The Mediterranean diet for children — healthy habits start at the table

In Italian culture, sharing a meal has for generations been a way of showing care and closeness. What and how our children eat affects not only their physical health, but also their relationship with food, which will stay with them for life. That is why at Accademia dei Piccoli the kitchen matters to us as much as pedagogy.

What is the Mediterranean diet?

The Mediterranean diet is in line with the healthy eating principles recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO): plenty of vegetables, fruit, pulses and wholegrain products, and little sugar, salt and highly processed food. In 2010 UNESCO inscribed it on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity — as a way of eating, farming and sharing meals (UNESCO). It is based on vegetables, fruit, pulses, wholegrain cereals, olive oil, fish and herbs. Red meat appears rarely, sweets occasionally, and highly processed food has no place in it.

A well-balanced menu based on this model can meet a preschooler’s needs for protein, fats, fibre, vitamins and minerals — our reference point is the Polish nutrition standards (Jarosz et al., 2020). A 2024 umbrella review of systematic reviews links closer adherence to the Mediterranean diet in children and adolescents with, among other things, less frequent asthma and wheezing and with better fitness and more physical activity; the link with body weight was inconclusive (Masini et al., 2024). These are mostly observational studies — they show associations rather than prove causation — so we treat them as a pointer, not a promise. It is also worth knowing that even in Mediterranean countries many children now eat differently: a review found that they usually follow this model only to a low or moderate degree (Iaccarino Idelson et al., 2017).

Our kitchen — the heart of the preschool

At Accademia dei Piccoli we have our own fully equipped kitchen, run by our head chef, Maciek Rudecki — a cook with 11 years of experience in institutional catering and a qualified dietitian (you can meet him on the About us page). It is not a catering kitchen delivering meals in plastic trays — it is a real kitchen filled with the smell of home cooking. The menu was designed by an experienced dietitian, and we prepare meals from high-quality Polish and Italian ingredients.

A typical day looks like this: for breakfast, wholegrain bread with olive oil, tomatoes and mozzarella; for lunch, minestrone soup with seasonal vegetables, followed by fish with couscous and salad; for the afternoon snack, seasonal fruit with natural yoghurt. Simple? Yes. Healthy? Very. Tasty? The children eat with appetite, which is the best proof. Every meal is prepared from fresh ingredients, on site, on the same day.

The meal as a ritual

In the Reggio Emilia philosophy — and in Italian culture in general — a meal is not just a “food break”. It is an important social moment: a time to meet, talk and share. At our preschool children eat together at laid tables, from real plates and with real cutlery. They learn to set the table, pour water and pass the bread to one another. In Italian families mealtime is sacred — and we nurture this tradition at our preschool.

These seemingly simple activities have great educational value. A child who serves themselves learns independence and responsibility for their choices. A child who passes the salad to a friend learns to care for others. Eating together builds a sense of community — we are together and we share what is good.

A picky eater? That’s normal

Every parent knows the scenario: a child refuses to eat something new, shouts “I don’t like it” before even trying, or suddenly stops eating what they loved yesterday. This is completely natural and has a scientific name: food neophobia. It is typical of the preschool years, and researchers explain it, among other things, as a natural protective mechanism against eating unfamiliar, potentially harmful foods (Dovey et al., 2008).

What do we do about it at Accademia dei Piccoli? First of all — we never force children to eat. Ever. Forcing builds negative associations and deepens dislike. Instead, we encourage tasting, set an example (children are more willing to eat what their peers eat), offer new flavours repeatedly (in one study, eight daily tastings of an unfamiliar vegetable clearly increased how much children liked it and how much they ate — Wardle et al., 2003) and — most importantly — we do not turn food into a battlefield. Patience, calm and no pressure — that is our recipe.

Cooking with children

Cooking workshops are one of our favourite parts of the programme. Children knead pizza dough, pick basil leaves, toss salads and shape gnocchi. It is not just great fun — it is sensory education (textures, smells and tastes), maths (measuring and counting), language learning (names of ingredients in Polish and Italian!) and social learning (working together, waiting our turn).

Research confirms this effect: in an experiment with children aged 6–10, those who helped prepare a meal ate noticeably more vegetables than children who were simply served the finished dish (van der Horst et al., 2014). In our workshops across our age groups (we accept children aged 2.5 to 6), children are more willing to try dishes they helped to prepare. The same mechanism works just as well at home — invite your children into the kitchen and let them stir, cut and taste. Cooking together is education, fun and relationship-building all at once.

Healthy habits for life

The relationship with food that we build in childhood stays with us for life. A child who eats a varied diet from an early age, discovers the flavours of the world and understands that food can be a source of joy and health has a huge advantage. They will not need to discover vegetables on a diet at the age of thirty. They are not afraid of new flavours. They can enjoy a shared meal. It is one of the most precious gifts we can give them — alongside love, security and a good education. At Accademia dei Piccoli we bring all of this together every day — at a beautifully laid table, with the smell of freshly baked focaccia.

You can read more about our menu and meals on the Meals page.

Sources and further reading

• World Health Organization (WHO), Healthy diet – fact sheet. — principles of a healthy diet (section “What is the Mediterranean diet?”).
• UNESCO, Mediterranean diet, Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity, inscribed 2010 (extended 2013). — UNESCO inscription.
• Jarosz M. et al. (eds.), Normy żywienia dla populacji Polski i ich zastosowanie [Nutrition standards for the Polish population], National Institute of Public Health PZH – NRI, 2020. — nutrient requirements.
• Masini A. et al., “Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet in Children and Adolescents and Association with Multiple Outcomes: An Umbrella Review”, Healthcare, 2024, 12(4), 449, doi:10.3390/healthcare12040449. — associations with asthma, fitness and body weight.
• Iaccarino Idelson P., Scalfi L., Valerio G., “Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet in children and adolescents: A systematic review”, Nutrition, Metabolism and Cardiovascular Diseases, 2017, 27(4), pp. 283–299. — how closely children follow the diet.
• Dovey T.M., Staples P.A., Gibson E.L., Halford J.C.G., “Food neophobia and ‘picky/fussy’ eating in children: a review”, Appetite, 2008, 50(2–3), pp. 181–193, doi:10.1016/j.appet.2007.09.009. — food neophobia.
• Wardle J., Herrera M.-L., Cooke L., Gibson E.L., “Modifying children’s food preferences: the effects of exposure and reward on acceptance of an unfamiliar vegetable”, European Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2003, 57(2), pp. 341–348, doi:10.1038/sj.ejcn.1601541. — repeated tasting of new foods.
• van der Horst K., Ferrage A., Rytz A., “Involving children in meal preparation. Effects on food intake”, Appetite, 2014, 79, pp. 18–24. — cooking with children.

About the author

Katarzyna Jaszczuk

Methodological Director of Accademia dei Piccoli preschool in Kabaty. She is responsible for the Reggio Emilia-based curriculum, pedagogical documentation and supporting teachers in their daily work with children. Meet our team

Read also: The environment as the third teacher — how space shapes a child’s development · Supporting your child’s creativity at home — a practical guide for parents

Would you like to see what this looks like at Accademia dei Piccoli?

You are welcome to visit our preschool in Kabaty (ul. Ekologiczna 4). Book by phone: +48 606 125 126 or by email: kontakt@piccoli.pl. You will find answers to the most common questions in our FAQ.