Southern Dish Onion Rings: Low in Fat; High on Flavor!

Okay, Dishers -- I hear you loud and clear. You want more delicious, healthy, low fat, tasty Southern food. Others might be daunted, but not the Southern Dish. We're here to serve, and today we're serving up a side dish that runs rings around the rest! The Southern Dish take on onion rings lowers the fat, ups the fiber, and the only thing you'll miss are these onion rings when your plate is empty. The last person I made these for actually didn't believe they were baked instead of fried. They are that good. So grab that ketchup and get ready! Once you try them, send us a note and tell us what you think, thesoutherndish@gmail.com.

Favorite Onion Rings
1 large sweet onion, such as Vidalia or Texas Sweet, in 1/4 - 1/2 in. slices, separated into rings
2 egg whites, lightly beaten
1/2 cup ground flax seed (available at mass retailers such as Kroger) or high fiber, non-sweet cereal such as Fiber One, ground up like bread crumbs
salt, to taste
ground black pepper, to taste
brown paper bag
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 375. Lightly beat the egg whites (just using a fork works fine) in a bowl. Place ground flax seeds or cereal crumbs in a small brown paper bag, and add a dash or two of salt and a dash or two of black pepper. One at a time, dip the onion rings in the egg wash so that each ine is wet all the way around, and shake off the excess. Place the onion ring in the brown paper bag and shake it a few times to coat with the seasoned mixture. Arrange on a cookie sheet sprayed with non-stick cooking spray. Once all of the rings are on there, mist them with cooking spray. Bake a total of 20-25 minutes, turning after 10 minutes. Note that the flax seed will brown faster than the cereal crumbs, so if you use flax seed or a mixture of flax seed and cereal crumbs, watch the first batch you cook to see how long they need to be in the oven for desired brownness. Add more salt to the finished product if desired.