Going vegan grocery shopping, any recommendations?

Just be sure to check ingredients as you shop, you'll get used to doing this as a vegan. Ingredients on stuff you buy all the time can even change, especially in pre-made meals and replacement products. Last time I checked any Morning Star products they contained egg etc., so are not vegan. So if you are wanting to eat a vegan diet (not just vegetarian) you might double check the ingredients on those.

Your grocery list sounds like a typical starter list, just meaning that there are a lot of replacement foods (like the chick'n) and pre-made meals. Those products are pretty darn expensive, so unless you have that kind of grocery budget you probably won't be able to keep up this kind of list for long. I started out on a large amount of Amy's products though, there is definitely nothing wrong with it. It makes the transition easier and less stressful I think.

My suggestion would be to get online and look up some vegan recipes. Pick a couple that sounds yummy and doable and add the ingredients to your shopping list. Make plans to make those one or two recipes before you grocery shop again. Then pick one or two different recipes next time. This way you can break into making truly vegan meals and try new things and really see how diverse your diet can be :)

Oh, and look for the new Silk Almond milk that came out, it is AWESOME! (I buy vanilla, not regular) The silk chocolate soy milk is one of my faves, but I think I'm going to change over to almond milk altogether. I haven't tried it yet but a brand called Almond Dream was suggested to me. It would be on the cereal aisle if you wanna look for it. The chocolate is supposed to be amazing. And buy some fruit!!! And some veggies, like stuff to make a big yummy salad with lots of raw fresh vegetables for lunch for a couple days in there. You'll want to start adding more fresh fruits and vegetables to your shopping list. I don't know how often you usually go grocery shopping, but you will probably find it's better to go more often and buy less each time you go, because you'll be buying a lot of produce that doesn't have as long of a shelf life.

You might wanna get some beans too, they will become a great source of protein for you and you can do a lot with them. Bush's vegetarian baked beans are really good, and last time I checked the Ranch Style black beans had no animal ingredients. Just remember to read the labels on all of them! And of course you can buy dry beans and cook them up yourself, which is a lot cheaper, but it's more work. Black/red beans and rice is generally a staple in a lot of vegan diets.

And while your eating the Amy's dishes the green tamale one and the black bean enchilada one are really freaking good! I actually make black bean enchiladas myself now, in all kinds of incarnations, inspired by the Amy's version. It's a lot cheaper, and they turn out pretty good, although I'm still perfecting my methods, lol. And I'm planning on starting to practice making bean tamales.

So you are starting out fine. Hope it all goes well and you fall in love with your new vegan diet.

Oh! and in case you have a sweet tooth like me, which is more than anything what makes being a vegan hard for me (donuts!) if you want some ideas of sweet stuff you can pick up: generally turn-overs are vegan. I know that the apple/peach/cherry turn overs at a wal-mart bakery are vegan (check the label still though). Nutter-butter cookies are vegan. There are some brands of dark chocolate that are completely vegan (not a lot of them though), I think Oreos might be, but I haven't checked in a while. So, I know those are not the healthiest best things you could eat, but hey, they don't contain animal products, and sometimes you just gotta have sweets :) I know you have some sweet stuff on yr list, but its expensive stuff. Just thought I'd let you know there are some less obvious options out there.

Shop at an international food or asian grocery store. Buy pre-made vegan thai curry (check the label to make sure it's vegan-they will have it but you need to be careful as most have shrimp in them). A good curry at these markets costs about $3 and makes several weeks worth of meals. You only need 2 tsp. per 1 can coconut milk. Mix w/ coconut milk ($1.50 per can) and veggies and tofu. Tofu is much cheaper at Asian market (I buy 4 meals worth for $2--pressed tofu is even better). Bulghar wheat (bulk @ $2/lb) + water + vegetable stock ($1/can or $2/for cube--use only 1) + toasted angel hair pasta ($1) +frozen peas ($1) = very cheap vegan meal that you can save for many leftovers Dried beans ($1.29/bag) +vege. stock + 2 diced plum tomatoes ($2) + onion ($1) + brown rice from Asian market ($5.00 for a huge bag) = lunch for 1 week These are my favorite, cheap, $ stretching and healthy options.

Amy's vegetable pizza with no cheese

Amy's soy cheese pizza

Morning star vegan bacon strips

since you are getting alot of items with soymilk in them you can try getting vanilla almond milk instead of the soymilk so you are not taking in so much soy (too much estrogen)

Domino's breaded eggplant(awesome alone and covered with marinara sauce)

healthy choice microwave pasta bowls(marinara one is the only vegan one)

also good to add things like quinoa,brown rice and veggies which you can get frozen for easy preparation but im sure you know its always better to get fresh and cook yourself but you gotto do what works for you

Soy is very, very, very bad for you, vegetarian is what I understand, not vegan though, this would mean that you would probably feed your baby store bought milk instead of the natural milk, making your child unhealthy, with things that come from animals are just different ways that they go to the bathroom, would you rather have milk and eggs or pee and poo?

Man, that's going to be expensive. You're better off only getting a few of these special items and cooking more meals that are mostly whole plant foods. It's really easy to make your own bean burgers and they will cost a fraction of what Amy's do. Hot cereal is relatively easy to make too, depending on what you want. Quick oats with your favorite add ins (raisins, cinnamon, frozen fruit, peanut butter, banana, etc.) is very quick to make and very inexpensive. If you want a multigrain thing like Amy's, buy the actual grains you want, and make them the night before. Store in a container and then in the morning mix them up and re-heat. You can even take a stick blender and make your cereal even creamier.

I would recommend picking up some Earth Balance, a vegan butter. Very handy for baking. I love whole wheat tortillas. You can put anything in them for a quick meal.

Other things I almost always have on hand:

Dry pasta, canned beans, canned tomatoes (diced, paste, sauce, etc.), coconut milk in cans, grains (brown rice, quinoa, millet, oats, etc.), dried fruit (raisins, craisins, etc.), nuts (almonds, walnuts, cashews, peanuts; store in the freezer), seeds (sunflower, sesame), lentils, ground flaxseed (common egg replacer), nutritional yeast (good source of B12 if fortified, so check), fruits that are on sale that I can cut up and freeze (bananas, strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, etc.), peanut butter, jams, oils (canola, olive, coconut, sunflower, peanut), flours (spelt, whole wheat pastry flour), agave syrup, maple syrup, chocolate chips (check to make sure they are vegan), cocoa powder, vital wheat gluten (to make seitan), etc. etc.

It will be expensive to purchase all these things at once, so find a good store with a decent bulk section and watch for sales. When almonds go on sale, I'll buy a ton of them to help cut down on costs.

My favorite food idea resources are:

http://101cookbooks.com/ [TLT sandwiches]

http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/ [smoky refried bean soup, red bean chipotle burgers, raw corn and black bean salad]

http://onegirlsslideintohippiedom.blogspot.com/ [taco salad]

http://vegweb.com/ [brownies, orange tofu, grilled avocado sandwich]

Cookbooks (I like to first borrow them from the library before purchasing):

Veganomicon [my fav: leek and bean cassoulet, bbq seitan sandwich, snobby joes]

Vegan Brunch [for all your breakfast needs]

Vegan Planet [good pizza ideas]

The 30 Minute Vegan [good raw treats and breakfasts]

Hope that helps!

Instead of those hot cereals, I recommend you try cook your own which should be cheaper and healthier.

Try quinoa:

http://www.healthaliciousness.com/recipes/quinoa.p...

or buckwheat:

http://www.healthaliciousness.com/recipes/buckwhea...

Way too much processed food. Buy fruit, vegetables, plain rice, plain dry beans, and an all-purpose cookbook. ∠°)

Why do people who reject meat want meat substitutes? I don't get it- aren't you supposed to hate meat rather than try to re-create it? Why do you strive to make soy taste like meat instead of simply eating meat?