Bonus Blog: The Lunch ‘n Learn Soup Showdown

So, after a summer that could best be described as “healthy/unhealthy-ish” (equal parts kale and Wesco donuts, maybe?), I decided to hit the reset button. A short water fast followed by switching back to WFPB (whole-food, plant-based) eating, and—no joke—I feel way better.

Not that I felt awful before, but you know that feeling when you remember what “good” feels like? Yeah, that. Prior to March 1, 2025, I was 98% plant-based and thriving. Then I got sucked into the podcast protein hype: “Eat a pound of protein per healthy body weight!” So I started dabbling with eggs, chicken, salmon… And now that I’ve gone back to plants, I can totally feel the difference again—and honestly, I missed this feeling.

Fast-forward to today: our Admin Manager, Tam, was hosting her monthly “Lunch ’n Learn.” I joined last time and, let’s just say, the food choices were questionable. This month, some of the team asked me to run it and talk about food and some of the UWGB health and wellness stuff. (Wait… is this a monthly thing now?)

Anyway, instead of ordering lunch, I decided to make it (with help from Surgeon Jenn). Tam added some nice avocados and Kevin threw in a jar of his famous hot sauce! You’re welcome, Admin people.
The menu?

• WFPB Autumn Glow Soup.

• Two kinds of tacos—Sweet Potato & Chickpea Tacos and Lentil Love Tacos.

Soup and tacos for the “lunch” part. For the “learn” part, I gave a short PowerPoint on the 8 Dimensions of Wellness, focusing on the physical side, and then showed some video snippets from Forks Over Knives—because nothing pairs with tacos like an evidence-based guilt trip about processed food.

The Crew: Me (duh), Tam, Ashley, Mike, Adam, Cindi, Aubreigh, Marco, Ian, and Nick.
Bonus tasters: Kevin, Hunter, Felton, Chris, and THE Barry.

It was also great to finally have Adam join us. We’ve been asking him to jump in on Soup Club for months now, and it only took free food and a wellness lecture to make it happen. Worth it though—nice to have you, Adam!

Now, I’ll admit—pressure was on. Most of these folks don’t eat this kind of stuff regularly. I wasn’t sure how “lentils and kale” were going to stack up against the usual Jimmy John’s lunch spread. But… they liked it!

Kevin snuck in early (of course) and stole a bowl before anyone else. Hit me with a 9.2 right out of the gate. (We only scored the soup today—otherwise those tacos would’ve broken the scale.) Marco said the soup “sucked but was good at the same time.” Called it too sweet, then gave it an 8.0. I think that’s a compliment? Chris and Hunter both dropped 10.0s, they loved it! Felton came in at 8.2, and Mike gave it a very diplomatic “6 or 7,” so I’m taking the 7.

Then there’s Barry. Oh, Barry. He said he’d only give a 9.0 to something he’d “drive a ways to get.” I suggested 8.9, and he said if I put a score in his mouth, he’d stick his finger down his throat and give it back. Classic Barry. Still, based on the gleam in his eye, I know he liked it.

So the numbers we can use: 9.2 + 8.0 + 10 + 10 + 8.2 + 7 = 8.73 average. I’ll take that all day long.

All in all, it was a bonus blog for a bonus soup. Everyone raved, no one fainted, and a few might even consider swapping a burger for a bean next week. If that happens, I’ll call it a win. So cheers to the Lunch ’n Learn tradition Tam started, and a few more lentils finding their way into the world. Eat plants. Feel good. Tell Barry to keep his fingers out of it.