Years ago when i went vegetarian, i found that pretty easy. I love fruit and soup, and salad. I lived in California and it was easy to find fake meat, organic fruits and veggies, and pasta.
I then moved to the Midwest which was food (and everything else) culture shock. There were months that i lived off of apples because there were few if any other fruits and veggies where i was. This is much better now. After a decade of being vegetarian, i tried meat again (i was 11 when i started being a vegetarian, against my families wishes) because it was so hard (not an excuse) with work to get anything i could eat. That lasted for just a little while, and i was so grossed out, sick, and felt horrible and i went back happily. I decided some time ago i wanted to be a vegan, once i was more aware of what animals are put thru. That was much harder.
I knew i wanted to be a vegan, it was not a trial, or a fad, it was a life change i wanted to make. I bought 5 cook books, a book on vegan nutrition, and then filled up on the vegan staples (egg replacer, almonds, cashews, vegan butter, peanut butter and jelly in case i totally botched a meal lol), read a lot of reviews online about what products ARE vegan and which aren't, what products did people like and others didn't? I bought the ones people liked.
I found an online recipe site (
Vegan / Vegetarian Recipes and More for the Vegan Diet and Lifestyle) read the recommendations and recipes there. I then jumped in head first. I made mistakes, but now i am close to 100 percent vegan. I say close because i have been doing this now for about 6 months (love it) but i still make the occasional mistake (usually in a restaurant where i ask if something has animal products in it, explain what that means, and they say no, then i find out. Its amazing how many people don’t think chicken broth, fish, and lard are animal products)
Here are the cookbooks i love, all vegan.
The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook: Delicious Dairy-Free Cheeses and Classic "Uncheese" Dishes (Paperback)
by Jo Stepaniak
This is all the cheese you will ever need. I knew the two things i would miss the most were pizza, and ice cream. This took care of pizza, mac and cheese, stuffed shells, nacho dipping sauce, everything. And it is good.
Vegan Family Favorites: Tasty And Satisfying Recipes Even Your Kids Will Love (Paperback)
by Erin Pavlina
This was really good. Easy to make. Easy to clean up. It has a lot of food found in the standard American diet, but made vegan, so it is stuff you recognize.
Vegan World Fusion Cuisine : Over 200 award-winning recipes, Dr. Jane Goodall Foreword, Third Edition (Hardcover)
by Mark Reinfeld, Bo Rinaldi "
I just bought this book. I have to say it is the most beautiful cookbook i have ever seen. It has wonderful recipes, beautiful pictures, and quotes from rumi, Shakespeare, and others. I bought this book about a week ago. I sat and read it cover to cover. Then i took it over to my aunts house to show them, and i have not seen the book since. I am told tho (and have gotten to taste some of the wonderful meals that have come out of it) that it is wonderful and every recipe so far is a winner. This book has many raw food recipes as well which i have gotten to try and loved.
This is the nutrition book
Becoming Vegan: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Plant-Based Diet by Brenda Davis and Vesanto Melina (Paperback - Sep 2000)
I read this once and use it sometimes as a reference. Good info. Basically what i took away from it is, dont be a vegan junk food eater (meaning don’t live off of chips because they are vegan), take a multi vitamin and extra B-12. I have found that i need extra b-12 then what i get in my diet. So i take a sublingual pill once a day and i am good..
Ok hope that was not too long nor too boring
Adrienne