Seriously considering going vegan - help needed

[Pennies]

For health reasons (cancer) I'm considering going almost vegan, and eliminating all animal and dairy products from my diet. I will continue to eat fish and rarely organic white meat, but I def want to get rid of red meat and all dairy (although will continue to eat eggs). I am wary of soya as there are mixed views about consuming soy products if you have this type of cancer. Because this is related to my health I want to do this with all foods, so I want to treat it more as an allergy than a personal choice IYSWIM.

Where do I start? I am amazed at the number of foods available that contain milk in a variety of forms (inc. crisps!! WTF). Can anyone tell me what ostensibly dairy free products do actually contain milk when you wouldn't expect it?

Also, where's best to get vegan substitutes for stuff. Can anyone recommend a book?

There is a really good vegan thread on moneysavingexpert.com

Go to the forums then go to old school money saving and its on there.

So many people are vegan on there.

vegweb.com is a great site for recipes and ideas.

Most supermarkets stock dairy free biscuits etc that aren't vegan due to the eggs but that's not an issue for you.

However, since you are approaching this for health reasons I'd consider cutting out as much processed foods as possible. Have you looked into Raw food? I know it seems extreme but it really has so many health benefits.

Juicing is fantastic too.

Good luck on your journey to recovery

vegan with a vengeance is a great cookbook. in fact, anything by isa chandra moskowitz/ terry hope romero is a pretty good bet!

you can stop diary products any day
then slowly start replacing the rest

it will take you some time to learn to cook and enjoy food without meat

Hi, Pennies. REALLY sorry to hear about the cancer - hope you are doing ok, and feeling positive.

ruby, aw, you make me ! (Looks like a sad blush, but I am smiling blushing!) Thanks - you've quite made my day!

Pennies, I truly believe going vegan is the best thing we can do for our health. We have cancer in my family so I did loads of research into prevention being better than cure, and am convinced cutting out meat and dairy is beneficial. One book I'd highly recommend is The China Study, by Dr.T.Colin Campbell (www.amazon.co.uk/China-Study-Comprehensive-Nutrition-Implications/dp/1932100660/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&i e=UTF8&qid=1280963998&sr=1-1) - very convincing about switching to a plant-based diet for health reasons.

I've also just set up a little website which has lots of recipe ideas, it's fairly new and I am constantly adding recipes: www.veganparent.com.
I have a useful page on there for ensuring you get all your nutrients if on a plant-based diet.

I'm on the MSE thread (though rarely post since I discovered MN!). It's here: forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.php?t=1451243

And there's a thread here on MN for vegan MNers (or trying to be): www.mumsnet.com/Talk/food/984090-Vegan-Vegan-friendly-MNetters-the-new-thread-sign-in-here

I agree with cakes re cutting out processed foods too. I'm also very anti stuff like aspartame, so fizzy drinks are out.

Good luck, and hope you are well.

Oh, and P.S. Yes, dairy derivatives are in ALL sorts of things you wouldn't expect it, it's rather annoying, but you very quickly get used to what it's in and what it's not, and I breeze through shopping now.

Holland and Barrett are good for vegan things, though much is soya-based, which if you are wanting to avoid, isn't great. You will be able to get things like oat/rice/almond/hazlenut milk instead of dairy/soya, and seitan instead of soya, but soya is also pretty prevalent.
I've linked on the Vegan Friendly thread above about soya, and the myth that it isn't the superfood some claim it is. I don't know enough about your specific cancer, and I am no qualified nutritionist or professional health advisor, but generally, I believe soya is good, especially in it's purer forms, as opposed to the processed stuff.

GNC is also a good store, and if you have one local, works out cheaper than H&B if you get a Gold Card and use it regularly.

I am also finding it easier everywhere we go - supermarkets are getting better and better for providing dairy-free options of so many items.