I've started to become vegetarian but want to become a vegan?!

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I totally agree that because of your kidney condition you should talk to a nutritionist or at least your doctor.

Nuts and seeds are a great substitute for meats and cheese. food processing some cashews and other nuts form the cheesy consistency they use for various vegan cheeses. Meaty recipes can be concocted by food processing sunflower seeds mixed with various herbs and spices. Mushrooms are very meaty also. These will give you all your protein at least.
Almost all other vitamins and minerals are found in various greens, fruits and vegetables.
The only deficiency concerned with being vegan is vitamin D (which is good to take supplements for) And B12- which can only be found in animal products. However- seaweeds, and chlorella (insects too if you're not opposed) also provide B12

"Let thy food be thy medicine and thy medicine be thy food.”
--Hippocrates (460-377 B.C.)

Because you only have one kidney, I would talk to your doctor about it.

I was vegetarian for a couple years and switched to vegan one year ago. It's really not that hard.
I also get plenty of protein, which is easier for me because I actually like tofu :)

Other things you have to look for are Iron, and vitamin B12. B12 is kind of rare outside of meat, but I get mine from breakfast cereal. (spinach is good for Iron)

Good luck :)

Vegan

Just eat a wide variety of veggies and you will get everything you need. I know you don't want to go raw but you should check out Dan the Man he has lots of good ideas.

liferegenerator.com

Don't go vegan....its really useless, you can barley eat anything and it kinda unhealthy due to the lack of protein and all that other good stuff you get from not being vegan/vegetarian.

Eat meat! ~(_8^(l)

what's the point of living, might as will kill yourself

What's

Tell those Bible-thumpers to read Genesis 1:29. -_-

Anyway, I would recommend a good vegan cookbook "1000 Vegan Recipes". I'll put the link in the source box.

Good sources of protein are: beans (you should eat kidney beans as they actually are really good for the kidneys :3), nuts, quinoa (which can be found in the bulk sections of grocery stores), and other pastas and grains are good sources of protein.

Good sources of iron: dark leafy greens, like kale, spinach (if cooked), broccoli, bok choy, and others. However, the iron you get from plants needs to be consumed with vitamin C otherwise your body won't absord it well. So just eat a fruit or something high in C in the same meal. Unless you have broccoli, since it has both iron and C.

I would still consider taking a vegan multivitamin like Deva (it's what I take) because we all have bad days where we don't eat well. Today I snacked on junk food all day. :'(

Anyway, I think you're making a great decision, and I'll also add a couple more links with my favorite vegan propoganda. ;D

http://www.amazon.com/000-Vegan-Recipes-…
http://www.amazon.com/Deva-Vegan-Vitamin…
http://www.amazon.com/China-Study-Compre…
http://www.amazon.com/World-Peace-Diet-S…
http://www.vegan-nutritionista.com/

And this is for kicks: http://www.all-creatures.org/cva/default… Christian vegetarians! <=D
Vegan

I tend to distrust those who use the bible to justify their position. After all, the bible also condones stoning of disobedient teens, not to mention all sorts of genocides. But even if there is a god, and even if s/he intended for humans to eat meat, I'm pretty sure s/he didn't mean for the U.S. to kill 10 billion-plus animals per year in a brutal factory farming system.

A diet high in protein, especially animal protein, is hard on the kidneys, and as you have only one, you want to treat it well. I worked for a nephrologist a number of years ago, and many dialysis patients were on low-protein diets (not to mention avoidance of other things). And even vegans can easily get more protein than they really need.

At any rate, there a number of organizations that offer Vegetarian Starter Guides. One of my favorite organizations is Compassion Over Killing (www.cok.net).

You can also get good nutritional information from Vegetarian Resource Group (www.vrg.org).

www.vegweb.com has recipes, and www.happycow.net will list vegan, vegetarian, and veg-friendly restaurants, plus health food stores, all over the world.

There are also sites for veg*an athletes; Google will be your friend here.

And do talk to a doctor or nutritionist about your condition.

Good luck!