Well, for multiple reasons I've decided to finally stop procrastinating and go vegan. My goal is for one month, and then re access myself (health wise) and tweak my diet from there.

My first step, I felt, was educating myself about what it meant to be a HEALTHY vegan...I am completely 100% an advocate of whole foods. However, I'm getting so overwhelmed! I've read "Eat to Live" (Dr F.) and "The Kind Diet" (Alicia Silverstone). Both seem to have similar but still very different opinions on what a balanced vegan diet should look like with the latter book being crazy expensive for 95% of the recipes and menu suggestions.

So, Any advice on being balanced or/and further reading?

Well, everybody is different. Some people, depending on ethnics, previous diet, personal self, and other things like that, will have an easier time. Like an Indian whose ancestors didn't eat beef would have an easier time going veg then a Swiss person who has grown up being fed whole suasage links as snacks

The best thing is to find out yourself what's best for you, but of course follow the basics, like 3 or more servings of veggies and 2 or more servings of fruit (but be liberal with the both of them!),



Listen to your cravings too, if you really want cheese, go for something with protein or calcium in it, if you want eggs, maybe your body needs some iron?

Budget wise, buy the non-parishables in bulk. Find a trader joe's or whole foods store to get the things you need for cheaper. Plan out your meals for the week to buy what you need, to prevent things from being wasted. Instead of bying vegetable stock, make your own: save up the scraps from veggies (carot tops, celery leaves, collard stems, etc) and store them in the freezer. Once you have enough, throw them in a pot of boiling water, boil for a few minutes, and then let simmer for 30 minutes.
Blanch or freeze what you can't finish to save it for when you want it, grow your own veggies, try to make as much of your own food as possible (including bread), and get coupons! :P
Good luck!

PCRM has guidelines online.

http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/index.html

The Vegetarian Way by Virginia Messina and Mark Messina is also very accessible and takes both a vegetarian and vegan approach to nutritional needs at different ages and stages.

http://www.amazon.com/Vegetarian-Way.../dp/0517882752

HTH!
A.

I think the key is to eat whole foods and it shouldn't be expensive. You can really find practically anything vegan these days and a lot of that stuff IS expensive, like vegan donuts, icecreams, meats and cheeses. They even have vegan caviar!

Try eating cheap whole foods - oatmeal w/fruit and soymilk for breakfast alternating with tofu scrambles or fruit and homemade muffins.

lunch can be homemade bean or lentil soups with whole wheat bread. hummus and veggies, salads with beans.

same things for dinner, plus whole grain pasta with sauce, stirfys, curries, dahls, etc.

I haven't read Alicia's book but I did read part of Eat to Live. I tried to follow the diet and found it very challenging.

Check out this blog -> some of the recipes are complicated, but it may give you some ideas and she does WW points. I've tried several recipes and they are fantastic. I make a version of her tofu veggie pot pie every thanksgiving. I use a different gravy recipe though that's not fat free, since it's thanksgiving.

oh, i forgot I can't post links since I an new. the blog is veganfeastkitchen dot blogspot dot com

I suggest to make sure to take vitamins. I was taking a multivitamin that had 100% of my b12 but I still got a deficiency (horrible symptoms), so I have to take a b12 vitamin and my multivitamin.

And the more unprocessed foods you buy, the cheaper your food will be. vegetables are so cheap. for being balanced I suggest to not be to hard on yourself. you don't have to eat the most healthy food all the time like Eat to Live wants you to, food wouldn't be enjoyable. What I am currently trying to do is having one big meal a day that I spend time one and let be big, but the other stuff I eat in the day is super healthy. I'll give you an example:

Wake up- Green Smoothie
maybe some fruit if hungry
Lunch time- Salad or Soup (something low in calories with lots of vegetables)
Some vegetable or fruit for snack, as much as I want
Dinner- Big meal, Maybe pasta or some asian dish with rice and stir fry tofu/veggies. whatever I want, and perhaps a glass of wine.

This is what I'm striving for, its the best for me since I rather indulge a little with dinner and eat wonderfully before that. Find out what works best for you!

I definitely make large batches of food for the week/2 weeks, which keeps costs down. I'll make a batch of black bean chili and a batch of lentil stew, and freeze them in individual portions. Both last me about 2 weeks, and cost around $10 each, so that is only $10 a week for 4-5 dinners! I also eat the same thing for breakfast everyday-almonds and a piece of fruit. A Costco bag of almonds is around $10 but lasts almost 2 months! Things like that should keep your costs down.

I would suggest perusing some vegan blogs because there are a lot, blog.fatfreevegan.com is my favorite.

Basically, a vegan diet is inexpensive unless you start eating a lot of processed foods. Bulk beans and grains are very cheap. Buy veggies in season.

I'd also suggest looking at your local library for vegan cookbooks to get some ideas.

There are also 2 cookbooks that might be helpful if the library has them or if you want to check them out at your bookstore "Vegan on the cheap" and "Supermarket vegan".

"The Kind Diet" recipes do often call for odd, expensive ingredients. One of them called for saffron threads - one serving of saffron threads is quite costly.

I agree with all of the other suggestions - and one more thing, if you follow through with being a vegan - concentrating on whole foods - you will eventually become an awesome cook and start concocting your own recipes or manipulating other non-vegan recipes to make them vegan. It is really a lot of fun and takes a lot of creativity and imagination.

Also, I highly recommend starting a B vitamin supplement immediately. I was feeling somewhat fatigued and started taking a combination B vitamin and feeling wonderful again.

Gosh its been awhile. With all my moving ect I haven't had an internet connection for AGES it feels like.

Thank you everyone for all the suggestions and tips, I've checked out the suggestions and am now more confident then ever that I CAN do this. I intend to start closer to the end of this month (after I move into my new apt and no longer am living with "meat eaters") and can't wait.

Vegan on the Cheap is my FAVE Vegan cookbook. I usually spend under $35 a week on groceries and eat great!. It's by Robin Robertson. Another great money saving cookbook is Weight Watcher Versitile Vegetarian. I usually substitute the dairy items with tofu or soymilk. Together I am able to make lots of tasty cheap food.

You know once you buy the staples, its not so expensive since you are really only buying fresh food like fruit n veg. I buy dried beans in big bags and although you have to prepare them yourself, it works out to be so much cheaper than canned beans. Buying flour and rice and pasta in bigger packets works out to be more cost effective since you always end up using it eventually. I get my tofu at asian grocery stores because its always at least a couple of dollars cheaper than at the supermarket (ditto for things like edamame, and you can hit jackpot with mock meats and stuff in some stores). If you know of a food market near you, hit it up around an hour or half hour before closing time when the fruit n veg stalls are putting out everything for cheap so they can pack up and leave. I hit the markets on a Saturday at 1pm (they close at 2pm and dont open sundays, so you know they gotta clear it all out) and in the past I have gotten a whole packing box of tomatoes for a dollar, a full shopping bag of mushrooms for a dollar, etc. Some of it might be smaller or brusied than what you could get if you went earlier, but if you are cooking it, who cares?

I have to second the Vegan On The Cheap recommendation. I just made the baked seitan and it is the best seitan recipe I've ever made!