A simple mixture of ground meat and seasonings bound with eggs and bread crumbs, meatloaf has the ability to transport taste buds to another time and place:

• To Mom’s kitchen, where thick slabs are doused with ketchup.

• To the all-night diner, where it stars on the weekly blue-plate special.

• To the froufrou restaurant, where well-heeled diners clamor for a glamorous truffled version of what was once considered working-class fare.

Meatloaf changes with the times because its list of ingredients is highly elastic: The cook can easily stretch the meat with filler or embellish it with exotic ingredients.

That flexibility is good news for anyone who can’t bear to give up a sentimental favorite just because traditional versions are frequently loaded with fat, cholesterol and calories.

The following recipe for Vegetable-Stuffed Meatloaf combines lean ground beef and turkey with a vegetable medley. (Anyone remember the Knorr instant vegetable soup mix meatloaf recipe?) The mixture is bound with egg whites, to cut cholesterol, and rolled oats, which offer the benefit of a whole grain. Unlike ketchup, the tomato juice and balsamic vinegar used to baste the meatloaf don’t contain high-fructose corn syrup — an ingredient health experts point to as a major contributor to the nation’s obesity crisis.

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