There are no shortages of organizations giving out free vegetarian starter kits, or guides.
Most of them will come as printed material. Go Vegan Now lists theirs as either print or a downloadable pdf.
Google "Free Vegetarian Starter Kit" and you will get a plenitude (What? That's a word!) of options.
 
 
{The following is an excerpt from a weekly email from Jason Doucette, TasteBetter.com; You can subscribe to your own copy by clicking the newsletter.

Your ideal life starts with breakfast!
I'm in love with that phrase.  What we eat, and maybe more importantly, how, when and with whom we eat, is the foundation for so many things in life. 

I want you to take a moment to think about what your ideal life would be like, but in particular, I want you to think about the food aspect of it, since that's where I can help the most.

You can do this in five minutes, or you could meditate on it for hours.  Picture yourself at each meal.

Don't think about the "how" behind any of this.  In your ideal world, you've already figured all this out.  What I'd like you to do here is to find a few quiet moments and imagine you've got your ideal life, and think a bit about how food mixes into it.

Here are some seed questions to get you started:

How many meals do you eat per day?

Who do you eat with?

How long does a meal take?

Where do you eat lunch?  Dinner?

Do you cook?  Are you in a restaurant?  Is there a Star Trek food replicator gizmo?

Who does the dishes?  Or are there dishes?

How do these meals mix with your day-to-day activities?  What did you do just before lunch?  What do you do right after breakfast?

What about snacks?  When and where?  And why?

Remember, in your ideal life, there's no reason you can't eat what, how, and when you want.  The obstacles are gone.  Think big!

Most people try to design their lives around their jobs.  A few will flip that and design their jobs around their lives.  Here's the third option: with three to six meals a day for the average person, food can be the anchor that the rest of your life is built around.

If you decide what's really important to you, the rest is just a jigsaw puzzle, really, where you fill in those gaps.  Sure, some of them are huge, but let's start with food.

I want to focus some of the work we do on helping you realize your ideal meals, which I believe can lead to an ideal life.  If this exercise has inspired you to share, please let me know one or two insights that you got from it so I can better tune the stuff we produce to help you get there!

And hey, did you come up with any insights that you can put into practice right now?  What were they?
 
 
Thank you It's A Vegan Dog's Life for bringing light the hypocrisy of a so called "Humane" product containing inhumane ingredients. Especially when there are humane alternatives readily available.

Unfortunately, this is not the first disappointing idea that HSUS has presented. Like many animal welfare groups, I do not fully support them. Sure, they have good ideas and run effective  campaigns. But then they go and do things like hire Mike Vick. {Boy, I sure hope that works out for them & mostly the dogs.}

Any how, please read the post over at It's A Vegan Dog's Life & write into to  HSUS.
Picture
 
 
I would be happy to put together a collection of designs just for you! Let me know if you are interested!

Meanwhile, enjoy my current collection!

Create personalized gifts at Zazzle.
 
 
We all know cigarettes, coffee and crack are addictive.

But did you know that chocolate, cheese, meat and sugar
are addictive too?

They actually release opiate-like substances in your
brain that cause you to crave and eat more and more.

Willpower is not to blame!

Neal Barnard MD -- founder of the Physicians Committee
for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) -- shows just how this works,
and how industry, aided by government, exploits these natural
cravings, pushing us to eat more and more unhealthy foods.

What is the solution?

Watch Dr. Barnard's full 40-minute presentation and find out:

http://vegsource.com/cgi-bin/dada/mail.cgi/r/news/649858624054/

Peas & Love,
Jeff and Sabrina
P.S. Please share VegSource with friends and colleagues.
 
Candy is Dandy 10/18/2008
 

Photo from "My Vegan Creations"

Candy is Dandy... When it's vegan! (har har har) OK, so I'm lame. I can't even come up with my own halloween originals. Please forgive me and trust me when I say that my eyelids are being held up by toothpicks and that it's been a v e r y l o n g b u s y w e e k. thank you for understanding. :0)
Anyhow...here is PeTA's list of vegan halloween candy. Please vote with the one thing that actually counts: the bottom line: cold hard cash. If you buy candy that does not support cruelty to animals (even if accidentally) It makes a difference!

This list includes very common and easy to find mainstream candies like dum-dums, dots, Jujubees, Sour Patch Kids, Twizzlers & Zots!
PeTAKids.com Vegan Candy List

About.com has a family crafts page on great halloween activites and party games like the eyeball hunt game, candy corn relay race, phantom ghost letter surprise, and more.

 
Vegan Fast Facts 09/26/2008
 

I could not decide which section to post this in as it covers much territory...

I found this information (Posted below image) while looking for some facts, stats, or motivational words for the new VeganBliss post cards that I'm getting printed for my Etsy shop. Here is what they will look like on the front:

OK, but I need your help...
Which of these factoids do you think would make the most drive to the average person on the broad spectrum? Please leave your comments and your thoughts...
I need this to be relatively short so there will be room for you to write your own notes and address on the card. Thank you for your help!

Vegan Facts ->
The Hunger Argument:
Number of People worldwide who will die of starvation this year: 60 million
Number of people who could be adequately fed with the grain saved if Americans reduced meat intake by 10%: 60 million
Human beings in America: 243 million
Number of people who could be fed with grain and soybeans now eaten by US livestock: 1.3 billion
Percentage of corn grown in US eaten by people: 20%
Percentage of corn grown in US eaten by livestock: 80%
Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90%
Percentage of oats grown in US eaten by livestock: 95%
How frequently a child starves to death: every 2 seconds
Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on an acre: 20, 000 lbs
Pounds of beef produced on an acre: 165 lbs
Percentage of US farmland devoted to beef production: 56%
Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce 1 pound of feedlot beef: 16 lbs.

The Environmental Argument:
Cause of global warming: greenhouse effect
Primary cause of greenhouse effect: Carbon Dioxide from fossil fuels
Fossil fuels needed to produce a meat-centered diet vs. a meat-free diet: 50 times more
Percentage of US topsoil lost to date: 75%
Percentage of US topsoil loss directly related to livestock raising: 85%
Number of acres of US forest cleared for cropland to produce meat-centered diet: 260 million acres
Amount of meat US imports annually from Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama: 200, 000, 000 pounds
Average per capita meat consumption in Costa Rica, El Salveador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Panama: Less than eaten by average US house cat
Area of tropical rainforest consumed in every quarter-pounder hamburger: 55 sq. ft.
Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests for meat grazing and other uses: 1, 000 species extinct per year

The Cancer Argument:
Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat four times a week vs. less than once a week: 4 times
Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat eggs daily vs less than once a week: 3 times
Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat cheese and butter 3 or more times a week vs less than once a week: 3 times
Increased risk of ovarian cancer for women who eat eggs 3 or more times a week vs less than once a week: 3 times
Increased risk of fatal prostate cancer for men who consume meat, cheese, eggs and milk daily vs sparingly or not at all: 3.6 times
The Natural Resources Argument:
User of more than half of all water used for all purposes in the US: Livestock production
Amount of water to produce a pound of wheat: 25 gallons
Amount of water to produce a pound of meat: 2, 500 gallons
Cost of common hamburger if water used by meat industry was not subsidized by US taxpayer: $35/pound
Current cost of pound of protein from beefsteak, if water was no longer subsidized: $89
Years the world's known oil reserves will last if every human ate a meat-centered diet: 13 years
Years the world's known oil reserves will last if human beings no longer ate meat: 260 years
Barrels of oil imported into US daily: 6.8 million
Percentage of fossil fuel energy returned as food energy by most efficient factory farming of meat: 34.5 percent
Percentage returned as food energy from least efficient plant food: 328%
Percentage of raw materials consumed by US to produce present meat-centered diet: 33%

The Cholesterol Argument:
Number of US Medical Schools: 125
Number requiring a course in nutrition: 30
Nutrition training received by average US physician during four years in medical school: 2.5 hours
Most common cause of death in the US: Heart attack
How frequently a heart attack kills in the US: Every 45 seconds
Average US man's risk of death from heart attack: 50%
Risk for average US man who avoids the meat-centered diet: 15%
Risk for average US vegan man: 4%
Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption of animal products by 10 percent: 9%
Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption of animal products by 50 percent: 45%
Amount you reduce risk by changing to a vegan diet: 90 percent
Meat, dairy, and egg industries claim you should not be concerned about your blood cholesterol if it is: "normal"
Your risk of dying of a disease caused by clogged arteries if your blood cholesterol is "normal": greater than 50%

The Antibiotic Argument:
Percentage of US antibiotics fed to livestock: 55%
Percentage of staph infections resistant to penicillin in 1960: 13%
Percentage of staph infections resistant to penicillin in 1988: 91%
Response of European Economic Community to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: Ban
Response of US meat and pharmaceutical industries to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: Full and complete support

The Pesticide Argument:
Percentage of pesticide residues in the US diet supplied by grains: 1%
Percentage of pesticide residues in the US diet supplied by fruits: 4%
Percentage of pesticide residues in the US diet supplied by vegetables: 6%
Percentage of pesticide residues in the US diet supplied by dairy products: 23%
Percentage of pesticide residues in the US diet supplied by meat: 55%
Pesticide contamination of breast milk from meat eating mothers vs non-meat eating: 35 times higher
What USDA tells us: Meat is inspected
Percentage of slaughtered animals inspected for residues of toxic chemicals such as dioxin and DDT: less than 0.00004%

The Ethical Argument:
Number of animals killed for meat per hour in US: 500, 000
Occupation with highest turnover rate in US: Slaughterhouse Worker
Occupation with the highest rate of on-the-job injury in US: Slaughterhouse
Worker Cost to render animal unconscious with "captive bolt pistol": 1 cent
Reason given by meat industry for not using "captive bolt pistol": Too expensive