April 11, 2026

Breakfast today was a Banana Moma smoothie from plantyou p. 63.  It was OK as is (see above), but my wife added some dates and strawberries, which made it better.  It also needed to be blended more.  The oatmeal comes out gritty otherwise.  Rating:  4 out of 5.  I could eat this once or twice a month.

 For lunch today we had Burrito Bowl from Plantifully Lean, p. 99. It was OK as is, but it could be much better with more beans, more onions, less rice, some hot peppers, some salsa, and tortillas on the side. With those changes, it would be a 4 or a 5 out of 5. The cold beans were a bit weird. I might have them with the rice and tortillas warm. I'm not sure. Today was an odd, cold, rainy day for April. On a hot day, I might feel differently. With the changes, I could eat this once or twice a month.

Dinner tonight was Big Bean Barley and Sweet Potato Soup from Be a Plant-Based Woman Warrior, p. 143.  This soup was OK.  I think I might have liked it better with a different bean.  The recipe called for either Kidney Beans, which I'm not that fond of, or Lima Beans.  I think Small Red Beans would also work, possibly.  It was very sweet and had a good broth, but it was kind of bland.  It's important to cook all of the hard veggies enough so they aren't crunchy.  Overall, it could use some changes, but I'm not sure what exactly.  We had it with some leftover beer bread from last night, and that helped.  The barley was good in it.  Rating:  4 out of 5, but just barely.  I wouldn't want it very often.