Struggles with Baby 'Food'

Little Bear is really starting to take off with his eating. For the most part, we practice 'baby-led weaning', which is essentially letting him eat whatever we're eating, but I am mixing in some purees as well. He loves just gnawing on a chunk of broccoli, and does get little bits off that he actually eats.

As a matter of fact, this kid loves to eat pretty much anything you put within his reach. His appetite is growing, and I'm starting to run into some problems.

Problem #1: Snacks
When we're out and about, which is a lot, I struggle with what to give him. Most parents give their tots 'puffs', the ridiculous snack that for some reason, includes sugar. I have searched high and low for an alternative to these, and found the Happy Baby and Plum Organic brand, but even those have cane syrup.

Why the sweetener? What is the deal with putting sugar in baby foods? I mean, really, is it necessary? Does a baby's brand new palate only accept sweet foods? NO.

Problem #2: Allergies
Aside from having difficulty finding appropriate snack items for baby, I also struggle with allergy issues. Hubby and I have no food allergies. None. My sister and his dad have severe allergies, food and otherwise. So there is a family pre-disposition, and boy was it ever passed on.

Unfortunately, Monkey is allergic to bananas, avocado, kiwi, mango, eggs and latex. We also are avoiding nuts until age 5 because of the family history. So far, it looks like little Bear is allergic to sweet potatoes, but I'm also avoiding all the other foods that Monkey is allergic to just in case. I also have a suspicion about apricots, but I'm hoping I'm wrong.

Now guess what are the easiest/most nutritious foods to start baby out on? Bananas, avocado, sweet potato.  Some of hubby and my favorites as well. Ugh.

Best part- the main flavors of the 'puffs'? Banana, sweet potato, and strawberry, (which is a high allergen and should be avoided until age 2 in allergy prone families).

Solutions?
Here's where I'm hoping for some help from all the moms out in the blogger/twitterverse. Fortunately, this kiddo gets plenty of breastmilk and is growing great, so I'm not overly concerned about nutrition yet. In the long run though, I need to figure out some alternatives to the generic/processed/sugary crap that's out there now.

Thanks in advance for any tips/tricks.

Hugs,
-J