I have decided to go vegan tommorrow after being minimally lacto-ovo for a few months. Any tips about what isn't vegan, meal ideas, etc? Or just another thread I can check, I'm not sure if this is in the right place.

Good luck! I give you my full support ;)

Is there anything specific you want some tips/advice on, it is a bit overwhelming to ask for advice about everything at once. It would help if your questions were a bit more specific.

Just remember to eat when you feel hungry, eat healthy, and stock up on soy ice cream! And it doesn't hurt to take a daily supplement, just in case. :) Oh and don't forget...the most important thing is education! Learn and read as much as you can about the dairy and egg industries and vegan nutrition!

I recommend an excellent nutrition guide called Becoming Vegan by Davis & Melina. In addition to a ton of sound nutritional advice, it has a suggested shopping guide and tips for handling common situations.

The Saucy Vegetarian
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1570670919/002-5069421-7604835?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155

Vegan Deli
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1570671095/002-5069421-7604835?%5Fencoding=UTF8&v=glance&n=283155

International Vegetarian Union (Most are strict definition of vegetarian aka: vegan)
http://ivu.org/recipes/regions.html

Get some Coconut Milk, Dark Chocolate without Milk (Paul Newman's is good), and avocados. Without any Eggs, Milk, or Dairy you will feel the absense of saturated fats. These are vegan ones to replace them.

Get some Glad containers, and set aside a Sunday. Make several varieties of spiced beans, and freeze them. (They freeze well.) Choose some fairly complex soups with protein, and do the same. At least three. (These will keep variety in your diet even if the week turns out to be a cruncher.)

Get your nuts and seeds. Almonds, Walnuts, and Cashews. Sunflower seeds, Sesame Seeds, Poppi seeds, flax seeds. Get a small electric coffee grinder ready for grinding seeds, and a blender for making Soy Shakes. (You can make an endless variety without them getting boring.) Have plenty of bananas, and several kinds of frozen fruit on hand to mix into combinations. (Every shake pretty much needs a banana as a base.) ...Try adding different ground nut powders.

Sweeteners. Maple Syrup, Golden Syrup, non-bleached sugar.

Get your grains. Have a couple kinds of rice. Brown, White, Long-Grain, Frozen Stir-Fry, Basmati. Have Oatmeal around, or other grain serials that will be filling in the morning.

Get your oils. Olive, Canola, Peanut, Toasted Sesame.

Have lemons and limes around. Also Rice Wine vinegar. Acid/Citris slows down sugar absorbtion, and makes vegan meals last longer. Most good grain cooking uses some form of citris or vinegar.

Get your spices. Cumin, Corriander, Turmeric, Cinamin, Cayenne, Chile Powder, Garlic Powder. Tabasco sauce,

Have a food processor. ...You need one for most decent Vegan recipes.

Having canned ChickPeas, Black Beans, Red Beans, Navy/White Beans, and vegetarian baked beans around will help. (Baked Beans with Microwaved corn on the cob (3 minutes an ear) makes an easy Vegan meal.)

Have Some Extra-Firm Tofu, Frozen Veggies, Scallions, Soy Sauce and ginger root (frozen in the freezer to be grated as needed) around for Stir Fry once a week.

Get Veggie burgers, and ketchup especially if you have kids. Have Chocolate Soy Milk around for the same reasons.

...Ok, I'm done talking for now.

Oh wait, you're in highschool.

...Get your parents to do all that.

I would suggest that you take this as a process. obviously don't knowingly eat any meat, eggs or dairy. But that doesn't mean that on your first day you should be looking up obscure ingredients listed at the bottom of a long list of ingredients. You will burn out and drive your parents nuts. Eventually you will learn all of those bizarrely named animal ingredients if you desire. Try to eat more and more unprocessed food as you go. Have fun with it, learn as you go.

Oh wait, you're in highschool.

...Get your parents to do all that.

go shopping with your parents. that way you can show them you know what you're doing :)

ginger root (frozen in the freezer to be grated as needed)
Is THIS how one saves fresh ginger?? Gad, it's been killing me watching my nubs of ginger go bad and having to throw them out! Do you just throw the nub in a baggie and freeze it? Peel it first? :help:

VFH, you're so awesome! :lovesign: I love it when you're all helpful! You oughtta come help me post daily tips for the Goin' Veg Club sometime!

Yeah. It keeps forever that way. Don't even bother peeling it. Just grate it into whatever you're cooking.

OMG! So many tips! Thank you...Actually, vegmedic, I have been reading the ingredients on most of the foods in our house, and haven't eaten meat for four years, so I won't annoy them any more than usual.:angel:

When shopping, take your cell phone and call the 800-number on the package if it lists "natural flavorings" or something else you don't know what is. Also, many organic food companies address which of thier products are vegan in the FAQ sections of thier websites.

Vary what you eat, don't get caught in a particular food trap ie eating the same bean every meal because you might start thinking eating vegan is boring. It certainly isn't. Try new veggies, fruits, beans, grains that you never tried before. Veganism opened my eyes to food that I would have never thought of eating while ovo/laco veg or omni. Quinoa is amazing, pomegrenates have a wonderful taste and adzuki beans taste great-just some of my more recent 'discoveries.' Get some basic cookbooks ie How it All Vegan, The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook, Garden of Vegan and enjoy!

my advice, assuming you are anything like myself, is to not just go vegan right away, while it was simple for me to do that with meat and simple enough to do with milk, cheese, yogourt and eggs (i never ate eggs anyway). if i gave up trace ingredients right away i think i'd currently be 50 pounds.

i still have things with trace ingredients; "the original soy" cheese with casein for example. although being a true vegan is a goal, it is most certainly not an easy one while living in a house (with groceries) of a family who doesn't eat the way i do. i commonly wake up late and have to run to school, and as often as i have a dessert tofu shake premade for myself, this morning i was hungry and grabbed a raisin bran bar. turns out the second last ingredient was milk ingredients.

when i have my own house or space it's likely i'll be able to go "pure vegan" (i know the chagrin this term brings on this board) but until then i'll be almostkindatraceingredient vegan.

Try out "subsitute" products to see if you like them. Veganaise, tofutti better-than-sour-cream, tofurky hickory-smoked deli slices, and tofurky italian sausage are some of my favorites. The italian sausage (soysage) is yummy in speggetti sauce.