I don't have a lot of time right now and will get back later to address all the comments but just wanted to say this: Agave nectar is GREAT as is "Just Like Honey" Rice Nectar. http://store.foodfightgrocery.com/julihorine.html

Honey isn't vegan, it is not a cruelty-free product and so ethical vegans avoid it.

I've been vegan for 3 years, and was vegetarian for a couple years before that. During the first 2 years I was vegan, I lost 120 pounds without even trying. How's that for incentive?

YOW! Congratulations, that is some serious incentive you're offering! Great job! What do you think was the key thing that resulted in all that weight loss without even trying?

Tyler, before becoming vegan I was a huuuuge cheese nut. Cheese is so dense calorically, that I think that had a lot to do with it. I never deprived myself though - if I wanted chips or french fries, I had 'em. I think my 'accidental" weight loss is over now as I haven't budged for a year (except for a 10 pound gain when I was on prednisone), so I may have to learn to deprive myself a little bit.

I second the agave nectar. Yummmm.

I can only hope giving up cheese will be so positive for me as well -- like you I was a complete cheese freak! I'd have cheese on... cheese! LOL. Good reason to never touch the stuff again!

So today I'm trying to draw up meal plans since I need to go to the grocery store any way. When I continued looking in my fridge/cupboard I realized there were more items with dairy in them than I first realized.

- Lots of the salad dressings we currently eat have parm cheese in it.

- Several of my favorite Indian frozen meals have paneer in them (bummer!).

- some of the oatmeal flavors we have in the cupboard have whey -- which seems to be in a lot of things actually.

- the bread my DH bought has whey AND honey.

Ooo, I'm all excited because my library has Veganomicon and I've put a hold on it...

It is definitely a learning experience. Although I do try to avoid honey, it is the least of my concerns. I've found you can definitely find bread without whey and honey although many wheyless breads often contain honey.

Trader Joe's has some indian shelf stable meals that don't have paneer in them. There also may be frozen dishes as well. (Although sometimes they will still have ghee/butter in them)

I buy regular oatmeal, it is cheaper, you can flavor it yourself and it is easy to microwave. Actually, my favorite hot cereal right now is Bob's Red Mill High Fiber hot cereal. It is really good.

Use up what you have and when buying replacements, look for vegan friendly items. I actually had to throw away a lot of whey protein powder (I lived on the stuff). I really felt bad about it but also I didn't want to have myself or my husband ingest it.

Thanks for the advice Nelie! I wish we had a Trader Joe's here, but no such luck. We do have a Wild Oats, but it is over on the mainland, so mostly I shop at a reg grocery store (Publix).

I feel sort of guilty about eating some of the non-vegan items now that I've made the decision, but throwing them out seems terribly wasteful also. So I guess I'll use them. There isn't TOO much to go through, and by the middle of next week it should all be gone. Yay.

What I consider the vegan bible: www.theppk.com, and all of Isa's books!

Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World
(Omg, my carnivores have almost fainted after tasting any one of these cupcakes!)

Vegan With A Vengeance

I wanna try the newest book Veganomicon (sp?)

Also, Skinny B*tch and Skinny B*tch In the Kitch (although these books have a lot of vegan junk food in their recipes, so I use them for weekend food, instead of ordering out)

I was totally a dairy addict, but now I only use vegan cheese for special treats. I am also 90% vegan... about once a month I might have a slice of cheese pizza, or order some shellfish (shellfish is like candy to me). Other than that I steer clear of all other stuff.

As for honey, the way it's made today is sad. They like forcefeed the bees corn syrup or something to make them produce honey quicker. It's not natural anymore
So terrible!

Michelle, thanks for the link to PPK, even if it wasn't intended for me.

Yeah, great site! I feel tragically unhip after looking at it, though. I need to dye my hair blue and get a nose ring!

I wish I had a Trader Joes or Whole Foods in my area. I love both of them but am at least 2 hours away from each. I did all my grocery shopping there when I was in San Diego and when I lived just outside Philly.

Oh, how I wish anyone in my family would at least be vegetarian and it would be awesome to have someone I know be vegan. But no such luck.