For Nea Pantry, the hardest thing about a vegan diet is accepting those who haven’t caught on yet.

The 24-year-old is passionate about her lifestyle.

“I have such strong beliefs about what I eat, it’s hard not to interfere with other people’s lives,” she said.

Ms Pantry gave up meat and animal by-products two years ago, while recovering from anorexia and bulimia. She was inspired after reading posts by an Australian blogger, the Banana Girl.

“I had to heal myself and put some weight back on,” she said. “I went vegan because I wanted to make sure I felt good about what I was eating.

“She is a serious advocate for going vegan. She talks about how plants nurture your body and animal products are toxic.

“I watched her videos regularly, and also documentaries like Forks over Knives and Meet your Meat. For me, they just seemed like the truth.”

The added weight gave her more energy and mental clarity. She eventually started a blog.

“I felt so good,” said Ms Pantry, who was studying at Ryerson University at the time.

“I felt happy. At first I wanted to find out what was available for vegans in the Toronto area [but when] I came home a month later, it was a bit of a shock.

“In Toronto there had been all these vegan options. In Bermuda they were much harder to find. So I used the blog to research what was here.”

Armed with that information, she started baking vegan, organic versions of old favourites such as chocolate chip cookies and Bounty bars.

Her Bounty balls include cashews, coconut, dairy-free and gluten-free chocolate and cocoa butter. Her father, Louis Pantry, gave them the thumbs-up.

“He is a diehard meat eater and he was reluctant at first but after he tried one, he was like, ‘Wow, those are really good!’.”

According to Ms Pantry, there is a common assumption that a vegan diet must be boring and bland.

“It’s not. It has been so amazing,” she said. “I get protein through beans, nuts and even vegetables; broccoli has eight grams of protein in a cup.

“It is not hard once you get used to it.”

Her favourite meal of the day is breakfast. She’ll often add blueberries, walnuts and chia seeds to oatmeal.

“I make this oatmeal with a maple cashew milk icing thing,” she said. “I let it sit overnight in the fridge. It is like rice pudding in the morning.”

Over time, the focus of her blog has shifted. Her new passion is “promoting health”.

“I have done tons of research for my blog,” she said. “I try to write up the information I find out about different health topics. For example, I did a blog post recently on healing eczema through food. Everything I write about is trying to heal an illness through your diet.”

Her ultimate dream is to write a book about self-love and healing.

“When I was 12 years old I became obsessed with fashion magazines,” she said. “I couldn’t figure out why I didn’t look like the models in the magazines. I was 12.

“I just wish someone would have shaken me, or I would have read more articles about loving myself.”

She believes God teaches us by putting us through difficult situations.

“I hope that I can one day teach others and maybe go into the schools and give lectures and seminars about loving yourself and body appreciation.

“I want to talk about how you should be thankful to have your health, and how to feed yourself to have great health.”

Ms Pantry is doing an online course with the Canadian School of Natural Nutrition to become a certified holistic nutritionist.

“I am supposed to take two years to complete that,” she said, “but I hope I can do it faster.”

She works at the Genet Lure Salon and the Earth Fare Market in Hamilton, and teaches swimming. She will be selling her vegan treats on Sunday as part of the Urban Market at Pembroke Community Club from 11am to 4pm.

• Read her blog here: theplantbasedprincess.wordpress.com/tag/Bermuda