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I've decided to switch to ovo-lacto-vegetarianism after some serious thought. The problem is, what next?

I know the basics, but can anyone point me to a good website or two? It's hard to find a site with like a general shopping list. Where I live, there are no vegan stores, and right now i'm living with food stamps, so im confined to buying at a store here. Help anyone?

Public Comments

1. Congratulations! A Vegetarian Starter Kit can be found here: http://www.pcrm.org/health/veginfo/vsk/vsk.pdf With food stamps at a regular grocery you can by fruits, vegetables, juices, nuts and nut butters, seeds, dried beans, peas and legumes, pasta, rice, breads..... Vegetarian doesn't have to be expensive: a bag of dried lentils is just pennies, but add broth, spices, onions, celery and garlic and you have a huge pot of soup! Good recipes: http://www.vegweb.com/ Good forums and advice: http://www.vegsource.com/
2. Here is a sample shopping list. There is no dairy or egg in there but you can always add or subtract whichever: shredded wheat steel cut oats short grain brown rice polenta quinoa whole wheat pasta dry and canned beans meat substitutes (tofu, tempeh and seitan) vegetable broth celery, onions, carrots, red peppers, daikon radish lots of leafy greens (kale, collards and mustard greens especially) broccoli green beans garlic and ginger fresh tomatoes shiitake mushrooms frozen corn frozen edamame frozen strawberries and blueberries (for smoothies) frozen veggie burgers bananas canned tomatoes tamari variety of vinegars olive oil and canola oil popcorn nutritional yeast chocolate bars almonds corn tortillas whole wheat mini-pita breads Rudi's 14 grain high fiber bread peanut butter tahini Site that tells you how to stock the vegetarian pantry. http://www.ehow.com/how_2112181_stock-vegetarian-pantry.html
3. VEGETARIANS CANT SURVIVE 5 MINUTES OF PHYSICAL ACTIVITY! THEY FAINT AND DIE AND DIE AND DIE AND DIE AGAIN AND AGAIN UNTIL THEY DIE SOME MORE!
4. My girlfriend is currently using food credit as well and we both shop at our local co-op which has many options for veg*ns. You might want to see if there is a co-op, Wholefoods, and or health food store in your area that takes food credit. You'd be surprised at who does. My girlfriend is also able to use them at the farmers market where usually we find the best prices on fresh produce and also supports local economy in the most efficient way possible. Finally being vegan is about the cheapest option around. Almost every restaurant we check out the veg*n dish is the cheapest on the menu. Also it takes 16 pound of grain to get one pound of beef so obviously meat prices will be higher than grain. My suggestion is to get a vegan cook book and learn at least one recipe a week. Get some tofu, tempeh, or setein and add them to dishes like stir fries, pastas, fajitas, and more. Don't be afraid to try new things like quinoa which is a complete protein. I usually mix it in with my rice. Other good sources of protein include, tofu, setein, tempeh, nuts, beans, brocolli (40% protein), and spirulina (high in iron and b12). It may take a while to adjust as evolving ones diet is a lifetime process. Best of wishes on your new journey.
5. http://rawfoodinfo.com/pictures/beforeafters_main.html This one is a forum for raw vegans, and everyone is eager to exchange information, especially about how to save money. http://goneraw.com/forums For K15: http://runningraw.com/ Wanna race?
6. Vegetarian Resource Group (www.vrg.org) also has some good information. You can order a book called "Simply Vegan," which has recipes based on ingredients found in most grocery stores, from their site. It's perfectly okay to buy frozen vegetables--in some cases, they're more nutritious than fresh because they're frozen at the site with the nutrients intact.