As you may have noticed, I bit off a little more than I could chew this holiday season. In September, when my regular job was slow, I thought it would be a brilliant idea to get a second job and use all that money to boost my pathetic savings account. So, in October, I optimistically entered the retail world! All was going well until about mid-november when the shit hit the fan- the intensity level of both my jobs got cranked to 11 (spinal tap reference anyone? Anyone? Bueller?)

Anyways, as a way to cope with this over-worked craziness that I got myself into, I began to turn to therapy…retail therapy that is. I would distract myself by buying pretty sparkly lights for my christmas tree or an awesomely grouchy mug. It makes me happy! The fact that I work in a book store definitely fuels this therapy. So far, I have used the following items to distract me from work:

– Gray Toms (I’ve worn them almost every day. So comfy)
– A fake tree with purple lights (I already posted a pic of this, which I’m sure you are still marveling at)
– My Horizontal Life by Chelsea Handler (I haven’t read it yet so don’t even ask me what I think of it. As if I have time to read!)
– The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins ( I already read it but I didn’t actually own it. You’ve read it right? It’s awesome! Buy it tonight if you haven’t!!)
– A new large teddy bear (Best. Purchase. Ever. He’s so cuddly and warm!)
– A black mug that says ‘Bah Humbug!’ (so appropriate)
– More lip products then I will probably use in my life (Tokyomilk- Let Them Eat Cake lip balm, which the seller sent me the wrong product for; CO Bigelow’s Rose Salve- obsessed; CO Bigelow’s Mentha Lip Shine- love; CO Bigelow Coconut lip butter- also love; CO Bigelow Sparkling Apple Cider- so gross…can you tell Bath and Body Works was having a sale? Plus I got 20% off everything! PLUS I got the apple cider one for free…so you know, I saved A LOT of money!)
-A moleskin journal for my food journaling.

oh yeah…and then I bought some presents for people, you know, those family people =)

You will notice that there is no food on there. Yeah… I haven’t had a huge appetite the past week or so. I think my body is boycotting my craziness and is holding out for more sleep. I’ve eaten a lot of brothy soup, kale and, weirdly enough, anything with mint and chocolate, which just happens to be my second addiction. I’m obsessed! I don’t know why. Until two weeks ago, I would have chosen almost anything over mint chocolate, especially peanut butter and chocolate. Now, I can’t be bothered with anything that doesn’t have some chocolate mint combo. I blame this on Melinda and her mint chocolate bailey hot chocolate that she simply forces down my throat each night (that’s a lie). It started me on my addiction. Which is what prompted this recipe. I thought, how could I possibly make mint chocolate baileys and hot chocolate any better? Umm…how about making it into an ice cream shake…obviously.

Now, before you start griping about how Bailey’s isn’t vegan, let me just say this: I know. Melinda bought it, I think, as a sort of ‘thank you for letting me crash at your pad’ offering. So this has been my one shot of dairy I have all day. You can replace this with Silk Chocolate mint soy milk and a little bit of whiskey, which is apparently the ‘spirit’ in Bailey’s.

Chocolate Mint Ice cream Shakes
servings: 2-4

2 cups (1 container) So Delicious Dairy-Free Chocolate Obsession Ice cream
2 shots of Mint chocolate Bailey’s (or 1.5 shots of Silk Mint Chocolate and .5 shot of whiskey/ vegan irish cream)
Whipped ‘Cream’ (I used Soyatoo Rice Whip, review below)

Add Ice cream and liquid of choice to blender. Blend until smooth. Top with whip cream.

This is the world’s most pathetic blog, ever. So to redeem myself, I’m going to include a review of Rice Whip:

I know that you can make homemade whip cream from Soy creamer but I found this Soyatoo Rice Whip on a quick trip to Whole Foods last week. I had shown up approximately 5 minutes before they closed (I was one of those people) and I was determined not to be one of those selfish people who hang around after a store is closed because they feel like they are entitled to shop for as long as they feel like it. So I grabbed the chocolate ice cream and raced to the dairy section to see if I could find a whip cream substitute. When I saw the rice whip, I thought I’d give it a try.

I should have saved my money. It’s so weird! It has the exact same texture as whipped cream except it tastes exactly like white rice. It’s the most bizarre sensation! The general consensus between Melinda and I was that it would have been significantly better if it was a bit sweeter. There didn’t seem to be any sweeteners or flavors, like vanilla extract, or anything. It was just foamed white rice. So weird! I didn’t love it. I think I would have preferred to just make whipped cream from scratch. BUT I got to review a new vegan product for you so, yeah!

I’m going to try to make those chocolate mint cookies vegan for you. Tune in on Friday!

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