Hi there.
My 11 mo old has start started doing this exact thing. She'll galdly put anything in her mouth, seems quite content chewing on it for a few mins and then spits it out. Half the time I don't know she's doing this as she takes what she spits out and shoves it down into her highchair. Needless to say it's not pretty when she comes out! I'm sure, like everything else, this is just a phase. Hopefully a few bites are going down!
Jenn