This post is in partnership with Ready. Set. Food!.
Are you concerned about food allergies? With 1 in 13 children suffering from food allergies, it's normal to worry over potential allergens. As a pediatric dietitian and a mom to three kids under five, I completely understand this concern, and I've always dreaded the thought of my children being restricted in their food choices or facing danger if they came into contact with an allergen. Talk about the weight of this mental load!
During a recent Target run, I spotted Ready. Set. Food! on the shelves. I vividly remember seeing this product featured on Shark Tank back in 2020, so naturally, it piqued my curiosity. Ready. Set. Food! offers allergen powders that you can easily mix into your child's bottle or food, designed to provide allergy exposure to the top nine allergens. It's a structured approach to introducing allergens, which is particularly helpful for parents who may feel anxious about the process.
At New Modern Mom, we're all about simplifying motherhood. Sure, you can introduce allergens using real foods at home, but I wanted to explore an option that takes out the guesswork. So here's my honest take of Ready. Set. Food!.
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Why introduce allergens early?
According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), early introduction of allergenic foods can reduce the risk of future food allergies. Several studies like the LEAP Study, EAT Study, and PETIT Study support early and frequent allergen introduction, showing that introducing allergens between 4 to 6 months, can reduce your child's risk of developing food allergies later on. But not all children are ready for solids this early. Luckily, Ready. Set. Food! offers a simple solution for introducing these allergens to your baby regardless if they’ve started solids so your baby can benefit from early allergen introduction..
How Ready. Set. Food! Works
Ready. Set. Food! is backed by a team of pediatricians and allergists. Ready. Set. Food! ensures a safe and convenient way to introduce allergens, with three stages of allergen mix-ins, starting as early as four months to be added to your baby’s breastmilk or formula, then mixed into solids as they get older. The process starts with single allergen introduction in powdered form then progresses to multi-allergen powers to maintain allergen exposure.
Here's the breakdown:
Stage 1: Introduce (4+ months)
When your baby hits the 4-month mark and hasn't tried allergens yet (or even solids), you can start with Stage 1 allergen mix-ins. Stage 1 introduces the top three allergens—milk, egg, and peanut—one by one over 30 days. The pre-measured packets make it easy to mix them into your baby's bottle of formula or breast milk. What's awesome is that the box is organized with labeled dividers by day and individual packets for each day and allergen, making it super easy to follow along without any hassle.
To break it down, days 1 to 4 focus on milk, days 5 to 8 introduce egg alongside milk, and days 9 to 30 introduce peanut alongside milk and egg. The goal is that once an allergen is introduced, you consistently keep it in the diet.
Stage 2: Maintain (4+ months)
The goal with Stage 2 Mix-ins is to continue offering the top three allergens for allergy exposure maintenance. Offer Stage 2 to your baby for a total of two months. Each packet of powder includes milk, egg, and peanut, so you can easily mix it into bottles or food if your baby has started on solids.
Stage 3: Grow (6+ months)
Stage 3 Mix-ins are perfect for your 6-month-old who's already diving into solid foods. These powder mix-ins contain nine major allergens, including milk, egg, and peanut (for allergen maintenance) and new ones like cashew, almond, walnut, sesame, soy, and wheat.
Keep in mind, allergies to peanut, egg and milk are the most common, accounting for 80% of all childhood food allergies. That’s why they’re introduced one at a time, in Stages 1 and 2. Stage 3 has 6 additional allergens and is intended for food allergen maintenance, so parents can introduce these allergens individually and then use Stage 3 to keep up allergen exposure.
You can use stage 3 mix-ins for 3 to 6 months to maintain allergy exposure.
My Full Review of Ready. Set. Food!
Ready. Set. Food! is an innovative and parent-friendly solution to introducing allergens to your baby in a safe and structured manner without mess or stress vs. buying individual ingredients and preparing them in safe sizes and textures for your baby.
Safety
Ready. Set. Food! is committed to making early allergen introduction as safe as possible:
- Research supports feeding your baby allergenic foods early, between 4 to 6 months. It's actually the best time to start. The LEAP, EAT and PETIT studies have shown that introducing your baby to the top three food allergens is important for reducing food allergies. Plus, these three studies, which included over 2,000 babies aged 4-11 months, showed that none of the babies had a severe reaction.
- Ready. Set. Food! offers safe, pre-portioned amounts for introducing each allergen.
- Ready. Set. Food! adheres to medical recommendations from the AAP, to introduce allergenic foods one at a time (Stage 1 Mix-Ins introduces peanut, egg and milk one at a time, which account for ~80% of all childhood food allergies).
- Ready. Set. Food! follows guidelines by the USDA to frequently feed allergens once they have been introduced
Ingredient Quality
- USDA organic
- Non-GMO
- Clean Label Project Purity award winner
- No added sugar
- No added salt
Convenience
- No mess, no stress: no need to carefully plan and prepare individual ingredients day after day
- Pre-measured packets – just 1 packet, once a day
- Easily identifiable stage system
- FSA/HSA eligible (Stage 1 and Stage 2 only)
Availability
- Available in a wide selection of retailers, including: Amazon, Target, Walmart, Meijer, Wegmans, and Walgreens
- Order Stage 1 and Stage 2 online, with one-time purchase options for 30 days (Stage 1), 90 days (30 Stage 1 and 60 Stage 2), 180 days (30 Stage 1 and 150 Stage 2), or the complete system of 180 days (30 Stage 1, 60 Stage 2, 90 Stage 3).
Introducing Allergens has never been easier with Ready. Set. Food!
✅ Can introduce allergens before baby starts solids
✅ Parent-friendly with easily identifiable stage system
✅ Pre-portioned packets (great when you're on the go!)
✅ Zero added sugar or salt
✅ USDA organic, non-GMO, Clean Label Project Purity award winner
✅ Widely available in major retailers or available online