French Onion Soup

French onion soup is a wonderful accompaniment to many meals, and occasionally I like to eat it as a meal.

Sometimes we forget that onions are a vegetable, maybe because in order to get a significant amount of nutritional value we have to eat an entire onion, and most recipes don't use an onion per serving. Onions contain Vitamins A & C, Calcium, Protein, Iron, Phosphorus and Dietary Fiber. They are an especially good source for potassium. They are low in calories and high in flavor.

My French onion soup makes 6 helpings and calls for six onions. That counts as a vegetable serving, so eat and feel healthy!


Peel and slice six medium onions. I show four here because I used gigantic Walla-Walla onions which are more than one serving. Peel and dice 3 gloves of garlic.



Cook's hint: to peel garlic easily, smash the garlic first with a mallot or the side of your chopping knife. The peel will fall right off.


Add 1/4 cup butter and 1/4 cup olive oil to a large pot over medium heat. Add the onions, garlic, 2 fresh thyme sprigs, 2 bay leafs and salt and pepper to taste. Cook the onions for at least 25 minutes until carmelized.


Add 1 cup of red wine. (I used Chianti this time). Cook until nearly all the liquid is evaporated.


Add 3 heaping Tbsps of flour to the onions. Cook and stir for a few minutes to get rid of the raw flour taste


Add 2 quarts of beef broth to the onions while stirring. Bring soup to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes.


Pour soup into large ramekins or soup bowls. Slice baguette bread and place slices on top of soup.


Place a slice of swiss or gruyere cheese over the bowl. Melt with kitchen torch or place under broiler until melted.


Eat your vegetables!

Limoncello Shrimp Toast

This is more of a first course or appetizer than a meal. It's light and lemony, yet rich enough to feel elegant.









Rinse, peel and de-vein one pound of raw shrimp



Chop 3 cloves of garlic and add to a heated skillet with 4 Tbsps olive oil


Juice and zest one lemon


Add shrimp to hot oil and garlic. Do not stir. Cook for 3 minutes then add juice & zest and 1/4 cup of limoncello liqureur



Tun off heat and add a pinch of red chili flakes then drizzle with a little more olive oil. Add salt and pepper to taste



Toast or broil sliced whole wheat french bread and top the toast with the shrimp, sauce and parsley flakes

Low-Fat Crème Brûlée

I'm afraid that I'm an advocate of using real cream, real butter, and making rich and delicious food. It's difficult for me to accept that my doctor says I need to cut back on these things. Still, I insist on including the original recipe so that if you want to make truly fabulous Crème Brûlée as a special treat, following my heavy cream recipe won't hurt once in a while.

However, it's nice to have this alternative. It cuts the calories from about 450 down to 120 per serving and cuts the fat down from 35 grams to only 1.5.











Mir's Original Recipe:

2 cups heavy cream
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
8 egg yolks
sugar for top

New and Skinny Recipe:

2 cups 2% Milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup Egg Beaters (or other brand of low-fat egg substitute)
sugar for top

Preheat oven to 325ºF. Add sugar to Egg Beaters and whisk together


Scald milk and whisk into the eggs & sugar one Tbsp at a time


Pour Egg & Milk mixture into eight 7-oz ramekins then place the ramekins into a 9X13" pan.


Boil some water and then carefully pour the water into the bottom of the baking pan.


Bake for 45 minutes or until set


Sprinkle the tops with sugar (I used about 1/4 cup over all)


Use a kitchen torch to crystallize the sugar. If you don't have a kitchen torch, place the ramekins under a broiler and cook until the sugar bubbles.


Eat, enjoy and feel skinny

Chicken Soup with with Salsa

This is a colorful, healthy soup lightly flavored with lemon, lime and cilantro and topped with freshly-made salsa and sour cream. It's very low in fat, high in nutritional value and is warm, comforting and satisfying.



Boil 2 large, split skinless chicken breasts and 4 skinless chicken thighs until cooked. You can add onion, celery, bay leaf, garlic, salt etc. to the water to create a nice chicken broth. Strain the broth and keep the chicken. Pull it into bite-size pieces.


This soup is loaded with fabulous veggies and fruits. Finely chop 2.5 lbs of red potatoes (peels on), 3 large peeled carrots, 1 celery bunch, 1 yellow onion and 1 bunch of green onions. Dice 6 cloves of garlic and 3/4 bunch of cilantro.







Place all of the veggies in a large stock pot along with 1/2 teaspoon of cumin and the juice of one lemon and 3 T of olive oil.


Cover the veggies with 8 cups of chicken broth. (Add low-sodium organic canned broth if needed). Cook the veggies until tender. In the meantime make the salsa. Finely chop 1 large tomato, 1/2 bunch of green onions, 1/4 bunch of cilantro, 2 cloves garlic, 1 jalapeno pepper. Combine and add the juice of one lime, salt and pepper to taste.



Add the pulled chicken to the veggies and chicken broth


Ladel into bowls and top with fresh salsa and light sour cream. Enjoy!