Anyone have a link to a good guide or a suggestion for a book

[Tektonik]

for a transformation from a REALLY meaty and dairy filled diet to a vegan one?

I've always wanted to try being vegan for a month and seeing if I could stick to it, and it will be easier next month for me since I'll be living within 5 minute walking distance to Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and a farmer's fruit stand which sells local produce.

[flvegan]

1. "Vegan Freak: Being Vegan in a Non-Vegan World"

by Bob and Jenna Torres. (shut up, LeftyMom :P )

I think that this is a good, down to earth, speak to the laymen book. An easy read.

There are tons of good cookbooks, too.

Brenda Davis also wrote a very good one called, as luck would have it, "Becoming Vegan"

Good luck on your month. Please do check in and let us know how it's going!

[Tektonik]

2. I'll probably start in a couple weeks after I move

But I'll try to post here a couple of times.

[yewberry]

3. Wow, that sounds like a really big change.

If you don't mind my asking, why the 'cold turkey' approach?

I guess if I were talking to a friend about making a change like that, I'd probably start by talking a little bit about how eating feels and what tastes good.

I gave up meat 22 years ago, and I sort of remember the "full" feeling after eating meat. If you asked me about it now, I'd remember that as a negative "too full" sensation, but if you asked me the same question then, it'd just be normal. It might be worth hearing that at the outset--you may feel less full after eating. That could take some getting used to.

Along the same lines, flavorings are different, too. I'm not sure how to say this delicately, but a diet based primarily on meat and dairy uses fat for flavor. A vegan diet uses WAY less fat and relies far more heavily on spices & seasoning--that can really take some getting used to, too. Food can taste bland or just plain less appealing if you're not prepared for a different way of flavoring. Again, from my own experience, vegan food tastes good to me and fatty foods seem greasy, heavy, and unpleasant--that's probably a result of years of lower-fat foods, but you might find that you experience the other end of that phenomenon: lower-fat vegan foods may be less appealing to you. You might want to think about what higher-fat vegan foods you could incorporate into your diet so that you don't feel deprived--guacamole, tahini, coconut, that sort of thing.

Final caveat: please think about taking an efa supplement. It can be hard to get essential fatty acids into your diet if you're not prepared, and they're really important for brain function and mood support.

I hope I didn't scare you. If a friend or family member wanted to try out a vegan diet, this is what I would tell them. Please don't hesitate to ask questions or bring up concerns here.

Good luck with your choices, and I hope things go well for you!