Snack time

What do you snack on?
Myself, I know I should be snacking on more things like carrots and stuff, but I tend to want to drink my snacks. Oh the joy to pop into the kiosk before I hop on the commuter train and buy a yoghurt or a fruit smoothie or some carrot (yes! I don´t mind carrots) juice... But it is too expensive to go on like that, so I try to restrain myself most of the time. This post, however, is on two snacks I like and one I don´t like but have to snack on these days.

1. The milky frothy thing you see in the picture is my very special milkshake, my own invention. You take a large glass and fill it to 2/3 with milk, to measure, then pour the milk in a mixing bowl. Add a banana in large pieces and a dollop of lingonberry jam and mix everything. Pour back into the glass and drink immediately...Yum!
2. My Japanese friend Maiko introduced me to something called Ocha-zuke when she took me on a guided tour in a Japanes shop here in Stockholm. It is basically flakes of seaweed and stock powder and some other things neatly packed in a little envelope. When you for example (often happens to me) comes home in the evening after a meeting where you have had sandwiches allright, but you crave something warm and more food-like, then Ocha-zuke is your friend. Probably (often happens to me) you have some leftover rice in a plastic box in your fridge. Heat that rice up in the microwave, then drizzle over the contents of the little envelope and pour on some Japanese green tea, or just water (didn´t have Japanese tea, often happens to me). And voilà, a bowl of warm, comforting, incredibly tasty rice soup in no time at all! So take a look after those little envelopes, mine are striped in red and black and yellow...
3. Whole white peppercorns has been a common snack for me the last 24 hours. A. has caught calici virus which - ah - affects your stomach in an awful way. Hence the peppercorns. The incubation time is 12-48 hours and so far so good. 24 hours to go before I am safe, and these peppercorns are helping me with that (I hope, it tastes awful). 4-5 white peppercorns swallowed whole with water at least three times a day - a great tip from my sister. Fingers crossed, please. The Easter is coming up and it is my favourite foodie holiday. It would be tragic spending it feeding on water crackers, chamomile tea and puréed carrots!