This week I reached out for a cup of new Light Dulce de Leche ice cream, part of the BRight Choices line of fat-free, reduced-fat, no-sugar-added or dairy-free (I'm getting depressed) ice creams and treats from Baskin-Robbins, the world's biggest dessert cart, with 5,800 shops.

Normally, I run through the jungle from anything that brags about being low-fat, sugar-free or any of that other deprivation nonsense. Especially when there's a big tub of full-bore Chocolate Fudge ice cream sitting two flavors over.

But let's give it a shot. It's not like we're sticking to our diet this year, anyway. Summer is still a long way off.

Here's the blueprint: a big ol' scoop of Light (meaning lower-fat) Dulce de Leche ice cream with a swirl of gooey, sticky sauce. "Dulce de leche" is Spanish, and it roughly translates to "milk candy." It's sweet, and I'm sweet on it.

Total calories: 230 (for a 4-ounce cup). Fat grams: 7. Dietary fiber: 1 gram. Carbs: 37 grams. Manufacturer's suggested retail price: $2.05. But between now and April 4, a second scoop is only 99 cents. How about if we each get a scoop? I'll buy the second one.

Light Dulce de Leche has about half the fat and 20 percent fewer calories than Baskin-Robbins' regular ice cream. Ah, but does it have half the flavor and 20 percent less guilty pleasure, too? This I gotta taste. Baskin-Robbins swears that if I close my eyes, I won't be able to tell its BRight Choices ice creams from its regular ice creams.

I hate … absolutely hate … to admit this, but my dish of Light Dulce de Leche tasted like real, legit, heavy-duty ice cream. Maybe if there were a dish of French Vanilla with hot fudge and walnuts next to it, I could tell the difference. But one-on-one, I was good with the Dulce de Leche. It was smooth and creamy and really sweet — and not phony, sugar-free sweet, either.

BRight Choices ice creams are also a clever way of cutting calories or fat in sundaes and shakes. Naturally, I see this as an excuse to order a large shake instead of a regular. Then I wonder why I'm not losing weight. You should have seen me with those Snackwells cookies.

If Baskin-Robbins ever makes a low-fat version of its German Chocolate Cake ice cream (my all-time favorite — this month), it's curtains for me. I'll be on "The Biggest Loser" before Conan O'Brien pops up on Fox.

Baskin-Robbins also is introducing Premium Churned Reduced Fat No Sugar Added Mocha Blackberry Chip ice cream. I would have ordered that, but the store closed before I could get it all out. If it takes more than four words to order an ice-cream cone … just give me vanilla.

The other addition to the BRight Choices menu is Vanilla Pomegranate Parfait frozen yogurt. I'm seeing a lot of pomegranate stuff in supermarkets and restaurants lately. It's either good for you, delicious or pomegranate has hired Andy Dick's publicist.

Ken Hoffman's column appears Wednesday.