Oil for frying—start heating the oil first, so that it’s hot enough to fry the meatballs by the time you finish mixing them. OR, if you want a healthier meatless meatball, you can bake them instead, so you’d want to preheat the oven to 400.

I usually make my own bread crumbs by toasting 4-5 slices of whole-wheat bread and then whizzing them up in the blender. Add them to a small mixing bowl.

Next, whiz up the pecans (you can use walnuts, too). Add these to the mixing bowl.

Add the cheese, sage, and salt and mix well. Add the eggs and mix until everything is combined. It will be a stiff dough.

Use a melon ball maker to make one-inch balls of dough and drop them into the hot oil. Let them fry until they are golden-brown. You can also spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray bake them in the oven for 30 minutes.