetables
- Hummus containing sesame oil mixed with a veggie puree, yogurt, or plain oatmeal
- Tahini mixed with a veggie puree, yogurt, or plain oatmeal
- Whole/mixed-grain baby cereal including wheat, mixed with breast milk
- Whole/mixed-grain baby cereal including wheat, mixed with banana or other fruit
- Strip of whole-wheat toast with smashed avocado or unsalted butter
Additional resources
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