bread, crackers

and other foods

bread and crackers

Bread or crackers may be served at the snack or with meals throughout the course of the day. At 8 or 9 months of age, babies enjoy having finger foods so they can practice picking up the foods. Also, at that age a baby’s risk of having a reaction to wheat decreases. Examples of foods to serve babies include:

Strips or small pieces of dry bread or toast or crackers,
Plain crackers preferably low in salt such as low salt soda crackers (avoid crackers with seeds, nuts, or whole grain kernels),
Small pieces of soft tortilla or soft pita bread, or
Teething biscuits.

Check the food label to make sure the crackers or bread are made from whole-grain or enriched meal or flour.

crackers

Crackers—saltines, low salt crackers, or snack crackers made without nuts, seeds, or hard pieces of whole grain kernels;
Graham crackers made without honey.

If any of the above foods are served, prepare them in a form that a baby can eat without choking.That is, serve small thin strips of bread rather than a whole or half of an uncut hard bagel, English muffin, wheat roll, or soft tortilla, or bread with a hard crust.

avoid

Do not feed babies these foods, which present a choking risk:

Snack potato or corn chips, pretzels, or cheese twists,
Cookies or granola bars,
Crackers or breads with seeds, nut pieces, or whole grain kernels such as wheat berries, and
Whole kernels of cooked rice, barley, or wheat; these should be finely ground or mashed before feeding to babies.

other foods

Some examples are bread at meals other than the snack, and rice, pasta, noodles, or macaroni at any meal—these foods are usually introduced to infants 8 months or older. Remember to serve foods that are appropriate for a baby’s developmental age. Also, pieces of soft cooked fruit or vegetable may be appropriate as a finger food or snack for babies 8 months or older. Do not provide family-style meal service to babies because it is important to feed them food that is appropriate for their development. Some foods often fed to older children are not appropriate for babies, such as pizza, hot dogs, french fried potatoes, or dishes made from a mixture of foods and condiments such as casseroles. These foods tend to be high in salt and contain a mixture of ingredients that a baby may not have tried before and, thus, may have a reaction to.

Source: Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion(usda.gov)

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