Meet two of the healthiest girls on campus, Sara Keilty (right) and Elizabeth (Ella) Danna (left). They’re excited to be bringing their vegan lifestyle to Fairfield with their new club Stag Roots!
HC: What is the premise of Stag Roots?
Ella: We’re a group focusing on healthy living in college. We’re going to be doing all different things like baking, exercising, cooking and volunteering at animal shelters all as a group.
Sara: We’re learning how to live a healthy lifestyle in college especially on a college budget.
HC: What inspired you to create this club?
Ella : I became a vegan in April and didn’t know other vegans and wanted to share my lifestyle with people.
Sara: I wanted to try to find open minded people who want to stay healthy in college and create a community.
HC: For those who don’t know can you explain what veganism is?
Sara: Living a life without animal products in clothing, food and beauty products.
Ella: Being conscious of yourself and what you are consuming and using ethically and environmentally.
HC: Do you have to be vegan to join?
Ella: Absolutely not
Sara: We are mostly going to be making vegan food because those are what we personally enjoy but we encourage non-vegans to join.
Ella: Vegan foods tend to be healthier so they help to encourage a healthy lifestyle.
HC: How long have you been vegan and what made you choose this lifestyle?
Ella: In April I watched Forks Over Knives on Netflix and it honestly changed my life. It talked about the health benefits and I began to look into how the meat industry works, and also Cowspiracy. I was training for my ocean guard test and wanted to get stronger and knew that I needed a healthier diet and I had seen documentaries about athletes that became stronger from a vegan diet and became inspired by them.
Sara: 9 months. I’m just living in line with my morals. I was vegetarian for 1.5 years and didn’t think it was possible to be a vegan in college. I saw that my sister was able to do it and just went for it.
HC: What are you most excited for going into this year?
Ella: To find a group that shares the same values.
Sara: Be involved in all the activities and expand my recipe book by sharing recipes with other members of the club.
HC: What are some events you have planned for this upcoming year?
Youtuber BitesizeVegan (Emily Barwick) is coming to campus for a Q&A in October
Recplex trips – workout, yoga, pilates
Hiking trips
Helping with the garden on campus
Vegfest in Manhattan- vegan meetup with all different vegan foods
Club made cookbook
And as a club, will be coming up with more group activities.
HC: What is a goal that you have for this club this year?
Ella: To allow people to have more understanding of vegan food and vegan lifestyle. If you’re not interested in becoming fully vegan if you want to eat healthier there’s a vegan dish for anything you can think of
Sara: To raise awareness and make it ok to talk about veganism and open mindedness
HC: What’s your favorite vegan dish?
Ella: One dish I have a lot is vegan mac and cheese, it has sweet potato, soy milk, spices, flour and rosemary; so good! Nicecream is my go-to for dessert it’s frozen bananas and soy milk with cinnamon and it’s my favorite thing ever!
Sara: 3 ingredient cookies- oats, crushed bananas and chocolate chips and then I’ll add whatever fruit I’m feeling. I also love vegan pancakes and banana muffins.
HC: What’s your favorite restaurant and what do you order there?
Sara: Avocado and cucumber rolls from Kiraku. At home I love the Indian buffet because almost all Indian food is vegetarian so it’s really easy to find vegan food there.
Ella: Pho with vegetable broth with greens and sprouts from Meca Noodle. By Chloe vegan mac and cheese with shiitake mushrooms and a vegan marshmallow cupcake with a fudge center and sweet potato fries is amazing!
HC: If someone was looking for more information on veganism how would you suggest going about it?
Forks Over Knives, Cowspiracy, and doing your own research. We will also recommend more in the club.
If you’re interested in joining Stag Roots join the orgsync group (https://orgsync.com/144824/chapter), facebook group (Stag Roots), or follow @stagroots on instagram.