We can do it. I was a vegetarian for years and then just fell in that trap of always being in a hurry. So I was inching my way back toward vegetarianism when it hit me that I want NO animal products. And, as these things tend to happen, I found the How It All Vegan cookbooks this weekend and got both of them. I told the fam that they can do what they want when they're out of the house, but I will no longer be purchasing animal products. Any tips?

And this is an entirely different topic, but I really, really cannot figure out how to quit caffeine. It's my weakness. I love coffee. But I want to switch to tea. Decaf. I had quit drinking coffee in the mornings, but then I started craving Cokes in the afternoons. Biiiiiig cravings. Caffeine is my weakness, my downfall. Has anyone else kicked it and won?

Good Luck. My family are all holding out and eating meat. My husband is a confirmed carnivore and "his" offspring are definitely following suit.

I have handed over all meat prep to my husband. I will make eggs for my boys (reluctantly so) and purchase skim milk for everyone, yet I drink soy.

The dairy and egg industries are as bad (if not worse) than the slaughter houses. These animals suffer and suffer to produce products that we aren't even "suppossed" to be eating.

I have not found any easy answers as of yet. Keep me posted.

Namaste'
Patti

And this is an entirely different topic, but I really, really cannot figure out how to quit caffeine. It's my weakness. I love coffee. But I want to switch to tea. Decaf. I had quit drinking coffee in the mornings, but then I started craving Cokes in the afternoons. Biiiiiig cravings. Caffeine is my weakness, my downfall. Has anyone else kicked it and won?

I had to do it cold turkey. I had horrid mood swings on caffeine. Now that I'm off (and have been since like 1996) things have improved (don't everyone laugh). I would say that if you love coffee, switching to tea may not be the thing to do. What about weaning off the caffeine in coffee? Slowly switching the full caf with decaf? You could drink tea for other times of the day (if you're trying to get nutritional benefits of tea), but keep your morning coffee - just wean it down. That might make it easier on your body to adjust.

~amey

I have a love/hate relationship with caffeine, but I satisfy myself by at least quitting it during my PMS time, so I don't turn into a total nightmare (caffeine makes it so much worse.) But my advice would be to cut back to green tea if you can. that way you don't get all the withdrawl headaches and whatnot.