‘Vrtim Zdravi Film’: Let’s Ensure Children Have Quality Meals and Snacks

The habits we embrace in childhood often follow us throughout our lives. Therefore, it is essential to eat healthily, diversely, and in moderation from an early age, with nutrition including proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins, minerals, and good fats. A significant barrier can be children’s pickiness, as they are often not very fond of vegetables. However, it is desirable to intrigue them and engage in conversations about food, presenting meals in an interesting and humorous way.

The Value of Continuous Education

Attractive meals are enhanced by a colorful array of foods on the plate that entice children to try them, and a good incentive is also involving children in grocery shopping or meal preparation. Schoolchildren often eat irregularly, constantly snack, and tend to favor fast foods high in fats. Therefore, it is better to prepare food at home, introduce variety, and have as many meals as possible that involve the whole family.

The importance of caring for proper nutrition has been highlighted for 15 years by the educational initiative ‘Vrtim Zdravi Film‘, in which Nestlé, the Croatian School Sports Federation, and the Croatian Institute of Public Health collaborate. It is aimed at students in the upper grades of elementary school, and a few years ago, the public health program ‘Petica – Playing for Health’ joined the initiative.

The ‘Vrtim Zdravi Film’ initiative promotes healthy habits based on scientifically validated approaches and data, and so far, it has reached about 200,000 school children. In just the past four years, 90,000 children participated in the program, thanks to the significant interest from schools. In mid-September, during the anniversary celebration of the initiative, a professional panel was held, and awards were given to those deserving for implementing the project.

Since the initiative also includes parents, nutritionists have prepared special educational video materials on Nestlé’s websites to help them easily and understandably convey healthy habits to their children. Children can also learn what a balanced meal looks like with the help of ‘NutriPorcije – The Plate of Proper Nutrition‘, and a digital cookbook ‘Vrtim Zdravi Film’ has been designed with simple and balanced recipes for families.

What is a Healthy Snack

Proper nutrition, according to Nestlé’s regional nutritionist Koraljka Novina Brkić, provides the foundation for the proper growth and development of school-aged children and helps them fulfill their school obligations more easily. She particularly emphasized the importance of breakfast, which should be provided to children every day, depending on how long the child stays at school. In other words, at least one quality meal and a snack should be ensured during the school day.

– It is known that children who regularly have breakfast have significantly better cognitive abilities, achieve better results during the school day, are more focused, and generally cope better with the school day. This is because adequate food provides children with enough nutrients, energy, and micronutrients, and it is also important to drink enough water. Hunger and thirst in children lead to decreased concentration, restlessness, and headaches. Depending on how long the child stays at school and what they had for breakfast in the morning, other meals can be planned. Snacks can include simpler foods: yogurt, a sandwich, and tea prepared at home. Nuts or fruit can replenish energy, and through snacks, they receive necessary nutrients. Among carbohydrates, it is best to consume whole grain bread or rolls and tortillas. Furthermore, proteins can be provided by foods such as quality cheese, yogurt, turkey ham, cheese spread, while fruits and vegetables provide micronutrients. It is not wrong to occasionally resort to quick solutions, but that should be the exception. In that case, quick solutions should be enriched with quality dairy products, fruit, or seasonal vegetables – claims Novina Brkić.

Whole Grain in Cereals

Since parents decide what children should take to school as a snack, she emphasized that it is important for them to be informed, with food manufacturers providing information about products on packaging and suggestions on which foods to complement their nutritional value. Given the importance of breakfast, Novina Brkić reminds us of the wide range of Nestlé cereals such as Lion, Nesquik, Nesquik mix, Fitness, and Trix.

– In recent years, the sugar and salt content has been significantly, but gradually, reduced, while the whole grain content has been increased so that now, in most products, whole grain is the main ingredient. The exception is corn flakes, which are made from corn and are nutritious on their own. All cereals have added vitamins and minerals, which increases their nutritional value – emphasized Novina Brkić.

Content created in collaboration with Nestlé.