Dear Heloise: I just found out that there are actually about 300 types of pasta! Cooked pasta, without any kind of sauce or filling, is actually very low in fat and calories. It’s what we put on top or mix with the pasta that makes all the difference. Pasta with a rich sauce will naturally have more calories than a lemon, olive oil and herb sauce. So go ahead and eat pasta, but remember to get creative when preparing the sauce if you want to keep calories down. — Rose B., Pueblo, Colorado

Rose, when I want to serve a pasta dish just as a side, I sometimes use a commercially prepared vinaigrette salad dressing and add black olives chopped up with a dash of Parmesan cheese. It’s quick and easy, and my guests always seem to enjoy it. — Heloise

DISHWASHER

DILEMMA

Dear Heloise: I thought I was being clever by washing my dishes by hand when I only had to clean a few dirty dishes. Turns out, I was wrong. I needed to get those dishes into the dishwasher and turn it on when it was full. Why? By not using my dishwasher regularly, I had managed to clog the working parts due to our hard water here in San Antonio. I only used the dishwasher when I had a large dinner party, and that wasn’t enough. I thought I was saving water, but today’s dishwashers use much less water than they did years ago. Now I use it once a week. — Patsy W., San Antonio

PIE PLATE REUSES

Got an old tin pie plate you don’t use anymore? Here are some suggestions:

— Use it as a water dish for birds outside.

— Sprinkle seeds in it for feeding birds and squirrels.

— Are you an artist or a painter? Use it as a paint tray the next time you paint a picture.

— Let your kids paint it as a decoration in their room or as a gift to their grandparents.