I've been taking Parker's food introductions very slow. His father had severe food allergies and was actually given allergy shots before the age of two. I don't have any food allergies and I am breastfeeding the kidlet so I didn't think he would develop any. But my motto in this was "Better Safe than Sorry."
Today was quinoa. I don't think he even noticed it was a new food. I mixed some in with a jarred vegetable puree and the little piggy ate it all up. But it was a special day in that his grandmother, Nana, was feeding him for the first time. Parker enjoyed the meal despite Nana not shoveling it in fast enough! My boy is a very good eater. He even tried to eat the spoon with each bite of food.
(Just a note on quinoa- it is a ancient grain cultivated in the Andes and throughout South America that's becoming easier to find here. I can buy organic at the local grocery store here in Lubbock so I am sure it's not hard for the rest of the country to find. Its texture reminds me of Israeli couscous, only it's much smaller and doesn't "pop" as much. I use it as a rice replacement in stir-fries or as a cold salad tossed with italian dressing, tomatoes and cucumbers.)
I'm not giving Parker wheat until he is close to a year old (SOP these days for infants). I feel we, as consumers, are so dependant on wheat when there are many many different grains and cereals to experiment with. It's no wonder wheat allergies are so prevalent when it's present at most meals. Some other grains/cereals Parker's had thus far are millet, buckwheat (He LOVES this for breakfast.), barley (in addition to the boxed infant barley cereal mix, I've cooked the quick-cook barley for him. Very easy to do and MUCH less time-consuming than regular barley, but of course you lose the nut-like texture). He's also had lentils and he loves those as well. They are easy for him to swallow and in small amounts, the gas has not been a problem.
