DEAR READERS: There are numerous sweeteners available today as an alternative to sugar, but what makes each one different? Here are some hints to help you:

The pink packet contains saccharin (an artificial sweetener), which is much sweeter than actual sugar and has no calories.

The yellow packet, which also has no calories, is made from sucralose (an artificial sweetener), holds up well when heated and can be used in baking and cooking.

The blue packet has aspartame as the main ingredient (another artificial sweetener) and, as with the others, has no calories.

The brown packet, made from sugar cane, is a natural sweetener and does have some calories.

The white-and-green packet, made from rebiana (part of a stevia leaf, found in Paraguay), also is a natural sweetener, but it is calorie-free.

Each packet has its own special ingredient. However, it comes down to taste as to which you like. Some are for baking and cooking, while others are not. If you are diabetic, the artificial sweeteners are a better choice than the ones made from natural sugars.

P.S.: I've been using artificial sweeteners since they came out, and sometimes use one blue and one yellow for a sweeter taste, or one pink and one blue.

DEAR HELOISE: When I cook a meatloaf in my slow cooker, I spray a metal, collapsible vegetable steamer with vegetable spray and place it in the slow cooker. I firmly stuff the meatloaf into the steamer and cook following my favorite recipe. All the fat drips into the bottom of the slow cooker, leaving the meatloaf moist and fat-free. I just lift out the steamer, cut and serve. My family loves it when I cook meatloaf this way.

– Julie B., Brazil, Ind.

DEAR READERS: Do you have extra dinner plates that need to be stored? Which of the following can you put between the plates to keep them protected while in storage?

1. Paper plates

2. Rubber mesh

3. Coffee filters

4. All of the above

The correct answer is 4 – all of the above!

DEAR HELOISE: When using my oven, if I am going to use only the bottom rack, I remove the upper rack so that any splashes or bubbles while cooking will not wind up on that rack.

– Doris Brown, Camarillo

DEAR HELOISE: When I fix my frozen pizza, I turn it upside down while still in the wrapper, remove the plastic from the back and cut the pizza all the way through. With the plastic still on it, I'll flip it over onto a cookie sheet lined with foil sprayed with cooking spray. I then take off the plastic. This makes it so much easier for me to cut and handle.

– Betty T., Orange, Texas

DEAR BETTY: Love this, and it's very smart to pre-cut the pizza.

DEAR READERS: A recent column about uses for buttons brought a great response! What trends came up? You'll be surprised how creative some are.

Lots of teachers said buttons make great teaching tools. Adding, subtracting, grouping by colors, sizes, number of holes, etc., all were on the lesson plans. These exercises help students learn thinking skills, the teachers said.

Seniors can benefit from counting and sorting buttons. One reader bought a container of buttons at a yard sale to help his mother, who had had a stroke.

Some other creative ideas from our readers?

• Terri M. says, "A pretty dish full of a variety of buttons looks special in a guest bedroom or bath."

• Susan says: "When my daughter got married last year, buttons from her grandparents and great-grandparents were incorporated into the flower arrangements, including the bouquets, boutonnieres and corsages. The florist was thrilled to help us with this personal touch."

• Patti says: "When my mom passed away six years ago, she had a large amount of old buttons. I came up with the idea to hot-glue them on the limbs of a Christmas tree."

• Pat writes, "I cut the shanks off the back of buttons, glue on a post and have fun earrings."

• Kathleen writes, "My grandson likes to help me find pretty buttons to adorn gifts."

• Dianne spilled bleach on her shirt and sewed pretty buttons on the spots to hide them.

Thank you for all the wonderful responses!

P.S.: I have a "button box" from my mother (the original Heloise, 1919-77), and the buttons bring back memories of her teaching me to sew.

DEAR HELOISE: My family travels quite a bit. I'd like my children (ages 10 and 12) to get as much out of the trips as possible. I ask them to write a report about each place before we go, and another when we return, so they can compare what their reports say with what they experienced. Nothing fancy, but I want them to learn about the areas we travel in.

– Jill In New York

DEAR HELOISE: When buying for the elderly, we purchase small containers of lotion, baby powder, toothpaste, denture cream, cotton swabs, facial tissues, etc. Some elderly people cannot physically pick up the larger items. They make a point of thanking us for the "perfect sizes."

– H. Williams in Alabama

DEAR HELOISE: I thought I had lost a beautiful leather handbag because of ink spots. Nothing took away the ink marks. I remembered my method of correcting mistakes when greeting cards get smudged. Using a fine-point black marker and gold pen, I created flowers over the pen marks. My handbag is new again, and I get compliments from others.

– Erma G. In Pennsylvania