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Sweet and Sour Onions Recipe

Ditch the potato chips and instead, indulge in these!
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How would you invest 50 of your day's caloric intake? On a single Oreo cookie? On five or six potato chips? How about a few sips of Coke? Or, how about a big mound of gooey glazed onions bursting with the yin-yang balance of sugar (most of it natural) and vinegar? Yeah, that's what we thought. Figuring out where you want to splurge and save on calories is a major part of eating healthy—it's all about balance. Serve a scoop of these brilliant bulbs with your next steak or roast chicken and offer silent thanks to the genius who invented frozen pearl onions. It's all about replacing the things that we crave that are not good for us, with things that are better for us, but still taste as good (if not even better) than the junk-food we're trying to avoid. Adding these caramelized onions to your main meal will fill you up and are much more satisfying to eat than greasy potato chips. You just might find that these sweet and sour onions replace your craving for sweet and sour potato chips, and it will save you hundreds of calories in the process, too! They'll create a more satisfying, filling meal that you'll actually look forward to, rather than getting empty calories from things like chips and candy. With this recipe, you'll get sweet and savory in one dish!

Nutrition: 50 calories, 0 g fat (0 g saturated), 190 mg sodium

Serves 4

You'll Need

1 bag (16oz) frozen pearl onions
3⁄4 cup water
3⁄4 cup white or red wine vinegar
1⁄4 cup sugar
Pinch of red pepper flakes
Salt and black pepper to taste

How to Make It

  1. Combine the onions, water, vinegar, sugar, and pepper flakes in a medium saucepan.
  2. Place over medium-low heat, cover, and cool for 10 minutes. Remove the lid and cook for another 10 minutes, until the liquid has reduced and begins to cling to the onions.
  3. The onions should be tender but not falling apart. Season with salt and pepper.

This recipe (and hundreds more!) came from one of our Cook This, Not That! books. For more easy cooking ideas, you can also buy the book!

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