When I started my daughter on solids I found that she was much more interested in foods that I made at home. For veggies I just steamed them until they were soft enough for her to mash with her gums. I think she liked the fresher tastes. When I wanted her to eat fruit I would either steam it or just puree some in the blender (ie. apples, pears, peaches, plums) or mash up a banana. Then we hit a spot where she wanted to feed herself so I started putting small pieces out for her to pick up and eat herself.
As for the cereal, I believe that as long as your daughter is eating a variety of other foods, she doesn't need the infant cereal. It is important to include grains in her diet, but you could do that with pasta, bread, oatmeal, or even something like cream of wheat. My daughter did not care for baby oatmeal, but loved (and still loves) adult oatmeal. I just prepare it without sugar and use fruit to sweeten it.
Some advice that I remember getting when I was worried about early fruit causing a sweet tooth, was that if your child develops a sweet tooth for fruit, so much the better. Fruits are very healthy choices for snacks.