This childhood favorite doesn’t have to be unhealthy. Using lean ground beef will help lighten up the meatballs, and substituting whole-grain spaghetti, if you choose, will increase the nutritional value without sacrificing taste.

Recipe Nutritional Information:

Servings: 4

Estimated Total Preparation Time: 35 minutes

Calories per Serving: 513

Recipe Ingredients:

1 lb 96 percent lean ground beef

1/2 cup chopped onions

1/2 tsp seasoning salt

2 eggs

1/2 cup bread crumbs

2 tbsp ketchup

Nonstick spray

1 pound dried thin spaghetti

8 oz tomato sauce

4 tsp shredded Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

1. Combine beef, onions, salt, eggs, bread crumbs, and ketchup in mixing bowl. Add any herbs or spices you would like so long as they do not contain additional salt!

2. Heat pan on medium high and coat with nonstick spray.

3. Form about 12 meatballs (each approximately 1 inch in diameter) and place on pan. Turn meatballs every couple of minutes until entire meatball is cooked.

3. Meanwhile, bring 8 cups of water to a boil. Add spaghetti and cook to desired texture, or about 8 minutes.

4. Heat tomato sauce in separate pot.

5. Drain pasta and divide into six equal bowls. Top each bowl of spaghetti with two meatballs, 1/3 cup heated tomato sauce, and 1 tsp Parmesan cheese before serving.