Healthy Bloomin’ Onion

Kath Vogelmann had asked if I could do a Bloomin’ Onion for her using a Walla Walla from HighCross Farm.  I had never made one before so I scoured the Internet for recipe ideas.

A little back story on me before I continue.  I had gained a ton of weight when I had my two children.  They are now 17 and 15 respectively.  The weight made itself at home.  I decided this year to take the bull by the horns and lose weight the right way through diet and exercise.  I got a personal trainer and decided to cut calories and eat organic.  I have thus lost almost 30 pounds since I started this in March.

This brings me back to recipes for Bloomin’ Onions.  Almost every recipe I saw was a deep fried recipe.  All the nutrition information that came with had the Bloomin’ Onion at 2,ooo+ calories when it was all said and done (This includes the batter, breading and sauce). Yeah, Sarah can’t have that.  Bummer.  So what to do?

I decided to try and do a baked Bloomin’ Onion.  I was a little worried because to me, pre life change (notice I didn’t say diet? hehe), the best part was the fried crunchy outside.  I decided to coat the onion in egg white rather than whole egg and slather it in seasoned bread crumbs.

My thoughts:  This came out better than I had expected.  The top of the onion pedals were nice an golden brown and crunchy.  The bottom of the pedals were soft and creamy.  The sauce, oooooooh the sauce.  Unbelievable!  The whole onion baked was about 130 calories, including the breading.  The sauce I made low-fat by using fat free sour cream.  Granted you don’t have the ultra crispy outside that frying gives, but for a healthy alternative, this is pretty darn wonderful.

Bloomin’ Onion

• 1 large sweet onion
• 1/2 c bread crumbs
• 2 egg whites, lightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

Preheat the oven to 375. Lightly spray a baking sheet with olive oil spray.

Peel the skin from the onions and trim the bottoms so that the onions sit flat. Cut the onion into wedges; making sure you dont cut all the way down to the bottom by cutting only three-quarters into the onion for a “flower” effect.  I cut out about an inch circle from the center of the onion so there was a place to hold the sauce.

Transfer to the baking sheet. In a small bowl, combine the bread crumbs, garlic powder and paprika. Set aside.

In another bowl, whisk the egg whites lightly with a fork. Pour the whites over the onion to cover thoroughly and then sprinkle evenly with the seasoned crumbs. Spray lightly with olive oil spray and bake for 40 to 50 minutes, until the onions are lightly browned. Place sauce in center of the onion.  Serve immediately.

Sauce

• 1/2 c low-fat sour cream
• 2 tablespoons ketchup
• 1/2 teaspoon season salt
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes or cayenne pepper
• 1.5 teaspoons creamy horseradish sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon paprika

Combine all ingredients and serve immediately.  Store left overs in refrigerator.