First foods should be rich in iron. Try iron-fortified cereal, fresh beef, lamb, pork or chicken, and cooked tofu, legumes or egg.

Along with iron-rich foods, first foods can be single foods like banana, avocado, apple, pear, pumpkin or potato. You can mix foods together, like meat and vegies. And include foods that cause allergies, like cooked egg and peanut butter. Introduce foods in any order.

First foods should be smooth, pureed, mashed or in soft pieces. Gradually try more foods and textures. Try flaky loose fish, couscous, berries, citrus fruit and stone fruit.

Step 1: to make pureed or mashed baby food, peel the skin off fruits and vegetables. Trim the fat off meats. Remove skin from chicken.

Step 2: steam, microwave or boil the foods until soft and cooked. Set aside some of the cooking liquids.

Step 3: puree or mash food, adding cooking liquid if needed. In the early days, chop meat finely or puree. Remove bones from fish.

Store baby food in plastic containers. Keep for up to 2 days in the fridge or 30 days in the freezer. Label containers with contents and the date food was prepared.

Freeze pureed or mashed baby food in clean ice cube trays. Spoon baby food into the trays and cover with plastic wrap. Store in the freezer for no more than 30 days.

To serve, pop out food cubes into a glass or ceramic bowl. Warm in the microwave or on the stove. Stir well to get rid of hot spots. Test temperature with a clean spoon on your lip before serving to baby. Discard leftovers – don’t refreeze.