As in Peppermint Paddy. And no…I am not talking about the girl from the Peanuts cartoons. I am talking about the velvety, refreshing, makes-your-mouth-say “AMEN!” taste of a peppermint paddy.

Before I give up the goods I gotta tell you a story about these little treats. When I was younger my great-grandmother used to keep a candy dish full of them out for company. I was always a food hoarder. I think I was scared everyone else would take all of what I wanted, so I was always skivvying things to the side. Well my great-grandma would find my hidden treasures and chide me for being stingy. Desperate to hide away these treats for myself I put them in the one place I knew she wouldn’t look—the freezer! My great-grandma regularly fed an army of people (most of whom did not live in her house), so food rarely made it to the freezer in the fridge. Instead she kept large bolts of meat and such in a chest freezer to which she sent me and my cousins all day long because she was always roasting, plucking, or braising something. Anyhoo…I remember that during the summer when I’d stay with her I’d find a stolen moment and retrieve those little silvery beauties and could hardly wait for them to thaw a bit so I could take that first deliciously arctic bite!

MMMMMM…memories…

So I didn’t know what to expect out of Davinci’s sugar-free peppermint paddy syrup. Now had I remembered reading “Fast Food Nation” I should have known that in a lab you can create darn near any flavor combination and that most flavor/scent combos we associate with “real food” are actually scientifically engineered (sorry if I ruined food for you…but I had to find out eventually and so do you…fortunately, I still love to eat so I got over it). Even still, I mixed this up first as a non-protein drink (as a frozen hot chocolate) and was taken aback by how GOOD it is! And so simple! So I started to tinker. Because I knew what I wanted—a thick, creamy, deliciously chocolatey shake with that unforgettable minty finish.

I am proud to present to you what I came up with.

Nik’s “get the sensation” Peppermint Paddy Protein Shake

 8 oz. skim milk (this is one where you could really go for something like Hood Calorie Countdown and put the calories saved to other uses)

1 tbsp sugar-free fat free chocolate pudding mix (see…that’s where those calories can go—to thickening it up and making it CREEEEAMY…)

1 scoop chocolate whey

1 capful of Torani/Davinci chocolate syrup (Optional to bump up the chocolateyness a bit—is that even a word?)

2 tbsp SF Peppermint Paddy syrup (if you don’t have this syrup, you could use a drop-JUST ONE-of peppermint extract and a drop of imitation or real vanilla extract)

5-8 ice cubes

Directions:

Combine everything but the ice in a blender. Blend about 10-15 seconds. Add ice and blend again until all ice is crushed. Pour and enjoy!

Everything about this shake makes me feel like I am doing something I’m not supposed to be doing. But I’m not! And that makes me feel like I am getting over, which actually feels GOOD!

Who knew losing weight could be this yummy?