Astrid Wells never identified as a typical bodybuilder, but she did take her gym sessions seriously. After years of lifting weights and chasing performance goals, Astrid found herself at a crossroads: how to maintain and grow her muscle mass while fully embracing a vegan lifestyle.
The challenge, she realized, lay not only in cutting out animal-based proteins but also in ensuring she consumed enough plant-based protein to fuel her workouts.
In her early days of vegan eating, Astrid often relied on tofu and tempeh, but she felt her dinners grew repetitive. She longed for meals that felt exciting, flavorful, and substantial enough to recover her body after intense training.
Determined not to compromise, she started researching different vegan protein sources—lentils, chickpeas, seitan, even lesser-known options like lupin beans. More than that, she said goodbye to the notion that vegan protein had to be bland. “Why should my food be boring just because it’s plant-based?” she would often joke.
One afternoon, Astrid whipped up a tomato-braised seitan that practically melted on her tongue, then served it atop a bed of warm quinoa studded with sautéed spinach. She paired that with a side of roasted chickpeas tossed in smoked paprika, giving her a plate that satisfied both her taste buds and her macros.
That meal became the blueprint for her new approach: protein-forward, vegan-friendly, and bursting with flavor.
From there, Astrid’s kitchen turned into a playground of experimentation. She learned to blend cooked lentils with spices and oats to form savory patties that gripped her sandwich buns without falling apart. She discovered that nutritional yeast and miso paste could add umami punch to creamy cashew sauces, making her vegetable bowls feel indulgent yet packed with protein.
After a particularly grueling leg day, she’d soothe her hunger with a smoothie that combined pea protein powder, almond butter, banana, and spinach, sliding down her throat like a silky recovery shake.
