Preparing to Switch to a Plant- Based Diet

These are my concerns right now:

• How will I get enough protein and calcium?
• How do I ensure a balanced diet and avoid deficiencies?
• How will I do this without the use of soy since I'm intolerant to it?
• What will my friends and family have to say about my decision to do this? The word vegan has such negative connotations for many people.
• What will my doctor have to say about this drastic change in diet?
•  How time consuming is this cooking going to be and will I be able to keep it going?
• On days when I can't cook, will I be able to find suitable, easy meals?

To learn more about what we are about to do, we've  ordered a copy of The China Study   and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Plant-Based Nutrition (see my book list). I''ve also started to research online. It was interesting discovering how many vegan celebrities there are such as Ellen Degeneres, Alec Baldwin, Paul McCartney, Bill Clinton, Bryan Adams, Karl Lewis, Carrie Underwood, Mike Tyson, and Portia Di Rossi. I was surprised (and pleased) to note how many of them were males.

Through meetup.com, I have discovered a Forks Over Knives meetup group that is forming in my area. Once the group gets going, I'll be able to connect with others starting this journey and share ideas. I'm also looking out for tips on the official Forks Over Knives Facebook page.   I want to be sure I'm doing this in the healthiest way possible. I did want to consult  my doctor, but she's out of town for the next few weeks. I'll definitely speak to her when she gets back.

This is the ideal time for us to be doing this, with both our kids at college this year. I've already cleared the house of all the junk foods that teenagers love. Now we're trying to finish the meats and dairy because I just don't like throwing away food. But this means that we're eating even  more animal protein than we usually do!  I also succumbed to a chocolate bar today, thinking it might be my last one for a while because I don't know if there are any good tasting dairy-free ones. Without chocolate this is going to be harder than I thought!

I'd better get going on this if we are to complete 10 weeks on this diet before we see our kids for Thanksgiving! Now  I'm off to make a list of all the vegetarian foods and meals we already eat  and create a new menu from there. The Indian vegetarian meals I cook can easily be incorporated into it.  I'll also look up restaurants and food stores I can turn to. There should be plenty of those in Portland!


 I'm lucky to be living in the best city for veganism. :)