Congratulations on the best decision you will ever make. You are doing the right thing without a doubt. The hard thing about veganism is that most food products contain ingredients of indeterminate origin. You will not be able to tell by reading the label. And some ingredients are not even listed on the label. For example, the fat used to cut maple syrup could be butter or lard. Grape juice could be clarified with gelatin. If a product says flour, wheat flour, whole wheat flour, or unbleached flour-- anything except 100% whole wheat flour-- it is enriched with additives not listed on the label. Product manufacturers usually do not know whether their products are vegan. They say their ingredient. suppliers say it is proprietary information. Vitamins, minerals, natural flavors, artificial flavors or colors-- any natural or synthetic additive-- could be of animal origin. But do not rely on the Internet! Unless you are able to get the info directly from the product manufacturer, it cannot be trusted. The Internet is replete with misinformation about products' ingredients origins. Do not ever use the I Can't Believe It's Vegan list. Those products can contain up to 2% of animal ingredients, so they are not vegan. You CAN trust Vegan Essentials and Pangea (www.veganstore.com)-- everything they sell is 100% vegan. Do NOT trust store or restaurant personnel to know whether their products are vegan. You will find there are very few vegan products in existence. Always contact the manufacturer directly. I repeat-- you will not be able to tell by reading the label. Not even if you are a chemist. For example, modified food starch usually contains animal enzymes, but not always. Good luck to you and I hope this info helps you start out!

Best of luck! Here are my top tips:
- the internet is your friend - on here, other forums, FB, Twitter and loads of recipe sites/blogs - check out, among others, FatFreeVegan, JL Goes Vegan and the PPK.
- invest in a couple of good cook books - anything by Isa Chandra Moskowitz or Terry Hope Romero is a good starting point.
- don't beat yourself up if you get it 'wrong', like aedreana says there are so many pitfalls!

My dairy is open to friends if you want to add me although I've a family visit the next couple of weeks and may not be on much or be particularly healthy :-)

Well done- always remember your reasons for change.

Congratulations! Add me as a friend if you like! I became Vegan on the 16th April this year! My diary is open so you can have a look!