Transitioning to veganism

[Kindofcrunchymummy]

My husband and I have been vegetarians for years and years (18 years for me) and we are finally ready ( I think) to make that final leap into veganism. We already don't eat eggs, or drink milk, but we both love cheese. And what about all those foods that have dairy products hidden in them.
I'm looking for any advice on how to get started. I am BF my DS and I'm thinking he may have a dairy allergy...this is my motivation to do better.
Any advice or tips would be greatly appreciated!

[catnip]

You can do it. Cheese is HARD to give up. Two and a half years ago, I had a hard time going a DAY without cheese, but I have now been dairy free for over 2 years. It gets easier after about 6 weeks, I swear.

I ate a lot of nuts those first few weeks, and it helped.

[somegirl99]

You might check out The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook by Joanne Stepaniak.

There are also commercially made vegan cheese substitutes that you can buy at some natural food stores (make sure they are really vegan and don't have casein in). Follow Your Heart is one brand.

You'll get really good at reading labels. The hardest thing is the hidden dairy products, especially if you eat out or someone else cooks. There is dairy in just about everything (many breads, crackers, breadcrumbs, some margarines, etc etc).

I can't really comment on how difficult it is, I was forced to give it up as I am both allergic to dairy and lactose-intolerant, so it's absolutely miserable if I get some by mistake. I really missed cheese at first, but it's been so long now that it just turns my stomach if I smell strong cheese.