By Lauren Garrison

I've long thought about trying a vegan diet.

Given all the concerns that drove me to stop eating meat about four years ago, I've always known that it was just as important to avoid animal products.

But while giving up meat was never that much of a sacrifice for me, going completely vegan always seemed... well, near impossible. I love ice cream, and milk in my tea, and scrambled eggs when I don't feel like cooking a real dinner.

And what the heck would I order at a restaurant?

But when I saw that Helen was taking the plunge, I decided to jump in with her. Coming out of a chocolate induced haze of Valentine's Day weekend, I was already feeling the need to exercise greater control over my diet.

And I knew Helen and I could support one another in our endeavors.

I'm going to take this week to research and prepare for the big change. Already, questions are filling my mind: Will I learn to like soy milk? Can I really live without chocolate? Will my friends and family resent how difficult it will be to feed me? And what will I eat at a restaurant?

I'll start by thinking about key components of my diet that are already vegan. Hummus, lentils, pasta with tomato sauce, peanut butter and banana sandwiches. These things are easy.

Then I'll make some simple substitutions: nuts instead of goat cheese in my salad; leave the cheddar cheese out of my vegetarian burritos; find herbal teas that don't need milk to taste good.

I also found this Web site, "I can't believe it's vegan" from PETA.

(http://www.peta.org/accidentallyVegan/).

And Trader Joe's lists all its vegan products here.

I'll print out some lists to bring to the grocery store this weekend.

Any tips or suggestions are appreciated! The adventure begins Monday...