As several have noted, vegan or vegetarian starts to be expensive if you are trying to use meat or dairy substitute products. We always did (and do) vegetarian cooking for taste and economic reasons, so if meat’s cheaper for something I want to do, I’m an omnivore.

Here’s a list to get you started:

The Post Punk Kitchen
The Fat Free Vegan Kitchen
Vegan Yum Yum (which is definitely more foodie slant but the pictures will make your mouth water)

Also check out VeggieBoards a online forum for vegans and vegetarians where you can ask questions, get recipes and share ideas.

Christina Cooks has a website with a search-able database

Cookbooks I’d recommend (get them from the library!) Vegan with a Vengeance, Appetite for Reduction, Veganomicon,Becoming Vegan: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Plant-Based Diet, Vegan on the Cheap, and Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone (not vegan but lots of vegan or easy to make vegan recipes- it has everything from basic recipes to fancy stuff).

I’m not a vegan, but sometimes I cook like one.

Trent – I don’t know if it is ok to name specific books in the comments. If this is not correct than maybe it is a book you could review down the road.

Like tomatoes.

@Julie, slow cookers are used for lots of things besides making meat tender. It can be a great way to throw some things together and then cook passively. You can also cook beans without soaking them in a slow cooker, well some people say you can’t and others do it anyway.

I happen to have checked out Fresh from the Vegetarian slow Cooker from the library (I got a slow cooker for Xmas and there’s not a ton of books at the library and this had nice cover). It has a full range of recipes – Apps and Snacks all the way to breads and desserts.

Some of the recipes are : Spicy White Bean and Sweet Potato Stew ith Collards. Slow and Easy White Bean Cassoulet, Savory Vegetable Bread Pudding, Applesauce, Chocolate Coconut Cake (which is vegan!)

I always thought of a slow cooker as a tool used to get meat tender. I would be curious to know how your sister is using hers.

I love your comment about TV. I also work full time and I am amazed at the number of people who tell me they don’t have time to cook, yet they talk about all the latest shows on TV. (usually the same people that don’t have any money but have fake nails, Iphones,new cars and come in with Starbucks every morning)

I, on the other hand, have never seen Modern Family, Glee or Dancing with the Stars, but my family has a nutritious home cooked meal every evening. It is amazing what can be accomplished when the TV is turned off.

And, Interested Reader, I am with you: I thought that the mortar/pestle for grinding grains was present in the Paleolithic era, and that the consumption of ground grains was partially responsible for human’s increase in brain size and the foundation of permanent settlements, as opposed to a nomadic lifestyle.

One thing I keep reading about paleo diets is the no grains thing because Paleolithic people didn’t eat them. But there’s evidence that man of the Paleolithic people did, in fact, not only eat grains, but grind various grains.

I am curious Trent …. did the health benefits actually happen and make all this worthwhile ?

My own bias is that eating less-processed, whole foods is good whether that is meat-based or vegan. And cooking things yourself from whole ingredients is good for the body and soul. Things like “vegan cheese” scare the bejezzus out of me. They are expensive and processed to within an inch of their lives. But a masala dosa (vegan), or a naturally-raised goat kabob? – give me those any day!

i changed to eating a clean foods, paleo way of eating with MUCH better results. the animals i eat live a high quality of life and eat foods they are meant to eat. they do not get hormones of antibiotics. i get all the essentyial amino acids, vitamin, and minerals i need from a well rounded diet. i have only had one sickness in the last 4 years that caused me to miss work. i feel great and the doctors are bewildered.