Baby cereal was one of my first searches as my little boy was going through heaps of the stuff and, on our budget, it was getting tricky to afford it all! This solution ended up being simple, easy, and a lot more cost effective. Simply grind up some uncooked brown rice or rolled oats (organic if you can afford it) till it is a fine powder. You can do this in a coffee grinder or a food processor. A blender may work out okay, too, as long as it can grind to a fine powder. Simply place ½ cup of rice or rolled oats (finely ground) into a pot, with 1 ½ - 2 cups of water and heat up on medium heat until thick. This quantity should be enough for 2-3 days, and will keep well in the fridge. Add to pureed fruit or vegetables, or have on its own for breakfast with baby milk and a little sweetener.
For fruit and vegetables, and meat, simply cook up what you're wanting until tender. Vegetables to use early on are: pumpkin, carrots, peas, silverbeet or spinach. Fruits to use early on: apples, pears, peaches, and apricots. You can use tinned fruit to puree if it is tinned in juice rather than syrup. I found this useful at times. Meats you could use are: beef, chicken, etc. Another good way to find out what fruit, vegetables, and meats are okay for the age of your baby is to check out the tinned ones for their age!
Baby fruit juices can add up quickly, too. I discovered that if you just buy a non-sweetened juice such as grape or apple or orange and place 1/3 of quantity desired into baby bottle and top up with cooled boiled water (or filtered water). Easy!
Baby rusks became an issue as my little fellow got older and began teething with a vengeance! Making your own rusks is a lot more cost effective, and there are lots of simple recipes out there. One of the simplest is to oven dry bread that is pre-cut into 3 strips and spread with a yeast spread (vegemite and marmite in New Zealand). A low oven, at about 150C/300F, for about ½ hour approx. They're ready when they're dry and crisp when you snap one. Store in an airtight container. Babies love them!
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