Did you know that improving your health can be as easy as cutting out meat and processed cold cuts one day a week? Doing so can reduce your risk of chronic preventable conditions such as cancer, cardiovascular disease, diabetes and obesity.

Enter Meatless Monday. This week's recipe is Light Pasta Primavera. "The sauce on this is not a thick alfredo-type sauce, so don't expect that," writes Ms. Bindy on the Food.com website. "It is a light sauce with a touch of garlic. My experience is that by adding the broth, I can reduce the amount of butter in the dish by quite a lot, while still maintaining a very moist and flavorful taste."
Light Pasta Primavera

Serves 6
—1 lb penne pasta
—4 tablespoons butter (to cut even more calories, you can use a low calorie butter substitute)
—8 ounces sliced mushrooms
—1 tablespoon minced garlic
—9 baby carrots , julienne cut
—4 cups broccoli (or asparagus, snow peas, etc.)
—1/2 cup vegetable broth
—1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
—1 teaspoon sugar
—1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
—1 teaspoon dried basil
—salt and pepper, to taste
—parmesan cheese, to taste, sprinkled on top
Cook pasta according to package directions.
Prepare vegetables; julienne-cut the carrots, chop broccoli, snow peas, asparagus. Whichever vegetables you like will work wonderfully in this dish.
Steam the vegetables for a about five minutes. In a very large skillet (or even a wok), sautée the mushrooms and garlic in the butter for about four minutes.
Add the steamed vegetables to the sautéed mushrooms.
Add the broth, lemon juice, sugar, pepper flakes, basil and salt and pepper to the skillet and toss for a minute or two.
Add the cooked and drained pasta, incorporate with the vegetables.
Nutrition info: 386 calories, 10 g total fat, 5 g saturated fat, 0 grams trans fat, 20 mg cholesterol, 158 mg sodium, 69 g total carbs, 11 g dietary fiber and 9 g protein.
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(Photo: Ms. Bindy via www.food.com/)