Daughter going vegan.....help!!!!!

Vitamin B12 supplement is essential

Here's an article from the American Dietetic Association that I think you'll find helpful.

http://www.vrg.org/nutrition/2009_ADA_position_paper.pdf

Just a quick google:

http://www.vegancoach.com/nutrition-for-a-vegan.html

I'm sure there are plenty more sites out there with good information.

It's easy enough to get protein in with vegetables, grains, and legumes. If she chooses to eat meat replacements, like Quorn or veggie burgers, those are usually full of protein. Non-dairy milks, especially soy milk, are usually pretty high in protein. Seitan, a "faux" meat made from gluten is really easy to make at home and it's delicious when it's done well.

They even have vegan protein powders. I use a hemp protein powder on days I need a bit more protein.

Try to see if you have a co-op grocery store or a "natural" food store in your area. They usually have a lot of vegan options that the whole family can try to incorporate into their meals. Pick up some vegan cheese and black bean burgers and have a burger night for the whole family. Making a few "family" meals that she can eat will go a long way towards helping ease her into a new diet. It will also help it become a more permanent diet shift. There's nothing worse than being the only one unable to eat with the rest of your family at every single meal. If my family didn't make attempts to eat vegetarian meals every once in a while, I may have given up and reverted to my old diet by now

I went vegan at a similar age (14 yrs ago). My meat eating mother would make a curry for all with a small pan without the meat for me or spag bol with soya mince (pretending it was meat to the rest of family who didn't notice). There are loads of products that you can put in the oven that are vegan, especially Linda McCartney stuff. Cereal with soya milk for breakfast. Pasta with sauces.

Also B12 supplements aren't essential as it is generally an additive in soya milk's, fake meats etc. I have never taken a supplement in my life.

Another thing.... my tracking on MFP has shown that I am getting all my nutritional needs met on a vegan diet (other than the B12), but I do recommend that she track for a little while to check that she's doing that and that she's eating enough calories. Vegan foods are often lower in calories and people sometimes lose weight unintentionally when switching. And sometimes people make the mistake of just dropping meat/dairy/eggs without thinking what to replace them with that have the same nutrients. Tracking helped me figure out that I was shorting myself on iron consistently and then address it. Transitioning from vegetarian to vegan, I realized (from tracking) that I had been relying heavily on dairy for protein and calcium, so I had to do some research on that too.

I prefer to also take supplements just as a precaution, but also get my minimums from diet (I actually did the same thing as an omnivore, so that isn't really a change). The ones I take are (1) Ovega-3 Vegetarian Softgels for omega 3 from seaweed, (2) Deva Vegan Vitamins Daily Multivitamin as just a general vitamin. Is formulated for vegans and contains extra B12 and (3) RAINBOW LIGHT Everyday Calcium for extra calcium. I get these on Amazon.

Your lists of foods are good... here are a few more ideas. I get all of these at Whole Foods: blackstrap molasses, Whole Soy & Company soy milk yogurt, SoDelicous almond milk that is fortified with protein/calcium, seitan, lots of green veggies for iron, Cliff Builder's Bars (20 grams of vegan protein, tastes good, and makes a nice snack). There are a lot of iron fortified cereals out there, so check labels to find some.

In addition, there is an organisation encouraging people to go vegan for November. They have a bunch of different recipes and info on there which may be helpful.

http://www.govegan.org.uk/

Tell her to make her own food. Problem solved.