Q. I found this recipe on the M&M's Web site for Rainbow Blondies. I want to make them for some parties this summer. Can you make them a little healthier for us?

A. I always have a bag of M&M's around for an impromptu batch of colorful pancakes, and this easy recipe just offers another fun way to use the candy. I cut the recipe in half and used a 9-by-9-inch pan instead of a 9-by-13-inch pan. But if you are making them for a party, just double the recipe and use the larger-size pan.

To lighten these up in calories, I used a lower-fat margarine (such as Take Control) with 6 or 8 grams of fat per tablespoon, reduced the M&M's by a few tablespoons, and used a no-calorie sweetener for two-thirds of the brown sugar called for. To increase the fiber and nutrients, I used whole-wheat flour for half of the white flour in the original recipe. This brought calories down to 140 per bar and fat grams to 1.8 grams per bar.

In ingredient list below, note that, if you use Sugar Twin Granulated Brown, you can pair it with granulated sugar. If you use Splenda, choose brown sugar.

Original recipe contains 220 calories, 12.5 grams fat, 6 grams saturated fat and 23 milligrams cholesterol per serving.

M&M'S (LIGHTER) BLONDIE BARS