Strawberry

Strawberries were one of my favorite foods as a child and I'm proud to say that Buttercup likes them, too. (I'm sure one day she'll like them even more with some shortcake under them and some whipped cream on top of them...MMMmmm...)

You may have read somewhere that strawberries are highly allergenic and you shouldn't let your baby near a mile radius of them. According to wholesomebabyfood.com strawberries are one of the top food allergy culprits. I haven't found anything from other reputable sources to back this up. According to the American Academy of Pedatrics, you can now safely introduce any food to your 6 month old (they don't even mention strawberries). Their latest research shows that delaying the introduction of certain foods does not decrease the incident of food allergies at all. It is important to keep family history as well as other food allergies in mind when introducing foods to your baby. Buttercup has no known allergies, hasn't reacted to anything she's consumed via breastmilk, and has no family history of food allergies. WOW! That was a long-winded way to say "Go for it!" If you're still worried about food allergies when introducing your baby to solid foods, here is an excellent interview discussing the AAP's new recommendations.

So! I washed the strawberry with Fit veggie wash, and handed it over. Buttercup immediately gummed a chunk out of it and began chewing away. I ended up taking it back and cutting it in half, as she kept trying to shove the whole berry in her mouth and it wasn't fitting very well.

PROS: yummy, high in vitamin C

CONS: stains...a lot...(a cold soak for clothing work wonders, though)