Shellfish: How to Introduce Your Baby to this Potentially Allergenic Food

Shellfish is one of the Top 9 allergenic foods, and while it’s a common cause of food allergy in children, it’s also one of the least offered foods to babies. In this episode, we’re breaking down the safest ways to introduce shrimp, crab, scallops and more to your baby using baby-led weaning methods. I’ll share why rubbery textures can be tricky at first, how to modify shellfish into a safe form like a shrimp patty and other finger foods even the earliest eater can safely try.

Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro

May 26, 202517m 43s

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Show Notes

#41: Shellfish is one of the Big 8 allergenic foods (...the 8 foods that account for about 90% of food allergy) and even though it is one of the more common pediatric food allergies, it’s the one that I find parents are the most hesitant about introducing to their babies. That may be because we are less inclined to be making shrimp and crab and scallops at home than some of the allergenic foods, but it’s still a category of food we should introduce to baby early and often to help prevent shellfish allergy down the road.

In this episode we’re looking at a few easy ways to introduce babies to shellfish. You can do pieces of shrimp or some of the more rubbery mollusks, but I prefer to wait until baby has at least 1 tooth and has tried some trickier textured foods out before diving right into the rubbery pieces of shellfish. Making shrimp into shrimp cakes or patties is a really easy way to offer shellfish in a baby-led weaning form that is easy and safe for babies to self-feed.

Listen to this episode to learn:

1. Which types of shellfish are considered more vs. less allergenic

2. How to safely prepare 3 types of shellfish (...and rubbery shrimp cocktail is not one of them!)

3. Why your baby is unlikely to react the first time they have shellfish…but pay attention time 2 👀

Shownotes for this episode can be found here:

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.babyledweaning.co/podcast/41

Links from this episode:⁠

• Baby-Led Weaning with Katie Ferraro program with the 100 First Foods™ Daily Meal Plan, join here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://babyledweaning.co/program⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and get $50 off when you sign up using the code BLWPOD50

• Baby-Led Weaning for Beginners free online workshop with 100 First Foods™ list to all attendees, register here: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://babyledweaning.co/baby-led-weaning-for-beginners⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠