# Gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free Italian snack **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [February 6, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-free-dairy-free-nut-free-italian-snack/649505 "2013-02-06T17:58:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![boozilu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4da419/32.png) [@boozilu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/boozilu)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 5:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-free-dairy-free-nut-free-italian-snack/649505/1 "2013-02-06T17:58:37Z")
My daughter is doing a report on Italy in her 4th-grade class, and the kids are allowed to bring in a snack for the class that is from their chosen country. It has to be gluten-free, dairy-free, and nut-free. And store-bought. (If not for this requirement, I’m sure I could whip up something appropriate.) I offered to send in a jar of olives but she didn’t like that idea. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-free-dairy-free-nut-free-italian-snack/649505/2 "2013-02-06T18:16:32Z")
Rolled prosciutto around melon cubes Bruschetta on gluten-free bread Big slices of tomatoes with balsamic vinegar, olive oil, thin slices of fresh basil drizzled on top, topped with: \*any kind of Italian deli meat (prosciutto, salami, bresaola, etc.), or \*tuna, and/or \*baby spinach, and/or \*artichoke hearts Artichoke hearts and strips of roasted red peppers Giardiniera (marinated vegetables) Any combination of the above 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-free-dairy-free-nut-free-italian-snack/649505/3 "2013-02-06T19:09:07Z")
But are those available in pre-made, “open the pack and serve” form? ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-free-dairy-free-nut-free-italian-snack/649505/4 "2013-02-06T19:31:15Z")
Prosciutto and the other meats are sold by the pack, as are all the marinated vegetables (and spinach by the bag, melon by the plastic tub) – students can combine them themselves. I mean, feel free to ignore if these are no good. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 7:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-free-dairy-free-nut-free-italian-snack/649505/5 "2013-02-06T19:34:55Z")
I get the nut part, but dairy free? Never heard of that… And do that many kids have gluten intolerance? ETA: Why bother, with all those restrictions it sounds like kind of a stupid assignment. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-free-dairy-free-nut-free-italian-snack/649505/6 "2013-02-06T19:43:47Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > I get the nut part, but dairy free? Never heard of that… > > And do that many kids have gluten intolerance? > > ETA: Why bother, with all those restrictions it sounds like kind of a stupid assignment. This was my thought. How sad that it has come to this. You can get marinated vegetables in jars at the store. Olives would be good. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-free-dairy-free-nut-free-italian-snack/649505/7 "2013-02-06T20:01:35Z")
Or if you really want to gross the kids out, hard boiled eggs and anchovies. I mean, I love it, but I can’t imagine it going over well in fourth grade. ---
**Author:** ![JSexton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@JSexton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JSexton)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-free-dairy-free-nut-free-italian-snack/649505/8 "2013-02-06T20:59:00Z")
I’m guessing there is one kid in the class who is gluten in tolerant, another who has a nut allergy, and a third who is dairy intolerant. Therefore, the teacher wants to make sure that every kid in the class can eat what is being brought in without being excluded. I doubt that it’s a blanket “none of these things even though it doesn’t affect anyone here” ban. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 9:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-free-dairy-free-nut-free-italian-snack/649505/9 "2013-02-06T21:00:37Z")
> [@JSexton](#): > > I’m guessing there is one kid in the class who is gluten in tolerant, another who has a nut allergy, and a third who is dairy intolerant. Therefore, the teacher wants to make sure that every kid in the class can eat what is being brought in without being excluded. > > I doubt that it’s a blanket “none of these things even though it doesn’t affect anyone here” ban. Tough shit, snowflakes. They’re already accustomed to not being able to eat certain things. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 9:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-free-dairy-free-nut-free-italian-snack/649505/10 "2013-02-06T21:11:55Z")
It needn’t even be multiple kids (even if it probably is). Often celiac so ruins your small intestine that you also wind up sensitive to other items. It’s supposed to get better over time, but it hasn’t for me yet. Then again, I was allergic to dairy as a child, so maybe I was still allergic as an adult, but the effects were too mild back then. All I know is that I wind up sleeping for 12-16 hours after having either dairy or gluten, along with certain other TMI effects, and lactase (e.g. Lactaid) doesn’t help. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 9:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-free-dairy-free-nut-free-italian-snack/649505/11 "2013-02-06T21:17:02Z")
Fruit. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-free-dairy-free-nut-free-italian-snack/649505/12 "2013-02-06T21:33:41Z")
> [@Sicks\_Ate](#): > > Tough shit, snowflakes. They’re already accustomed to not being able to eat certain things. Because being used to something means that it’s okay. Just like those gay snowflakes who want the ability to marry. It’s shit like this that makes parents decide to create snowflakes, because they can’t trust their fellow human beings to act decently. You do not ever bring food to give food to a class and specifically single out certain people, especially not for something outside their control. Any decent person who has a party for friends with allergies tries to accommodate them, or they wind up not having those friends. It’s a basic part of being a decent human being to accommodate others with disabilities or who are otherwise different than you. It’s a very good thing that this school is teaching it, as, apparently, many adults are ignorant about this basic concept. Seriously, I learned this in freaking preschool. ---
**Author:** ![Sicks\_Ate](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/258eb7/32.png) [@Sicks\_Ate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sicks_Ate)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 9:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-free-dairy-free-nut-free-italian-snack/649505/13 "2013-02-06T21:49:09Z")
Wow, streched that a little far, didn’t you? Gay marriage? Not even close. It’s the right thing to accomodate people with disabilities. But do we cancel kickball because Johnny can’t walk? These kids are 4th graders. By now they know what they can and can’t have\*. They can be provided with an alternative if necessary. eta My freaking 3 y/o is allergic to milk protein, and even he knows to ask ‘is that cow milk’ and that he can’t have cheese, and that the only yogurt he can have is the yogurt that daddy or mommy give him. The kids at his day care get Cheez-its, he gets different crackers. I don’t have a problem with that and neither does he, because he knows what it feels like when he gets sick. ---
**Author:** ![Kimstu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ecd19e/32.png) [@Kimstu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimstu)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-free-dairy-free-nut-free-italian-snack/649505/14 "2013-02-06T21:54:33Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Any decent person who has a party for friends with allergies tries to accommodate them, or they wind up not having those friends. It’s a basic part of being a decent human being to accommodate others with disabilities or who are otherwise different than you. Yeah, but if that’s the goal, then the assignment should be to bring in a selection of snacks **some part of which** is gluten/dairy/nut-free. (Or perhaps the nut ban could be absolute because some kids’ nut allergies are pretty extreme; but generally gluten- or dairy-intolerant people don’t keel over just because somebody else is eating it in the same room, so I don’t see the point of requiring **all** of the snacks to be gluten- and dairy-free.) Sure, I have friends with allergies, and when I have a party I try to accommodate them by including foods they can eat. But I don’t “accommodate” them to the extent of serving ONLY foods they can eat, regardless of what the other people at the party might like. Raising kids with food allergies to believe that basic “decency” or “thoughtfulness” requires denying their forbidden foods to everybody around them too will do them no favors in the long run. Accommodating disabilities does not mean limiting everybody to the options available to the disabled, and it’s not cruel or lacking in decency to expect children with disabilities to understand that. (ETA: as **Sicks Ate** observes.) ---
**Author:** ![Moonlitherial](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Moonlitherial](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moonlitherial)\ **Post date:** [February 6, 2013, 9:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-free-dairy-free-nut-free-italian-snack/649505/15 "2013-02-06T21:57:25Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > Because being used to something means that it’s okay. Just like those gay snowflakes who want the ability to marry. > > It’s shit like this that makes parents decide to create snowflakes, because they can’t trust their fellow human beings to act decently. You do not ever bring food to give food to a class and specifically single out certain people, especially not for something outside their control. > > Any decent person who has a party for friends with allergies tries to accommodate them, or they wind up not having those friends. It’s a basic part of being a decent human being to accommodate others with disabilities or who are otherwise different than you. It’s a very good thing that this school is teaching it, as, apparently, many adults are ignorant about this basic concept. > > Seriously, I learned this in freaking preschool. Seriously if everyone ate according to all the allergies around them we’d starve to death. Yes you need to provide a decent alternative for the kid who can’t eat dairy/gluten/nuts but restricting the diet of every child where there is not a health need to is just ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Righteous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Dr.Righteous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Righteous)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-free-dairy-free-nut-free-italian-snack/649505/16 "2013-02-07T17:57:46Z")
I don’t have these allergies so I can’t be certain, but maybe biscotti? I know they’re often made with nuts but not always. ---
**Author:** ![Rhiannon8404](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rhiannon8404/32/17929_2.png) [@Rhiannon8404](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rhiannon8404)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-free-dairy-free-nut-free-italian-snack/649505/17 "2013-02-07T18:00:23Z")
> [@Dr.Righteous](#): > > I don’t have these allergies so I can’t be certain, but maybe biscotti? I know they’re often made with nuts but not always. It’s generally made with wheat flour, so not gluten-free. ---
**Author:** ![Dr.Righteous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbe5ce/32.png) [@Dr.Righteous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr.Righteous)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 6:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-free-dairy-free-nut-free-italian-snack/649505/18 "2013-02-07T18:03:20Z")
> [@Rhiannon8404](#): > > It’s generally made with wheat flour, so not gluten-free. Oh. Foo. Sorry. (I don’t eat biscotti so I didn’t realize) ---
**Author:** ![andrewbub](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b9e5f3/32.png) [@andrewbub](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andrewbub)\ **Post date:** [February 7, 2013, 10:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-free-dairy-free-nut-free-italian-snack/649505/19 "2013-02-07T22:08:49Z")
a handful of oregano ---
**Author:** ![papergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/aca169/32.png) [@papergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/papergirl)\ **Post date:** [February 8, 2013, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-free-dairy-free-nut-free-italian-snack/649505/20 "2013-02-08T02:11:46Z")
Can you send candy? I googled “Italian candy” and found some tasty-looking goodies… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/gluten-free-dairy-free-nut-free-italian-snack/649505.md?page=2)