anyone here eat a vegan diet?

I've been a vegetarian for about 25 years but I eat eggs occasionally and I eat dairy.  I am strongly considering cutting out or at least reducing all animal products from my diet.  I'm just interested to hear how others are meeting their protein needs on a vegan diet and how much work it is.  Like, do you find things to eat at restaurants or do you pretty much have to cook at home all the time?  What do you use for a quick and simple snack, like I would currently grab a yogurt or a string cheese?  Also, does your whole family eat a vegan diet?  If not, how do you cook dinner for the family?

I am by no means a vegan but many of my friends are... its a huge thing in Oregon to either be veggie or vegan.

Here is a sample of foods to mix and match to hit your goals. I really think being a vegan and hitting your protein goals might be alot of work given the pouch size.

FOOD	AMOUNT	PROTEIN(gm)	PROTEIN(gm/100 cal)
Tempeh	1 cup	41	9.3
Seitan	3 ounces	31	22.1
Soybeans, cooked	1 cup	29	9.6
Lentils, cooked	1 cup	18	7.8
Black beans, cooked	1 cup	15	6.7
Kidney beans, cooked	1 cup	13	6.4
Veggie burger	1 patty	13	13.0
Chickpeas, cooked	1 cup	12	4.2
Veggie baked beans	1 cup	12	5.0
Pinto beans, cooked	1 cup	12	5.7
Black-eyed peas, cooked	1 cup	11	6.2
Tofu, firm	4 ounces	11	11.7
Lima beans, cooked	1 cup	10	5.7
Quinoa, cooked	1 cup	9	3.5
Tofu, regular	4 ounces	9	10.6
Bagel	1 med. (3 oz)	9	3.9
Peas, cooked	1 cup	9	6.4
Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP), cooked	1/2 cup	8	8.4
Peanut butter	2 Tbsp	8	4.3
Veggie dog	1 link	8	13.3
Spaghetti, cooked	1 cup	8	3.7
Almonds	1/4 cup	8	3.7
Soy milk, commercial, plain	1 cup	7	7.0
Soy yogurt, plain	6 ounces	6	4.0
Bulgur, cooked	1 cup	6	3.7
Sunflower seeds	1/4 cup	6	3.3
Whole wheat bread	2 slices	5	3.9
Cashews	1/4 cup	5	2.7
Almond butter	2 Tbsp	5	2.4
Brown rice, cooked	1 cup	5	2.1
Spinach, cooked	1 cup	5	13.0
Broccoli, cooked	1 cup	4	6.8
Potato	1 med. (6 oz)	4	2.7

It's really hard to eat out if your are vegan. I'm married to a veg head but fortunately she's not vegan. We have friends that are and it's a challenge to eat out. Thai food works but that's tofu with peanut sauce or rice/noodle  things.
I also think a vegan diet would mean a whole lot of beans to get your protein quota in.
Good luck
Deb T.

Yeah, I was thinking it would mean a lot of beans.  And I like beans.  But not for every meal, every day.  I'm not real fond of tofu, either.

I think what might be a better option for me is to find some local farmer I can buy eggs from and maybe some place that sells milk that actually comes from a farm instead of cows kept in a big warehouse in tiny stalls.  I eat a lot of yogurt and I know you can buy soy yogurt but it has less protein.  I've never tasted it so I don't know how good it is.  I have heard that it's not really that difficult to make your own yogurt, so if I found good milk I might give that a try.

Cheese would be another issue.  I eat a lot of cheese right now and I've tasted soy cheese and it's not awful but it's not great, either.  And I have no intention of making my own cheese!