How I did it: I had admired the vegan lifestyle for quite a few years before I decided to finally take the plunge.  I made sure that I knew what I was doing BEFORE I actually started eating vegan so that I could:

• respond in an educated way about what being vegan meant
• not give people a bad impression of veganism by being unhealthy
• follow through and know how to troubleshoot if I felt I might be deficient in any nutrients
• support others (now including my husband, mother-in-law and baby) in making a healthy transition to veganism
• provide others with good information about cruelty-free options for improving their diets (ie my mum was anemic recently and I helped her out).

Lessons & tips:

• Know what you're doing before you make the change so that it is easier to stick with it.
• Find out where you can get your Vitamin B12 from (ie fortified soymilks, Brewer's Yeast/Red Star Nutritional Yeast)
• Find out where you can source your Omega 3 (flaxseed oil, fortified soy products)
• Don't be afraid to use a good multivitamin/supplement if you haven't quite learnt how to make sure you're getting everything you need yet
• Go out of your way to include people in your positive experiences of vegan foods by cooking for them, sharing recipes, and letting them know how you feel about the process (but only if they are genuinely interested!)
• Be honest and gentle with yourself and others about the challenges you may face in this process.  Don't whitewash what it means to become a vegan: people can tell, and it just turns them off.
• If you are wanting to talk to people about veganism, try not to do it while they are eating unless they are asking you about it.  It tends to irritate people.

Resources:
Check out http://www.soyouwanna.com/site/syws/vegan/vegan.html

For dietary support:

• Books by qualified dietitians, such as 'Becoming Vegan: the Complete Guide to Adopting a Plant Based Diet' by Vesanto Melina, which includes sections on pregnancy, vegan kids from birth, and vegan diplomacy.
• Moral support from other vegans - such as www.vegweb.com for recipes and friends.
• www.happycow.com for recipes, friends and a fantastic (seemingly global) guide to vegan-friendly places to eat out.

For moral support/inspiration:

• 'Voluntary Simplicity' by Duane Elgin
• 'The Food Revolution' by Tim Robbins
• The websites mentioned above, which are great if you don't know any vegans yet!
• Your local Buddhist community (who I have found to be enormously accommodating of people of diverse faiths and backgrounds - I am not a Buddhist, but many Buddhists are vegan).
• Your local vegetarian society (check your phonebook or google them)
• Contacts and events publicised in local vegetarian restaurants

Also, the Sanitarium product range has been invaluable for non-meat, easy options that taste quite good (I think these are only available in Australia).

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Sep 25, 2008, 09:25PM PDT | 1 comment | 5 cheers