I've never been a strict vegan, but I was a strict ovo-lacto vegetarian--no fish, chicken, beef--anything that had a face (for personal, not health, reasons) until just recently, when a few people I know in the medical world suggested that my diet may have been a contributing factor to the osteonecrosis I have, and that changing it might help, or slow down the progression. So in the past two months, I've started eating meat again, after 17 years of not doing so.
I knew all the vegetarian food lines in the States. If you're strictly vegan, I couldn't specifically recommend anything, because most food--as you well know--has some egg or dairy ingredients. But Linda McCartney (as in the deceased wife of Paul) has a line of frozen foods out here, and there's an increasing number of vegetarian foods in the supermarkets that actually taste good ("fake" burgers, hot dogs, sandwich meat, etc.). In the States (in the Northeast, anyway), there's a line of frozen foods under the label Morningstar Farms. Oddly enough, they have it here, but just one item--streaky bacon, as they call it here, or, simply, bacon. It's amazingly good (smells and tastes like the real thing).
If your reasons for being vegan are ethical, I completely sympathize. I always struggled with that myself, because I didn't want to be a contributor to factory farming, the inevitable animal mistreatment/abuse that goes with it, etc. And there's no doubt that dairy cows and chickens raised for eggs are often mistreated, as well.
If you're going to remain strictly vegan, it's going to be difficult, but more power to you! However, if you're willing to compromise just a little and go the lacto-ovo route, you'll fit the definition of a true vegetarian (there's no such thing as a fish-eating vegetarian, or a chicken-eating vegetarian--by definition, vegetarians don't eat flesh, period), be able to live with a relatively clear conscience, and find there's a lot of vegetarian food out there.
As long as you keep sufficient protein in your diet--beans, nuts, etc. (I was very lax about that), you should be okay. But do consider a slight compromise.
Suzanne
P.S. Just for starters, you can get "veggie" mince meat (or ground beef/hamburger meat, as known Stateside), that you can use with spaghetti, tacos, etc., and you can't tell the difference. Anyway, hope that helps. My email address is listed in my profile. Feel free to drop me a line, and I can give you some recipes.
P.P.S. I can't help but throw these definitions in, as people are often confused about what being a vegetarian vs. a vegan is. This comes from the Oxford Dictionary of English (Webster's says basically the same thing):
"vegan (noun)--a person who does not eat or use animal products"
"vegetarian (noun)--a person who does not eat meat or fish, and sometimes other animal products, especially for moral, religious, or health reasons"
Oh, what the hell: I'll throw in Merriam Webster's definitions as well:
"vegan (noun)--a strict vegetarian who consumes no animal foods or dairy products"
A vegetarian (noun) is defined as "one who believes in or practices vegetarianism," so I'll add the definition of the adjective form of vegetarian: "consisting wholly of vegetables, fruits, grains, nuts, and sometimes eggs or dairy products (as in, "a vegetarian diet")
So much for the schoolteacher bit. But on a funny note, for the Simpsons fans out there, DOH has made it into the Oxford dictionary:
"doh (exclamation, informal)--used to comment on a foolish or stupid action, especially one's own: 'I keep crashing cars. Doh! What a dummy!'"
