I'm new

[Bodelane]

I have been vegetarian for over a year now and I am really interested in becoming vegan. But I really don't know how to go about planning meals to make sure I get everything I need. Any tips anyone?

[Mandala]

Hi Bodelane, there are a lot of good websites with vegan info out there. When I became a vegan I didn't know much at first and didn't eat as well as I should have, but all I knew was that I couldn't go back to meat and dairy. So with a lot of surfing online I got more experienced, here are some good websites: www.tryveg.com; www.vegansociety.com ; www.goveg.com ; www.vivausa.org Make sure you study up a lot on nutrition, especially Vit. B12. Hope that helps. :)

[Bodelane]

Thank you for the websites. I am having a really hard time being totally vegan because I live in Italy so cheese is all around me. I do pretty good most of the time but sometimes I can't help it.

[Mandala]

Stick with it and take your time until you get comfortable. I had a hard time staying away from cheese when I was pregnant :D You live in Italy??? I'm so jealous :p I would love to go and see Italy!!

[Mandala]

I forgot, can you substitute with soy cheese? A lot of them are yummy!! Are there any natural food stores where you live? those usually carry vegan cheeses.