Registered dietitian Theresa Stahl shares her insights on healthy eating, portion-control tips, power-packed recipes, and food reviews.

Cranberries are beautiful, filled with healthy phytochemicals and  a staple of holiday season meals. Because the berries are tart, many recipes are high in sugar.  I love this lower-sugar  cranberry-onion relish taken from Eating Well magazine's December 1992 edition.  I made it for the first time in 1992 and it's been a favorite part of our holiday meals ever since.  It's great on sandwiches, too.  Enjoy!

Cranberry-Onion Relish

1 large Spanish onion, peeled, quartered and sliced
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon olive or vegetable oil
1 ½ cups cranberries
¼ cup fresh orange juice
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1 ½ teaspoons balsamic vinegar
¼ teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a shallow 2-quart baking dish, toss onions with sugar and oil.  Bake, uncovered, for 1 ¿ 1 ¼ hours, stirring every 15 minutes, or until the onions are very tender and golden.

Transfer the onion mixture to a medium-sized saucepan and add the remaining ingredients.  Cook, stirring, over medium heat for several minutes, or until the cranberries are tender and the mixture is thickened.  Let cool. 

This relish can be prepared ahead and stored, covered, in the refrigerator for up to one week.

Makes 1 cup.

Nutrition information per tablespoon:  19 calories   0 fat   4 gm. carbohydrate  34 mg. sodium