How to Introduce the Top 9 Potential Allergens to Your Baby

If your baby is eating solid foods, you may be wondering about food allergies. As I mentioned in a past blog post, experts recommend introducing foods that could potentially cause allergies sooner rather than later. That being said, it can be tricky to figure out how to introduce some of these foods to your little one. In today’s post, I’ll review how best to introduce the top 9 potential allergic foods to your baby.

Top 9 allergens

The 9 most common foods that can cause allergies are:

• Dairy

• Eggs

• Wheat

• Fish

• Shellfish

• Peanuts

• Tree nuts

• Sesame

• Soy

Of course, there are other foods not listed here that can cause allergies, but these are the most common. Also, make sure you are only introducing one food at a time and waiting a few days until offering another food. This will help you determine if your baby is tolerating the new food okay.

Dairy

Dairy foods include milk, cheese, butter, ice cream, and yogurt. It is not recommended to introduce your baby to cow’s milk (or any type of non-dairy milk) until they are 1 year old. Until then, breastmilk or formula should be their main source of nutrition. Ice cream is another dairy product that is good to avoid because of the added sugar. It’s best to limit/avoid sweet foods as long as you can so your baby learns to like less sweet foods.

Yogurt is probably the best and easiest dairy product to start with for babies. Start with unsweetened regular or Greek yogurt to avoid added sugar. It’s better to wait until your baby is ready for more textured foods, closer to 9 months, before offering cheese.

Eggs

There are several ways to serve eggs to babies, starting at around 6 months. If you’re giving your baby only pureed foods, try blending or mashing scrambled or boiled egg yolk with breastmilk, formula, yogurt, or fruit until it is at your desired consistency.

Alternatively, you could offer small pieces of scrambled egg for your baby to pick and feed to themself.

Wheat

Wheat is found in a variety of foods, but many of them are not very baby-friendly, at least when a baby is first starting on solid foods. I’ve found that cream of wheat is the easiest way to offer wheat to a baby. You can mix the cream of wheat with water, breast milk, or formula and serve it on its own. Or, for more flavor, try adding a dash of cinnamon, a drizzle of olive oil, a spoonful of plain yogurt, or some mashed avocado.

Fish

Fish may not seem like something you would give a baby just starting on solid foods, but fatty fish, such as salmon and tuna, are great to introduce to your baby early on because they are an excellent source of iron and omega-3 fatty acids. Omega-3 fatty acids are important for eye and brain development and they may help reduce the incidence of ADHD and other behavioral problems later in life.

Make sure the fish is fully cooked and if choosing canned fish, look for varieties that are low-sodium or no-salt-added. Cut the fish into small pieces to feed your baby on its own or mash the fish into avocado or yogurt.

Shellfish

Shellfish are another iron-rich food that can be introduced to babies soon after starting solid foods. Like fish, it’s best to chop shrimp or other shellfish into tiny pieces and serve on its own or mashed into avocado. Never give a baby a whole piece of shrimp or even small pieces that are not cut in half length-wise first, as the round shape poses a risk of choking.

Peanuts

Peanuts are often a cause for concern when it comes to food allergies; the latest research encourages introducing peanuts early as this may reduce the risk for food allergy. Be sure to talk with your pediatrician if you’re concerned about introducing peanuts to your baby or if there is a family history of food allergies. Also, babies with eczema may have a higher risk of developing a peanut allergy.

Smooth peanut butter without any added sugar, salt, or oils is the best way to introduce your baby to peanuts. I recommend mixing a small amount of peanut butter with yogurt, oatmeal, or cream of wheat so that it’s not too thick and sticky for your baby to swallow.

Tree nuts

Did you know peanuts are not the same as tree nuts? Examples of tree nuts include almonds, cashews, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts, Brazil nuts, macadamia nuts, and pistachios. As with peanuts, it’s best to introduce tree nuts to your baby in smooth nut butter form. Many grocery stores sell a variety of tree nut butters, but be sure to check the ingredients for added salt, sugar, and oil. Or you can try making your own tree nut butter!

Sesame

Sesame is another top allergen that just recently (January 2023) started being called out on nutrition labels. Tahini is ground sesame seeds and is the easiest way to introduce your baby to sesame. Like with peanuts or tree nuts, look for tahini without added salt, sugar, or oil and mix it into yogurt or baby cereal. Tahini is also found in most hummus, so you could try mixing tahini with mashed chickpeas.

Soy

Last but not least, soy is the final most common allergen. You can try steaming edamame and blending it into hummus or mashing it into other foods your baby is already enjoying. You can also try blending tofu into a soup or a smoothie.

It can be nerve-wracking to give your baby foods that have the potential to cause an allergic reaction, but remember that holding off on introducing these foods can raise the risk of allergy. The most common food allergies in babies are dairy, eggs, wheat, fish, shellfish, peanuts, tree nuts, sesame, and soy. Always talk with your pediatrician if you’re concerned about food introductions. Stay tuned for future posts about introducing your baby to solids along with baby-friendly recipes!