minestrone soup

Another request by Cat.

This is her most adored soup and it is so easy to make. This is the Olive Garden version of Minestrone Soup. Although I've made this soup a dozen of times, this was my best attempt. I am not a huge fan of oil and I've even been using coconut oil whenever I do use any, but I used the full 4 Tablespoons of olive oil in this and it was fantastic. 

I tend to minimize the use of processed fats in our diet (except last month, when I felt like I needed to make up for all of our healthy choices over the years), so this soup is great without the added oil, but it is really much better with it. 

Cost Breakdown

vegetables: $3

broth: $1

pasta: $.50

beans: $5

tomatoes: $2

spices, garlic, onion: $.50

Total to make 16 cups:

$12.00

banana chocolate chip muffin

Brunch

Making one kind of muffin would not be enough for lunch, so I made not only this delectable Banana Chocolate Chip Muffin, but also Vegan Appetite.com 's Tami's Apple Oat Muffins. They looked so good during MoFo that I couldn't pass them up. These happen to be the only oatmeal muffins my kids went for. Not to say they don't like oatmeal, but combining them with something that shouldn't be healthy throws them off a bit, I guess.

The Banana Muffins are Kate's favorite ones and they, too, disappeared with just a few crumbs left. Easy to make, with just a few bananas, flour and sugar and you are good to go. The sugar in this recipe is very adaptable, so you can make it using 1c or just 1/4 c to make 12 muffins.



Cost Breakdown

flour: $2
sugar: $.50
maple syrup: $1
banana: $2
chocolate chips: $1.50
baking powder and soda: $.25
Total to make 24 muffins:
$7.25

Banana Chocolate Chip

Apple Oat Muffin