Welcome! What inspired you to take the plunge?

I've been following the Engine 2 diet for the past 2 weeks. It's been helpful to have recipies to start from when going shopping. There are some .pdf files here http://engine2diet.com/tools that you may find helpful. All of the "approved" foods are very low fat, less than 3g/serving, have no white sugar/four or added oil. Obviously no meat, dairy, eggs are included.

You can also find some recepies there.

I've found the "what's for dinner" thread on this group interesting. Everyone has a slightly different set of guidelines of what's included in their diets, so that's always fun to learn about.

I found it easier to do a little bit of shopping for things link brown rice vinegar, liquid aminos, etc at a time since they tend to be a little pricey.

I've never understood why women will cook two meals, one for them, one for their family. If I'm cooking, that's what we're having. If you want something else, you can make it yourself :-) But that's just me.

Good luck!

I didnt realise b i t c h would be edited!! :-/ x

I agree re Happy Herbivore and also her website happyherbivore.com - check out fatfreevegan.com too. I'm not totally vegan yet but working on it and my OH is totally omni. Sometimes we do eat completely different things but sometimes we eat similar ie I will make a stir fry or noodle soup and he will add meat, or I'll do pasta or curry or vegetable stew etc. That way at least you're only really cooking one meal! Good luck!

A good book I like to recommend is the Complete Idiots Guide to Vegan Living, although it goes into all aspects of living vegan, not just eating vegan. It's a good book tho.

I find the easiest foods for lunches are salads (of course, lol) but I try to add different things to them often and try new things so it doesn't bore me. I eat at Subway usually once weekly and get their veggie sub. I also take pb&j and sometimes hummus wraps with veggies. My lunches aren't exciting but they work for me

I love the Veganomicon (and if you get the reference, you get bonus points :P...). If you have some cooking skills, this book has some really great stuff.

Like a few others mentioned, it isn't worth it to make two separate dinners every night (though my mom does that because my step dad won't eat anything 'healthy.'

When I make dinner, I choose the main part(s) of the meal (grains, beans, veggies, fruit, etc.) and then my husband also cooks a chicken breast or a piece of fish to add onto his meal. He is not vegan, but does not eat dairy, so the bulk of our meals can be the same.

In any case, if you are good at cooking, non-vegans tend not to care if there isn't meat or cream in every dish!

Good luck and keep us posted on how your transition is going!!

I have been a vegan for almost a week now and my skin freaked out! I've also had a very runny nose and headaches. I have read that some people experience "vegan detox" so I think that's what it is.

When I first went vegan, I tried to continue cooking for my husband and son as you're planning to. I can tell you, it won't work. Just cook for you and they'll happily eat what you make. I went vegan for health reasons and personal convictions - I will not purchase animal products, and I sure as heck won't prepare them. If your husband feels he needs meat/dairy, then you can tell him it's in the fridge and he can add it to his own plate, etc. I'm not sure how old your son is, but you'll have to do what you feel is right for him. Mine was 15 when I made the switch. He's 20 now and is not vegan, but loves pretty much everything I make.

My advice is to try to modify normal recipes to make them vegan before you go out and buy the cookbooks and start trying "fancy" vegan recipes. It's an evolution that will take time. You don't want to overwhelm yourself by trying to figure out what all the different vegan ingredients are while your body is adjusting.

Easy things for lunch are hummus and pita chips (or any kind of vegan chip or bread), salads - obviously, homemade soups, good old PB&J.

Good luck to you!

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