http://www.vegcooking.com/ is a site worth checking out. You can find links from there to more nutritional sites and also request a free vegetarian starter kit.
A few random tidbits of advice:
Don't just cut the meat out and eat whatever "side dishes" are left over -- odds are that won't be the healthiest or most satisfying meal. Instead, re-think how you look at your meals: Don't see it as just one "main dish" and some "sides" -- get creative and heap your plates with fresh veggies, whole grains, legumes/pulses and all sorts of good stuff!
In terms of what to expect, some of that depends on what your diet was like before. If you are going from a very animal-based diet to one which has many more fresh vegetables, then you might have some temporary... digestive issues... due to the increased "roughage" in your system. Your body will adjust very quickly, though, and the fiber is very healthy for you!
You should also expect people to ask you a lot of ignorant questions and be worried about silly things like a nutrient they are just sure can only be found in meat. Read up on the subject so you know how to choose a healthy diet, and then you will be confident that you are doing the best thing for your body.
Protein-combining is a myth. This is that idea that says that you have to eat two different kinds of protein (say, beans and rice) at the same meal in order to form a "complete" protein. This comes from an old book called "Diet For A Small Planet," and the author has since said that protein combination isn't necessary after all. The idea is that if you eat a variety of whole plant foods throughout the day, you should be getting all the protein that you need. In other words, don't JUST eat beans or JUST eat bread.
Expect that you'll need to eat a greater volume of food in order to achieve the same calories. This is assuming, of course, that you're not a chips-and-cheese sort of vegetarian, which is drastically unhealthy. But assuming that you are eating lots of fresh vegetables and high-fiber grains and legumes/pulses, you'll be eating more in order to get the same kind of calories. Often when people feel fatigued after adopting a vegetarian diet, it's because they are not eating sufficient calories. Most people attribute the fatigue to "lack of protein," but that would not cause fatigue -- lack of calories will.
That's all I can think of for the moment, but please feel free to ask questions.
Happy vegging!!
