New Vegan Here!

[Mom2AlexandLiz]

I was a vegetarian, until discovering that DD (who I breastfeed) has allergies to dairy, soy and eggs. Right now, I'm just trying to figure out how to get a good variety of foods into my diet and enough protein. So far, here are the foods I've been eating:
- quinoa
- rice
- beans
- lentils
- pasta
- fruit
- vegetables
- couscous
It seems that I am always doing some kind of bean and a grain. It would be great to get some suggestions on what else I can do! Even some recipes involving beans would be great. I have been sprinkling nutritional yeast on my dinner for B12 vitamins, taking my prenatal, and a calcium supplement daily. Before embarking on veganism, I was the fake chicken nuggets type of vegetarian, so this is definitely a whole new ballgame! As far as a I understand, as long as I am getting enough calories, I'll continue to be able to breastfeed DD. Anything else I should know? Thanks!

[crunchy_mommy]

Sounds like you are doing good! Yes, you can BF, I went through pregnancy & have been BF'ing for 16mos now and vegan the whole time (DS is vegan too). I haven't taken any supplements since becoming vegan except prenatals when I was pregnant (although I'm taking some now for unrelated medical issues). They do have vegan chicken nuggets, I've found them at TJ's, WF's, even regular grocery stores, obviously not the healthiest thing but figured I'd let you know they exist in case you're craving them!! I eat mainly the same types of things you listed, and occasionally some processed vegan stuff (nuggets, cheeze, soy sausage, etc.) to deal with cravings and boredom. My big thing lately is coconut milk, I've been making so many things with it, lots of curries & stuff... And I find Mexican food always satisfying.

ETA: If you had favorite recipes that you're not sure how to veganize, post them here & we can help you!! Many many things can be made vegan pretty easily!