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

[mollya.livejournal.com]

Hey - here because of mutual friend _swallow. I don't know you or your reasons for being a vegetarian but I have almost nine years under my belt of being a vegetarian cook with a multi-allergic kid and my advice is ... be flexible.

If your baby is four months old, you are just getting to the point when his or her milk needs are increasing a LOT. Get a lot of fat in your diet (I ate a full pint of B+J every day when I was nursing a 6-7-8 month old and still lost weight) but you should avoid peanuts and maybe even tree nuts, the vegan's best friend for protein and fat.

I was a committed vegetarian but my son was allergic to dairy, soy and eggs (as well as peanuts, wheat and all other gluten grains and sesame) and even the hypoallergenic formula. So when I weaned him at 11 months I made him meat baby food. There just wasn't any other way to get enough nutrition into him. I did it until he was a toddler. We are at an extreme with all of his allergies. I'm not saying that you are going to have to feed your baby meat - but be prepared to think about it.

As I said, I've been doing this for 9 years so if you have any questions or just want to talk I'm at mollya@livejournal.com.