There is nothing better in the wintertime than Caribou hot chocolate.  It’s not just any hot chocolate; it’s Caribou dark hot chocolate with 2% milk and a shot of peppermint, lathered in fresh whipped cream.  It’s hot, creamy, luscious, and amazing.  The best comfort consumable in the world in sub zero temperatures.  Or when temps are in the teens.  Or twenties, or thirties, or up to 75 degrees Fahrenheit, but below zero it’s the best.

At the same time there was no better Ben & Jerry’s ice cream than Chunky Monkey.  Banana flavored ice cream, chunks of dark chocolate, and walnuts.  I say “was no better” because the walnuts are no longer whole walnuts.  It’s still darn good ice cream, but it just lost its edge when they switched over to chopped walnuts.  It’s more like “Almost Chunky Monkey” now.

These two ultimate comfort foods have one thing in common.  I had them BOTH yesterday. Caribou at about 3:00, and I shared a Chunky Monkey at about 8:00.  At about 1:00 AM, my brain was wide awake, my eyes couldn’t stay open, my legs were twitching, and I was pretty close to ready to run screaming around the house.  I didn’t.  I stayed calm, strapped on my CPAP machine and managed to get to sleep.  And promptly had very bizarre dreams all night.  They weren’t chocolate dreams, but they were chocolate induced with my mind still buzzing away while my body went into a coma.

People all over the world wake up, sip coffee – the caffeine delivery device of humanity – all the live-long day and then still go to sleep at night.  I always have to be reminded that I’m not one of those people and the effect of a dark hot chocolate is greater than a regular cup of coffee.  The fallout today isn’t too bad, and my gosh that hot chocolate and ice cream were amazing, even if the night was uncomfortable and the sleep was…bizarre.  Still, point made, I’ll stay away from the lusciousness now until I forget again and add to my list of Food Fails.