Eating for health… Roasted Onions with sun-dried Tomatoes.

 

lady holding veggiesLet food be thy medicine and no it is not boring or eating a dish of tasteless seeds and such like…Gone are the days when Vegetarian was this dry tasteless meatloaf and healthy eating was just plain boring.

I love this recipe so much and what isn’t there to love..luscious sun-dried tomatoes, beautiful onions and tangy goat’s cheese. Over the years I have made many variations of these stuffed onions by swapping goats cheese for feta cheese, cheddar or blue cheese all lovely cheeses but now because everyone is becoming more aware of what they eat and how it impacts their health I am more aware of what I am eating and serving to my family.

My post on diet and depression was very popular on a few different social media sites and I believe it is because people are concerned about the food they eat and the impact it has on their health.

Now those of you who read my posts know that I can never ever just give you a recipe…Yes, I ramble on a bit… I know.

So it will not really be any different I just feel that I should incorporate the benefits to your health of the foods I use in my recipes and what impact they can have on your and your family’s health and well-being.

I hardly ever use processed ingredients in my cooking anyway but that is how I have always been.. Making it from scratch is my mantra and then you know what is in it.

My family and friends used to think I was a bit eccentric and over the top as to what I would allow my children to eat and drink I would now say that 99% are now in total agreeance with me.

What a turnaround I am not a fanatic just careful and mindful as to what I buy and make.

 Yesterday I was watching a program about sugar or added sugar, I was not surprised but felt justified because muesli bars, soft drinks i.e  Apple Juice and low-fat yoghurts were the subjects. So many people eat them because they are promoted as being healthy.

Well, they are not!

I just don’t trust any claims to anything unless I read the ingredients and I can spot a no-no at 20 paces…trust me!

So I suppose what am saying is you can be healthier in an instant just by reading a packet or being aware of what is in your food and at no extra cost.

And baby steps, if you want to change do it gradually and just be aware of what is in your food.

There are some great-tasting foods out there which are good for you and gradually your taste buds and awareness will change ..mine has but it takes time.

I know….. Let’s Cook!

This is for you Trish...

Onions stuffed with sun-dried tomatoes and cheese…

stuffed-onion1.jpg

Ingredients:

  • 4 large onions.
  • 150 gm goats cheese
  • 50 gm fresh breadcrumbs ( I use olive oil breadcrumbs)
  • 8 sun-dried tomatoes in oil chopped and drained. I am lucky that I live somewhere nice and sunny so I can sun dry my own tomatoes please click here to see how.
  • 2 tbsp oil from the sun-dried tomatoes
  • 1 small egg, beaten
  • 3 tbsp toasted pine nuts or nuts of your choice
  • 2 cloves of garlic chopped
  • 1/2 Tsp chopped fresh thyme
  • 1/2 Tsp chopped fresh parsley
  • Salt and ground black pepper to taste.

Just reading that list of ingredients makes my mouth water…I am salivating.

Add the onions in their skins to lightly salted boiling water and cook for 10 minutes. Remove the onions from the boiling water, drain and cool. When they are cool enough to handle cut them in half and remove the skin.

Using a small dessert spoon scoop out the centre leaving a thick outer layer.. 3 layers are sufficient.

Reserve the flesh for later.

Pre-heat your oven to 190C/375F

Place the onion shells in an oiled oven-proof dish.

Add all the other ingredients except for the tomato oil and pine nuts to the scooped-out onion flesh and season well. Stir in the pine nuts.

Divide the mix between the 4 scooped-out onion shells and cover the dish with foil.

Bake for 20 minutes, remove foil and drizzle with the sun-dried tomato oil cook uncovered for a further 25-35 minutes until bubbling and cooked.

Baste occasionally during cooking.

And the smell…. your kitchen will be filled with such a lovely aroma and even those who are not onion lovers will be salivating…I have had many a convert to this dish.

It is lovely just served with warm bread or as a side to some lovely grilled sardines.

Now all of those ingredients have amazing health benefits.

Some lovely variations to this recipe include using Feta cheese instead of goat’s cheese and substituting mint and pitted green/black olives instead of the other ingredients for a real Mediterranean taste. Just stir into the scooped onion mix, you could also add some currants or sultanas.

If you don’t want sun-dried tomatoes and pine nuts use 75 gm chopped walnuts add them to the scooped-out onion mix add 115 gm chopped celery and cook in a tbsp oil until the celery is soft then put in the onion shell.

Experiment by substituting your own favourite ingredients that is what cooking is all about.

Further benefits of the ingredients used in the above recipe.

Eggs:

Eggs contain choline which is a nutrient that is found in many foods. Your brain and nervous system need it to regulate memory, mood, muscle control, and other functions. You also need choline to form the membranes that surround your body’s cells. You can make a small amount of choline in your liver, but most of the choline in your body comes from the food you eat meat, eggs, poultry, fish, and dairy products.

Sun-dried Tomatoes:

Homemade sundried tomatoes in a terracotta dish

Sun-drying tomatoes preserve the tomatoes and enhance their flavour. A 1-cup serving of sun-dried tomatoes has 39% of the daily recommended intake of potassium. Full of iron, thiamine, riboflavin as well as 31% of niacin these B vitamins are essential for converting food to energy which is needed to maintain the nervous system and for keeping our skin healthy.

Tomatoes are a little powerhouse of antioxidants which contribute to the health of our heart by reducing inflammation in our blood vessels which helps our heart muscles relax.

The magnesium and calcium which is in tomatoes help to regulate blood pressure by coordinating a bond to contract and relax the blood vessel walls.

Goats Cheese:

Smashed avocados with mushroom, goats cheese, poached egg and basil on toast at Porgie and Mr Jones in Hawthorn

 

Photo credit: ultrakml on Visual hunt / CC BY

 

Why use goat’s cheese? Goat’s cheese is much easier for humans to digest. Lower in calories and fat it is also a good source of calcium, protein, Vitamins A, K, niacin, thiamine and phosphorus. It is also low in fat and cholesterol.

Compared to a 1 oz serving of cheddar cheese which has 9 gm fat, 6 gm saturated fat and 25 mg cholesterol goat’s cheese only has 5 gm fat, 3 gm saturated fat and no cholesterol.

Onions:

Onions garlic red onions brown onions

Well no omega 3’s in sight but the antioxidants in onions have great cerebral benefits and can safeguard our grey matter from a disease.

All of this means that this little onion dish is really rather healthy as well as being full of taste.

Enjoy!

And if you think I am being too frivolous as health is a serious subject……..Laughter is also good for your health.

Until next time…Stay safe, laugh a lot, have a glass of red wine and  ASK a question.

 

22 thoughts on “Eating for health… Roasted Onions with sun-dried Tomatoes.”

  2. Pingback: CarolCooks2 weekly roundup…24th October- 5th November 2022-Monday Musings, #Chicken Pot Pie with filo Pastry , Health, Morbid Obesity, #Edible Roots…Grow your own herbs and Saturday Snippets where “Ginger” is my one word prompt. | Retired? No one

  3. beetleypete

    I love all of those ingredients, and I bet it is delicious. Sadly, I am not eating cheese at the moment because of Lactose Intolerance. But I am investigating lactose-free cheese, so that may change.
    Best wishes, Pete. x

    Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      That’s such a shame, Pete unfortunately our bodies do take a dislike to some foods as we age I do hope you can find an alternative that you can eat and most importantly like x

      Liked by 1 person

    1. CarolCooks2 Post author

      Feta is good I like feta and use it a lot..shame cheese doesn’t like you anymore I love cheese and so far it likes me but I won’t hold my breathe as I know how that change as we get older 🙂 x

      Liked by 1 person

  5. Pingback: Eating for health… Roasted Onions with sun-dried Tomatoes. – MobsterTiger

  6. ellenbest24

    Oh wow, who knew you could stuff onions. My tummy won’t take roasted or boilled onion, just a quirk but you wouldn’t want to be near me if I did. But the husband would love this so I will try it out. We don’t eat processed and I make my own muesli but occasionally I get a huge craving for fizzy sour sweets like fizzy laced or fizzy pig tails. I can go months then it strikes me hard. A thing I probably could do without *wells up* I love them *wipes eyes* . Great blog I am following now… *runs to do so*.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. blondieaka Post author

      Thank you Ellen..I am the same and I think sometimes just eat it as a one off and enjoy it don’t feel guilty…I just have this inbuilt suspicion of anything processed and ready made always have my kids will tell you that and I make what I can..You can only do what is reasonable for you without being fanatical can’t you.

      Like

  7. SusanSedgwick

    Thank you so much. I am trying to change my eating habits as I am an over eater/ binge eater. Finally got rid of eating junk like cookies, candy, cakes, etc. Eating was my first addiction and is my hardest to kick but I don’t ever stop trying

    Liked by 1 person

  8. Rex Trulove

    I’m not especially fond of goat cheese and I’m an omnivore rather than being a herbivore, however, I like roasted onions and sun dried tomatoes in my spaghetti and chili. I also like using several kinds of onions and not just those that come from the store.

    Liked by 1 person

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