Two Surprises: The Metro and Wine Cellar Sorbet

Some of you in big cities may be familiar with the Metro. It’s a free daily paper that’s published and distributed in cities around the country. If I can, always try to get a copy, I enjoy doing the crossword puzzle at the end of the day.

Recently, our Metro started publishing a Daily Word on the opinion page. I was flabbergasted by today’s word: Allergy bullying.

Allergy bullying: noun: intimidating a person, particularly a schoolmate, by threatening exposure to a food that the person is allergic to. "call it allergy bullying. ... kids are increasingly facing threats of being ... forced to eat food the have spent their lives avoiding."

I guess I knew that children take every opportunity to tease and torment each other, but I am shocked that this seems to be so prevalent that there is now a word for it. I was the butt of much teasing when I was in school, although I did not know of my food issues at the time. I am not yet a mother, although I hope to be, and this gives me pause. I am very worried about the ramifications of this.

To me, this highlights the need for more education about food allergies and intolerances. Not only with restaurants and other food providers, but also with teachers, other parents, and most importantly the classmates of children with food allergies and intolerances. There must be some way to impress upon them at a young age how severe these issues can be, and the need to be sensitive of them.

On a brighter note: I love when I go to Whole Foods and they have samples. I like it even more when there are samples I can actually try. As I cruised through the aisles looking for a very specific bread I saw samples of something frozen. I asked the young woman behind the Wine Cellar Sorbet table if the product was gluten free. She said she thought so and we checked the label, then we saw that the information sheet does indeed list it as dairy free, soy free, trans-fat and gluten free. So I tried all three available flavors.

Now, this is an adult dessert, it really does contain alcohol and I could definitely taste it. A few little tastes didn’t give me a buzz, but I’m sure one could be achieved if you set your mind to it. I am not a wine connoisseur by any means, but I tried the Rose, Sangria and Riesling flavors, all of which were quite refreshing. I didn’t have the capacity to take some home with me today, but this would be a fantastic treat to have after a long, though day. Something that happens to me all too often.