alot of us are really new at all of this and we could really use some help on what you eat for breakfast,lunch,dinner and snacks.

I just wrote up a LONG post, but I think it was too long, so it didn't post.  Bummer!  I'll try to be shorter and sweeter this time around!  I transitioned to a vegan diet two years ago, and instead of posting my main food staples, I'll just give you a few resources that really helped me early on:
-Cookbooks by Isa Chandra Moskowitz~Veganomicon, Vegan with a Vengeance, Vegan Brunch. 
-Cookbooks by Robin Robertson-She has a book of 1,000 Vegan recipes that just came out, but I rely heavily on my "Vegan Fire and Spice" cookbook because I love spicy ethnic food
-Cookbooks by Dreena Burton - like Eat, Drink and Be Vegan.  She provides very healthy recipes, and all are innovative and delicious!
-This website is awesome, but another cool one with tons of vegan forums is www.theppk.com

My main bit of advice would be to see food as an adventure and a challenge.  Try a new food every week, whether it is a new "milk", nut butter, fruit, grain, or vegetable.  Be prepared when you go out to dinner, travel, or go over to someone's house, and never assume there will be food provided for you. 

Welcome to a life of lightness, joy, and vitality!

Hi Bonny - you've gotta check out The Kind Diet.  It has loads of recipes and easy/user-friendly foods for breakfast, lunch, and dinner!  It's easier than you think. 

Breakfast...you can do whole grain cereals (try the natually sweetened ones like Barbara's bran) with almond, hemp, oat, rice milk...and add some fruit!  Oatmeal, steamed or toasted sourdough or whole grain bread with tahini and jam, a tofu scramble with tempeh bacon!  Lunch - burritos, salads (with beans or baked tofu)....get a great dairy free dressing by follow your heart....Dinner - go out for Thai or Indian or your local whole foods or fav local veg place.  Make a polenta casserole (in Alicia's book), roasted veggies, risotto. 

Get some Earth Balance butter and some Vegenaise for your fridge.  Those are great staples. 

And make the PB cups that Alicia has posted on the site!  To die for!!! 

when i bought the kind diet, i was expecting more of a cookbook - i am so glad it wasn't! i've been a vegetarian for a long time but still ate dairy products and fish.
bonny, if you haven't read it yet - it's great for people just starting out because it encourages a more progressive approach and really lays out each step so the transition isn't so overwhelming.

Hi Bonny!

Firstly, I suggest thinking about what you CAN eat and not what you will no longer eat ;)

For breakfast I have 1-2 bananas and a cup of tea or teeccino with rice milk.

Mid-morning I have a green smoothie which is 400-500 ml water blended with a large handful of baby spinach and 2-4 bananas. And I'll have 1-3 cups of green tea.

For lunch I usually have a salad of lettuce, tomato, cucumber, grated carrot and balsamic vinegar. Some days I add an avocado. Plus a homemade veggie pattie of some kind, like one made from sweet potato, millet, leeks, black beans.

In the afternoon I'll have some homemade hummus or white bean dip plus carrot sticks or rice crackers.

Lately dinner has been a new meal each night as I have been participating in a cookbook challenge where we used a different cookbook each week and we tried to make at least 3 recipes from it. So it's ranged from rice noodle salad to creamy polenta and mushrooms to polenta cakes and green beans to bbq mushrooms sandwiches to soup.

For snacks I'll have more fruit, nuts or dark chocolate.

I think getting some cookbooks or browsing vegan blogs or looking online for recipes is a good start. When I first went vegan I was eating a few pieces of tofu, mushrooms and baby spinach almost every night. Then I realised there was so much info online (veganforum.com, ppk.com and now thekindlife.com) and that there were cookbooks for us too!

I added this idea to the suggestion area at the bottom of the forum. I like the idea!

fruits, vegetables, grains, and beans mostly.

Today was my first official day being "Vegan" ! 

I had...

breakfast: steal cut oats, w/sliced pear, a bit of maple syrup and a small amount of soy milk.  (I do this every AM, when strawberries are in season - I do quinoa w/soy and strawberrys.)

lunch: Vietnamese at work...  tofu + cabage salad, brown rice, bean sprouts, cilantro, mint and some unidentified delicious sweet sauce.  Was Awesome!

snack: apple + trail mix

dinner: whole wheat lasagna (sub the ricotta for hummus) w/zucchini, squash, red onion, garlic, meatless sausage, fresh garlic and oregano.
This was leftover from last night, so I threw it in a pan along with some kale to steam while the lasagna warmed up.

I have some Purely Decadent ice cream in the fridge - maybe later?

fruit for breakfast usually, or oatmeal.

big salads and veg soups for lunch

and then I get crazy with dinners!
I cook for my website & cookbooks -- see my dinners there!
happyherbivore.com

Just to give you a sampling, I'll post what I ate yesterday, which is pretty typical on a work day for me.

Breakfast: Ezekial sprouted grain bread with raw almond butter and blueberries.

Snack: raw carrots sticks and brocolli florets and some fresh pineapple slices

Lunch: Orange pepper half stuffed with bulgar over a bed of spinach.

Snack: roasted butternut squash with cinnamon, maple syrup and walnuts.

Dinner: Carrot & Chickpea salad wrapped in a whole wheat tortilla. I also had some grapes and a couple of dates for desert.

I agree with the part of Alicia's book that says to pick one day to do the bulk of your cooking. For my husband and I, that day is also Sunday. I made the squash, carrot chickpea salad and stuffed peppers on Sunday and put them in individual containers so I can have easy, grab and go lunches/dinners all week. 

The skinny bitch cookbook is awesome too!! Great lasagna recipe. You sub the ricotta for tofu and it's delicious!!!

I am addicted to trader joe's vegan choc chip cookies. I try to just have one in the evening with a cup of peppermint tea.

my favorite breakfast is veggie burritos with or without soy chorizo.

Last night I ate my first mexican meal without cheese or sour cream It was very yummy!!!

Hi Lyndsay

This may sound weird to you at first but trust me it will make you feel so good after you get on to it. Every morning I have a huge salad. All organic fresh veggies. Spinach,sprouts,cucumber,tomatoes,peppers,celery,pea shoots,olives,1 avocado(very important),nuts and for the dressing organic olive oil with spices mixed in. I like basil,turmeric,cumin and ginger. Just go crazy, I also will make a rosemary dressing.
I also will make a carrot squash soup that is pureed and I will have that 3 times per week for breakfast. The important thing is to eat what you love and what food you love will change weekly as you progress through this. You will become addicted to fresh raw veggies. Good luck

Hi there! Lyndsay G., where do you find your soy chorizo...oh my goodness I have sooo many recipes I've had to forgo because they call for chorizo - LOL!  I'd be so happy to be able to go for it... :)

Karen - Trader Joe's sells a vegan chorizo now for 1.99 in my area, and you can find a couple vegan brands at Whole Foods/health stores, usually.

Thanks very much, Jess!  DUH, it was right under my nose all the time...