Help me, vegans!

[thefourthvine]

Because of my baby's suspected dairy allergy, I have joined the ranks of the more-or-less vegan. (I can actually still eat eggs, but they aren't a huge part of my diet anyway.) And, see, I've been a vegetarian since I was ten. I know how to be a vegetarian! It doesn't require thought or effort! Whereas this veganism thing is very new and very, very hard.

Normally I'd just hit Google and research the shit out of this. But, well, I have a four-month-old baby. I don't have time to make out with Google the way I used to. So I am hoping to use the friends list shortcut - that there are vegans on my friends list who might have advice for me. Or, I guess, people on my friends list who aren't vegan but just love to Google.

Basically, here's what I need to know:

1. What are the basics of a vegan pantry? What are the special things that vegans keep around all the time, that make cooking or meals easier?
   
   
2. What are really good vegan products?
   
   
3. What are some good vegan recipes? Right now I'm relying much too heavily on fake meat, and that is not how I like to cook or eat. At least, not this much. I might as well be a carnivore! So - recipes? I especially need ones for balanced meals that are super-fast or that I can make in a crockpot. Suggestions of cookbooks featuring these things would also be very welcome.

Help? Please? Anyone? I will take links or comments or just supportive pats. I am experiencing involuntary dietary change and it's very scary!

Comments

[prettybird.livejournal.com]

First off *hug*. Not Vegan or even Vegetarian myself (though I've been slowly cutting meat out of my diet) but I will happily do research for ya. :)

Skimming through I see someone else has mentioned the B12 thing. A supplement may be the best bet. I'm not a doctor - you may want to ask one.

Milk substitutes: I'm partial to almond milk over soy - haven't tried baking with it yet but for cereal and drinking straight up, that's definitely my preference. A couple brands are a little gritty, so something to check. You can also make your own. I do occasionally drink unsweetened soy milk in tea but I keep running into articles about thyroid problems with too much soy - something else to ask a doctor about. Though everything seems to have soy-based emulsifiers in it these days. Rice milk tends to be too sweet for me, though I've worked it into smoothies. Have yet to try Oat or Hemp milk.

Tried Quinoa recently - yum! Good non-dairy source of calcium (and a whole bunch of other stuff).
Other Non-dairy sources:
http://www.ellenskitchen.com/faqs/calcium.html

Do you like Indian food? I know a lot of vegan Indian recipes. My favorite veggie burgers can be made with vegan mayo, lemme see if I can dig that up...

http://www.theppk.com/recipes/ <= I've made some of the desserts from that site and they've all been pretty good.