For freshman Moira McCarthy, starting a vegan diet did not come as much of a challenge. McCarthy has been a vegetarian, along with her entire family, for her whole life, so she only needed to cut out some animal products herself Still, McCarthy, who became a vegan three months ago, wished to find a substitute to the dairy-rich sweets she still loved.

She found her answer in an abundance of vegan brands which can be found at local grocery stores such as Lunds an Whole Foods.

“I really like a lot of protein bars from a company called Vega,” McCarthy said. “They are all plant based and are really healthy but they taste really good.” She also enjoys So Delicious dairy-free soy ice cream and Silk dairy-free fruit yogurt.

McCarthy, an avid cross country and track runner, also creates her own vegan concoctions to supply tastiness and nutrients energized herself for school and sports.

“I usually for school make a smoothie with fruit and sometimes kale or beets because you can’t taste it,” she said. “I have a new protein powder called Vega All in One; it’s vanilla flavored.” The smoothie has the perfect amount of probiotics, vegetables, fruit, flax and plant-based protein to prepare McCarthy for the day to come.

“It has a bunch of really good nutrients so that is what I usually bring for school,” she said.