Who wants to share some pie with baby this Thanksgiving?
There’s only one reason not to serve your baby pumpkin pie this Thanksgiving and that is whether the recipe calls for honey, which you must absolutely avoid until after baby's first birthday due to the risk of infant botulism. So what about the sugar?
Generally we suggest holding off on introducing sugar regularly until around age two, but one piece of pie on a holiday isn't going to make or break things. Most recipes for pumpkin pie call for ¾ cup granulated sugar. Per serving, that works out to be about 20 grams of sugar per slice. Is that a lot? Yes, but do you want to know what else has about 20 grams of sugar per serving? Mangos. Apples. Pears. Peaches. Now, of course, the sugar in whole fruit is much healthier than refined sugar you would be using in a pie recipe (and fruit offers a host of valuable vitamins and nutrients) but our point is that if you are worried about your child developing a sweet tooth, once slice of pumpkin pie isn't going to make a measurable impact sugar-wise.
Our take? Go for it. Holidays are a special time and chances are it’s the only day of the year you’re going to serve your baby pumpkin, which, by the way, is loaded with vitamin A and essential for growth, vision, immune function, bone health, and more. In terms of serving it, let baby scoop it up with their palms and go at it or pre-load a spoon or fork and hand that over. Pumpkin pie is soft and does't need any modification for baby to be safe.
For more on how taste preferences are formed in relationship to sweets and sugar, see our article on Sugar and Taste Preferences.
p.s. Most crusts will be fine for baby to munch on but if it makes you nervous, simply take it away and let baby go at the filling. A little whipped cream on top is fine for babies, too.
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