There was a year of my life, first grade, when I literally ate peanut butter and jelly sandwiches every single day without fail, even on weekends. It’s not that I was a timid eater—at that age I was happily sampling my mom’s macrobiotic vegan experiments and even requesting some favorites of my own—it’s just that when you find a good thing you stick with it.

Think that sprig of parsley on the side of your plate is just sitting there looking pretty or that mushrooms aren’t particularly nutritious? Find out why these and 4 other “worthless” foods are better for you than you think.

When I heard we were doing a story on “healthier meatballs,” I was skeptical. What could be healthy about a meatball? And if they were “healthy,” would they be any good? As it turns out, the answer is yes. My friend and contributing editor Carolyn Malcoun developed some killer meatball recipes for us and if I hadn’t known, I never would have guessed they were healthy.

Recipes to Try: Lemon-Rosemary Turkey Meatballs and More Healthy Meatball Recipes

Here are her 6 tips for healthier meatballs:

I am one of many grandkids in a large family of first-generation Italian-Americans. This means that I grew up eating lots of pasta—Sunday rigatoni and meatballs at my aunt’s house, Friday-night linguine and clam sauce from my mother and, on almost any day of the week, a big bowl of spaghetti or ravioli from my grandmother.

For the longest time, the only oil I bought was extra-virgin olive oil. After all, it’s high in heart-healthy antioxidants called polyphenols and monounsaturated fats, which can help lower “bad” LDL cholesterol and raise “good” HDL cholesterol levels. Then a friend, who was also a chef, told me that there are actually times when olive oil is not the best choice. So I looked into the best uses for olive oil, and when to choose another oil.